The Only Family He'll Need
Don't own TMNT. If I did I'd find a way to make Spike a separate entity from Slash.
Raphael raced down an endless void, his eyes frantically looking around for his brothers. "Leo, Donnie," He called his brothers desperately. "Mikey! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
"They're gone Raphael!" The gravelly voice of Slash answered. "Things are finally the way they should be, just you and me friends and partners forever."
"No!" Raph yelled in anguish. "NO!"
"It had to be done, Raphael." Raph could hear the slimy chill in Slash's voice as he spoke, punctuating the statement with an oily sounding laugh. "They were holding you back. Now you are free, and we will be better warriors then they ever were. "
"Why the hell would I want my brothers dead?!" Raph cried into the darkness. "They frustrate me, but they are still the only family I've got!" A light appeared several feet away from him. Raph didn't want to look; he knew he wouldn't like what he saw. But reluctantly his green eyes turned to the light widening in horror at the sight he beheld.
Donnie, Mikey, and Leo all lay sprawled lifelessly on the ground. Tears filled Raphael's eyes as he rushed to his brothers. Donnie's limbs were broken and bent at unnatural angles. The cruelest sight was his bo staff standing erect like a flag pole. The blade of his naginata plunged into his heart.
Mikey lay sprawled on his plastron his neck twisted unnaturally, his shell was cracked and caved inward.
Leo lay sprawled on his back; his death was by far the most gruesome. His throat had been torn out and his plastron had been ripped open exposing his entrails to the world. With the blood that pooled beside Leo, the words "Lame-O-Nardo: Leader of Losers!" had been written.
"You don't need them." Slash stated his voice a disgusting purr that sent shivers down Raphael's spine, as the larger turtle stalked out of the shadows. "They never understood ya…never respected ya…not like me. I'm the only family and team you'll ever need."
Raph sat up with a gasp, his eyes scanning around the room fearing the hulking Turtle that haunted his nightmares would appear in the shadows. Sighing in relief when he found the room was empty.
He glanced to where Spike used to sit. It was hard for him to believe the turtle he had loved and cared for since the day he had found him in the sewers was gone. He forced away the tears that threatened to fill his eyes. The Spike he knew was dead…all that was left was a heartless beast. Sitting up he saw the canister of Mutagen that he had taken from Donnie's lab. The glowing fluid that had made Spike into the monster he is now. The mutagen was properly sealed and sat innocently on the floor. However Raph knew that it still posed a danger to his family and loved ones alike.
"Until the "Mad Scientist" gets his act together I'm holding this in safe keeping." Raph had growled when he walked out of the lab holding the mutagen canister. The words echoed in Raph's mind. Yes he had been justifiably upset, who wouldn't...but it wasn't like Donnie had deliberately tried to hurt Spike or anyone else. And he was sincerely remorseful for all that happened. After all, what was he doing but attempting to find a way to restore people who had been victims of mutation. It was something that hasn't been done and it was something he had been trying to do for over a month now. If he hadn't taken the mutagen from Donnie's lab, Spike would still be here instead of wandering who knew where in New York as a mutant.
After they had returned home following the whole debacle with the mutagen and Slash, Splinter had insisted on assessing both Donatello and Michelangelo's injuries. Leo had hovered about being the concerned older brother while Donnie and Mikey explained what had happened.
"When I turned to look behind me, Donnie was gone." Mikey rambled on with his side of the story. "I had seen Raph climbed to the roof of the building across the street so I rushed to inform him that Donnie had disappeared."
"I didn't disappear, Mikey" Donnie chided, "Spi" The Purple Masked turtle looked up at Raph a moment, his expression sorrowful."…Slash grabbed me from behind and dragged me off."
After Leo had explained his side of the story he had received a well-deserved dressing down by Splinter for abandoning his brothers.
