Alrighty all, as requested by your many awesome reviews, this is the sequel to Vicissitude! (which would be third in the Rogue series. If you have not read Rogue or Vicissitude, this story will make no sense, so I recommend reading the first two;)

And I would like to thank Amonraphoenix for pushing me to do a sequel even before Vicissitde had ended, and for hammering me with so many great and awesome ideas and beta reading this chapter for me.:)

A/N still don't own the turtles *sigh*

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys!:)

Prologue

Raphael placed the second tab across his son, Ren's, diaper. Raphael looked over at Leonardo who was placing Ren's twin sister Ryu's squirming leg through her pink sleeper.

"Okay, someone's gotta say it." Michelangelo began as he walked into the nursery.

Raphael glanced over his shoulder at his baby brother who was holding onto the hands of three year old Toshiro and his sister, two year old Sage. "Say what, Mikey?" Raphael asked as he buttoned up Ren's sleeper over his light yellow plastron. Ren grinned up at him, his light grey eyes standing out starkly against his jade coloured skin.

"Both of you need to get fixed." Michelangelo stated seriously. "You two have had like 4 kids in three years!" Michelangelo said with an incredulous shake of his head. "Which would be like, fine, except both of you are married to the same chick, which means Katherine's been pregnant for over three years straight!"

"We didn't know we were going to have twins, Mikey." Leonardo said as he picked Ryū up and grinned broadly at her, her skin a shade darker than Leonardo's, but a shade lighter than Toshiro.

"And besides, Toshiro and Sage were an acci...a surprise." Raphael amended as he smiled at Toshiro who ran towards him, latching himself onto one of his legs while Sage let go of Michelangelo's other hand and ran to Leonardo, wanting to be picked up. Her short, green tinged blonde ringlets bouncing as she jumped up and down in front of Leonardo.

Leonardo handed Ryu over to Michelangelo and picked Sage up, smiling at her, her dark brown eyes smiling as she laughed in delight. Sage was the only one of their children that looked almost human. She very closely resembled Katherine in looks except for her hair and skin, which appeared slightly green in certain lights, and unlike Katherine her eyes were a rich, dark brown.

They suspected that Leonardo was her father, but they weren't sure, they hadn't cared enough to do a DNA test to find out.

The twins -Ren and Ryū- were three months old and their paternity was also unknown, though Raphael suspected that he was their father, but he had no actual proof and hadn't really cared enough to ask Donatello to do a paternity test. Raphael had learned that some things were better left unknown.

"So what are we supposed to do, Mikey, just ask Donny to do a little snip-snip action down there?" Raphael snorted. "Yeah right, that ain't happening bro."

"Don't worry, Mikey, Katherine said number three and she was done." Leonardo said as he twirled Sage around. "But we got an extra surprise." Leonardo said with a grin as Sage squealed with delight.

Toshiro ran to Leonardo wanting his turn in the fun. Leonardo put Sage down and she ran to Raphael who put Ren in his crib and picked Sage up, giving her a huge hug.

"And blame Kitten." Raphael said with a slight shrug. "She's the one who wanted the kids so close together. She figured the last kid would feel left out if his or her older brother and sister were so close in age. But we had twins, so I guess it didn't really matter."

Michelangelo put Ryu back in her crib and crossed his arms over his plastron shaking his head, but with said a slight grin on his face. "I still say you two need to be fixed. It's no wonder she ran out of here as fast as she could." Michelangelo said as he shook his head. "So when's Kitten going to be back anyway?" Michelangelo asked curiously.

Raphael shrugged. "She said she would be gone for about a week I guess." He said as he walked with Sage from the room, hoping that the twins would fall asleep. They were fine at the moment, but for the last few days he could tell that the twins had been missing their mother; all of the children were, and Raphael and Leonardo missed her as well. "I know it's only been three days, but I get nervous when Kitten isn't around." Raphael growled in irritation as he thought about Katherine's 'job'.

Katherine had finished her 'maternity leave' and been given her next assignment; which was to track down a shipment of illegal weapons that were leaving the country at the behest of a certain buyer. Katherine's job was to try to track down the weapons and gather the information that would lead a government task force to the manufacturer of the weapons. The government would then determine if the weapons had been stolen, or if the company was trying to make a profit by selling the weapons on the black market.

This meant that it was not Katherine's job to stop the shipment of weapons, but just to gather the information; which had pissed her off because she wanted to make sure the weapons did not leave the country. But she had been given her orders, which she had agreed to only because Raphael and his brothers had all agreed to stop the shipment and destroy the weapons. They didn't want her putting herself into harm's way. The Wraith was a symbol of justice, not a vigilante, and they didn't want her to become one.

