1998-09 – Letters from 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

Master Splinter

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