It's been a while since my last story and while I have had some ideas here and there nothing quite concrete enough to put into words until now. There is mention of violence and blood in the story. This story takes place in the 2012 incarnation.
I do not own TMNT
Do for Another
Soft, yet urgent calling of his name roused Raphael back into reality and he struggled to blink open his eyes against the heavy blanket of unconsciousness. His mind readily reminded him of the pain radiating through his side and the sluggishness in his limbs, making him long for the previous nothingness. The voice became increasingly more insistent and he groaned at the familiar skater boi accent. A rough hand gripped his shoulder and he pushed the blackness from his vision enough to register two worried blue eyes staring into his own. "…Mike?" The name was sloppy and lightly slurred but it seemed to be enough to erase some of the concern darkening the freckled turtle's gaze.
"Good, you're not completely zonked out." Mikey chuckled with a shaky smile. Raph blinked at him tiredly, but felt himself becoming more aware of his situation. The dim light casting the brick walls in an artificial glow and the smell of wet garbage letting him know that he was in some back alley.
"What are ya doin' here?" He had left the lair alone after making sure everyone was either busy or sleeping. How had Mikey found him so quickly? Or had he been here longer than he thought? He rolled his eyes slowly to the inky black sky and groggily concluded that it couldn't have been that long. Now he was so tired, his body sinking further to itself and his mind leading him down the last events of his night. The emerald turtle barely remembered closing his eyes after shambling into the empty alley, hurriedly trying to stifle his breathing while ignoring the blood slipping between his fingers. His eyes snapped open once more and found his brother nowhere in sight. "Mikey?"
"Right here, bro." Mikey popped back into his limited line of sight, clutching an off-white towel. "Crazy that some people still use clotheslines, right? Lucky for us, though." Raph's head lolled back and he sucked in a sharp breath when Mikey pried his hand away from his side. He tried to keep himself in check, hearing the fear in the younger turtle's babblings even through his haze. "No falling asleep, alright? I called Leo and Donnie; we're pretty far out, so it could take them a while to get here."
"What are ya even doin' out here?" Raph hissed as the towel was gently pushed against the stab in his side. He managed to catch the younger turtle's eye and his own widened at the spark of anger in their blue depths.
"You think you're that sneaky?" Mikey snapped, his worry bleeding into anger at his brother's actions. "Yeah, nope. You're lucky I found you in time or…" Michelangelo trailed off with a tight frown.
"Shell…" Raph cursed in a drawn-out groan as he realized how royally he had screwed up. Pain shot through his side and spread a spider web of agony through his chest as Mikey shifted the towel. "The hell Mikey…?!" His brother was looking at the crimson seeping into the fabric with almost panicked concern. The conflicting emotions flashing through the orange-banded turtle's eyes made guilt settle in Raph's stomach. The light green turtle regressed into humor as a solid wall against his open-book expression and gave a dry chuckle. Raph recognized the defense. A practiced cover for when his little brother felt overwhelmed.
"Honestly Raphie-boy, cursing, ambushed and an entire gang royally peeved off at you? That's gotta be a new record." Mikey's forced joke made Raphael cringe and he looked everywhere but the light green turtle. "Then there's the stab wound and judging by how totally out of it you are, a blow to the head…definitely a new record…" The smaller turtle's voice shook and wobbled as the gravity of the situation laid more heavily on his shoulders. Raph hated seeing his baby brother so panicked but his mind was working too slowly to allow him to contribute to a viable solution.
"I thought I could take 'em." A sigh and some angry mumbling were his only response. Loud yelling and swearing echoed against the cold walls of the alley and Michelangelo's head shot up in alarm. Apparently bashing him in the head and a gory stab to the side wasn't enough, as the gang was still on the hunt for the barely conscious turtle. "Get outta here, Mikey." Scared, blue eyes stared at him before something seemed to snap the younger turtle to attention. A resolute frown and a stiffening of shoulders that reminded Raph oddly of their leader in blue. Raph was taken aback with the drastic change in demeanor and let his mind toy with the idea that maybe he'd passed out again.