"So when are you and Holly going to tie the knot?" Raphael asked his brother, hoping to turn the topic of conversation away from Katherine, because every time he thought of her his stomach would clench into little painful knots of worry.

Raphael walked downstairs with Sage, Michelangelo, Leonardo and Toshiro following.

"I don't know, Raph, hopefully when she finishes school." Michelangelo mumbled out and Raphael looked over his shoulder to look at his brother's blushing face.

Raphael nodded and grinned. Raphael had been surprised to learn that Holly was going to school to become a nurse. With her pink hair and party girl attitude Raphael hadn't expected her to be taking something that not only required a lot of brains, but a lot of dedication as well. But Holly was a girl who worked hard and played even harder. But Michelangelo and Holly seemed to hit it off and Raphael was happy for his baby brother. He knew that Michelangelo wanted to ask Holly to marry him, but he had forced himself to wait until she had finished her degree. Which made sense, Holly had a lot on her plate at the moment and she would be done in the spring.

Of course Raphael also knew that Michelangelo was wanting to start a family of his own, the sooner the better. Michelangelo's biological clock had kicked in and although Michelangelo was only thirty, he was going to turn 31 in May. But Raphael suspected that with Holly's career, his brother may have to wait a little longer than he wanted to start a family.

"Don't worry, Mikey, you're only 30." Raphael said with a chuckle. "You've still got plenty of time."

"Yeah, I know. But I see you and Leo's kids and I want what you have." Michelangelo replied softly a tinge of want in his brother's voice.

"Things will work out, Mikey." Leonardo said with an encouraging grin. "Holly's only what, 26?" Michelangelo nodded. "That's plenty of time."

"I know," Michelangelo moaned. "But Donny and Ivy are getting hitched in June, and I thought that we could do a double wedding. But Donny said 'No'. So I gotta wait till at least after they get married."

"Why did Donny say 'No' anyway?" Raphael asked curiously.

Michelangelo shrugged. "Something about Holly and Ivy always having to share everything together because they are twins. So Ivy wanted just one day where it was all about her." He replied.

Raphael frowned but nodded. "Makes sense." He told his brother.

"How are Ivy and Donny anyway?" Leonardo asked quietly as Toshiro ran into the playroom.

Sage began to struggle. "Daddy, down." She said wanting to follow her older brother and play. Raphael let his little girl down and watched her run to go and play.

Michelangelo gave an hitched shrug. "They are concentrating on the wedding." Was his brother's soft reply.

They fell into an uncomfortable silence. Ivy had been pregnant, but had a late term miscarriage eight months into her pregnancy, nearly a month ago. They hadn't really seen much of either Donatello or Ivy after they had heard the tragic news and had attended the small funeral service for their daughter.

They knew Ivy was trying to focus on her music. She composed musical scores for commercials and movies and tended to be quite busy with her work. And Donatello had immersed himself in his work, building some sort of new machine; though they weren't exactly sure what it was or what it was supposed to do.

"But I think they're going to try again after the wedding." Michelangelo put in as they stopped to watch the two children slide down the little plastic slide that had been set up in the playroom. The winter sunlight slanted in through the windows giving the yellow, painted room a cheery feel despite the frigid temperatures outside.

Katherine's uncle had give Katherine and Raphael a house as a wedding present. Mansion would actually be a better word for the 10 bedroom, 8 bathroom house that was located on the same property as the 'cabin' that Katherine had used while she had been in New York painting the portraits for the museum. Michelangelo and Donatello were still living in the lair, but they all knew that once both Michelangelo and Donatello got married, that they were going to move out of the house had seemed huge at first, until four kids later and Katherine's mother, Michelangelo, Holly, Donatello, Ivy, Casey, April and Shadow all visiting and staying for extended periods of time making the house felt almost too small at times.

The fact that Katherine had 'wed' Leonardo as well was kept more as an intimate family secret that was shared between themselves, Katherine's mother, Holly, Ivy, Casey, April, Barry and Deon. The rest of the party guests who had been invited to the wedding had been oblivious to the impromptu handfasting ceremony that had been held on the edge of the loch. And Raphael and Leonardo had been fine with that.

"Did Donny come with you or is he coming with Ivy?" Leonardo asked Michelangelo as he watched Toshiro snatch a toy from Sage who started to wail loudly.

