Donatello's Denotations/Transcripts

Salutations, Surfhopper! Big trouble in little sewer system! As Master Splinter, Leo, Raph and... geez... I guess all of us had feared, trouble had been brewing for a long time in the underworld! It all came to a boil last week... and we were caught in the middle of it (none too surprisingly!)

We had been expecting a run-in with the Foot for weeks. Leonardo had us training harder than we have in years for the eventual clash, and as you may remember, Master Splinter was joining us on a semi-regular basis. This is where the first problem occurred, as one day while sparring with our super Sensei, Raphael lost his temper and went berzerk! He really wigged out! Splinter tried to avoid Raph, but he kept coming! We all tried to hold him down, but something really strange was going on in Raph's head, and he wouldn't back off. He decked Mikey hard, and sent me flying as well. Just as he was about to pounce on Splinter, Leo intervened and threw Raph over his shoulder into the wall. Leo did this with such force that it dislocated Raphael's shoulder and worse yet, gave him a very bad concussion as his head was the first thing to hit the wall. He was knocked cold! I thought he was dead for a second, that's how hard he hit!

Leonardo quickly realized that he had used more force than he expected, and rushed to Raph's side, who was coming to. Thankfully, the blow to the head calmed Raphael down. I've seen Raph go even more berzerk after taking damage, so my first thoughts were for Leo's safety, not Raphael's! Raph was groggy and he didn't seem to remember the fight that had caused his injury. This didn't seem too unusual, considering the massive head trauma that he had just suffered, but Master Splinter seemed very troubled by the entire incident. The rest of us just figured that since it had been months since our last battle, Raph had let too much stress build up inside of him and it blew up in our faces... but Splinter wasn't so sure. He said something along the lines of feeling a "disturbance", but we chalked that up to the Star Wars revival. That was our second problem.

After the stressful day of training, I decided to work on my masking device for a little while. I've been having some success with it, but my next hurdle was to supply a dependable power source to the gizmo. Imagine my shock when I found that the machine was missing from my lab! This confirmed Master Splinter's fears that there was more-than-met-the-eye to Raphael's attack. Our Sensei was afraid that great powers were at play... and he was right! I knew how to track any residual emissions that the masking device might leave behind (I invented it afterall ;) so I went to my lab to get another gadget... when I activated it, sure enough, someone had been using it in our home! As I was following the trail, I walked face first into the culprit! I hadn't thought that the thief would still be in our abode, but he was... and he wasn't a Foot soldier either! He appeared to be some type of ninja, but he was much quicker than any Foot member I've seen... including the Shredder! I actually have no idea what he was other than big and fast. He clocked me a good one and knocked me down, and then he psionically entered my mind somehow! I felt him probing my brain for information, and it was incredibly painful! I couldn't do anything to prevent this, I couldn't even move! It was like he had control of my mind and body! He must have been the one controlling Raphael earlier... I wish I knew how!

Fortunately for me, Master Splinter had felt the "disturbance" again, and he came to my rescue. Splinter bolted into the attacker, and delivered several kicks with such force that I felt them via the pyschic link that was forced upon me... and they hurt! The third kick severed the attackers mind-meld with me, and I could get to my feet and call for help... just as about 6 other non-Foot ninjas appeared in front of me! A huge battle ensued... Splinter and I managed to force our attackers into retreat, and we could hear Raph, Leo and Mikey battling as well. After a long skirmish, all of the ambushers had fled... but once the threat was over, we discovered that they had kidnapped Raphael! With his arm in a sling and his head injured, he couldn't fight back properly! We had hoped that Raphael was with Leo and Mikey, but much to our horror he was caught alone in his room! We're getting ready to go after Raph right now... I don't know who these new ninjas are or how they do what they do with psionics, but they will pay for this! I swear it!

Sincerely, Donatello

Salutations Cyberian!

It's been a great past month for us... no calamities and no one bothering us! Life is good!

Leo and I have gotten the security system set-up and running. It's far more advanced than anything we've done in the past, so hopefully it will be far more effective as well! I've been toying with sonic wavelength manipulators, thanks to our dear "friends" in the Foot Clan. It's actually a very effective strategy, and one that I really should have thought more about in the past. Leo and I are still going over strategies to best utilize the devices, and I'm (of course) still tweaking them!

The new Turtle Lair is quite awesome! It's much cleaner and drier than what I'm used to, which makes my lab much easier to maintain. I've had a terrific month, as there have been very few distractions taking me away from my work. I might even get back to work on my mini-time portal device and force field generator if things keep going this well! I really want to finish up work on the force field... that could be a huge benefit to have!

That's all for now! Have a great Summer! I think I'm going to! =)

Season's Greetings, Cyberfriend!

Life in the sewer has been busier than ever! Now that the Foot are finally finished (cross your fingers and toes!), I thought that I'd have more time to work on my various inventions... but no such luck! The dread Dragon Lord has kept us as busy as we ever were, not to mention the countless other scoundrels we've been running into lately. Just when I find a block of time to devote to my scientific theories, I end up having to tweak some type of vehicle or weapon to save our shells from yet another attack! Oh well, I'm very used to this by now!

I can't believe that Christmas is so close! Time has really been flying lately! Ever since Venus came into our lives, things have been going full tilt! Venus has adjusted very well to her new surroundings and she's been an inspiration to all of us.

Master Splinter seems much cheerier now that she's arrived as well. "Balance" is something that he keeps smiling about... I guess part of our destiny has been fulfilled now, and the Sensei is very contented about it... Splinter has always been more in touch with the metaphysical than any of us (save for Venus I guess). I must admit that the existence of this stuff is hard for me to grasp, but one thing I've learned through my studies on science and mathematics is that you've got to keep an open mind to make any progress... of course, maintaining this is easy for me, since I'm constantly surrounded by the supernatural! =)

I've decided to shelve my experiments with time travel for awhile. I'm starting to get concerned about the potential dangers of anomalies that can/will occur when we muck around with this. I know that I'll eventually crack it, but for now I'm getting bad vibes when I sit down with my past experiments. Venus is definitely got me thinking about karma and chi and I'm deciding to heed my subconscious at the moment. Sometimes you've got to follow your instincts. I've got plenty of other things to work with... my main focus is to get back to creating our force field. I've actually been able to maintain a small field for a short time, now I've got to recalculate my formula to make it more power efficient and much larger... and then I've got to go shopping! A Turtle's work is never done!

Take care! Don

Greetings Cyberfriend!

As par for the TMNT life course, we've been busy busy busy! The past few weeks have felt like... well, many weeks of the past! Several old friends and foes have reappeared these past 2 months... not always for the best!

After taking a few weeks of vacation, I decided that it was time to get back to work on my Chronoshift wand... a device that is closely related to the Time Sceptre that Renet used to zap us around time and space a few years ago. I must admit that this is technology that utterly baffles me more often than not, but I think I'm getting a better comprehension for the physics involved with the device. I know that I'll eventually figure it out... since I've met the future me on several occasions, and I told me so (which is a pretty weird experience, let me tell ya!)

So, as I was trying to generate a small interdimensional "poke" or "rift" (which I hoped would have no ill effect on anything), I accidently made a hole through the time/space continuum that was large enough for something to get through. I think this was a result of a brief power surge created by some unforseen static electricity created by a poorly shielded adapter to the gigagenerator. The surge was microscopic in levels, but the generator supercharges energy so dramatically that a miniature spike of power created a massive boost. I probably should have used a different material for the adapter... perhaps if I could cast some sort of porcelain acrimite, I might be able to avoid the electrical problems. Hmmm... perhaps I should go through what's left of the equipment that we salvaged from the Utroms to see if I can find the material as a reference point. There are real similarities between the Triceraton Transmat and the theories behind time travel. Maybe there's something there that I've overlooked in the past. The Triceratons used a material consisting of super-dense carbon, which is unavailable on Earth... perhaps this material could serve as a catalyst for my new adapter... hmmmm...

Oops!!! I'm losing my chain of thought here! I'm sorry! That tends to happen when I start thinking about my experiments! Where was I? Oh yes! The rift allowed someone to cross their dimension into ours... and as Fate would have it... it was Renet herself! I took this as a very positive sign, that was until I saw what was chasing her! It was a whole squadron of Triceratons, with laser rifles and grim visages (not that they are capable of any other)! There was no way to seal the rift in time to stop all of the evil aliens from getting through, but I did hit the "kill switch" in time to prevent most of them from making the hop. When the energy field subsided, Renet and I were staring 3 Triceraton warriors in the eye... uh oh!

They demanded that Renet turn over the Sacred Sands of Time Sceptre, which she had apparently "borrowed" from her overseer, Lord Simultaneous, once again. I reminded her what had happened the last time that she did this... and she reminded me that this time the consequences seemed more dire (she had a point! I was in my lab gear, with no means of defense within easy reach... and those Triceraton warriors looked angry and had itchy trigger fingers). Renet is a nice lady, but she isn't especially gifted with forethought... but faced with handing over the Sceptre, she chose what was perhaps the best thing to do in this situation... she activated it!

Renet invoked the device to send us back to Earth in the year 65,000,000 BC. Apparently Renet is a fan of "Jurassic Park"! As the Fates would have it, the five of us were transported back in time right into the midst of a titanic battle of beasts! An entire herd of real live (and smelly!) triceratops were being attacked by a large group of tyrannosaurs (which, unbelievably... smelled even worse! This is coming from a guy who lives in the sewers to boot!) I assure you that the tyrannosaurs were hunting the triceratops! There have been recent theories that the T Rex was not a hunter, but actually a large scavenger... but these guys were not sitting idly by, waiting for the triceratops to die of old age... they were doing their best to inflict some serious unnatural causes on the shorter dinos!

