Never Forget

-Hey Rocketshipper here! The following is another short story focused on Rocksteady and Bebop, set in the same continuity as my previous fanfic, "Rescue Me", which was set in the 80s cartoon verse. I came up with the idea a long time ago, when I was thinking about what the characters might do after the events of the story, and that included how they might react to certain real life historical events, if they occurred in their universe too, and thus this story concept was born. It's been in my head for a long time, from before I was even halfway done with "Rescue Me" but I suddenly decided to write it when I remembered what anniversary was coming up. I started on Friday and managed to write the whole thing in time to upload today, on time. I admit it might be a little rushed due to that; I might come back and revise and update it later if anything else strikes me as needing to be in there, but it mostly came out as I imagined. I hope any readers will enjoy it and get something out of it. The story takes place 4 to 5-ish years after the end of Rescue Me; you'll understand why I'm kind of vague about the time when you read it. If you haven't read "Rescue Me" before this, you might be kind of confused as to some of the details about these characters, so if you're confused or want to know more about what happened prior to this, please read "Rescue Me" as well. And note that this story is written by someone who has not actually been in the military, so forgive me if I screwed any important real life details about that up. And I hope I haven't portrayed anything in a potentially offensive manner without realizing it; I completely respect and honor the men and women who willingly put themselves at risk to protect family and country. So without further ado…-

-Present-

The roar of gunfire and the bang of exploding grenades echoed in Rocksteady's ears as he jumped for it, landing half in and half out of truck just as it began to move. For one terrifying moment the mutant felt himself begin to slide backwards, back into the battle field, and then four sets of hands seized the back of his fatigues and began hauling him into the truck. He heard the grunts and strain of his fellow soldiers trying to pull in his tremendous weight and worried for a moment that they were all going to go tumbling out of the vehicle, and then Bebop grabbed him by the back of the collar and pulled him in all the way and the captain slammed the tailgate closed with a loud bang.

Rocksteady collapsed on the metal floor of the truck bed and tried to get his wind back. His lungs screamed painfully with each breath, and his whole body seemed like one mass of pain. After about thirty seconds he opened his eyes and slowly pushed himself upright, focusing his eyes to the dim light. Bebop was kneeling next to him, a worried hand on his shoulder, and many of his comrades, the ones who were ok enough to sit up at least, were watching him warily as well. An acute and welcome sense of relief began to slowly flow over the mutant as the reality of the situation began to set in. They'd made it! They were safe. They'd survived. He could barely believe it. He noticed Bebop giving him a worried look over the top of his cracked mirrored sunglasses and tried to give him a reassuring smile. "I…I'm ok…" Rocksteady wheezed between breaths, as he tried to climb to his feet. The bumping motion of the truck and his own weakness sent him crashing back on his butt in an instant and he winced at the impact that went through his whole body. Bebop grabbed his left shoulder and helped half walk and half drag him towards the back of the cab, where they both collapsed on the bench running around the edges of the truck bed.

Rocksteady leaned back and closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating again on catching his breath, as thoughts and memories poured through his mind

-Many Months Earlier: October"

Rocksteady stood at the window, looking out over the skyline of New York City, feeling overwhelmed by the sense of tragedy and sadness that had fallen over everyone for the past month. The lights in the apartment were dim, only the gentle glow of the moon and stars illuminated the Rhino, and the two figures standing behind him, watching. Rocksteady clenched his hand in a fist, and felt a crushing weight around his heart, like a vice. Nothing would ever be the same now. "We usedta be able ta see da tops of da towers from here…" he finally spoke, his voice solemn.

Angie stood behind him, watching silently, her face stained with tears. Bebop took a step forward and put a hand on her shoulder but she pulled away without a word and took a step towards Rocksteady. The large mutant turned and looked her in the eyes, his face full of sorrow but also determination. Looking at him she knew he'd made up his mind, both of them had, but still…still… She wiped a fresh tear from her face and swallowed. "I don't understand…" she said finally.

Rocksteady looked down for a second, like he was thinking deeply, and then he met her eyes again. "It's just…" he looked up at Bebop and the warthog nodded, and Rocksteady continued. "It's just…Da two of us, we aint dat different from da guys who were flying dose planes."

Angie felt shocked; she stared at Rocksteady with disbelief and then turned her head to Bebop. "What!? That's crazy!"