"I know Sensei, but I couldn't just let an innocent human become a mutant. Let alone an innocent human child." Leo had tried to justify his actions but failed miserably. He knew Splinter was right, he had abandoned his brothers and two of them were seriously injured because of it. Mikey sniggered at the thought of Leo having tea time with a little girl. Fortunately Donnie decided to give their older brother a break and dragged Mikey away. As ridiculous as Leo having a tea party with a human child actually sounded, he agreed that recovering the mutagen was equally important. And as long as those canisters were scattered throughout the city any number of innocent humans were at risk.
Raph made his way to his room not really wanting to hear what happened to his brothers. He had been there for most of it; he had watched as his younger brothers had nearly been killed by Slashes hands. He took comfort in the fact they were alive and able to recover, but the fact they were senselessly beaten within an inch of their lives still bothered him. When he entered his room, his eyes fell on the puddle of ooze that had mutated his best friend. He hated that stuff, despised it. And yet without it...he wouldn't have existed. With a sigh he had turned the canister up right and attempted to return the spilled goop to its container, taking great care not to touch it himself and mopping up the rest with a wet rag that was quickly disposed of.
Getting up and grabbing the mutagen, Raph had walked out into the quiet lair. Everyone was asleep surprisingly enough. Usually Donnie would be awake in the lab at this hour, at least he would normally. Given the injury to his arm, Splinter had advised Donnie against doing anything his lab until his arm was fully healed. Donnie surprisingly had agreed and grabbed some research notes he had been taking on the mutagen and his failed attempts at creating the retromutagen so he could go over them during his down time.
Entering the lab Raph put down the canister of mutagen next to the one Leo had recovered. As he turned to leave his eyes caught sight of the Pulverizer or the frozen mutated form that had once been the Pulverizer.
"You told your thoughts and feelings to a pile of guts in a jar?!" Raph had growled in consternation when Donnie admitted to talking to the Pulverizer about April, during the weeks that the red haired human girl had separated herself from the Turtles.
"He's a good listener." Donnie had responded. Raph had a feeling there was an underlying comment there but paid it no mind.
Thinking back on it, he realized that in a way Donnie had been getting the same thing from the Pulverizer that Raph had been getting from Spike. Someone they could turn to in order to vent their frustrations who would only listen without judgment or criticism. He sighed, remembering how upset Donnie had been when he learned that his latest attempt at retromutagen had nearly killed Spike. Of all of them…Donnie understood what he had nearly taken from Raph.
Leaving the lab again, he returned to the dormitory but first he had to check on his brother's even if to alleviate his own fears.
Raph had a little trouble opening the door to Mikey's room, probably because Mikey rarely cleaned in there. There were still numerous boxes of old pizza and Chinese food lying about the room along with comic books and other things.
Mikey lay curled on his stomach softly snoring. Apparently he had unconsciously kicked the blankets off at some point as he seemed to shiver in the drafty room. Picking up the blanket from the floor he draped it over his baby brother before he sat down on the bed and placed a hand on Mikey's hairless scalp.
Twice…Slash had tried to slaughter his childishly annoying, but sweet hearted brother twice. Yeah it was true that Mikey didn't respect the belongings of any of his brothers. And yes his pranks were not always appreciated. But one of the things about Mikey that was most endearing was his desire to make his brothers laugh.
Raph grit his teeth as he remembered the horror he felt as he watched Slash slam his fists into Mikey repeatedly. It was the first hit that had knocked the young turtle unconscious, the others strikes were just cruelty. What was worse was Slash intending to brain the childish turtle with his mace. Something Mikey would never survive. Then later after they had found and recovered Donnie, beating Mikey once again and leaving him to hang off the side of the building. And the most unforgivable act of all, dangling the unconscious turtle over the side of a building with the intent of letting him fall to his death.
Leaning down he gathered Mikey in his arms and cradled his baby brother close. Reassuring himself that the body he held in his arms was warm and alive…not cold and lifeless. Mikey whimpered somewhat when Raph returned him to the bed and shivered despite the blanket covering him.