The smell of blood and battle momentarily distracted all of us, but particularly the Triceratons themselves. I suppose that this group was not very familiar with what their potential ancestors looked like, so the sight was awe-inspiring for them. Even more so, some type of "pack metality" must have kicked in, because the warriors started blasting the T Rexes to protect their "kinsmen"! Renet wanted to use the Sceptre to escape while this was happening, but I told her that we couldn't possibly leave them stranded here on Earth in this era, as no one could know what consequences it might bring. This was followed by a brief and annoying argument about the anomalous aspects of time travel ("Maybe we're supposed to leave them here!" "No we're not!" kind of stuff). As we argued, we were bushwhacked by yet another dino! A small pterodactyl decided that we looked like easy prey, so it swooped down and made its attack. Fortunately, it squawked and hissed as it made its descent, so we had warning (otherwise, we would have been totally eaten!) It was heading right for Renet! I managed to dive and cover her just as the beast's huge "beak" bit into my shell (which luckily enough, survived the assault with little more than a few scratches). However, as I hit Renet, she lost hold of the Sceptre, and it flew into the air... and of course the blasted ptery caught it!

As the creature started gaining altitude, taking with it our only hopes for returning home, I knew I had to act fast! One of the Triceraton warriors was about 10 yards from us, blasting away at the T Rexes... who were holding up unusually well against the lasers. I guess their small brains don't allow them to feel much pain... or at least they don't have the capacity to worry about it! One of the Triceratons wasn't so lucky, as I noticed a lone laser rifle and a chewed up boot about 5 yards beyond the firing warrior. We needed this gun to fire at the ptery, either in hopes that he'd drop the Sceptre or to (regretably) shoot it down from the sky.

So I made like a ninja and vaulted over the firing Triceraton and did a shoulder roll to reach the fallen laser rifle. This got the attention of both an agile T Rex and the Triceraton warrior, who turned his gun my way. I had the rifle, but I had no time to aim and fire on either of my adversaries! The warrior had me dead in his sights, and the tyrannosaur was closing in too fast from behind for me to get a shot off... just as I was thinking it was all over for me, the Triceraton fired a shot into the T Rex! The beast didn't slow its attack... but it did change targets! It went after the warrior! In one swift leap it was on him! He cried out "Save my brother!" and then he was killed! It was horrible!

Just then Renet screamed that the ptery was getting away! Remembering my mission, I took aim and shot the creature in the behind. It squawked and the Sceptre fell from its mouth! I yelled to Renet to retrieve it as I turned to face the smaller T Rex, which was wobbling very badly... apparently the last shot from the Triceraton had injured it severely, as before I could make my mind up whether or not to fire at it, it fell over in a heap. I heard the final Triceraton call out for help, and turned to find him cornered by two very large tyrannosaurs! He had stopped firing for some reason... I think he was in shock (as was I, no doubt!) I took aim and blasted one of the Rexes in the eye, and both turned on me. The eye shot had worked, as I could tell it had blinded the monster. I quickly fired again into the beast's other eye as the second beast ran towards me. What I hadn't counted on was their sense of smell, as the blind one turned and attacked the warrior! He tried to leap aside, but his leg was caught briefly in those massive jaws and crushed. With the warrior down, the blind T Rex turned my way... but I had other problems! The other tyrannosaur was bearing down on me! Just as it prepared to leap on me and squish me like a bug, a rogue triceratops came bolting out of the jungle and stabbed its huge horns into the unprotected belly of the T Rex! The attack had caught it totally by surprise, and it had suffered injuries serious enough to kill it!

The triceratops kicked dirt around and pushed the Rex carcass with its mighty horns, but the tyrannosaur was definitely dead. The triceratops then eyed the blind T Rex, which was sniffing the air uneasily and slowing for a retreat... to no avail! The big triceratops called out and then at least a full half dozen full grown triceratops exploded out of the jungle and smashed into the Rex from all directions! The tyrannosaur didn't have a chance to escape, and was quickly defeated by those that it once hunted! It was a terrible but awesome sight to see!

Renet came up behind me with the Sceptre. Once again she insisted that we leave, but I told her we had to save the Ticeraton warrior, as his brother had surely saved my life. Why he did this, I have no idea... probably he wanted to see that T Rex dead... but I'm not so sure. This will baffle me for the rest fo my life!

As we turned to check on the injured warrior's condition, we saw quite an unusual sight! Several smaller triceratops had gathered around him and were licking his wounds. The alien warrior was out cold... and we weren't sure what we should do. Then, the big 'tops who had killed the huge Rex gronked again, and the female dinos walked away from the Triceraton. I swear that this next part is true, despite how absurd that it sounds! Then the large 'tops motioned his head towards the fallen warrior, as if to tell us it was alright to take him now. The dinos eyes resonated with a keen intelligence... I'm sure that it was very sentient! Absolutely positive!!!

We walked cautiously over to the the fallen Triceraton... on the way we passed the corpses of 5 tyrannosaurs and 3 triceratops. We heard the shrieks and cries of the scavengers, already on their way to get what meat that they could. There was a group of 3 little 'tops standing by a fallen animal that must have been their mother... this was heart-breaking... but there was nothing that we could do now. As we reached the Triceraton, the big 'tops called out again and his troops made their way into the jungle... the 3 little ones falling in behind their leader. Just as the big one was disappearing into the forest as rear guard for his clan, he turned to look back at us... and I swear once again... he nodded!

I quickly assessed that the Triceratons damage wasn't life threatening, but he certainly needed medical attention... the saliva of the 'tops may help his wounds, or it might cause a terrible infection... either way, the leg was in bad shape and needed to be looked after in a hospital. I told Renet that she'd have to use the Sceptre to take us to a Triceraton warship, where the warrior could get the help that he needed. He'd surely lose the leg if we took him back to the sewer... I don't have the equipment needed to perform surgery on an alien (mutants I can handle, but not aliens!)

Needless to say, Renet was very unhappy about this! "They've, like, been hunting me! I'm not gonna help him! Like, no way!" Believe it or not, this is how she talks...

Anyway, I told her again that I was honor bound to save this Triceraton, and that's what we had to do, otherwise I would be ashamed. I asked her very nicely (i.e. begged) to help me, and she finally agreed. She used the magic words to invoke the Sceptre's unbelievable powers, and we were standing in the sick bay of a Tirceraton warship. The doctor about fell over when he saw us, but he quickly composed himself. He actually recognized me somehow... I guess the TMNT have a bit of a rep with the Triceratons. At first he was going to call the guards, but I quickly explained the story. When he inspected the hurt warrior, he disclosed that he was not a member of the official Triceraton Armed Force, but rather a mercenary. His theory was that the Triceratons that we encountered were hired by someone unknown to get the Sceptre from Renet... he said that the Triceratons have no use for the rod, as the Transmat provides them with all the power that they need. I didn't believe him, but I wasn't going to argue with him on a Triceraton warship!

My duty fulfilled, Renet and I departed as quickly as possible! She brought me home, and since then, I have not worked on my Time Wand since! She thanked me for the help... although now I'm not too sure if my device had opened that rift or if Renet had used her Sceptre to do it. Hmmm. As happened last time, Lord Simultaneous turned up and scolded Renet, and the pair were gone in a flash of cosmic energy. I hope she doesn't get into too much trouble. Simultaneous is a loud mouth, but he seems to be a nice being.

For now, I'll have to assume that my Time Wand is working to some degree, but obviously more tests are needed. But first, I have to ensure that the device is safe! Maybe now that I've thought about the adapter components I'll get back to work on it. I'll bet that if I could just find enough of that super-dense carbonite, I can not only shield the adapter properly, but perhaps even boost the gigagenerators abilities... maybe if I... well... time to get back to work! Take care!

And remember this... you can't always believe everything that you read in books! Particularly where dinosaurs are concerned!!! Your friend, Donatello

Greetings Cyberfriend!

Cooler temperatures have reared their heads in our part of the US of A... and once again another Summer has slipped by all too quickly! I really enjoy the Fall and Winter, more so than my brothers, I think. Raphael isn't at all fond of the cold and snow, but I quite enjoy any opportunity that I get to stay inside and work on my experiments and inventions... and there's nothing like several feet of snow to provide just that opportunity!

Since we've spent much of this year traveling the globe, I'm looking forward to spending a few (hopefully) quiet months in the lab! I'm keenly interested in digging out the old Chronoshift Wand and also getting back to work on the force field experiments. I'm fairly confident that I'll have at least one of these devices in working order by Spring. I suppose the Chronoshift (time travel) Wand can wait... once I figure that out, I'll have all the time in the world for other things... so I guess there's no hurry (thinking about stuff like that is mind boggling! :)

The past few weeks have been relatively quiet for most of us. Venus, Master Splinter, Leo and I have been hanging out around our humble home for the most part. Venus and Leo have been kind enough to help me finish setting-up my lab and getting everything in tip-top shape. After several moons of inactivity, there was a massive need for some maintenance to be done! Removing tarnish from copper wires, chasing the dust bunnies out of innumerable circuit boards and just general cleaning and scraping and shining and polishing that should have been done ages ago... but I hadn't been home much to be able to do it. Venus has taken quite an interest in technology, as she hasn't been particularly exposed to it in her past. She's a valuable assistant, as her patience is quite longer than any of my brothers... by a long shot!

Leo has been running extensive training programs for us once again with the help of Master Splinter. After so long away from any action, we needed to get back into shape, both mentally and physically. Months away from the City tend to deaden one's senses, and we were definitely far off of our game. Now that we've been actively training once again, we're all feeling a bit better. New York has its advantages for us for many reasons, but it's not the type of place where you want to be caught unaware (especially when you've got the kind of enemies that we do!)