"No it aint." Bebop replied soberly. "Da tings we usedta do for Shreddah and Krang; if da Toitles hadn' always stopped us…if we hadn' been such screw ups…" he let the sentence hang.

Rocksteady nodded in agreement. "Yeah. It woulda been just as bad as dis. Prolly even worse."

"Da whole woild." Bebop added.

Angie glared at her husband and a spark of anger entered her eyes. "So what?" she asked. "You didn't, and you aren't like that anymore. You changed." After a moment she reached out and took Rocksteady's hand gently in both of hers. "You don't have anything to prove. You don't have to do this."

Rocksteady smiled gently and raised her hands up with his. He kissed the back of her hand, and more tears ran down Angie's face. "I know." He said firmly. "We aint doin it because of dat."

"…Then why?" Angie asked.

Rocksteady looked up at Bebop again. He had been the one most affected out of their family. He'd been the only one to witness the attack with his own eyes. Bebop nodded and then looked at Angie. "We just wanna help. Make a difference. We spent so many years trying to hurt people and dis city." He shrugged. "Now we can do sometin to protect it instead."

Angie glared back and forth between them and her anger boiled again. "Well then why don't you help the Turtles with all of their stuff or something instead!" she cried angrily. "You don't have to go over there! You don't have to fight!" she exclaimed, and her anger turned to sobs. Rocksteady pulled her into his embrace and she buried her head in his chest, crying softly.

They stood that way for several minutes, saying nothing, Rocksteady simply holding his distraught wife while Bebop watched on. After a time, Angie's sobs began to lesson in intensity and become more infrequent. She slowly moved her arms and wrapped them around Rocksteady, returning his embrace. "I need you." She whispered softly. "Tyler needs you." Rocksteady continued to hold her close, saying nothing. "Emily needs you." She finished.

Rocksteady felt that same painful squeeze in his heart. Emily. Leaving his daughter was going to be the most difficult thing of all. But he and Bebop had made up their minds. They were going to do this.

Bebop stepped forward and put a hand on Angie's shoulder. "Don't worry Angie. We'll be back. It aint like were gonna make a career outta it or anytin."

Angie let go of Rocksteady with her right arm and put it around Bebop, and Rocksteady followed suit, pulling him into a three way embrace. Angie cried and hugged them both, feeling like her heart was going to break. "Promise me. Promise you'll both come back safe." She whispered. They both promised and reassured her, even though they knew it was a promise they might not be able to keep.

-Present-

Rocksteady opened his eyes and watched as Bebop tied a bandanna around the bullet wound on his left thigh, and started taking inventory of his own injuries.

His right hand was still bleeding moderately; Rocksteady pulled his own olive drab colored bandanna out of his pocket and began wrapping it around the knife wound as best he could. He grabbed one end of the cloth in his teeth and pulled the knot as tight as he could tolerate, and watched the cloth begin to stain red. It was the best he could do until further notice. He glanced to the side at the bullet wound in his right shoulder; surprisingly it looked like it was already clotting pretty well. Still hurt like hell though; his entire arm felt like it was on fire, and Rocksteady wondered if the bullet had broken any bones in his shoulder. The cuts on his left arm and hand weren't that bad and were bleeding only lightly now. But his lungs were still on fire, like he had just run a marathon, and he couldn't seem to catch his breath for some reason. "Probably just exhaustion from the battle" he figured.

Rocksteady coughed and a huge bolt of pain shot through his chest and he tasted a tinge of copper on his tongue. Bebop heard the noise and looked up from finishing the knot on his makeshift bandage. The broken tusk and ragged bullet hole in the side of the warthog's face made Rocksteady's stomach turn again, and he felt a phantom flash of pain in sympathy and averted his eyes slightly. But despite the nasty looking wound, Bebop was miraculously still alive, they all were, and Rocksteady sent up a silent praise to God for seeing them through everything. Bebop looked at Rocksteady with concern and then scooted closer to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm fine pal…" Rocksteady stated, and coughed again painfully. Bebop looked at him with worry and fear and then pointed at his chest. "What…what is…" then he stopped mid sentence. The front of his combat fatigues was soaked in blood.