Sighing Raph gathered Mikey into his arms and carried him to his room and placed him on the bed. In response the smaller turtle stretched before curling into a ball like a kitten. Leaving the room he decided to check on Donnie. Unlike Mikey and Leo, Slash hadn't deliberately tried to kill Donatello…but he did do something just as heartless if not more. He had beaten Donnie and left him for dead.
But why...yes Donnie had the odd complaint every so often. And yeah he had nearly blown the lair...again—The first time being that time he had converted the broken remains of his bo staff into a missile launcher which proceeded to go off inside the lair.—which almost killed Spike. But most of the time he didn't have any complaints unless he was lumped in with Leo and Mikey. So why did Slash...Raph suddenly remembered a statement he had made nearly a year ago.
"Oh look Spike, Donnie's got a new stick he could break."Raph wanted to kick himself. Slash must have gone after Donnie first because he pegged him as a weaker fighter. Then by that logic the only reason Slash hadn't killed him directly must have been because he didn't think he was worth the effort.
In his memory of that nights events Raph had climbed to the roof where he had left Slash only to find him gone. The larger mutant turtle appeared before him as though he had simply stepped away to relieve himself during the moment Raph had attempted to retrieve the mutagen and ended up crashing into Leo. Raph had just asked Slash where he had gone when he noticed the familiar strip of purple cloth clutched in Slash's hand. But before he could question it, Mikey ran up to him telling him that Donnie had vanished. The gears in Raph's mind had started to click at that statement, as his eyes traveled from Mikey to Slash in that moment. He didn't want to jump to conclusions but Raph got a sick feeling that Slash knew exactly what had happened to Donnie. And Slash's actions when he had told larger mutant that his brothers come first, confirmed everything.
After temporarily blinding Slash with a smoke bomb, and giving a silent thank you to Donnie for creating them he had grabbed Mikey and ran. Once they were in a safe location, Mikey groaned as he began to regain consciousness.
"Hey Raph..." Mikey asked as he rubbed his head. "Did you get the number of the wrecking ball that hit me?"
"It was Spike, Mikey." Raph said. "He nearly killed you...I think he may have done something to Donnie as well."
"Spike...?" Mikey asked confused. "But why? We've done nothing to hurt him, heck I actually thought it was sweet you had a pet turtle. At least I did before he became a psychotic mutant."
"I don't know." Raph said. "Maybe it's because I had told him I felt like you guys were holding me back. He must have thought that he's doing me a favor by getting rid of you two and...Oh no! We need to find Donnie and fast! Once we find him, we need to warn Leo. Slash could be after him too."
They knew wherever Donnie had been taken it couldn't have been far. It had taken about five minutes before Mikey had spotted him. Raph's heart leapt into his throat as he saw the damage that had been done to their genius brother. His body and shell covered in gashes and bruises. One eye nearly swollen closed. His left arm looked heavily discolored with a large ugly looking bruise and was somewhat swollen which meant it was sprained or fractured. And there was no telling what internal injuries Donnie had suffered. The fact Donnie's eye mask was missing and the slash marks on a nearby vent told Raph everything he needed to know. But that didn't make it any easier for him to accept.
Raph entered Donnie's room easier than he had entered Mikey's, but then Donnie was more meticulous about keeping his belongings neat then any of his brothers. Donatello lay asleep, his arm still held in a sling, and would remain so for about a week. Fortunately the injury didn't hinder him in anyway as he was still able to do things such as write and use his computer without too much problem.
Donnie must have fallen asleep while pouring over the notes he had taken about all the attempts he had made in trying to create the retromutagen for the past month. He had propped himself against one wall, a pen dangled from his fingers while his note book sat before him on the unmussed bed clothes.