Raphael has been spending alot of his time with the ex-Foot members... we barely see him lately, and when we do, it's usually only during our training and then he's back out the door. Personally, I think this whole situation with him taking on a leadership role will be good for him, perhaps helping him get over some of the anger that he has for Leo by teaching him what it's like to be the person in charge. Raph is really taking the role of mentor seriously, and I think it can only help him.

I think the biggest conclusion that I've arrived at this Summer is that it takes nearly as long to recover from a trip as it does to take them! I'm hoping that we'll stay put for the next 8 months! It will be nice to see the seasons change this year!

Well, now that the Fall cleaning is all done, I've got to get back to work! I hope everything is going great for you!

Your friend, Donatello

Greetings Cyberfriend!

Cooler temperatures have reared their heads in our part of the US of A... and once again another Summer has slipped by all too quickly! I really enjoy the Fall and Winter, more so than my brothers, I think. Raphael isn't at all fond of the cold and snow, but I quite enjoy any opportunity that I get to stay inside and work on my experiments and inventions... and there's nothing like several feet of snow to provide just that opportunity!

Since we've spent much of this year traveling the globe, I'm looking forward to spending a few (hopefully) quiet months in the lab! I'm keenly interested in digging out the old Chronoshift Wand and also getting back to work on the force field experiments. I'm fairly confident that I'll have at least one of these devices in working order by Spring. I suppose the Chronoshift (time travel) Wand can wait... once I figure that out, I'll have all the time in the world for other things... so I guess there's no hurry (thinking about stuff like that is mind boggling! :)

The past few weeks have been relatively quiet for most of us. Venus, Master Splinter, Leo and I have been hanging out around our humble home for the most part. Venus and Leo have been kind enough to help me finish setting-up my lab and getting everything in tip-top shape. After several moons of inactivity, there was a massive need for some maintenance to be done! Removing tarnish from copper wires, chasing the dust bunnies out of innumerable circuit boards and just general cleaning and scraping and shining and polishing that should have been done ages ago... but I hadn't been home much to be able to do it. Venus has taken quite an interest in technology, as she hasn't been particularly exposed to it in her past. She's a valuable assistant, as her patience is quite longer than any of my brothers... by a long shot!

Leo has been running extensive training programs for us once again with the help of Master Splinter. After so long away from any action, we needed to get back into shape, both mentally and physically. Months away from the City tend to deaden one's senses, and we were definitely far off of our game. Now that we've been actively training once again, we're all feeling a bit better. New York has its advantages for us for many reasons, but it's not the type of place where you want to be caught unaware (especially when you've got the kind of enemies that we do!)

Raphael has been spending alot of his time with the ex-Foot members... we barely see him lately, and when we do, it's usually only during our training and then he's back out the door. Personally, I think this whole situation with him taking on a leadership role will be good for him, perhaps helping him get over some of the anger that he has for Leo by teaching him what it's like to be the person in charge. Raph is really taking the role of mentor seriously, and I think it can only help him.

I think the biggest conclusion that I've arrived at this Summer is that it takes nearly as long to recover from a trip as it does to take them! I'm hoping that we'll stay put for the next 8 months! It will be nice to see the seasons change this year!

Well, now that the Fall cleaning is all done, I've got to get back to work! I hope everything is going great for you!

Your friend, Donatello

Greetings Cyberfriend!

Yikes! It's been many a moon since we've last written any updates! It's been hectic here in Turtleland, that's for sure! Things got complicated for me when Renet showed up again... with Savanti Romero in tow! But this was a far-flung future Savanti (well... he's still from our past, but far older than I'd ever seen him before). I was in my lab working on the force field generators and having little success. After we had celebrated Christmas together, I was so preoccupied that I hadn't seen much of my family for the first few weeks of 1999. I really wanted to get this tech down pat, but it's been resisting me of late. The major source of my problem is, as usual, power supply. Electricity is just too expensive to generate to serve as a viable source of power for the force fields. I've tapped into the City's lines on occassion to try some tests, and it proved that I'd need another power source if I'd ever hope to get things working properly. I apologize for the brief black out that I caused around 57th street that night... heh. Oops! Ah well... Planet Hollywood probably has emergency generators anyway. :)

One night while I was working on the force field problems, Master Splinter, Leo, Mikey and Venus came into my lab and asked me if I wanted to accompany them back to China to meet with some of Venus' old friends, who she knew through her deceased guardian. To be honest, it sounded like something innocuous and... boring. After having visited China a few months back, I was not in the mood for that kind of traveling again. Leo, Mikey and Venus were disppointed, but the Sensei could see that I was preoccupied with my work, and truth be told, I needed some time alone with my inventions. I think Master Splinter could sense that. I took a few weeks off over the Holidays, and I was itching to get back to business. I've seen some of the things I've done in the future (thanks to our bizarre time traveling escapades), and as odd as it may seem, I feel like I'm in a competition with myself to make sure that I accomplish the tasks that I've seen me do (geez... this type of talk gets confusing real fast!) Seeing the future-me was unnerving in more ways than one... if you ever get the chance to meet the future-you, take my advice and avoid it! I really think that the future is best left unknown! I feel all kinds of extra pressures on myself now, and it's only exasperated by my brothers when they make jokes about me loafing around... I don't feel like I have a moment to spare anymore. I guess I should calm down, since the future will be... but then I'm always thinking "But maybe I met the future-me because it served to motivate the past-me". I hate time anomalies!

Anyway, on a later night I was working in the lab (a few days after Splinter and the others had departed), and who should show up but Renet and Savanti! Not who I was exactly hoping to see! I was brooding about time travel as I worked, and then in pops Renet with her Time Sceptre and "companion". Oh brother! The both of them looked more than a little worse for wear. Renet seemed a few years older than she was the last time that we had met, but Savanti seemed to have aged a thousand years. He was a shell of his former self, barley able to move and weighing at least 200 punds less than he once had. If I didn't know better, I'd have felt sorry for him... but knowing how insidious he once was, seeing him in this state was not too surprising. You reap what you sow, and Savanti had never planted anything of value that I know of.

Renet wanted to see Leo right away, but I told her he was gone for a few weeks at least... the only ones around were Raph and I, and Raph rarely came home these days because he was off with the Foot (this news startled her... all she said was "Already?!" and got a very concerned look on her face... not very comforting to see, knowing that she can jump all over the time line and see our future. Who knows what she knew? But I knew better than to ask... I'll find out the old fashioned way and wait and see). Savanti didn't care about Leo or the others, he just wanted me to help them. I think Renet wanted to talk things over with Leo and Master Splinter before proceeding, but oddly enough, we were strapped for time and she couldn't just pop out and come back in a few weeks.

What it boiled down to was that Lord Simultaneous, Renet's "boss", had been captured by some sort of evil time-lord type being known as Dark Lady Thurishtia (DLT from now on... her full name is a real bear to type over and over :). Apparently DLT has been a nemesis of Lord Simultaneous' for countless eons... he was trying to maintain some sort of balance through the timeline while she was striving to exert her chaotic influence over how things went. It turned out that at some point Savanti had gotten her attention and the two had worked together to stop Simultaneous... but of course Savanti had tried to trick her in the process. So DLT had punished Romero through dozens of years of hard labor (so he wasn't actually a thousand years older, he just looked it. This meant trouble, because it indicated that Savanti was only weakened through harsh treatment... and he might revive at any time). As it turned out, Savanti's tactics had been sound, and DLT defeated Simultaneous using his plan. As is usual for Savanti, if he hadn't gotten so power-mad he would have succeeded... but beings of his ilk rarely learn any lessons... Krang and Shredder certainly never did!

DLT had used Savanti's plan to capture Simultaneous in a temporal energy field. Savanti had surmised that a few simple magiks used in combination with DLT's powers could create an energy stasis field that would basically cause a "short" in the time field as Simultaneous attempted to plane shift, trapping him between zones (I think... this stuff was pretty complicated, and Renet and Savanti took turns telling different pieces of the story and spoke so quickly I couldn't keep up very well). What happened was Savanti had planned your basic "I'll get his attention while you zap him" approach, and it worked like a charm. DLT ported SR in, he caused a problem for Simultaneous (casting a few seemingly useless spells while he was there) and then DLT popped him back to her time zone. Simultaneous fell for the bait, and when he attempted to follow SR, DLT sprung her trap and Lord Simultaneous was trapped in the nether realms of time and space. Had Savanti been happy to play second fiddle, the story might end there, except while DLT was casting her own spells to ensnare Simultaneous, Savanti was trying to use his own powers to trap her as well. But DLT is far more powerful than Savanti thought, and his attempts bounced off of her protective spells like water off a duck's back. So she banished him to a prison world labor camp.

Renet was left alone in Simultaneous' castle, and didn't know what to do. Apparently DLT was allowed free reign for at least a dozen of our years... so whatever that might result in is anyone's guess. Renet tried to battle DLT once and was lucky to escape with her life... but her Time Sceptre was damaged in the fight. She tried to round up some help to go after DLT, but she was too late, as part of the Dark Lady's plan was to take out all the secondary powers in the megaverse prior to her assault on Simultaneous... so Renet had no one to turn to for help... except Savanti himself. The evil ex-time lord was her only hope... so she rescued him from the prison world. For some reasn, Savanti decided that I might be able to help... a job that I certainly didn't feel capable of handling! I was having trouble figuring out how to power a force field, what hope did I have in conquering an evil time sorceress?

But of course, Savanti had a plan. If we could just stop him from trying to mess it up, maybe we could be successful...

