2001-02 – Letters from Donatello

Salutations 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

Master Splinter

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