TMNT are the property of Mirage. I own some nifty TMNT stickers.

Don had a problem: he had two controllers and three brothers.

Three angry at Donatello brothers-

Okay, he had TWO problems.

The angry brothers problem would solve itself if he were to call all three into the room at that moment and spring the marvelous game system on them!

But then- who would be the first two to play?

Donnie knew that Leo and Raph would insist on being first, Leo a TINY bit more politely than Raph, but still rather pushy- Leo took such things like being "oldest" seriously, and he rarely let anyone forget that he was, age/wise, the oldest...

Raph would be first regardless of anything- he was just like that. For some reason, Raph's being the way he was did not grate on Don's shell the way that Mr. "I'm the oldest brother, you must do what I say" Leonardo grated-

HOWEVER, at the moment Mikey had a huge chip on his shoulder regarding his "former brother" Donatello, and if Mikey could be the first to play, with Don at the other controller, then Donnie would once again be Mikey's favoritest and bestest brother in the whole world, and things would be back to normal.

But, he knew, he just knew, that Mikey did not stand a chance of being first- unless he told Mikey by himself first- and risk the other two being even more angry-

Okay- THREE PROBLEMS!

Don had a bunch of character stickers, all brand-new but still tossed away in a dumpster behind a teachers supply store, that Splinter had been raiding for the past few years, looking for whatever he could salvage and use in educating his sons (as well as himself).

"Because they are out of fashion, and did not sell," Splinter had replied. "Sometimes instead of giving things away, the humans simply throw things away- even food," he added, thinking of the many grocery stores that disposed of many food items that could feed the homeless- and did feed his sons!

When Donnie had found the controllers, he had dug out his treasured stickers and "customized" each one, so each brother would have his very own controller that only he could use.

On Raph's was the Incredible Hulk© and the Thing© from Don's precious super hero stash. Raph had soooo wanted those (when Mikey had "accidentally" destroyed his in that unfortunate incident with the milk and the pillow fight), but he never could find anything good enough to trade for them. Don knew that Raph would be excited that his two favorites were on his controller!

For Leo's Don had managed to put a Luke Skywalker© sticker, and right below it a sticker of a lightsaber! "Star Wars" was his brother's favorite movie, and Luke Skywalker his favorite character. He had been lucky to have gotten these (and keep them secret from Leo- it was HIS favorite movie as well...).

For Mikey's he had put Spiderman© and Superman©. Mikey liked all superheroes, and wanted to be one. He wouldn't have cared if Wonder Woman was on his controller, as long as it was superheroes in really cool costumes with capes and muscles and gadgets and looking all really heroic!

And for Don?

DINOSAURS!

NOTHING was cooler than DINOSAURS- except the PLANETS, but those stickers were too big, so dinosaurs it had to be. He had two stickers that were just the right size, and he was happy as anything with how they fit onto the controller, almost looking as if they were chatting with each other!

But now- with only two controllers left, and those two so branded as the property of Leo and Raph, Don knew that he was going to have to find a different solution.

He needed two new controllers!

"Splinter won't know what to look for, or where to look," he rationalized out loud as he stared at the broken controllers that tended to mock him with the symbolism of the situation... the damaged forms of the dinosaurs and the superheroes reflected the current status of his relationship with Mikey... "He can't waste time looking for toys. He had to find stuff to take care of us with. And he won't let me come with him because of the dog."

Don thought about that last time- he actually had done a pretty good job on his own of escaping the evil beast, but he had had to admit, having Father there to make sure he had not become dog food made all the difference.

Still...

He was fast. He was clever! AND he would carry a weapon!

He made up his mind, and then shut out any more rational thought! Given the chance, his inner-Don would talk him out of this venture, but at the moment Donnie only "listened" to two facts as it were, playing them over and over in his brain: "Mikey doesn't like me anymore" and "Don wouldn't know Adventure if it bit him on the ass!"

"Well, I'll show you, Mr. Raphael!" he whispered fiercely, locking his secret lab up and using all his ninja skills to sneak out of Splinter's room and into his own. "I'll show you all, and then you will HAVE to apologize!"