Unfortunately, we were stuck with a mostly burnt out Time Sceptre... Renet's battle with DLT had damaged it tremendously, and each time she had used it since, it apparently became weaker. Perfect... it's power supply was shot... ugh! It also had become less trustworthy, as Renet had hoped to have arrived in our time at a point before Raph had taken his sabbatical... but she missed by a few months. She told me in secret that she had missed rescuing Savanti by many years, but she didn't want to risk any extra trips with the Sceptre working so poorly, and she was actually more comfortable with him in his weakened state. I can't say I blamed her for that.

So our first job (and the only one SR wanted me part of) was to fix Renet's time stick... I'd been playing around with my own version of one of these awhile back, so I at least had a vague notion of how they operated. The problem was as simple as it sounded, the sceptre was running low on "battery" power... and after spending a few days researching things (boy am I glad Raph never showed up during that time... he probably would have tried to kill Savanti), I finally had my theory. Renet and Romero didn't like my findings one bit...

It turned out the the sceptre was tied directly into Lord Simultaneous himself... as his life force fades, so too did the Sceptre's power. What we had to do was obvious... we had to rescue Simultaneous first, and go after DLT second (Savanti was adamantly against this plan, but we had no choice. He still wasted a few hours of our time with pointless arguments and sulking. The reason he didn't want Simultaneous freed was because he feared the time lord's wrath if/when we rescued him. After our first encounter with Simultaneous, I understood Savanti's fears, but like I said before... you reap what you sow). Without Simultaneous' help, Romero and Renet might be stranded someplace when the Time Sceptre stopped operating. Renet understood what this meant as well... if the Sceptre was to stop working entirely, that would mean only one thing... Lord Simultaneous himself had died.

Fortunately Savanti finally agreed to our rescue plan... his abilities were practically non-existent at this point, DLT's attack and 12 years on a slave-labor world had taken their toll on him. He needed the Sceptre's power more than ever. Alhough it meant facing his oldest enemy in a forced alliance, he knew that it was his only hope to recover any part of his past glory. More importantly to the treacherous ex-time lord, he wanted to exact revenge upon the Dark Lady. The good news was that he knew how to locate Simultaneous... the bad news was we'd need a great deal of magical energy to free him... and we didn't have much. Once again I was haunted by the problems of power supply! It was obvious from how poorly the Sceptre was operating that Simultaneous was fading fast, so we had to move. I volunteered to help them, and despite SR's initial resistance, they agreed to let me accompany them. I wasn't about to let Renet go with Romero on her own... she's a bit goofy, but she is our friend.

Before we departed I'd decided that we'd better try to boost the Sceptre's powers. I know nothing of supernatural "magik", but I know a few things about science. I'd had a notion that maybe I could reverse the field generator on the Sceptre to absorb Savanti's inane magical abilities rather than sapping the ever-weakening Simulataneous. Needless to say, Romero hated this idea, but after talking things over for quite some time, he finally agreed. There was no guarantee that I'd even succeed (and I didn't mention this, but there was a good chance I'd ruin the Sceptre altogether in the effort. But nothing ventured, nothing gained). It was a fairly simple matter of discerning how the Time Sceptre was "grafted" to Simulataneous, it was an ancient artifact and very primitive by other standards. I found an small sampling of an organic substance in one secret compartment of the wand. I analyzed it and was at first totally baffled by what it was, but when I took a blood sample from Renet and Romero, I discovered that it was a small, dehydrated sample of Simultaneous' blood. I learned from Savanti the importance of "blood sacrifice" to the old magic items... but from the amount of blood that Simultaneous had left, I'd say "sacrifice" was a bit of an exagerration. I stuck a pin in Savanti's finger and squeezed a drop of his (very unusually constructed) blood into the Sceptre's compartment. Nothing happened... so I went back to work, analyzing the wand, scanning it and compiling complex 3D computer graphics to explore its interior... and that's when I found the second secret "room". Using the 3D map of the Sceptre and zooming in at a magnification of 100, I saw the true compartment that demanded the blood sample. The problem was, how the devil I was going to be able to open such a miniscule door. Renet said that Simulataneous probably reduced himself and walked in... great... none of us had the ability to shrink to the size of an atom... now what?

Renet suggested that we use the Sceptre's failing power to transform Savanti to the size we needed and have him "install" the sample. That part I thought would work fine, however, I explained to her that once he did that, he might be stuck in the wand, as the Sceptre would be powered by Savati's own strength at that point. Any extraneous action that he took would only serve to weaken both him and the rod, possible exponentially due to his close proximity to the power supply itself. This could short out the wand entirely, and we needed it to be as close to fully charged as possible. She didn't agree with me, as she figured Simultaneous must have done the very thing we were discussing... but I wasn't so sure that the time lord had actually gone in the Sceptre himself. He could have had someone else do it for him. As we discussed this, Romero got impatient, grabbed the wand, invoked a few words of power and disappeared into thin air. The Sceptre bounced around a little bit, so we knew what he had done... after a few moments it started glowing and spinning in mid air. Just as suddenly a low wail started that quickly rose into a horrendous roar. The wand kept spinning faster and faster and the light that it emitted intensified greatly as the noise continued to rise in decibel. I thought we'd go blind from the light and deaf from the noise. I grabbed Renet's hand to get her out of the lab before something horrible happened.

And then all went still.

The wand dropped to the floor and stopped glowing. "Like, wow!" was all I could get out of Renet for several minutes. I waited about 20 minutes before I picked up the Time Sceptre... despite what had just happened, it didn't look any different than it had before. I quickly took it to my apparatus and scanned it... and sure enough, it radiated much more energy at that point. I surmised that Savanti had succeeded in transfering the power-drain to himself... but now we had a bigger problem... as he was the only one who knew where to find Simultaneous! As Renet and I pondered this, the wand began spinning again...

And Savanti appeared out of nowhere and caught the wand in mid-air. He was now fully restored to his former self, and had a wicked grin on his face... "You fools!" he laughed. "I knew that you'd fall for that scheme... but you certainly took your time in doing so! I thought I played my role well, did I not?" Needless to say... Renet and I were taken aback! But then just as suddenly, Savanti transformed back to his weakened state and he started laughing. "Heh heh.. sorry... couldn't resist. Just a little joke..."

I can't say that I enjoyed his sense of humor, but I was happy to see him... especially in his weakened appearance. He said that he'd cast a very minor illusion, and that he didn't know how long his powers would last, as he could feel the Sceptre sapping them with a voracious appetite.

So the next step was to use the Time Sceptre to teleport us to where Simultaneous was being held in stasis. Savanti thought that freeing him from DLT's spells would be difficult, as she was a far greater sorceror than he... but perhaps we'd get lucky. I had a good idea that we would. Savanti handed the Sceptre to Renet and began an incantation. She held the wand above her head as the room started spinmning and some became a vortex that engulfed the three of us.

...blackness ...

It stretched towards infinity in all directions. Somehow, I have no idea how, I could see Renet and SR fine. Renet later explained that I was viewing their auras... but I've seen plenty of auras and they've never revealed stark details before... but who am I to argue? It was definitely my first trip to the netherzone between time and space. Simultaneous was nowhere to be seen. "We're here." Romero said, a wicked smile creasing his lips... I was ready for another trick or bad joke, but none came. I suppose he was nervous, becasue he would soon be trying to free his mortal enemy... who he had help ensnare.

"Which way?" I asked... I couldn't see anything anywhere.

"No way. We're, like, already here. There is no 'way' here. We're just here, y' know." Renet stated.

"So where's Lord Simultaneous?" I asked. And no sooner had the last syllable left my lips than he was there... he appeared to be floating right in front of us, although we all had apparent solid footing. He also appeared to be unconscious...

"You try to wake him with the wand... I'll try to break Thurishtia's spells. We must do this quickly, and forgive the pun, simultaneously. The powers of the Scpetre are both weakened and strengthened here, and I know not what will happen when we try to use its powers while I attempt to use my own."

With that, Renet nodded and commanded the Sceptre to �awaken Simultaneous at the same instant that Romero started several spells, wildly gesticulating. And then we all froze, immobile, but aware of our surroundings. I guess Savanti's mouth had been frozen open, because I heard him gurgle with fear as a figure approached from the distance.

She was the most beautiful woman that I've ever seen. Clad in a full-length black leather gown with a high collar and a long flowing cape made of something that seemed to be alive, as it moved with its own purpose, rather than from wind current or gravity. In her left hand she carried a staff made of an obsydian mahogany... carved in the form of a long snake. It's jeweled eyes gleamed with a fiery life. Her face was as pale as porcelain and set off starkly from her all-black garb. Her lips were bright crimson and her large eyes were both alarmingly warm and icy cold at the same time. Her long hair was pulled back tightly against her skull, and cascaded down her back with black tendrils. If Mikey had been here to say it, she would best be described as "awesome"... but I was thinking more along the lines that she looked like an executioner rather than a dark angel.

"Ah, Savanti dear. You're looking... interesting. I see a few years of hard labor and minimal talent has not stilled thy treacherous heart. I'll always admire that in you, dear child." She was creepy, alright. She approached Romero as she talked, and stroked his cheek, almost remorsefully. He couldn't move a muscle, but sweat began pooring down his forehead. I admit that I felt sorry for him at that moment.

She turned from Savanti and snapped her fingers, and he was gone. Where she sent him I had no idea, but from the look of terror in his eyes, I'm sure that it wasn't anyplace good. She then turned on Renet and snatched the wand from her grasp. "Truly astounding how children's toys can so often trip elders..." Thurishtia mused as she turned the Time Sceptre over in her hand. "I sense that this has been attuned to our dear Savanti... not bad, turtleman" with this she addressed me and then walked over to face me. I was worried, but I can't say that I was afraid of her. Something in her eyes was telling me not to be frightened, although her grim smile spoke volumes otherwise. "These are matters that you should not concern yourself with, turtleman. You have other destinies and other talents... I advise you to trouble yourself no more with magiks... you don't have the stomach for it." With that she broke the Time Sceptre in half, and we all heard a howl of pain and fear from a distance... there was no doubt that it had been Savanti making the cry.

