This is another one of those brainstorm type pieces that I used to form Principles. If you haven't read Principles, this is a major spoiler. ;) And you won't really get the full effect without knowing the story.
I watched them fight with a strange sort of fascination. It was certainly not the first time I had seen their fighting style. But it was the first time I had seen the four of them together, as one. I leaned against the railing from my elevated position on the stairway. No one was coming or going right now. The crowd was all far too engrossed in the six mutant monsters that had invaded the club. The initial screams had died down. The people were beginning to welcome them, to cheer for the four turtles as they tried to outmaneuver the two much larger creatures.
"Man, could this get any worse?"
My eyes rested for a moment on the speaker. Funny how I could hear him over the crowd. He wasn't very far away, and he was talking loudly. They sure talked a lot, for ninjas. My father didn't even bother to fully train his students, but they knew to fight silently. I looked elsewhere, to the other turtles who were locked in battle. Tokka jerked his arm and flipped one of them onto his back. He landed hard, paralyzed for a second as he tried to catch his breath. He rolled to the side as the monster's foot came down, nearly crushing him.
My gaze came full circle, back to the first one. He was the one who'd been thrown through the wall, who'd looked around in panicked surprise as he realized that he was surrounded by an audience that consisted of more than my father and his students. I had at first thought that it would make them anxious, from that look of surprise. But that wasn't the case. In fact, as the crowd backed up and made way for him, he began to play to them. He was a showoff, and he was probably very worthy of attention in actual battle, although he was getting his ass kicked by my father's mutants.
"It would appear the antimutagen has been somewhat ineffective!"
Professor Perry. I had not spoken with him, but I knew him. I dealt very little in my father's business. Most of his students did not even know I existed. Of those who did, only a fraction had ever seen me. Professor Perry had not greatly interested me, anyway. His mutagen and what it did to the animals he was provided with interested me more, for the simple fact that they had potential. Really, my interest lie in these four freaks, and the way that they had managed to defeat my father and his entire clan.
"No kidding! We gotta do something!"
The two of them ducked underneath the metal steps I was sitting on. I glanced down, but lost interest quickly. I looked back up at the fight. The crowd struggled to keep away, giving them room to move. On the stage, the singer didn't miss a beat. They thought it was an act. They all thought it was part of the nightclub's entertainment.
"Oh this is bad!" The professor's voice rose from a few feet underneath me. He was yelling over the music and the chants from the crowd. "Carbon dioxide is essential to the mtanagenic process! Their burping is probably retarding the reaction!"
"Isn't there any way to speed it back up?"
My eyes followed the one that interested me most. There was something different about him. Something distinctly different from his partners or brothers or whatever the hell they were. I'd seen him fight before, on a rooftop against odds he could not have possibly hoped to best. I had questioned, when they dropped him through the skylight window, if he was even alive. But he had survived that. And something about the way he moved, the way he treated his opponent, let me know that he fully expected to survive this, too. But there was something more. Something even deeper than that. Something motivated him, and it was something different than what motivated the rest of them.
He could feel me watching him. I knew it by the invisible signals he was sending back. To say he was high on himself probably wouldn't have been exaggerating things. He danced around his opponent like he was invincible, just part of the nightclub's entertainment. As the creature's attention was diverted, he turned and scanned the crowd, and I knew he felt me. Our eyes met for a brief second and he flashed a knowing smile in my direction. He relaxed again, figuring me harmless. He had probably thought that it was someone else focusing in on him. Someone like my father, maybe.
I stood up as he turned back to the situation at hand. They had a plan now. I didn't know the first thing about chemistry, but I had a feeling that the man who created these freaks probably did. And since he had a plan, I figured this fight was over. But I wanted to get a little closer... just for the hell of it.
"Raph, now!"
The metal barrels crashed into the back of Tokka and Rahzars legs. Raph. So the freak had a name. I smiled. Of course he had a name. They all had names, I was sure. But even my father didn't know them.
The fire extinguishers worked. I crossed my arms over my chest and watched as they celebrated. The joy was uninterrupted by the sudden flood of foot soldiers into the club. "It's party time boys!"
It was like a game to them. They didn't treat it seriously. Raph took the opportunity to show off even more. I couldn't help but smile as I watched him. He was dancing as well as fighting. It didn't even phase him that these guys were trying to kill him. They wouldn't succeed. He'd walk out of here uninjured, and my father would try again. He would keep trying until the day he died. I sighed. He'd never listen to me. He'd never believe that I could do it, that I could hand him his enemies, if he'd let me.
The foot clan exhausted itself. Tatsu stepped forward. I glared at him, even though I knew he couldn't see me. I hope they kill his sorry ass. My father's assistant, my best friend's father, and not my favorite person in the world. But they didn't kill him. They took him down effortlessly and left him unconscious in the middle of the dancefloor. The last of the foot soldiers raced toward the entrance they'd made, realizing that they were defeated. All four of the turtles danced for the spectators, encouraging the cheers and chants. I laughed in spite of myself. They were enjoying the attention. Imagine that. Ninjas playing to the crowd.
They broke apart. I'm not sure if he planned it; I don't think he did. Raph walked right by me. How easy would it be, with or without my father's approval? I grabbed his arm and he spun to face me, probably expecting an attack. But he stopped short of hitting me as our eyes met. In the fraction of a second I had before I was seen by someone who would report my actions to my father, I pressed to him and kissed him hard. His eyes widened in surprise and his body went rigid. Yes, I could do it. Given the time, I could make him eat right out of my hand. I could figure him out, get into that deep psyche of his, and deliver him to my father, signed and sealed.
The other three were already on the stage. Raph relaxed slowly, and finally kissed my back. Our lips parted and he hesitated. I was going to be seen, but even so, I'd prove my point. Maybe if I was seen, I'd prove it to someone other than myself. Maybe even my father. More likely, he'd just be pissed off at me for being here in the first place. I didn't care. I knew. I knew what I could do, even if he wouldn't ever believe it.
Raph pulled away slowly and stared at me for a moment. His eyes darted to the stage, then back to me, and he turned away without a word. I watched him go and smiled. I knew.
***
"Raphael? You awake?"
"No."
I smiled and turned to the figure resting beside me. His arms were under his head, eyes closed. "Can I ask you something?"
"Maybe."
I ran my fingers over his arm, brushing against hard muscles. "Raph, do you remember years ago when my father made Tokka and Rahzar?"
"Mmm."
I turned and pressed to him. "Is that a yes?" I smiled.
"Mmm hmm."
"Are you even the slightest bit interested in hearing this?"
He smiled and opened his eyes. In one smooth movement, he grabbed my wrists and turned onto his back, pulling me across him. Our eyes met and we stared at each other for a moment. "Talk," he ordered. He sounded amused, if not interested.
"You remember the dance club?"
"'Course."
"You remember seeing me there?"
The smile quikly shifted to a look of confusion. He studied me for a minute, then looked away. After a few seconds, his eyes widened in surprise. "That was you?"
I laughed. "You're very observant, you know that?"
He studied me carefully, as if he didn't quite believe me. I smiled and kissed him quickly. "You know what's kinda weird?"
"What?"
"You were the first guy I ever kissed."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
He stared up at me for a moment, then pulled me closer. Our lips met in a kiss that was not nearly so quick or so casual as the one I'd just given. "Wanna know something else weird?" he whispered against my mouth.
"Mmm?"
He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me again. "That was my first time, too."