-Thirty Minutes Earlier:-

Rocksteady let out a grunt of exertion and shifted the straps of the five heavy packs he was lugging to a more comfortable position as he continued trudging after his platoon mates. The wind blew around them, whipping the sand around them into a storm, but it wasn't enough to blot out the scorching rays of the middle-eastern sun shining high above them. It sucked that they had to wear so much clothing and gear in a place like this; Rocksteady was sweating through his thick camo fatigues. He wiped his sweaty forehead with one hand and looked ahead through the blowing sand to the front of the group, where Bebop was.

It seemed like they had been in this place forever, and it had been a surprisingly boring tour of duty so far. They'd only been in two real battles, and both times it seemed they'd lasted less than a minute, with the enemy never really getting too close. Not that Rocksteady was really complaining, the less real combat they saw, the more likely he and Bebop would be able to make it home safely to their family when their duty ended. But it still felt like they hadn't really done much since coming here.

Rocksteady shifted his bags again and he stared ahead at Bebop, carrying an identical number of packs. Courtesy of their fellow soldiers…again. It wasn't that the two of them were being bullied and abused exactly; no one in their right minds would have picked a fight with either of the mutants, but They hadn't exactly received a warm welcome from most of the soldiers they'd met these past months. Most of their comrades in the squad acted very stand-offish towards them, and no one really socialized with the two mutants. And of course whenever there was any kind of heavy lifting or carrying to do, the captain ordered them to do it. It really ticked Bebop off most of the time. "We aint a coupla pack mules, ya know!" he had growled under his breath to Rocksteady that morning, when the rest of the team dumped as many packs on the mutants as they could handle. "We don't even put up wit dis junk from most New Yorkers anymore, but we gotta here!? Don't dey know we's fightin' to protect people, da same as dem?"

Rocksteady understood why it bothered Bebop so much; he'd had to put up with this kind of thing long before he became a mutant. It was understandable. But it really didn't bother Rocksteady that much, and he tried to get Bebop to see it that way too. "Dey just don't know how to treat us. Dey's never interacted with guys like us before." He reasoned. And it wasn't like being ordered to carry a little extra weight was a huge burden. They were mutants. There wasn't much use getting mad about it. Both Master Splinter and Father Anthony had impressed on him in their own ways that getting angry or aggressive rarely solved any problems or changed peoples' minds. "Turn the other cheek" as it was said. Sure it still hurt to be treated poorly, and in the past, even recently, he'd let his temper get the better of him, but he was working on that. Their comrades in the squad would come around eventually, Rocksteady was sure of it. And if they never did, well was it that important? They were here for themselves, not to be popular.

The platoon of soldiers continued to trudge through the desert on foot, as they scouted ahead and cleared the way for the armored transport trucks driving back behind them. As the group approached the top of a ridge leading towards a small valley, Rocksteady thought he saw a small glint of light from the opposite hill several hundred yards ahead. Suddenly the air was filled with the sound of an earsplitting gunshot and Rocksteady's heart froze in his chest as he saw a frighteningly large gout of blood shoot from the back of Bebop's head and his friend dropped to the ground behind a crop of rocks like a sack of bricks.

For the longest five seconds of his life, Rocksteady completely froze. It seemed like everything around him suddenly turned black and white and was running at half speed. Bullets began flying all around him as the enemy's ambush was sprung, and his comrades reacted instantly, but Rocksteady's mind was a complete blank. All he could see was the blood flying from Bebop's head, and feel the weight of crushing panic and terror in his heart. Bebop! Bebop was…! He felt Anderson grab him by the arm and yank him hard, screaming in his ear, and he came back to reality all at once. His soldier training kicked in and Rocksteady dropped to the ground next to Anderson behind a large boulder, leaving the bags he'd been carrying in a heap where he'd been standing before. He brought his rifle up to ready position and scanned for targets, all the while his heart pounding and his emotions fighting to overwhelm him. Valiantly he pushed down his reaction and tried to focus on the here and now; there would be time to mourn later.

Anderson laid down some cover fire and Rocksteady ducked around the boulder, crouch-running towards the next safest rock, which barely concealed his huge bulk. Darn sometimes it really sucked being big. He peered over the rock and shot his rifle in the general direction of three enemies ahead, and then charged to the right towards more cover. The battle raged all around them, it seemed like the enemies were now coming from every direction, and he heard the sounds of engines behind them, possible enemy vehicles converging to cut off their escape. But all the while he kept moving forward when he could. He had to get to Bebop; to see for sure if he was really gone.