"Toshiro, give that back." Raphael sternly told his son who reluctantly gave Sage her toy back. Sage gave a hiccup as she stopped crying and clutched her toy close to her chest, giving her brother a vicious scowl. Toshiro grabbed for another toy and ignored his sister as Sage turned her attention to a new toy, dropping the one she had been so heartbroken to lose a moment before.

Raphael gave a faint sigh of resignation and shook his head at the short attention spans of his son and daughter.

"He's with Ivy." Michelangelo answered Leonardo's question. "She spent the night at the lair so they are both heading in. I was at Holly's so we came in together. But they should be here any minute." Michelangelo answered. "Holly's in the kitchen unpacking dinner." Michelangelo said with a smile.

Raphael and Leonardo both nodded. Holly and Ivy were going to babysit while Raphael and his brothers followed the lead that Katherine had texted them a few hours ago. Raphael had texted Katherine back to back off and to go and do her job. But he hadn't gotten a reply text, which had begun to make him more and more nervous the longer he didn't hear anything from her.

"Alright then, when Donny gets here we will be all set to go." Leonardo said with a nod to his brothers as they gathered up the two kids at the sound of raised voices coming from downstairs.

Raphael smiled, excited to be able to spend some time with all of his brothers. He was looking forward to heading into the city, running across the rooftops, stretching their muscles and if they were lucky, bashing in a few skulls in the process.

Raphael was feeling practically domesticated now a days. All he ever seemed to do was change dirty diapers and look after the kids. He was so damn tired most of the time that when Casey came out to watch a game and hang out for the weekend; Raphael found himself only talking about the kids and barely even being to stay awake until 10pm.

He was beginning to miss the excitement and rush of his bachelor days. Not that he would trade Katherine or the kids for the world, but just getting out once in a while, feeling a little danger and being in the moment didn't seem too much to ask for. Raphael just hoped that Katherine just stayed out of the way and let them do their job.

Raphael looked out the front window of the truck in trepidation. "Come on, Leo!" He shouted at his brother. "Drive faster!"

"I'm driving as fast as I can, Raph." Leonardo growled at him in irritation as they held on for dear life as Leonardo sharply rounded another street corner.

Raphael watched the lights of the traffic fly by them as they drove erratically through the streets of Manhattan. "I don't like this, Leo." Raphael grumbled as a feeling foreboding traveled cloyingly over his skin.

"I know, Raph." Leonardo snapped in irritation.

"Make your next right." Donatello ordered as Leonardo cranked the wheel, sending them all slamming into the left side of the truck.

"Damn it!" Raphael roared. "I knew we never should have let Kitten go back. We told her that we would handle it!" He yelled in exasperation.

"Raph," Michelangelo began soothingly, "Kitten never said that she was going to the warehouse."

Raphael turned his angry gaze towards his baby brother. "She never said she wasn't either." He ground out through clenched teeth. "Mikey, I have a ball of lead sittin' in my gut at the moment that tells me that Kitten is in trouble, really, really deep tropuble. So don't try tellin' me that she's not." Raphael snapped as he clutched at his stomach as it did another sickening roll.

They had begun driving to the address of the warehouse that Katherine had texted to them, which turned out to be in a deserted, decrepit section of the east side docks .

Raphael had never received another text from her, which was not that unusual, but he had also texted both Barry and Deon to let them know that he and his brothers were taking care of the weapons and to keep Katherine as far away as possible from any danger.

Unfortunately he had never received a text back from either Barry or Deon which had just made his stomach clench even more with gut churning worry and apprehension.

Donatello spoke up again from the back of the truck where he sat with Michelangelo."We're almost there. Should be on the right hand side."

Raphael looked over at his genius brother, who looked tired and drawn. He hadn't really known what to say to his brother after his and Ivy's horrific loss, but Raphael was glad that Donatello had put his sorrow and his grief aside to help them out; venturing out of his lab -and the lair - for the first time in weeks.

"Thanks for coming, Donny." Raphael said softly to his brother gratefully.

Donatello looked at Raphael and smiled. "I'm good, Raph, thanks." Donatello said to him softly giving Raphael's shoulder a comforting squeeze. "And Ivy's good too. We'll try again...someday. It still hurts, but these things happen, and Ivy understands that as well. I've come to terms with our loss and we are moving on, hoping for better things in the future." He said comfortingly. "Besides, I'd never let you guys get into trouble without me. Plus Kitten needs our help."

Raphael felt his face drop as worry crowded his mind again. "I hate feeling this way, Donny. I can feel that something is really wrong; that she's in trouble...and I think...I think she's badly hurt." The last came out as the softest whisper.