Raph picked up the notebook glancing over the notes Donatello had been taking since starting his attempts at creating the retromutagen. He didn't actually read it since much of it was Greek to him from the chemical names and calculations to the hypothesis and observations. But there were a few things Raph could understand. Everything that had been an absolute failure had a small 'x' mark next to it. While the ones that seemed to have some progress has small note that further experimentation should be considered.
The notes Donnie had been taken about his most recent attempt he had added the observation "(Name of chemical that Raph couldn't pronounce.) …has a volatile reaction when in contact with the mutagen. Experiment rendered as failure. Due to an unfortunately unforeseen incident resulting from this experiment, my brothers potentially could have been severely injured and I nearly caused the death of Raphael's best friend, Spike. The lab doors shall remain closed from now on to avoid further mishaps."
Closing the notebook and taking the pen from Donnie's fingers, Raph set them aside. Pulling the covers out from under Donnie and carefully lay the taller boy down on the bed. Taking great care not to jar Donnie's injured arm.
Donatello was habitually a side sleeper, so Raph carefully rolled Donnie so that he rested on his right side. Placing a pillow under Donnie's injured arm in order to keep it elevated. Sitting down on the bed, Raph rested Donnie's head against his leg, gently placing his hand on Donnie's shoulder.
In his mind he could visualize what must have happened. He could see Donnie standing with Mikey while they watched their older brothers argue. Suddenly two bulky muscular arms seize him from behind, one arm wrapped around his body while second clamps over his mouth to keep him from calling out for help. Donnie desperately trying to break free and hoping Mikey would turn around and realize what is going on as he gets dragged further and further away.
When he is finally released, Donnie turns to see his abductor; he needs to understand who would drag him away from his family and for what purpose. Turning in surprise he sees a gigantic mutant turtle he has never seen before.
Before the purple masked Turtle could demand who his abductor was, Slash lunges at him. Donnie instinctively moves out of the way causing the larger Turtle to miss and slash the grating of a vent instead. This buys enough time for Donnie to pull out his weapon and release the blade of his naginata. A weapon he only brought out if the situation was desperate enough.
"Just accept the inevitable." Slash cryptically says. "There's no way you can beat me…not with that stupid 'stick' of yours."
"Who are you?!" Donnie would have asked as he parries another blow. "Why are you doing this?!"
"Just making room for the true warriors," Slash growls menacingly as he lunges forward once again. Donnie attempts to strike, but Slash responds by grabbing the curved blade of the spear in one of his large meaty hands, snapping the metal blade in two as if it was nothing more than a tooth pick. "And for pathetic excuses like you…it's open season."
The large turtle catches hold of the wooden staff wrenching it from Donatello's grasp and painfully pulling one of the smaller turtles arm muscles in the process. Before Donnie could think to defend himself, his own weapon is smacked painfully against his left arm causing him to clutch it as he sinks to his knees in pain.
Slash grabbed the scrawny turtle by the throat and lifted him up before grabbing him and slamming him to the ground, his fists pounding the helpless Turtle without cease. That is until the larger Turtle stops and seems to look towards the area where the other three Turtle's had been. Mikey is looking about on the rooftop franticly looking about for his missing brother.
"Donnie, if this is a joke…?" He yells. "It's not funny!"
Slash looks down once more at the Turtle who he had been beating. The purple masked turtle is barely conscious and is injured enough to hinder his survival. Good enough with this one Slash thinks to himself as he unties Donatello's mask as a trophy. One down, two more to go and then Raphael will be free.
Raph could feel a tear squeeze out from his eyes at this. "I'm sorry Donnie." He whispers a sob making his voice rasp slightly. In his mind he could see Donnie standing off to the side listening to him rant to Splinter about how everything was his fault and he should be cleaning up the mess on his own. The purple masked turtle doesn't dispute it…he just stands there and takes it. The expression on his face looking like a combination of wanting to cry and wishing he just vanish into thin air so that he'd never bother anyone again. A look Raph had seen only on other time…the first time Donnie had nearly blown the lair up..