Quickly, quietly, he retrieved his bag for carrying really cool and nifty items from the junk yard. He was only going for the controllers, but one never knew what "that's just what I need for that invention" item might be accidentally stumbled over!

Next, he scoped out the situation in the living room, standing at the door of the bedroom, listening.

Mikey was in the kitchen; he knew this because Leo was shouting at him to "get out of the refrigerator, Splinter said NO snacks!"

Leo and Raph were on the couch, watching TV- which also explained why Mikey was in the kitchen, as he was grounded from watching until after supper.

"But if I gotta stay in here, I need something to do," Mike was arguing. "And if I got nothing to do, I get hungry! Eating gives me something to do since I can't watch TV! OOOOOH! Turn it up! That's my favorite part!"

"Mikey, you ain't allowed to watch!" Raph shouted, trying to enjoy the show.

"Splinter said I couldn't watch, he didn't say I couldn't LISTEN!"

A pause; then the volume went up.

So much the better! That would help Don get past the two on the couch. He needed to get into the dojo, and he needed to be as stealthy as possible. The sounds of battle from the big fight scene, coupled with the encouraging shouts of all three brothers (Mikey had seen this particular show a gazillion times and could- and did- quote everyone's dialogue as well as recreate each and every sound effect) masked any noise made by the soft canvas bag as Don slid on his belly down the hall, behind the couch, and into the dojo!

Success! HA! Adventure was getting a taste of Donnie's rear end!

He had little time. Quickly he surveyed the weapons rack. The bo was fast becoming his favorite of the weapons, but it was still too large for him. Yet he knew he needed something strong, easy to carry, yet versatile for any situation. The bokken might due, but he may need to poke through piles of junk...

AH! The JO! It was smaller than the Bo, and Don was learning how to handle it at a faster rate than even the mighty Leonardo! It would be perfect- he knew it packed a wallop (having accidentally brained Raph once during a difficult spinning maneuver- man, that lump was so huge Mikey was convinced that Raph was growing another head), and it would be perfect for levering things and poking things!

He decided to gear up, and soon, dressed in pads, belt, and nifty ninja mask, he was ready!

Peering out of the dojo, he saw that Raph was no where on the couch, and Leo's voice was coming from the kitchen, yelling at Mikey about all the food he had wasted.

A flushing sound clued him to the missing brother's location.

Out of the dojo, straight to the door, he opened it as wide as he dared, nipped through, and shut it without a sound!

Yes! How do you like the taste of my hiney, Adventure? Tastes pretty sweet, doesn't it!

With all the confidence and bravado of a seven-year-old inventing genius who knew better than his father about the Way of Video Game Systems, Donatello set off at a jog, determined to make true what he was imagining in his mind: a swift and successful trip to the junk yard using the short cut he was sure he had discovered, a safe return home to unsuspecting family, and a surprise that was gonna make them all jump out of their shells!

Splinter was tired. He had had a very successful day of scavenging, so successful that he would not need to go out again for many days! There had been a fire at a grocery warehouse the night before, and now that the insurance inspectors had finished, the more glamourous items that had survived were being distributed to homeless shelters and food banks with much fanfare and media coverage.

There was still quite a lot of food that was being tossed away, however, though it was just as good as the other items. The Rat had found filling his bags extremely easy, even though there was much competition from other scavengers; yet they all had a sort of code of honor about this situation; they looked out for each other, signaling warnings of the approach of the security guards whose sole purpose it seemed was to make sure that no one in need take what the company had thrown away.

They kept to themselves, covered up and quiet, with a nod here and there, and eventually they all managed to make a good haul.

Now Splinter was looking forward to getting home and ridding himself of his load of food as well as his disguise. Fortunately it was rather cold out, so no one noticed that he wore a muffler over a rather oddly shaped face. His tail was particularly tired of being cooped up in the uncomfortable outfit, and he had seriously considered shedding the trousers in order to allow it to be free, but he grudged the little time it would take to do this simple thing. He HAD to get home. He had left the four of them for longer than he had anticipated, and there was no telling what awaited him on the other side of the door.

"Come and help me!" he called as he entered with much satisfaction his home sweet home.

