All was normal in the lair. As normal as it could be, anyway.
Leonardo sat comfortably a few feet before the television screen, staring at the motion picture intently. He was watching Space Heroes. Again. He was addicted to it; along with that stupid fictional character, Captain Ryan.
Donatello was at the table, blueprints spread out in front of him. He was murmuring some nonsense that had to do with mutagen and the Kraang, but that was all that could be understood by anybody else. He seemed to be planning absorbedly, so his brothers deemed it best to leave him be until he wanted to share his work.
Michelangelo was off doing who-knows-what in the kitchen. He was probably whipping up one of his "famous recipes", which consisted of whatever happened to be on hand.
Raphael was spending his quality time farther away from his siblings. Rather than watching television, planning, or cooking, he was murmuring quietly to his pet turtle. Spike.
Spike was the only one who truly and deeply understood Raph. Nobody else knew what it was like. Nobody knew what it really felt like to care so much about ones siblings that they couldn't begin to explain all that they would give up to ensure their safety. Nobody was ever there for Raph. Nobody understood how much the hothead would give up for his brothers. He would give up his life if it came to it.
But Spike understood, and Spike was always there for him. Raph had a soft-side for his little friend, though he would never admit that out loud. Though, truthfully speaking, Raphael would beat the shell out of any loathsome being that dared touch Spike.
Raphael held Spike gently in his over-sized hand. He fed his pet turtle as he continued to speak to the small creature. He practically poured his heart out to the little guy. He told him everything; but only because he knew that he could trust Spike.
Movement out of the corner of his eye caught Raph's attention. His head snapped up and he peered into the open area from where he nestled in the shadows.
Leonardo was gathering his three brothers together. It must have been patrol time. Raph stood and carried Spike a little ways, setting him down and murmuring quietly, "I'll be back, buddy." He turned and strode to the small forming group, only half listening to the garbage Leo had to say about the Foot. That was all he ever talked about. All he did was worry. This and that was dangerous, and so is this, and this, and they needed to watch out for that. Raph was sick of Leo's apprehension. If the team ran into any trouble, they could handle it. Leo didn't need to fret about every little thing.
The group bid a quick farewell to their father and sensei, Master Splinter, and they were off. Slinking through the shadows, Raphael was stuck between Leo and Donnie as they walked close to the wall. The four climbed up the side of a building and studied the city for a moment from the rooftop.
Raph remembered Leo speaking of something relating to the Foot, and that they would be waiting in a particular spot for them to arrive. They, the Foot, were perceptibly going to commit a crime, and the four heroes were to stop it. That would be easy. The Foot were wimpy little excuses of ninjas; therefore, taking them down was a cakewalk.
That was another problem with Leo: He always overestimated their foes. He was constantly speaking of problems that could occur, rather than what was going to occur. Clearly, half of the reasons for Leo's anxiety were complete nonsense. Like Shredder was going to come and destroy them all with bionic robots carrying around laser beam firepower.
Perhaps that was overreacting a bit, but it was a close enough example.
Raph climbed up a water tower and sat at the base. His feet dangled lifelessly over the edge, and his palms rested on the rim of the small platform. His green eyes lazily skimmed the skyline and he huffed, impatiently awaiting the arrival of the Foot.
Hours—or what seemed like hours—passed by as time continued to tick. Raph had hardly moved from his spot within the period of time, and he grew more and more impatient by the moment.
"That's it," the hothead grumbled. He pushed himself off the edge of the water tower, landing unharmed on the rooftop, and stormed over to Leo. "They're not going to show up!" he growled.
"We have to be patient," Leo said, not tearing his watchful gaze from the surrounding rooftops.
"No, you have to come up with a better plan, 'cause this is pointless!" Raph argued.
Leo looked at him out of the corner of his eye and nodded towards a group Foot ninja that were advancing towards them.
Raph grumbled. He never liked to think he was wrong, even when he knew that he was. Stubborn was a quality he'd happened to pick up somewhere along the way.
The four drew their weapons, ready for the oncoming opponents.
Raph swept the leg of one and elbowed another, pausing briefly before blocking an attack and taking down yet another of the Foot. It was a simple task, but quite pleasurable.
Quickly, the Foot had been taken down, and the battle was complete according to the four.
"We took them down!" Mikey yelled triumphantly, fistbumping the air.
"As always," Leo said, grinning victoriously and sheathing his katana.
"You may have defeated my ninjas…" a deep voice growled, "but now I will defeat you."
Raph whipped around, Sai still clenched in his fists. The four faced the Shredder. Flashbacks and images of their last encounter with the evil villain immediately flooded Raph's mind. He shook them away and narrowed his green eyes loathingly.
Leo unsheathed his katana once again. Raph shot him a brief glance, reading his gaze. Leo's deep blue eyes showed insecurity. He looked as though he would fight, but only if it was needed. Otherwise, he had some sort of escape plan in the making.
"Oh, man…" Donnie said in a hushed voice. He was clearly remembering their last come across with the Shredder. It had not gone as well as it could have. Master Splinter had even said that they were lucky to have escaped with their lives.
But Raph would not believe it. They were strong! They could defeat the Shredder with a little elbow grease. They had to be able to.
He would not tell himself he could not take down the Shredder alongside his brothers. Losing a battle implied weakness. And weakness was unacceptable.
Before any of the Turtles could move, the Shredder dashed forward. He swiftly and easily took each of the four down within moments.
They lay on the rooftop. Raph's gaze swept across his brothers' motionless bodies. Their yells of agony still rang through his head. The red, sticky liquid poured from wounds on various places upon their bodies. It was a horrid scene. The near-lifeless bodies of his brothers were almost too much to bear. Their sides heaved lightly, showing the slightest flicker of hope. They were not yet dead, but with the Shredder's form drawing nearer and nearer to their already broken bodies, their chances of surviving were decreasing rapidly.
"No!" Raph yelled weakly, coughing up a thick drop of blood. He winced as pain shot though his wounded side. "Take me!" he said, practically begging. "Just don't touch them…" The last sentence was barely audible, but his point had been made.
Shredder's form paused, turning slightly to land its dark gaze upon Raphael's broken figure. The Shredder strode slowly over to Raph, his claw-like weapons still extended. The evil villain lowered his weapon right up to Raph's throat, and the mutant's vision went black.