I tried to focus, to center myself, so that I might b able to move. I didn't know what I might do, but I knew I had to do something... but all of my efforts were for naught. I hate the supernatural more than anything. It doesn't make sense.

Dark Lady Thurishtia then walked back to Renet. "What to do with you, child?" she thought as she tapped her forefinger against her chin. As she started to snap her fingers an old, vaguely familiar voice rang out.

"That's quite enough, mother." it said in a loud booming voice that I remebered as Lord Simultaneous. Suddenly I was half-freed... Thurishtia's attention was quickly and drastically diverted. I could turn my head just enough to see that Simultaneous was free... whatever Savanti and Renet had managed to do before DLT showed up, it had been enough. I had the idea that if we removed the Sceptre's power drain from Lord Simultaneous, perhaps it would grant him the extra boost in power that he'd need to break free. Perhaps all three of our efforts had worked. Simultaneous was standing with his arms crossed, and was almost glowing with anger. "I never thought you would stoop so low, mother... killing father was bad enough, but trying to slay me is simply unforgiveable".

From that point things got loud, bright and nosiy again. A huge magical battle ensued that I could only see through my peripheral vision, as I didn't yet have full control of my motor functions. No further discussion was made... apparently Thurishtia had said all she had to say to Simultaneous in the past. After what seemed an eternity, I suddenly fell to my knees... I could move again! Renet was by my side and she helped me to my feet. Both Simultaneous and Thurishtia were gone... but we were still apparently in the netherzone. I was happy to be alive... but I was afraid that we were now trapped where Simultaneous had been!

"Like, whoa... she was like really bummed to see old Simmy among the living! And I've never seen him throw his weight around like that before! Like.. wow!" Renet was saying as I was busy walking around looking for some clue as to what had happened... but all was blackness.

"Like... uh oh..." Renet murmured... and I turned to see Thurishtia standing before us. She looked as darkly radiant as ever. "My son has requested a happy ending, and so I am compelled to grant his final wish of me..." with that she snapped her fingers and I was back with Renet in Lord Simultaneous' keep. Simultaneous was nowhere to be found, but his most powerful magical artifact was... the Digital Cosmic Quartz... an item infinitely more powerful than the Time Sceptre! There was a note attached to it that read "Renet: I have done my best to teach you the discipline you need to be an effective governor. The time has arrived for you to assume your role. Use the Quartz well and as I have taught you. Thurishtia will trouble you no more, but I can longer serve my former role, as the sands have shifted and I now have other duties. Protect that which needs protecting. Be wary and be careful and for goodness sake be wise for a change!" it was signed by Lord Simultaneous.

"Like... WOW!" was all Renet said for about 45 minutes.

Eventually Renet came to understand what had happened and what her new "job" was. It was a difficult transition for her to make, and I stayed with her for several weeks to help her adjust. She was all alone now in a vast megaverse... heiress to a throne that she never assumed she would ascend. But she is a good person, and she will do a fine job. I'm no magician and I can't see into the future, but I am a good judge of character.

Once Renet had settled into the concept of being a time lord herself, she began to set things right that Thurishtia had disrupted earlier. She met no resistance. Her final act before taking me home was to seek out Savanti Romero... to find out if he had survived, if nothing else. It was a long search, we spent over a week just doing this, but we found him. Thurishtia had sent him to a far removed planet in an ancient time. She had removed any magical abilities he had left when she destroyed the Time Sceptre... and he had been captured and imprisoned by a primitive people. They had not been kind to him. He was in worse shape than ever once we found him... his body was battered and bruised and his spirit was broken. Renet took him back to her Keep and restored him to his former body (Simultaneous had mutated him into a demon-like being as a form of punishment). I pitied Savanti then, as he lie in bed in his human-looking form. He was an utterly defeated old man, haunted by the horrors of imprisonment and despondent over his lost abilities. He seemed to be dying, and Renet saw to it that he was as comfortable as possible. I cautioned her that he might betray her goodwill, but she insisted on helping him. She was sure that his efforts to free Simultaneous had allowed the Lord to save us all in the end. Perhaps she's right... perhaps Savanti's final act as a free being had been one of goodwill. I'd like to think so anyway.

We buried him a week later in a flower garden Renet had planted at the base of the castle. She had made many changes to the keep and its grounds since Simultaneous' departure. "Simmy's tastes were grim, monochromatic and yucky!" she exclaimed to me after I asked her about the goldfish she had placed in the moat "If I'm going to be a guardian of goodness throughout time and space, I at least want my house to look happy!" I didn't say anything when she painted the drawbridge pink.

She took me home shortly thereafter. All of my family was back, and while we were all a little worse for wear, we were very excited to be together once again. Our time in this world is far too short. It's a real blessing to have good friends and family to share our brief moments with. I count my blessings everyday and am thankful that I've been given so many.

Thanks for reading this. I hope you've been well, my friend.

Sincerely, Donatello

Greetings Cyberfriend!

Wow... another summer has flown by and we're already heading into fall! It's really quite incredible how fast time flies by when you're busy, and as usual, busy have we been! The summer heat waves have been gone for many weeks and the cooler night temperatures have been a welcome change from the humidity of the past 3 months. I don't remember too many summers that had been as hot as this past one (not that I've been around all that long, but I have been around the block a few times now :) We didn't have much rainfall this year either, which makes the sewers a bit safer to live in, but of course causes other problems (the rats were coming out in droves for awhile... I don't really know why... I guess I should look into that. Speaking of which, we haven't seen the Rat King in ages, which is a good thing. I think we've pretty much worked out a "live and let live" policy with him).

So where have we been? What have we been up to? Where to begin?!

I guess I should start at the beginning (it's as good a place as any :) As we said last report, things were quiet this summer. New York City isn't as dangerous as it once was, and even though the Foot are back and Shredder himself has returned from the grave once again, we haven't really run into much trouble topside (except for Raphael of course... which is completely due to the fact that he goes looking for trouble. Raph will always be Raph, I'm afraid). It all began, as most of our adventures do, with somebody showing up out of the blue. This time it was Zak from Dimension X. He 'ported in one night as we were having dinner and playing Battle Jeopardy (we sit around and watch Jeopardy and whoever guesses a wrong question gets punched in the arm by all playing. Raph came up with this... leave it to Raph to find a violent way to play Jeopardy. Of course, poor Raph guesses wrong more than anybody else, so I suppose he wishes that he hadn't come up with this idea :)

So Zak turned up with a terrible story. It seems that since Krang was banished (yet again), many of his allies had turned the entire dimension into a battlezone, with each vying for complete power. General Traag had emerged as the worst of all, and had gathered enough of his Rock Soldiers and other allies together to be a real threat. The worst news was that Traag's strongest ally was the Triceratons... a major threat in their own right, now doubled by allying with Traag. Zak explained that Traag and Garnack (the Triceraton military leader) had targeted the Neutrino's homeworld as their base of operations. The scout ships had already arrived and much of their planet was already overrun with warriors. The Neutrinos aren't equipped to deal with the massive military might of the Triceratons or the Rock Soldiers... so the combination of the two was devastating. Zak also said that Dask and Kala had been captured early on in the invasion trying to stop the attack.

So we had our mission, as daunting as it was. We had to turn back the invasion and rescue Dask and Kala. Not easy tasks! To be honest, I was only interested in rescuing Kala and Dask, I didn't think we had a chance to stop two invading armies, but I knew that we had to try... our friends were in danger!

So Zak teleported us all to his homeworld. Even Master Splinter decided to come along, in case he could determine a weakness in Traag and Garnack that we couldn't see. I also think he was excited to get out of the sewer for awhile (not that I blame him :) Zak took us to a secret underground headquarters (so much for escaping the sewers) where the Neutrinos were trying to set up their defenses. There were probably 3000 Neutrinos working there, trying to thwart the invasion. The Neutrinos aren't a violent people, so they don't have much of a military, but they are quite advanced and have many gadgets (unfortunately the same can be said of the Triceratons). The "rebels" were doing their best to fight against a better euipped and vastly superior military using guerilla tactics as best they could... but all in all this was a seemingly hopeless battle. I felt like I was suddenly living inside of "The Empire Strikes Back" movie, and it was not a good feeling! I mentioned this to Leo and his eyes lit up... "All we need is some X-Wings!" he exclaimed. Um... right... that and about 10,000 more troops!

I set to work right away with the Neutrino scientists to work on defenses for the planet. I learned quite a bit about things that I've been wondering about for ages, but unfortunately, I missed all of the action because I was in the lab. You'll have to read the others' reports to see what happened behind the scenes. I can tell you that we all made it home in one piece!

I hope that everything is going well for you! We'll talk to you soon!

Sincerely, Donatello

Greetings Cyberfriend!

Phew! Another long break in between messages! I'd like to say that it's because we were on vacation, but the truth is that we all spent more than our fair share of time sick with whatever bug Master Splinter had caught before the Holidays... or as it ended up for us, the Holi-daze.

After Master Splinter had been sick for a week or so, Venus was the next one to catch the virus. Splinter hadn't even recovered by the time that Venus got sick. She probably caught it next because she was spending the most time caring for our Sensei, as she knows about so many different healing herbs and teas. Unfortunately nothing seemed to protect Master Splinter or Venus (or any of the rest of us for that matter) from this bug. After Venus came down with it, I decided to run some tests and it turned out to be a mutation of the flu... so we were being attacked by one of our own kind! ;)

Since I was working with the virus, of course I was the next to get sick. I have lots of cool gadgets but my lab is far from sterile, so down I went with the worst case of the flu I've ever had. I couldn't even get out of bed for about a week and a half. It was nasty!