From all directions turtles came running, shouting their greetings and exclaiming over the amount of food that their father had managed to bring back, struggling to carry the items to the kitchen where the happy task of sorting and storing began, accompanied by the cheerful chatter of three boys who could not believe the luck Splinter had had today!

"Wow! These are the bestest cookies!" Mikey exclaimed, holding several packages as if they were his most precious possessions. "WHY would they throw them away?"

"My son, if I could explain the reasons surface dwellers behave as they do, I should be the wisest being in the World," Splinter laughed, gently relieving his son of the cookies and placing them up on the "Do not touch especially YOU Michelangelo" shelf where all special treats were stored.

"Look! It's that lucky cereal with the marshmallows! And it has a prize inside!" Raph shouted, nearly dancing with joy at the chance to eat something new. "And you got several boxes! Wow!"

"Yes, I figured that you might each want the toy inside, so I made sure to get enough for you all," Splinter smiled, pleased that he was able to bring so many unlooked for things home with him this time. It made the day seem like a special occasion when he was able to do such a thing- he hated that it was hard to do it more often, but then, perhaps that was for the best. It had more meaning because it was such a rare occurrence.

"A lot of these cans have no dents in them," Leo observed, carefully sorting and stacking the soups and veggies and sauces. "The labels are still a bit wet, but you don't even smell and smoke on them or see any burn marks!"

"The fire was put out quickly, but the food was deemed 'unsellable'," Splinter told him, pulling off the boots that his poor tired feet had been cramped up in for so long. "I am going to rid myself of these clothes, and then we shall have a celebration dinner."

Then it occurred to him that he had only been talking with three sons.

"Where is Donatello?" he asked, looking around. "He should have come out to help us."

Three turtles made faces.

"MR. Donatello must still be in his secret laboratory," Michelangelo sniffed, busying himself with helping Leonardo put the canned goods away while Raphael gathered up Splinter's boots to set by the front door. "He hasn't come out the entire time you was gone."

Splinter could tell that the others were growing more and more angry with their brother's neglect of them, but he bit back a sigh- along with a tired groan (it had been a long day), and arose to go to his room and change.

The boys finished up in the kitchen, chattering about the haul, when they heard a shout from Splinter.

"Donatello! Where are-"

Something about that tone of voice, something about that unfinished question, alerted them to the fact that something was definitely wrong!

They scrambled into the living room to nearly run into Splinter, still clothed in his disguise and looking almost frantic.

"Where is your brother?"

The three exchanged confused glances.

"He's in the-" Leo began, but Splinter cut him off.

"He is not in the room, or the bathroom or your bedroom," he said, quickly entering the dojo.

The Jo was missing- Splinter saw that at once.

Quickly he ran back to his room, shedding the disguise on the way, leaving a trail of clothing. He got into his robe at once, grabbed his stick and his own little bag, a rope with a grappling hook, and a flashlight.

Spinning around to leave, he was blocked by three troubled turtles, the realization growing on their face that their brother was missing!

"I didn't hear him go, Sensei," Leo gulped, nervous tears beginning to stand out in his eyes. "I was in charge, but I didn't hear-"

"I have no time to listen my son," Splinter said as kindly as possible. "You three go into the living room and wait. I will find your brother. Michelangelo, you may make sandwiches for yourself and your brothers for your supper, and then you may watch television."

He herded them before him with gentle yet insistent hands, closing his door behind him.

"But how're you gonna find him?" Raph wanted to know. "Let me come with you! You're gonna need help! You don't know which way he went!"

"I believe I know exactly where he is off to," Splinter said, firmly refusing the help of his son. He had seen upon his entry into his room the broken controllers; he had fully aware of Donatello's insistence that there HAD to be four.

"Cause if there's four, then there's no fighting! I don't want to fix up this cool thing and then there's fighting over it. That's why I need four!"

Splinter pushed all thoughts of controllers and fighting and punishment from his mind even as he pushed his sons into the living room. He entered the kitchen long enough to fetch himself a canteen full of fresh water, and then headed for the door.

"My sons," he said, pausing a moment. "Stay in the lair. Leonardo is still in charge. You may wait up for us. I will find your brother and be home soon. Do not worry, my sons."

"Hai, Sensei," they automatically said, bowing as he left.

But worry they did.