Finally, Rocksteady leaped over a boulder and landed on his side behind the crop of rocks where he'd seen his friend fall. Bebop was lying on his back, his head propped upright against a boulder, and Campbell, one of the team's medics, was crouched beside him, holding a soaked gauze pad to the back of the warthog's head. His right tusk was now nothing more than a cracked crooked stump, and Rocksteady saw a gruesome looking ragged hole in the side of Bebop's cheek, the sight of it, along with all the blood, nearly made him lose his lunch. Laying eyes on his ravaged friend, Rocksteady felt his heart nearly stop with grief, and then Bebop shifted his head slightly and a tiny weak smile played across his face; he slowly raised one hand and gave a thumbs up sign.

For a minute Rocksteady couldn't believe it. He could barely catch his breath from surprise. Campbell saw the expression on his face out of the corner of his eye, and turned, nodding. "He's ok. Damn lucky too. Went straight through. An inch or so more in any direction and he'd be gone. Broke his jaw though." He turned his attention back to Bebop and rummaged through is bag for more gauze with one hand, while continuing to keep pressure on the mutant's wound with the other.

A huge grin of relief broke out on Rocksteady's face and tears ran down his face. For a brief instant he forgot where he was, forgot about the deadly battle raging around him and just let the relief of the moment wash over him. It was a mistake that almost cost him his life. Without thinking he pushed himself into a sitting position, and his upper body rose above the line of the rocks they were hidden behind. A look of panic shot across Bebop's eyes and Campbell noticed too. "Idiot! Stay behind cover!" the medic yelled, grabbing the mutant's arm and yanking him forward, just as the distinctive report of the Sniper Rifle sounded again, and a bullet punched through Rocksteady's right shoulder.

-Present-

Rocksteady gasped at the fresh stab of pain as Bebop unceremoniously pulled open the front of his blood soaked fatigues, ripping his undershirt as well, exposing the Rhino's bare chest and the open bullet wound on the right side, almost exactly mirrored with the old scar on the left side of his chest. Rocksteady stared down at it. "Wha…when did dat happen?" he mused with genuine surprise. He didn't remember being shot in the chest. It seemed like it didn't even start hurting until Bebop brought it to his attention; but then it was probably easily lost in all the rest of the pain he was in. He coughed again painfully, tasting more blood, and was suddenly aware of a very familiar heaviness in his chest. Oh great, this again. He looked up at Bebop sheepishly. "Guess dat's why my lungs are hurtin." He said, as if it was no big deal. Bebop gave him an angry "are you kidding me" look and Rocksteady shrugged weakly, feeling a bit embarrassed.

The warthog turned away and motioned towards Campbell. The medic finished up the bandage he was working on and, noticing Bebop's signal, stood up and approached. Bebop nodded towards Rocksteady, but the Rhino shook his head and tried to motion the medic away. "I'm ok. I can hold on for now. Finish patchin up da udder guys first." He intoned quietly. Bebop gave him a dirty look and reached over, lightly smacking Rocksteady behind his ear. "Hey, ow!" Rocksteady replied, and then coughed again, wheezing slightly. Bebop glared at him and then looked back to Campbell expectantly.

The medic nodded and gave Rocksteady his best commanding stare. "Don't give me any bull, Williams. Just let me do my job." Rocksteady frowned but then reluctantly nodded and removed his fatigues and torn undershirt when Campbell motioned him to do so. "Judging by that cough and your breathing, I bet the bullet nicked your lung. Maybe you're alright at this moment but if I don't seal the wound, things will get a lot worse quickly." He stated authoritatively. Rocksteady just nodded weakly and rested his head back again as the medic got to work.

-Fifteen Minutes Ago-

The impact shockwave shot through Rocksteady's entire body, head to toe, as his thickened Rhino skull smashed full force into the enemy truck. The metal side of the vehicle crumpled like a tin can and the entire machine flipped over onto its side, sending enemy soldiers scattering in all directions, some of them yelling in terror. Rocksteady felt half stunned, but he was still in control enough to yell to his comrades. "Go, go! The way is clear!" he bellowed, and the rest of his squad broke from cover and ran, shooting at the retreating enemies and covering those who were carrying the wounded.