"You're no genius; you're a walking disaster area!" Raph remembered himself yelling after that incident. He immediately regretted the statement the moment he had said it. But there was no taking it back as they all watched Donnie looking away from his brothers as if wishing the floor under him would open wide and swallow him forever.
"Raph?"
Raphael blinked and looked down to see Donnie was awake and glancing up at him. He mentally kicked himself; he had forgotten that Donnie was a light sleeper not as light a sleeper as Leo who remained constantly alert for anything that seemed out of the norm. But still Donnie's overly intelligent brain was endlessly active throwing around all sorts of complex ideas and calculations. It was a wonder Donnie was able to sleep at all given his intellect.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Raph said. Donnie just shrugged in response before he struggled to a sitting position taking care not to use his injured arm. Oddly he didn't seem all that surprised to see his older brother in his room, perhaps he had figured that Raph would visit him sooner or later.
"So…" Raph asked as the studied the floor, it felt so awkward being in his smarter younger brother's room like this. "How's your arm treating you?" Donnie gingerly touched the arm that rested the sling wincing slightly at the pain.
"It's still sore…" Donnie answered. "But Master Splinter told me that if you hadn't tied off the injury when you did, it could have been much worse."
"That's good." Raph answered.
"I'm really sorry," Donnie stated "About what happened today.,,"
"Save it." Raph snapped in response. When Donnie started to look upset once again, Raph sighed in irritation. Sometimes Donnie took things way to personally. "There is nothing you need to apologize for Donnie. I know you would never intentionally put us in harm's way like that, and you didn't know that was what would happen. If I hadn't blown up at you and taken the mutagen from the lab, Spike would still be the innocent little turtle he used to be and both you and Mikey wouldn't have been injured the way you were." An uneasy silence settled between them for a moment before Raph spoke up again.
"So…aren't you going to promise?" Raph asked cautiously. This question caught Donnie's attention as he glanced at Raph with a confused expression.
"Promise…?" Donnie asked.
"Yeah," Raph answered. "You've made that promise to the Pulverizer about how you'd find a way to restore him to human. And I know you've been promising April the same thing about her dad. So aren't you going to make the same promise to me about returning Spike back to normal?" Donatello sighed and looked up at the ceiling a moment.
"Would it make you feel better if I did?" Donnie asked.
"I don't know…" Raph growled under his breath as he looked at the floor. "I guess when Spike mutated I was kinda happy...I was horrified as well. Horrified because Spike was now a mutant and happy because I could communicate with him in ways I hadn't been able to before, and he actually made me believe we could be a good team. But after he nearly killed Mikey and you…I wished he was back to the innocent turtle he used to be.
Raphael could feel tears gather at the corners of his eyes. He wanted to hide them and wipe them away, he was the strongest turtle there was no way he would show weakness and cry like a baby in front of his younger brother. But he made no attempt to stop the tears from coming because he knew that anything said or done within these walls will never be revealed in the rest of the lair. "There have been times where the three of you frustrate me, and times I felt like I should be on my own. But I never wanted any my brothers to be dead because of that, because no matter how frustrated I get I know I still need you guys. I am still hoping there is a little bit of the old Spike in there…somewhere, but if the Spike I know is gone …then if given the choice between turning him back and putting him down. I would rather he was turned back into the innocent turtle I loved and cared for, otherwise I want the task of putting him down…he was my pet after all.
Donnie remained silent while Raph spoke, he understood his brothers feelings from his pwn recent experience with Timothy AKA the Pulverizer had been one of the most painful things he had to do. As much as wanted to save him and restore him to the innocent human boy whose only crime had been his delusional desire to be a hero. Due to the mutation that boy was gone and what was left was a crazed monster. In order to keep his brothers and the girl he loved from getting hurt, Donnie had to been forced to hurt and betray the very person he had been trying to help. And while the Pulverizer was still alive in his frozen state...if it came down to it Donnie wanted to be the one to finish him off, since he was responsible for him.