While Venus and I were sick and Splinter was just getting back on his feet, it fell to Michaelangelo to become our nursemaid. Just about the time that Venus was feeling well enough to start some minor work again, Mikey got sick. I really wanted to get into my lab to try to come up with a vaccine before Raph and Leo got it, but I just couldn't. Even on the days where I could stand up and walk a bit, my head hurt too much to do any work. It was frustrating, to say the least.

Raph was doing double, triple and quadruple time on sentry duty by now, with Venus, Mikey and I all out of commission. Leo began taking care of us as best he could (don't tell him I said this, but Leo's a real clutz in the kitchen... he can barely boil water :) Master Splinter helped where he could, but the effects of being ill for so long were hard on him and although he was finally well, he was still too weak to move around much. Naturally, once Venus was back to brewing her healing potions, Leo got sick and collapsed. Unfortunately this happened while he was out on patrol during a snow storm. Raph was taking one of his rare four hour sack times when Leo thought he heard one of our alarms go off. Rather than wake Raph (who was severely sleep deprived by now), he decided to check it himself... even though he was already sick and sweating with a mild fever. Master Splinter and I were sound asleep, so we couldn't stop him, and Venus was with Mikey, trying some new concoctions. Mikey seemed to get it the worst of us all... he was unconscious much of 2 weeks, and we were getting very worried and frightened. He had a high fever and was never lucid, so Venus was working her best magic to try to help the poor guy out. But anyways, back to Leo! As luck would have it, the alarm went off due to a collapse of snow from a sewer grate, so it wasn't any threat. However, Leonardo wanted to make sure that the snow had fallen into our domain because of gravity and not because of a prowler, so he went topside. Apparently he was searching the alleys when he blacked out, and right about that time the blizzard hit the City full force.

A few hours later Raph got up to check on us and asked where Leo was, which none of us knew. Raph tried to call our fearless leader via the Turtle Com, but there was only static as an answer. We all got tense and Raph geared up to go looking for him. After about an hour Raph radioed in that he hadn't seen any sign of Leo, but he'd found where the snow had fallen. By this time it was getting deep and the weather outside was definitely frightful. Raph went to the surface to see what he might find, but the conditions were almost white-out and the wind and temps were getting deadly. Raph knew he had to find Leo fast, as he wouldn't be able to see or move in a short time due to the weather. Once he got topside there wasn't any sign of Leo's whereabouts... the snow had long ago filled in his tracks. Fortunately, the Turtle Coms saved us because Raph activated the tracing device and located Leo buried in the snow beside several trash cans. It's a good thing we keep the batteries fully charged on them, or Leo would have been toast (or more appropriate, ice). The good news was that the trash cans had provided a bit of shelter for our boy in blue and had saved him from the ravages of the wind... but he was truly blue with cold by the time Raph got him out. So now we had two brothers looking like they were on the brink of death!

Raph and Venus got Leo into bed and started giving him what medicine we had. Master Splinter contacted Mikey via the astral plane to see how his psyche was doing, and he seemed well enough and told the Sensei not to worry, his body just needed rest. When we got that news we felt much better and everyone focused their attention to Leo. I was able to start doing some more lab work by now, and I had some success isolating the virus and finding an antidote... too late for everyone except Rapheal. I gave Raph the vaccine and hoped that it would help him, but he was already looking wore out due to his lack of sleep and night of digging through the snows of the blizzard. I told him to get a good night's sleep, as no one would be causing any trouble on that wicked weather eve. Raph did get some shut-eye... about 18 hours straight! He looked much better when he woke, and although he had a bit of the sniffles, he seemed to be doing pretty well considering what we'd all been going through. I don't know if my vaccine helped or if Raph just had a tougher constitution than the rest of us, in hindsight, probably a little bit of both.

Leo also recovered quickly, thanks in large part to Venus' various medicines. By the time Leo got sick, she had a good idea of what was working and what wasn't. She also forced Raph to drink 3 glasses of the mixture a day until he stopped sneezing. This took about a week, and although Raph acted like each new dose would kill him, he drank them all and got better. He was a good boy, ;)

Mikey was the last one to get well, but once he was up, he was 100% better. One night he was in his typical feverish sleep, and the next morning he was waxing his snowboard as if nothing had ever been wrong. I guess all of the sleep was exactly what he needed... that and about a dozen pizzas once he was awake. :)

So that's the news from Turtle Hospital... we're all feeling much better now and the weather is finally looking better after a month of brutal cold and big snow. As the saying goes, COWABUNGA!

Take care!

Sincerely, Donatello

Greetings Cyberfriend!

Long time no sea! Heh heh! I just love awful puns, don't you?

The truth of the matter is, it's been a long time of nothing but sea for us! We finally went out to check on Ray Fillet and crew and found a mess of trouble out in the middle of the ocean. The Murk Mariner was leading a ruthless band of pirates and the Mutanimals were trying to put the kabosh on their operation. Mikey had been trying to reach the guys for weeks to no avail, and when he finally got me to try with my supertransitor radios, I noticed right away that there were strange disturbances in the radio currents going to that area. That could only be a few things, and the most likely was that someone was purposefully jamming the frequencies... with this news we immediately revved up the Turtle sub and set a direct course for Mighty Mutanimal central!

I enabled all of our stealth systems and it was smooth going until we got within a few miles of the sight, when we suddenly began to get sea bombed! Strange homing depth charges were zeroing in on our position and threatening to sink us! I set course for the bottom of the sea and took evasive action while I tried to figure out who was shelling us and how they knew where we were. Ray Fillet swam up to our vessel and once we were at a safe depth, he came aboard. Ray explained the whole situation, how he and the Mutanimals had been battling the Murk Mariner and his band of pirates for weeks. He looked very relieved to finally have some help, although I don't think we offered much assistance initially!

It was difficult going, to say the least! Despite our best efforts, there was little that we could do to thwart the pirates' technology. The stuff they had was unbelievable, and I wish I knew where they got it from. As it is, I managed to bring a few things back with me that I'll be studying in depth (no pun intended :) as time permits. The aquatic electromagnetic force field that Murk's ship emitted is of particular interest to me... I have no idea how it works, but I managed to grab a few pieces of it to look at. Hopefully I'll be able to figure it out.

After weeks of trying to do major scale battles, Venus finally solved the case by getting onboard Murk's craft and using her Shinobi tricks on him. I was dead set against letting her go in alone, but after a long and often bitter argument, I shrugged my shoulders and went back to my work. If Venus wanted to get herself killed and everyone else thought that it was a good idea, who was I to argue? To be honest, it still annoys me that things happened this way, but it all worked out okay, so I guess I should be happy. Dreadmon and Venus gave Leo a lambasting for being a male chauvinist pig when he said he didn't want her to go, and this was equally disturbing! I didn't think anyone should go thru with Venus' deadly plan... gender had nothing to do with it! Anyways, it's all over now so dredging up past problems won't do much good. Venus' strategy worked perfectly (thankfully), so all's well that ends well. I'm just happy that it ended well!

On a happier note, that emergency shelter that Master Splinter wanted us to build is done. And on an odd note, Master Splinter has moved in! He said that it is time that we lived on our own, at least for the summer. He said he also needs the time to himself, to meditate on where we should go next... I don't know what he means by this. The Sensei gets more mysterious with each passing year. Raph and Mike are excited to have the place to ourselves, but that's only because they don't like doing the chores that Master Splinter makes them do. I fear that it will now be up to Leo to boss them around, and I don't think that's going to go over very well. We shall see! Master Splinter always has a good reason for doing what he does, I just hope this doesn't backfire. Raph and Leo have been getting along great lately, so I'd hate to see that fall apart over who didn't do the dishes.

Other than that, not much else is happening. Since our return, Leo has had me running double patrols and practices. I'm in good shape now, which feels nice, but I'm yearning to get back in the lab... but since Leo is in charge I don't want to cause problems, so I'll do what he says for awhile. I don't want to set a bad example for Raph and Mike to follow!

Take care!

Sincerely, Donatello

Greetings Cyberfriend!

Oh boy... things have not been good... not at all! The Rat King attacked us and got inside of our defenses (thanks to using his mind-control powers on Master Splinter) and we've lost almost all of our stuff! It's HORRIBLE! Everything that we had that could be chewed apart has been... everything! It's the worst thing that's ever happened to us, and some pretty awful stuff has happened!

Venus has the story if you want to read it, I can't go through it all again. It's been a terrible experience and I just don't want to think about it right now. I've got so much stuff to do it isn't funny. We don't know when the Rat King will strike again, so I'm working 20 hour days trying to get our defenses back in working order, but I have practically no raw material to work with. The guys have been doing their best to supply me with stuff, but it's simply not enough. It took me years to build up my lab, and now a good portion of it is destroyed. I'm just devastated.

I'm afraid that I just don't have the time to go into any further detail on anything, I'm just too preoccupied with what has to be done. It's a total nightmare, but we'll get through it.

Thanks for dropping by. I REALLY hope that your summer went well.

Take care!

Sincerely, Donatello

alutations cyberfriend!

Another year has begun! Hard to believe it because the time passes so quickly, especially when you're rebuilding your laboratory!

After the troubles we had this past Fall it looked like we were going to move away, back to the Northampton, Massachusetts area, to find some peace. However, as time went on, we decided that we really couldn't, at least not for awhile. Casey and April have been helping us out so much, replacing lost furnishings and supplying moral support (as they always have), that we couldn't abandon them. Casey can't leave the City now because he's got a really good job, and he has to think of his daughter, Shadow, and their future. She loves the City and doesn't want to leave, and truth be told, that's how we all feel for the most part. While we've suffered more than our share of hardships here, it is our home. We've gotten over the problems of the past, so we'll do it once again. Michaelangelo has become very attached to Shadow, so we can't leave her (or Casey and April) behind.