Rocksteady spotted a lone enemy coming at him around the cab of the vehicle and reacted quickly, grabbing the man's rifle and wrenching it out of his hands with little effort. The guy was quick, in almost an instant he had a pistol in his hand and aimed at the mutant, taken from a holster strapped to his back. Rocksteady grabbed the man's wrist and wrenched it to the side just as the gun went off; the man bellowed in pain and dropped the weapon. Rocksteady raised his left fist, ready to clobber the guy into submission, when he saw the man's hand flash out and a tremendous pain shot up his right arm. It was the mutant's turn to bellow in pain now, he dropped the man's collar and pulled his hand back, shocked to see a large bowie knife buried in the back of his hand all the way to the hilt. The blade was sticking straight out of the center of his palm. The enemy turned, trying to take advantage of the moment, and dove for his pistol. He grabbed the weapon and spun around, firing up at the Rhino, but Rocksteady slipped to the side just in time and aimed a kick right in the man's face, taking him out of the fight.

Pulling the knife out with a small cry of pain, Rocksteady tossed the weapon aside and took off after the rest of his team; towards the armored vehicles that would now be their means of escape. Ahead he spotted Bebop running, carrying a wounded Trevors and Ryan on his back, surrounded by team mates warding off enemy fire. He spotted Captain Danvers running on his immediate right, and then the enemy soldier rising up from behind a boulder to take aim. For a split second Rocksteady considered his rifle till he remembered it was empty, and then moved. "Captin, get down!" He shouted, and then dove in front of him as the enemy fired. Danvers dropped to the ground just as Rocksteady put himself between the man and the bullets; the Rhino felt three hard impacts in his back but barely any pain; thank God for his bullet proof vest. Danvers immediately dove to the side and fired around the mutant, taking the enemy soldier down. The man looked up at the mutant crouched in front of him, and Rocksteady smiled. "You ok Captin? Dat was close." He said, and then offered his hand to help the man up.

-Present-

Rocksteady grunted lightly as Campbell finished tying the bandage around his chest and then turned his attention to the bullet hole in the mutant's right shoulder; Rocksteady shook his head again and gently pushed the medic away. "Tanks, but I'm ok now." He said with more conviction in his voice, and he was, at least as far as breathing was concerned. "Help da udder guys first, please. Dey need you more now." Campbell didn't look entirely convinced, and Bebop looked irritated, but taking note of the conviction in Rocksteady's eyes, he finally gave in. Nodding, he stood up and turned to make his rounds through the rest of the vehicle.

Rocksteady sighed and settled back again, then caught Bebop giving him a look, one he knew very well. It was his "take better care of your-self" look. He smiled and shook his head gently. "I'll be ok, pal. We're both built pretty tough. We can take more abuse dan da humans, you know dat." Bebop held his gaze, un-moved, for several more seconds, and then his expression softened and he smiled back, as best he could with a broken jaw. Slowly Bebop scooted across the seat till he was right next to Rocksteady; after a moment the Rhino put his left arm around Bebop's shoulder and the warthog leaned up against him, resting his head against Rocksteady's left shoulder. Rocksteady held his friend close and stared ahead, at the opposite wall of the truck bed, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by exhaustion and relief. "We made it buddy…we survived." He whispered, and Bebop nodded almost imperceptibly. After a moment Bebop gently took Rocksteady's bandaged right hand in his own and squeezed very gently, reassuringly, and Rocksteady smiled. He led his chin rest comfortably on the top of Bebop's head, and soon he felt his eye lids growing incredibly heavy. In only a few moments, both mutants were sound asleep, passed out from exhaustion and the strain of the day.

Captain Danvers watched the two exhausted mutants nod off from across the cabin, his mind a mix of conflicting thoughts and emotions.

Danvers had been vehemently opposed to Rocksteady and Bebop's assignment to his platoon since the very beginning. A military unit needed a strong bond and sense of comradery and community in order to function effectively; every soldier needed to work as part of a single well oiled machine, and often any out of the ordinary disruptive element could be a threat to that effectiveness. Most of the men in the platoon had never even heard of mutants before, let alone seen one; it had been quite a shock for several soldiers the day they saw a talking bipedal Rhinoceros and Warthog join their team. Most of the men didn't really know how to relate to them or treat them, and being in such close quarters with them constantly was a strain on the unit's abilities, or so Danvers had reasoned. Additionally he didn't think the two even made good soldiers, he was surprised the two of them had made it out of training, considering how clumsy they could be sometimes and they were kind of "dim" compared to the other guys. Danvers had made his opinion known to his superiors multiple times over the months; the two mutants just weren't cut out for his platoon, and maybe military service all together. But…he had been wrong.