"Don't worry, we'll find her. She's going to be just fine, Raph." Donatello said with a smile as he gave Raphael's shoulder another comforting squeeze. "Kitten always manages to get herself into and out of these things on her own."

"I can't live without her, Donny. I...I just can't lose her again." Raphael whispered miserably as he thought back to nearly four years ago when he had thought he had lost her to a bullet through the chest.

"Here." Donatello barked suddenly.

Leonardo slammed on the breaks, the truck skidding to a halt. Raphael braced his hand on the windshield to stop himself from being thrown through the glass.

"Raph." Leonardo whispered softly.

"I know." Raphael growled.

"Something's not right." Leonardo said shaking his head from side to side as they peered up at the darkened warehouse in front of them.

"Don't care." Raphael growled as he leap from the truck, his brothers following his lead. "You sure this is the right place, Donny?" Raphael asked as he pulled his sais from his belt, clenching them so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

Donatello nodded as Leonardo unsheathed his swords. Donatello put his GSP locator in his bag and pulled his bo from his back as Michelangelo slowly pulled his nunchucks from his belt, a grim look on his baby brother's face.

"Donny," Raphael began in a low and dangerous voice. "When Kitten comes back home you are going to find a very ingenious way of keeping track of her. Or better yet, she's never going out on assignment again. They can put her on desk duty for all I care. I can't take this shit anymore!"Raphael roared angrily.

"Gee, Raph, I don't think the other side of Manhattan heard you." Michelangelo said sarcastically.

"Shut up, Mikey." Raphael snapped, his anger increasing as worry for his wife began to reach a fever pitch of anxiety.

"Hey, Raph, don't get all snarky with me..." Michelangelo began as Leonardo put his finger to his lips silencing him from bickering any more with his baby brother.

"Let's get in, find Katherine, and then get out. Something about this place doesn't feel right. This entire area is completely deserted." Leonardo quietly observed, his eyes darting vigilantly back and forth between darkened shadows.

"Are you two sure that Kitten is even here?" Donatello asked quietly.

"Where else could she be, Donny?" Raphael asked, a hint of panic beginning to fill him voice. Raphael looked over at Leonardo who motioned with his katanas that the door to the warehouse was unlatched.

Raphael clutched his sais even tighter, the sweat from his palms making the grips slippery. "Well, let's go say hello." Raphael growled as Leonardo bent over and rolled up the metal door, letting the meagre light from the moon light a tiny portion of the warehouse's darkened interior.

"It's quiet." Michelangelo whispered as they quietly and slowly entered the warehouse.

"Don't you dare say 'too quiet', Mikey." Raphael hissed at his baby brother.

Michelangelo just shrugged as they paused in their movements. They listened and heard nothing except for the wind blowing outside.

"This place is deserted!" Raphael snarled as his eyes frantically searched the darkened interior for any sign of Katherine. He found nothing but wooden crates stacked upon each other in haphazard towers; some that threatened to fall with the slightest amount of effort.

They moved further into the building but encountered nothing and no one. Raphael jammed his sais into his belt as he roared in frustration. The feeling of danger for Katherine was crawling across his skin leaving goose bumps in its wake. "She's not here!" He shouted as his eyes flew to Leonardo who turned and looked at Raphael over his shoulder. Leonardo's face was grim and pale. "Leo?" He questioned as Leonardo suddenly stilled his head tilting up as if he was trying to listen to a very faint sound.

Raphael listened intently as he looked over at Michelangelo who was a little in front of him, Donatello bringing up the rear behind him.

Raphael finally heard a high pitched squeal that sounded familiar, but his mind was having a hard time identifying it.

Raphael looked at Leonardo in confusion. His brother's eyes suddenly widened in understanding and fear just as Raphael identified the sound. He and his older brother shared a bleak moment of horror filled understanding. Raphael dove for Michelangelo trying to protect his baby brother while Leonardo tried to do the same for Donatello, just as the missile struck the warehouse. Their world exploded into a ball of burning flames, flying debris and thick, acrid smoke. Agonizing pain ripped and tore through Raphael's body as he was forcefully plunged into darkened oblivion.

Michelangelo blurrily opened his eyes and encountered all of the flames of hell surrounding him in a towering orange-lit inferno. Flames licked and burned at his skin as he tried to move, but found that something heavy was draped across his body crushing him. He shook his head a few times, trying to clear his vision as he looked down and saw that it was Raphael who was limply sprawled across his chest. "Raph?" He questioned nervously, unable to hear his voice over the ringing in his ears. "Raphie?" He questioned again, his voice no doubt carrying with it the faint edge of panic and terror.