I've have been making pretty good progress restoring my lab to its former glory, thanks to help from Raph, Casey and April. I'd been able to stash some extra equipment away and Raph knew where the Foot had some stuff as well. After a bit of a harrowing adventure, we got some really good equipment from our old foes, but it will take some time to get it operating again. April also had a bit of stuff in storage that she was using back in the days when she was Baxter Stockman's assistant. While the equipment was a bit tarnished and disfunctional, it has proven a valuable asset. Baxter, as you may know, invented the Mousers, so the apparatus that April had was very useful and enabled me to reestablish some security measures. Unfortunately the infrared sensors of the past are all gone, but at least we have a radar/sonar/motion detection system in place. This is effective against all but our most dangerous foes, which is a minor comfort. Casey was the main man this year, buying me lots of great new circuit boards and other computer hardware that will help immensely once I've sorted through it all.

Master Splinter has been doing terrific and he sends his best to all of you who are always wishing him well. He has continued his classes with April, and of late Casey and Shadow have joined as well. Casey is a very good street fighter, but he needs to learn some discipline. April continues to impress us all with her abilities, and she's been running some patrols with Leo at every opportunity. She says that it feels good to be proactive against the criminals in the City rather than just reporting the evils that they do. She's proven herself a capable warrior a few times over now, as Leo can attest to. The Sensei seems very happy to have some new students, and he has taken a shining to Shadow as well, as her natural ability at such a young age is a wonder to behold. Master Splinter says that she is the finest pupil that he has seen... no small compliment! I think that's wonderful, but I hope that Shadow remains interested in the martial arts, often children get distracted. But she's got a great dad in Casey and the best teacher in Master Splinter, so I'm confident that she'll continue on her path, which is good, because we'll need someone to protect us in our old age!

That's about it from here, I have to admit that I'm more than a little preoccupied due to all of the work that has to be done, so for details of what's been going on you'll have to see what the others have written. If you'll excuse me, I've got a jillion things to do before I turn around and find out that this year's over!

Take care!

Sincerely, Donatello

Salutations cyberfriend!

It's been quite awhile since we last checked in. As usual, things have been very busy for us, it seems like there's never enough time in a day to do even one half of what we want to do... the curse of mortality?

Things had been going very well for several weeks. After our run in with the Rat King and the loss of most of our possessions, we were able to get back on our feet thanks to the help we got from Casey and April. Everyone pitched in and pulled together and our home is finally back to normal (well, as normal as a secret headquarters in a sewer can be ;)

Of course, peaceful times do not last long in our humble abode, so it didn't take long until the problems arose. The first thing that went wrong was our fault... after years of "laying low," Raphael and Leonardo felt that it was time to become proactive and to stop potential threats before they grew too large to deal with (I'm sure the problems we had with Rat King lead to this decision). Master Splinter was against the stance, but he didn't prevent Raph and Leo from staging their "offensive" patrols. Until that time, we just made sure that our own perimeter was clear, but the new policy lead us further and further from our "turf." Of course, the Foot quickly took note of this and tried to work out a strategy to capture us out of our element. After many skirmishes and too many close calls, we finally decided to go back to just being defensive. The final straw was when a blurry picture of Raph appeared in a tabloid magazine under the headline "Vigilante Alien Begins Assault On City!" We knew this kind of attention was a very bad thing, so we had to go back undercover. We've had our share of dodging reporters, but this was too close of a call to allow... so despite our attempts to be "super heroes" for a few weeks, we came to the conclusion that we had to remain what we've always have been: passive and hidden. I guess the world still isn't ready to embrace mutant turtles, even if we were just trying to help. I suppose it was nice that we had a chance to help out the city that's been our home for ages now, but as Raph says, "No good deed goes unpunished." ;)

The next trouble arose when I decided to start investigating the Transmat machine once again. As you may know, the Transmat was invented by an alien race called the Utroms. The mechanism actually allows space and interdimensional travel via teleportation! I've had access to a broken machine for a number of years now, and off and on I've been devoting some time to it. Once my lab was rebuilt and our security systems were in place, I wanted to relax a little on focus on the Utroms technology, as it's an intriguing diversion from my normal activities.

Well, unfortunately my progress went too well, and I managed to get the device working... to some degree. I couldn't get the Transmat to teleport anything from here to someplace else... but I was able to open a doorway for something to get through (isn't that always the case?!) Sadly, I didn't know that I had succeeded in the one-way transportation effect, so we weren't prepared when the aliens came through. After a full day of work on the machine, I left for home (fortunately the Transmat is located a distance from our headquarters). A few hours later, I was woken by Michaelangelo... some big trouble was going down!

Mike was writing on his laptop when an urgent message came through the comm system from Leo, who was running the late night patrol. Raph was out the door before Mike could even finish his sentence (of course), and then Mike came and got me. We headed out as quickly as possible. Mike said Leo's message got cut off, but we had the tracer and it was working... Leo's signal was coming from the Transmat room! At first I thought that the Foot had dscovered the device, but we quickly learned otherwise, as we ran headlong into Raph battling 2 Triceratons in the passageway! How Raph knew which way to head I have no idea, the guy just has a nose for trouble.

Triceratons are huge, well armed and extremely strong. The three of us, after much effort and no little time, managed to best the two warriors, but we had no idea how many remained. Mike tied the two together with some steel cable and we set off to see what was ahead.

Luckily, there were only 2 left, and both were trying to operate the Transmat. They'd apparently tried to take Leo back to their world, but for the first time in hours I was glad that I hadn't succeeded in my experiments, because they couldn't get the machine to work. Leo was unconscious and tied up (with steel cable, the Tricertaons keep this on them for such things). Leonardo didn't look very hurt and he was breathing, so he was probably a victim of a stun blaster. Raph quickly made battle plans and we followed his direction. After the first fight, we were better prepared on how to handle the remaining two, and the battle went quickly. We tied up the other two, and revived Leo, who was dizzy but not injured.

So now the problem is... what are we going to do with 4 Triceraton warriors?

If you've got any ideas, please let me know!

Take care!

Sincerely, Donatello

Salutations cyberfriend!

Whew! We're back!!!

As you may have guessed by our long absence, things did not go well with those Triceratons! As it turns out, it was all a big trick to kidnap us and take us to Dimension X! But I'm gettng a bit ahead of myself. All I can say is, I am SO happy to be back on Earth!

The whole thing was a set-up by none other than Krang and Shredder! They'd even gone so far as to make a deal with the Rat King! Remember when he attacked us out of the blue? Well, the whole thing was done to distract us and keep us away from the Transmat, while Rat King followed Krang's instructions and got the teleportation device working again! I almost messed up their plans when I started working on the device (apparently the Rat King isn't as technically proficient as Krang had hoped, so his work took far longer than the evil brain had anticipated). However, their plan worked out in the end. While my tinkerings managed to mess up the sending mechanism, I didn't disable the receiving apparatus... so while I almost solved the whole dilemma before it had really started, Fate wasn't quite on our side (I guess every now and then, even the bad guys get a break).

When Krang discovered the device was working in one direction, he sent the four Triceraton scientists to fix it. Another almost lucky break for us happened when Leo discovered them and set off the alarm. We managed to subdue and capture them (they were tough for scientists though, I'll say that!), but this only delayed the inevitable, as Rat King got back to work on the Transmat while we were distracted by worrying about what to do with the Triceratons. Unfortunately, we were so preoccupied that I didn't remember to disable the Transmat! Boy, do I feel stupid over THAT one! Sheesh! I mean, I DID turn it off, but I should have just dismantled it once and for all. Of course, I thought it was me who had fixed it, so I thought turning it off was enough, but had I only removed the power cell from the Transmat (and then set up a security ring to guard the accursed machine), we would have avoided the entire ordeal that was to come. In this case, it was the second strike, but we were already out.

So once Rat King turned the machine back on (D'oh!), Krang sent another troop of Triceratons through; this time they weren't mere scientists, but a dozen warriors who were armed to the teeth! They came in the early morning hours and caught us offguard. Michaelangelo was off on patrol, and they caught him with a stun blaster and net before he knew what hit him. And so it went, as we each left in turn to investigate the matter, we were quickly captured by overwhelming forces.

Once the Triceratons had all four of us. Thankfully they didn't wait to grab Master Splinter, who spent weeks with Casey and April searching for us. Fortunately the Sensei realized what had happened when they found the Transmat machine humming softly (Rat King never turned it off) and he worked some schemes of his own to save us... but that's a tale I'll leave for the other guys to tell.

I hope you've had a great summer!

Take care!

Sincerely, Donatello

alutations cyberfriend!

Many months have passed since our last letters, and truth be told, we haven't written because there's been nothing to write about! Yup! Can you believe it? Nothing bad has happened to us in months! Things have been very quiet in the City of late, and I'm sure you're all aware of the reason why.

We've been taking it easy for a long time now. The Sensei has kept us busy with our studies and training, but we've had more opportunities to chill out than ever before. It's been very refreshing, to say the least. I've been able to focus my attention on my work, rather than on fighting some villain with a plan for world domination. I wish I could say the same for the armed forces of the United States and those of our allies - perhaps in time we can get back to living in peace. I certainly hope so!

It's during this time that we reflect on the past and give thanks for our blessings, and I'm very thankful to all of you who have continued to write and support us. Your words of encouragement are very helpful. Thank you one and all. :)

We're planning on leaving for Massachusetts this weekend, where we'll spend Christmas with Casey, April and Shadow. Casey has told us he's got a big surprise for us when we get there. I can't wait!