Beside him Ryans sat up, looking across the way to where the two mutants were resting. "Did you see the way Williams smashed that truck out of the way, like it was nothing?" he whispered, with a bit of awe in his voice. Danvers nodded. "We might have all been dead meat if it weren't for them." He finished.

Danvers realized he had to agree. They'd performed admirably, both in fighting the enemy and protecting their fellow soldiers. The captain flashed back to that moment only a short while before, of the Rhino diving between him and an enemy soldier. "You ok Captin? Dat was close." It was burned in his memory. The mutant had saved him without hesitation. They'd both fought without losing their cool, and the team made it out because of them. Danvers smiled to himself and felt a mix of shame and pride come over him; shame at the assumptions he had let himself make, and pride that the two men under his command had proven themselves. Those two were real soldiers.

-Epilogue: many months later-

Angie stood on the tarmac, the hot afternoon sunn beating down on her, as she watched the soldiers de-plane. Her heart was beating in her chest, and her palms felt sweaty as she anxiously waited. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she saw them, and her heart leapt in her chest. Beside her, the little blonde girl waiting alongside her gave a loud squeal of delight. "Daddy!" she shouted and then pulled away from her mother, running towards the plane with her long hair blowing behind her.

Rocksteady dropped his bag and fell to one knee, grinning from ear to ear, as the little girl jumped into his arms, throwing her arms around his large neck. "Hey, punkin! I missed you so much!" he cried out, swinging his daughter up into the air, causing her to giggle with glee. He kissed her on the neck and she giggled louder. "You've gotten a lot bigger. How've you been, How's school?" he asked.

"I told mommy to tell you when you called." Emily replied.

"I know, but I want to hear from you." Rocksteady said.

"School's fine." Emily replied non-committedly, and then frowned at her dad. "You missed my birthdays." She said with a pout in her voice.

Rocksteady nodded and his grin faltered slightly. "Yeah, I know, I know. But I won't be missing anymore, I promise."

"Really?" Emily asked skeptically.

Rocksteady smiled again and nodded. "Yes Really."

Emily turned and looked over Rocksteady's shoulder. Her face broke out into another big grin. "Uncle Bebop" she exclaimed, holding her arms out towards him.

"Hey kid. Long time, no see." Bebop stated, taking the girl from Rocksteady. He feigned dropping her and then grinned. "You're heavier since da last time I saw ya."

Emily made a face. "You can't say stuff about a girl's weight. It's not polite." She said in annoyance, causing Bebop to laugh.

Rocksteady turned and continued walking towards his wife. He reached Angie and stood in front of her, just taking in the sight of her, and she looked back at him the same way. After a moment he raised a hand and said a simple "Yo" and grinned.

Angie felt at a loss for words. She had been waiting for this moment for so long and now that it was finally here she couldn't even think of anything to say. Finally, without a word, she moved forward and embraced her husband, tears of joy welling up in her eyes. "I missed you so much…"she whispered as she clung to him.

"I know. Me too." He replied softly, stroking her hair.

"Yuck." exclaimed Emily, looking at the two of them as Bebop caught up.

Angie pulled back and smiled at the two. "Welcome back Bebop." She said. She took a step back and looked at them both, tears staining her face. "Its…so good to see you both."

"Good to be back, Angie." Bebop replied cheerfully.

"Hey, Uncle Bebop? What happened to your tooth?" Emily asked, putting one hand on the gnarly looking scar on the right side of the warthog's face.

Bebop's expression became more serious. "It got broke." He explained simply. "Da doctors had ta take it out, or it coulda made me sick."

"Will it grow back?" Emily asked.

Bebop shook his head slowly. "No, it's gone for good." He replied.

Emily stroked the spot almost tenderly, and looked sad. "I miss it." She stated.

Bebop smiled sadly and nodded. "Me too kid."