"Your first good idea all night." The shakiness was gone from his brother's hands as he pulled Raph's hand to the towel and held it there with a quiet murmur to keep pressure on it. With a strangely serious expression, Mikey untied his mask and took his nunchucks out of his belt. He glanced down the alley before pulling off Raph's mask and tugging his sais from his waist. "Despite how much prettier I am than you, I bet those thugs won't be able to tell the difference."
"Wait, what are ya doin'?" Raph tried to sit up more as Mikey shoved his T-phone into his hand. The resolution and coldness had transformed the freckled turtle's face and sent panic through Raph's blurry mind. His moth opened and closed as Mikey quickly tied the ripped red fabric around his head.
"Leo and Donnie are on their way." Mikey stood and steeled himself into someone tense and angry, something that suited the tattered red mask and sais placed at his sides. Raph could do nothing as the pain and blood loss forced him into silent shock. "Alright, I got this." With those words of encouragement, Mikey shot out of the alley and yelled in a gruff imitation of the older turtle's voice. Shouts and footsteps rushed passed the alley and away from where Raphael sat, Mikey's phone casting a dull light on his terrified expression. He forced himself out of his frozen state and pushed himself against the wall until he was standing on trembling legs. Pain shot through his side but he held himself up against his nearly-buckling knees. His heartbeat was drumming against his skull and he ducked his head in an attempt to stem the blackness leaking into his vision.
"Dammit, Mikey!" He slammed his fist against the wall and his legs gave out against his will. He had tried to take on one of the most infamous gangs in the city and now his baby brother was cleaning up his mess in some stupid act of heroism. What if they caught him? There was no way the meager lessons on each other's weapons would be enough to help Mikey against that gang. He's expect this kind of plan from Leo but he'd never wanted to see that resolution on his little brother face, the resolution to do whatever it takes to keep another safe. The grim expression of one who knew they were ready to die.
"There he is!"
"Raph! What happened? Where's Mikey?!" Leo and Don's voices cut into his blurry consciousness and he realized at some point he's blacked out since Mikey had left. Panic immediately settled in his stomach and he bolted up, Don was suddenly at his side, a practiced eye examining his condition. Donnie pulled the towel away from Raph's side, wincing at the way it stuck to the drying blood of the wound. He'd brought the medical bag but this was beyond what his emergency kit could fix. A wound to the sensitive flesh between their shell needed delicate stitching and observation.
"Ya gotta go after Mike!" Raph hissed as Don lifted his arm over his shoulders to slowly pull the injured turtle to his feet. "How long did it take ya to get here? Did ya see him on your way here?" Raph's eyes darted around the alley and looked at each of his brothers in an uncharacteristic terror. Leo was holding Mikey's mask and nunchucks with a mortified expression while Don stressed the need to get Raph to the lair as soon as possible.
"Mikey sent us an SOS text about 20 minutes ago," Leo trailed off and shoved the weapons in his belt. His mind was racing with images of his baby brother struggling to fight off whatever foe Raph had faced up against. The thought of another brother somewhere in the city hurt with no means of communication filled his mind and anxiety tensed his muscles. He had to go after Mikey while Don took Raph back to the lair. "Which way did he go? How long ago did he leave? How could you let him go off into the city like that?!"
"He just ran off! Ya think I don't already know it's my fault?!" Raph growled back, his words rough with guilt and anger. Leo reeled back at the pain in the other's voice and looked from Raph's slumped form to Donnie's wide mahogany eyes.
"Leo, we need to get Raph home now." Don pulled Raph's falling form up more and gave the leader a desperate look. Leo ground his teeth and his fist tightened around the worn orange fabric he held. He hated to leave his brother out to fend for himself, but Raph was slumping further in unconsciousness as his situation became more dire. "There's no way to track Mikey without his T-phone and he's the quickest of all of us." Leo forcefully moved his legs forward and moved to take Raph in his arms. The brothers couldn't meet each other's eyes as they each silently prayed for their brother's safety. Leo steeled himself against the guilt weighing him down and sprinted from the alley.
Alright, I initially thought this was going to be a one-shot but it went in a completely different direction than I expected. I have never written for the 2012 turtle's but I feel they weren't too OOC. Thanks for reading.