Well, I'm sorry to be so short after such a long absence, but I've really nothing to report on. My experiments have been going well, albeit slowly (but slowly is a blessing in and of itself compared to my usual scheduling problems :)

Our security systems have all been refurbished, so we can leave with a clear conscious. I wish you the happiest of Holiday Seasons and hope we can all share a wonderful New Year. Ill talk to you next year!

Peace!

Sincerely, Donatello

Salutations cyberfriend!

Please note: we're on vacation until June 17, so we won't be able to reply until sometime after then! Thanks for your patience!

Spring has sprung, so it's definitely time to update you on life in the sewers. Fortunately things were very quiet for quite a few months, which allowed us to get everything at the lair back into tip top shape and, dare I say, better than ever. Shadow (Casey's adopted daughter - every time we mention her, we get a ton of mail asking who she is, so I guess I need to clarify her relationship to us on ocassion :) has been visiting often and she likes to make things neat, so the ol' HQ is cleaner than ever as well (much to Raph and Mike's dismay :)

Casey and April have set their wedding date for this summer, but haven't chosen a definitive day as of yet. They're thinking about being married at a justice of the peace to make it legal, and then having a "real" wedding here in the sewer with Master Splinter as the "master of ceremonies," so all of us can attend. The difficulties involving us in the wedding have been a bit of a stumbling block... it's not easy being green. :)

After the terrorist attacks last year, security in the City was increased dramatically, so the Foot Clan have been in hiding for the better part of 6 months. They're still not as active as they were, but they are beginning to stretch their boundaries once again. Raphael will have details regarding that, as usual.

Michelangelo and I ran into an interesting dilemma a few weeks back.

Oh, I should state that Mike is officialing changing his name to be spelled like it's supposed to be - so it will be "Michealangelo" from now on. Hopefully we'll all remember to spell it correctly - but I suspect that old habits will die hard. :)

As I was saying, the two fo us were exploring the lower depths of the sewer (you wouldn't believe the labryinth of tunnels down here, nor how deep some of them go), we came upon a cache of Baxter Stockman's old Mousers! From the looks of things, this was a horde that Baxter hadn't managed to activate before his plans were foiled. We discovered what could basically be described as an underground warehouse, filled to the brim with the robotic nightmares! Eventually we counted over 6 dozen of them. Mike and I were very careful not to activate the machines (the Mousers are quite advanced robots, with extremely sensitive sensors), and we searched the area. As Michel looked for any signs of a control panel or hidden access to the room, I went to work on one of the Mousers. As I said, they're quite sophisticated, so it's no easy task to rewire them. Unfortunately (or perhaps, fortunately) the years of exposure to the deep sewer humidity had wrecked the 'bots. As soon as I had decided that getting the Mousers to operate would be impossible, Mike announced that he'd found a secret door. We could tell that one of the walls was hollow by banging on it, but we couldn't manage to open it.

Michelangelo went back to my lab to fetch a laser to cut the door open while I set about making sure all of the Mousers were completely disfunctional and inoperative (it's always best to be cautious - especially around menacing machinery such as this). I'm afraid that time passes by in a flash while I'm working, so it wasn't until 3 hours later, when I'd completely finished my task, that I noticed that Michel hadn't returned! It should have only taken him 30-45 minutes to fetch the laser (allowing for 15 minutes of time for him to ask Splinter to get it for him - Mike isn't very good at finding things much of the time). Standing in a roomful of silent Mousers with a suspicious case of missing brother wasn't a comforting feeling! I packed my tools and grabbed my bo staff and prepared to go searching for Michelangelo.

Just as I'd gathered my things, the secret door began to open, with a teeth shattering screech! Behind it stood a giant Mouser, standing seven feet tall - and its eyes were glowing with life! I'm not embarrassed to admit, I was scared! As I took a defensive staff and wished I hadn't allowed myself to be isolated, I heard Mike and Raph start laughing!

The two walked out from behind the monster Mouser, stumbling due to their overzealous guffaws (at my expense, of course). As it turns out, Raphael discovered this room some months ago and often comes here to contemplate things (that's Raph for you). It seems that once Mike had gotten back to our lair to retrieve the laser, he ran into Raphael and described things to him. Raph, ever the loner, was disappointed that we'd discovered one of "his spots," so he hatched a plan to play a practical joke on me. The pair of pranksters grabbed a set of low intensity emergency spot lights and Raph lead Mike to the other access tunnel to the secret room. Once there, they duct-taped the lights to the head of the creature and waited for me to get finished with the Mousers. Raph complained about how long it took, but he did say the look on my face when the secret door opened was worth it. Ha ha ha... not!

I like jokes, but practical jokes I can do without, especially ones that make your heart leap into your throat.

Since then I've been dismantling the normal sized Mousers and utilizing what material that I can slavage for other experiments. The big Mouser remains in its not-so-secret secret hiding spot for now - it's too big to get up to our labs. I'll think of something - perhaps a shrinking ray. Master Splinter isn't very happy to have the Mosuers around, but I dismantle them as quickly as possible and then go back to get some more.

I guess Raph doesn't go to that room anymore because it no longer has the creepy ambience he so enjoyed. Yep, that's Raph for you.

That's about it. I hope you're doing great!

Sincerely, Donatello

Salutations cyberfriend!

As usual, time has flown by all too quickly! It seems like only yesterday that we were celebrating the dawning of 2002, and now it's the dawn of 2003! I'm not sure where the time goes - but it travels fast (sometimes it seems as if it's almost as fast as the speed of light! :)

2003 will be a busy year for us - as you've no doubt seen, there are numerous projects in the works. We hope that you'll enjoy them! :)

We're going to Massachusetts for the holidays, so we won't be around for a few weeks... not that we ever update these letters pages anyway. :)

I take full blame for that - it's my duty to get the guys to write their letters, but it's always such a chore to do (I'm not a good taskmaster - as you've become painfully aware :), and my laboratory is always beckoning. Speaking of which, I have to go pack my apparatus suitcases before Casey, April and Shadow show up! I'll go nuts on the farm if I don't take some electronic toys to play with! :)

We wish you the happiest of Holidays and a bright New Year!

Sincerely, Donatello

reetings!

I hope that 2003 is treating you well! :)

We've been quite busy setting up shop in our new lair (and by "we" I mean "me" ;)

Actually, Leonardo and Michelangelo have been helping, although in some cases we might all be better off if Mikey didn't try so hard. His enthusiasm can be a bit... destructive... at times. But his heart's in the right place (even if his mind is often in the wrong one :)

Raphael would rather spend his time brooding, and since he broods so well, I don't like to disturb him. :)

It's a lot of work getting everything operational. We spent quite a few days scrounging up parts from the streets and dumpsters of the City. This is where Raph comes in handy, as he's got a real nose for finding the "good stuff." It's hard to comprehend why some people throw away their useful items, but we're glad that they do. A little rewiring and some elbow grease is all we usually need to turn someone else's "junk" into our treasure. We're lucky to live in New York City, where so much is so readily available.

It's like Master Splinter says, "A wise man never loses anything, if he has himself."

Actually, I don't know how that applies to what I was talking about... but it sounds good, doesn '' t it? :)

I've got to get back to work, there's quite a few circuit boards that need some checking and I haven't even started refining the security alarms in the warehouse. A Turtle's work is never done! :)

Take care, Donatello

Greetings!

Summer has finally arrived and I'm busy as ever working on inventions in my lab. Hopefully I'll have some time to get out and smell the roses before fall arrives! A Turtle's work is never done - but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Thanks to everyone who has written in to support our new cartoon and merchandise, I really appreciate the positive feedback (I get enough negative feedback from Raphael :)

Have a great summer!

Take care, Donatello

Greetings!

We've survived the first major snowstorm of 2003 - and boy was it early in the season! Hopefully it's not a portent of worse blizzards to follow! I'll have to rig up some long range radar to keep an eye on things!

Things are very busy as usual in the lair, tis the season, right? :)

Have a healthy and happy holiday!

Take care, Donatello

Greetings!

Winter is still in full swing, but the Spring draws near, which is both good and bad. Once the temperatures start heating up, so do the streets, which means we'll be busier than ever with the Purple Dragons and Foot Clan. I typically enjoy the winters because they give me more time to work on my projects, which is what I love to do most. I hope you're doing well!

Take care, Donatello

Greetings!

Summer has finally sprung in the Big Apple - unfortunately so has Foot Clan activity! A Turtle's work is never done - especially mine! Seems like I just get done with one project when something goes haywire and I've got to get cracking on something else. Of course, constantly being harrassed by the Purple Dragons, mobsters, Foot Clan ninjas and underwater pirates takes its toll on my work schedule. What was I saying about a Turtle's work never being done? Speaking of which, I have to get busy on the next set of modifications on the Battle Shell - judging by the criminal activiy that we've encountered since the temperatures have risen, I'm going to have a very busy summer. I hope you have some time this season to relax - hopefully I will, too! :)

Take care, Donatello

Greetings!

Fall has arrived, and along with the colder temperatures comes more responsiblities for yours truly. It's a lot of work keeping all these gadgets and gizmos running properly in the cold weather, but I love doing it. Have a great season, and if you happen to find some hot cider on a cold day, drink a toast to the Turtle trying to keep the tech tidy!

Take care, Donatello

Greetings!

I hope you're having a productive week. It's a lot of work keeping all of our vehicles, gadgets and gizmos running properly, but I love doing it. I hope that you're enjoying your tasks, too!

Take care, Donatello

Greetings Cyberfriends!

Things have been incredibly busy around the lair now that Leonardo has returned from his training. I've had a lot of ideas on the back burner, but now that things are getting back to normal (well, as normal is it gets for us!), I'd better get my shell back into the laboratory! I hope you're having a productive week, too!

Take care, Donatello