Rocksteady looked back at Angie soberly, a sad smile on his face. Angie slowly reached out and took his right hand, running a finger across the jagged scar on the back of the hand, as renewed tears came to her eyes. Rocksteady had other scars now, ones hidden under his clothes, and ones no one would be able to see. They both had them now. Angie knew that war could change people, and she feared to know what might have happened to her two boys over there, and what they might have brought back in their minds.

Seeing the worry on her face, Rocksteady smiled and squeezed her hand, and Angie smiled back in response and wiped her eyes. The mutant looked over her shoulder, glancing around the tarmac, and a puzzled look came over his face. "Hey, didn't Tyler come too?" he asked.

Angie face fell and pain filled her eyes. "Tyler…didn't want to come."

A shocked and hurt look came over Rocksteady and Bebop's faces. "He…He's still upset at us?" Rocksteady asked with disappointment.

Angie nodded. "Yeah. He's been acting out at school. Letting his grades drop, getting in trouble. Never listens to me anymore." She replied

"Uncle Tyler's a real butt-head lately" Emily stated in an annoyed voice.

Angie let out a sardonic laugh and nodded, before looking back at the two mutants. "He really needs his brothers." She stated.

Rocksteady nodded a bit shamefully. "I'm sorry. We'll have a talk with him for sure." He stated. After a moment he smiled again and put a hand on Angie's shoulder. "Don't worry; I'm sure everything will work out. We're back now." He said optimistically.

Angie smiled and nodded, wiping her eyes again. "So…are we ready to go?" she asked. "The turtles and everyone are waiting back at the apartment; for your welcome back party." She smiled a bit mischievously. "It's supposed to be a secret. Don't tell them I told you."

"Dat's awesome!" Bebop exclaimed. "We haven't seen the toitles in forever."

"And I'm starvin'!" Rocksteady exclaimed, rubbing his belly.

The group began to turn to leave, when they heard a shout from across the tarmac. They all turned and Angie spotted a handsome but grizzled looking black man jogging towards them. "Wait up, Williams" he shouted to Rocksteady.

Rocksteady smiled and nodded from Angie to the man. "Angie dis is Captain Danvers, our CO for most of da time we was over dere." He explained.

Danvers smiled. "And you must be the lovely Mrs. Williams." He replied, nodding towards her. He caught sight of Emily in Bebop's arms and smiled widely. "That's your daughter?" he asked Rocksteady.

"Yeah, dat's Emily." Rocksteady said proudly. The little girl waved to Danvers shyly and then hid her face.

Danvers looked at him sideways. "She really yours?" he asked with good humor in his voice. "She don't look like you."

Rocksteady chuckled slightly. "She looks like how I usedta look. Before all dis." He said, indicating to his mutated body.

Danvers nodded and then turned towards Angie. His face suddenly became very serious and he looked her in the eyes. "Mrs. Williams I wanted to thank you for sending us your husband and his friend." He said. He looked to the side at Rocksteady. "These two helped save a lot of lives, including my own. Many of us are indebted to them." He turned back to Angie, meeting her eyes again. "So I say again, Thank you m'am."

Angie was a bit taken aback. She looked between Rocksteady and Bebop and then Danvers, not really sure how to respond. Finally she nodded towards the man. "You're welcome." She stated, and then smiled.

Danvers smiled back and nodded. "You should be proud of these boys you have here." He said to her. He turned and shook hands with Rocksteady and Bebop both and then jogged off to find his own family.

Angie looked at Rocksteady with curiosity and a bit of awe in her eyes. Rocksteady shrugged and smiled. "Long story. I'll tell you about it later." He replied.

"You better" Angie replied.

Rocksteady nodded and took Emily from Bebop. Putting the girl up on his shoulders, Rocksteady took his wife's hand and together the four of them headed for the exit. Ready to return home.

-And that's a wrap! Phew. I'm kind of exhausted, writing this story in only 3 days. I hope you think it turned out well. These story is dedicated to all those who were affected by the tragedy of 9/11 and the many men and woman who volunteered and gave their lives to defend our country in its aftermath and throughout the years. Never forget. And yeah, Rocksteady's last name is Williams now ^^. It's Angie and Tyler's last name, and he took it when he and Angie got married. Obviously he's not going to use "Steranko" anymore,