The lair was suspiciously quiet. Too quiet.

Raphael was training. Mikey was watching some program on TV and laughing from time to time. Leo was meditating.

And now, only the muted hum of the generators and the soft tapping of keys.

You went down to the lab.

And that's when you saw it.

Donatello stood in front of the holographic screen, his arms crossed behind his back. His face was illuminated by a soft green light. And—there it was.

That look.

Slightly narrowed eyes. A barely perceptible smirk. A perfectly calm expression, but something was hidden behind it.

"...You're up to something," you said slowly.

He didn't even turn around.

"An interesting hypothesis."

You narrowed your eyes.

"Donnie."

Now he looked at you. And yes. Everything was confirmed. This sly, almost innocent look of a genius who's already run this experiment in his head ten times.

"It's just a little test," he said, too casually.

"What kind of test is this?"

He pressed the button.

And the lab floor… began to slowly rise.

"Donatello."

"Don't panic," he said calmly. "This is a controlled environment."

The walls of the room slid smoothly, forming a circle. A projection system activated in the center. The floor glowed with a grid of coordinates.

"I've developed a next-generation training simulator," his voice quickened slightly—he always said that when he got excited. "A fully adaptive environment that responds to movement, heart rate, muscle tension. It can simulate tactical scenarios in real time."

You slowly crossed your arms.

"And...?"

"And I need a test subject."

Silence.

"You said 'subject.'"

"In the scientific sense."

You looked toward the exit.

The door closed with a soft click.

You looked back at him.

"Donnie."

He raised his palms in a conciliatory gesture.

"It's safe. Fair. Well... relatively."

The floor beneath your feet suddenly changed—instead of the laboratory, a virtual New York rooftop rose up around you. The wind blew in your face. The distant city lights shimmered beneath you.

You barely kept your balance.

"WHAT IS HE DOING WITH A WIND SIMULATOR?!"

"It's more realistic this way," he replied calmly, writing something down on his tablet.

Suddenly, the "roof" tilted.

You slid forward.

And at the last moment, he caught your wrist. Sharp. Precise. Reliable.

The hologram froze.

You were too close. Very.

His fingers gripped your hand tightly. Warm. Strong. The purple mask shifted slightly with the movement. There was no longer any cunning in his eyes.

"Just concentration. And... slight confusion?"

"Reaction rates are higher than normal," he said quietly, but his voice was already different. "You're adapting faster than I expected."

"You did all this for the data?"

He paused.

And there it was again—that same look. But softer now.

"Not only that."

Pause.

The simulation slowly faded. The lab returned. Silence.

He let go of your hand—but too slowly.

"I wanted to make sure you could protect yourself if we weren't around," he said, no longer joking. "It's important."

You noticed his cheeks turning slightly pink.

"But..." he coughed slightly, returning to his normal tone, "the experiment was still a success."

You took a step closer.

"And what if I want to test you?"

His left eyebrow rose.

"Are you sure?"