His brother didn't respond as Michelangelo gently attempted to move Raphael without injuring him further. He heaved his brother off and gasped in fear and horror. Raphael's face was a ruin of blood and chunks of metal shrapnel. Michelangelo's horrified eyes drifted down Raphael's body, the entire upper left side of Raphael's body was a burnt, blackened, bloody, mangled mess of ripped, shredded, shrapnel torn, still smouldering flesh.

Michelangelo grabbed the front of Raphael's jacket in terror filled panic as he desperately tore the burning, smoking leather from his brother's unresponsive body.

With a shaking hand burning with pain he reached out with two fingers, frantically searching for a heart beat as his gaze swung around looking for Leonardo and Donatello in the carnage that surrounded him.

"Donny!" He shouted desperately, but was unable to hear a reply if there was one. His ears still didn't seem to be hearing anything but a high pitched ringing noise.

Michelangelo felt a thready, weak pulse flutter underneath his fingers and he breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Just hang on, Raph. I'm gonna find Donny and Leo." He told his unconscious brother as he pulled himself shakily to his feet searching through the orange tinged inferno that surrounded him.

Michelangelo squinted through the smoke filled, fiery haze as he managed to spot what looked like a soot covered hand buried under a pile of broken, splintered wood. He stumbled over to the pile of wood digging through the charred and still burning mound, ignoring the burns on his hands as he desperately searched for Donatello and Leonardo. "Donny! Leo!" He called out desperately, wondering irrelevantly why he was even bothering to call out his brother's name since he wouldn't be able to hear the answering reply.

He lifted off a thick piece of planking and unearthed the rest of his brother's torn and bloody forearm. Michelangelo felt his world go black around the edges as he fought back his need to vomit when he realized that the hand he had been trying to uncover was no longer attached to his brother's body, but now he knew which brother the hand had belonged to.

"DONNY!" He cried out in horrified terror and he watched a growing puddle of blood begin to trickle out from around where he half sat, half knelt on the floor. Michelangelo quickly dashed the tears of misery and fear from his eyes and cheeks as he dug further into the pile of wood finally unearthing his brother's badly battered body. "DONNY!" He yelled as he shook his brother frantically, praying that he was somehow alive, despite the horrific amount of blood loss. Donatello partially opened his pain glazed eyes and spoke, but Michelangelo couldn't hear or understand his brother's words.

Michelangelo shook his head from side to side. "I can't hear you, Donny." He told his brother who motioned with his uninjured right hand, pointing down at his legs which were still buried under a mass of shattered wood.

Michelangelo nodded and quickly removed the broken beams revealing his brother's shredded and torn left leg. Michelangelo tore off his mask, quickly tying it around Donatello's shattered leg, trying to stem the crimson tide that poured forth from his brother's leg.

Michelangelo then tore Donatello's mask from around his head as he deftly tied a tourniquet around what was left of his brother's right forearm.

Donatello grabbed Michelangelo's shoulder anxiously. He mouth the words 'RAPH' and 'LEO'.

"Donny, listen to me...You're hurt bad, really, really bad. Your arm...your leg..." Michelangelo choked back a sob as he clutched Donatello's uninjured hand desperately. "You're bleeding really bad Donny." He said dashing tears from his eyes with the back of his hand. Donatello let go of his hand and brushed a bloodstained finger across Michelangelo's cheek. Donatello's eyes filled with tears and excruciating agony as he again asked about Raphael and Leonardo. "Raph...he's...he's hurt bad, but I don't know how bad it really is and I don't know where Leo is." Michelangelo choked out in a wavering voice that was filled with panic and terror.

Donatello nodded in understanding and motioned for him to go. 'FIND LEO' His brother mouthed. Michelangelo paused and shook his head from side to side unable to leave his gravely injured brother.

Donatello grasped Michelangelo's hand firmly in his own and gave it a squeeze as he more firmly mouthed 'LEO' and gave an encouraging nod to leave him. Michelangelo reluctantly left his side searching in vain for his oldest sibling. The smoke burned his eyes and throat as he began coughing as he searched the flames until his managed to spot a flash of brilliant cerulean amongst the greys, blacks and orange hues of the burning building. He rushed to Leonardo's side, falling to his knees hard as he looked at the heavily saturated, blood covered cement that surrounded his motionless eldest brother.

"Oh, God, Leo." Michelangelo whispered in desolate horror as he shook his head back and forth in disbelief. "LEO!" He screamed in anguished misery that shook him down to the very depths of his soul.

And yes I really am going to leave the chapter at that, cause I am evil;)

Thoughts and opinions are always welcomed!