When the red masked turtle stopped speaking he looked up to find Donnie watching his brother with a sympathetic expression before he wrapped his good arm around his brother's neck. Raph likewise wrapped his arms around Donatello and buried his face in his younger brother's shoulder letting himself grieve for all he had lost and nearly lost that night. Donnie didn't say or do anything, he just let held his brother and let him release all his pent up emotion he had been harboring.
When Raphael's tears finally slowed after five minutes which felt more like a span of five hours, the red banded turtle wiped away any of his remaining tears and snorted back any mucus that threatened to drip out of his nostrils. He felt a lot better now than he had earlier that evening, even though the absence Spike had left was still there.
"Thanks Donnie," Raph smiled in appreciation. "But if you tell anyone I was crying on your shoulder like a little girl and I swear I will paint your shell pink and force your to say "I'm a pretty pretty Princess." in front of April.
"Turtles Honor." Donnie tiredly smiled as he held one hand over his heart as though giving a pledge.
"You get some rest okay," Raph lightly patted Donatello on his good shoulder. Donnie nodded tiredly as he curled down under his bed covers closed his eyes. Raph shut the light off before exiting his brothers room and shutting the door behind him.
Leo's injuries had been minimal, when compared to Donnie and Mikey's injuries. But Raph decided to check on him anyway. Slash had deliberately tried to murder the 'Leader in Blue' out right the moment he saw him. Raph's face twisted in disgust as he remembered the way Slash had said "I've been waiting for that, for a long time."
Leo was the eldest, the leader, the most skilled at Ninjitsu. He was Mr. Perfect Ninja Turtle and he had the best of everything. And this perfection made Leonardo, Raphael's chief complaint. He didn't hate his brother; he hated how it felt that no matter what he did he was always second best. The way Leo would scold him about his temper, or the fact he didn't focus, it was always Leo, Leo, Leo. And yes he still wished for his chance to get out of his brothers shadow and actually prove what he was capable of. He didn't want his brother dead for that to happen.
He had learned the hard way that Leo had his own demons to face and he respected his brothers for who they were as people. Yes there were times he was controlling and didn't notice or acknowledge things with his brothers that perhaps he should. But he was the guiding light of this team and his strength and diligence kept them going.
The look of disgust that crossed Leo's face when Donnie and Mikey had hobbled up to where Leo and Raph were. But Leo's disgust wasn't towards his brother's; it was towards whoever had the audacity to injure his brothers in that manner. And it was towards himself for running off leaving his team unprotected. But Raph didn't fault him for that…at least not too much.
Opening the door to Leo's room, he half expected to see him meditating in the corner. But surprisingly he wasn't there. The bed was mussed so obviously Leo had been sleeping there recently. Raph started to return to his room when he saw a familiar head sitting in the pit set in the center of the common room. Leo was sitting by himself, his knees tucked up to his plastron looking rather down.
"Leo?" Raph asked as he entered the room. The blue masked turtle looked up as he heard his name.
"Raph…" Leo answered acknowledging his immediate younger brother.
"How are you doing?" Raph asked as he sat down in front of his brother.
"I'm alright I guess." Leo answered. "I just can't believe I was so stupid."
"Why?" Raph asked.
"I'm the leader of this team," Leo sighed. "As such I have to think of my team mates and protect them at all costs. Instead I was thinking only about the mission and not about them. I'm really grateful that you were there for them Raph, if it wasn't for you…Donnie and Mikey would have…"
"You were completing the mission," Raph stated. "That's what was also important. If you hadn't gone after the mutagen that little girl or maybe some other human would have been an unfortunate victim of mutation. But I don't think I should be thanked for looking after Mikey and Donnie, I was doing what any of us would have done. I'm also the reason they were getting their shells stomped."
"What do you want us to do if we see Slash again?" Leo asked. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt my brothers no matter who they are."
"I talked with Donnie about this already." Raph answered. "If it has to come to that…I want the task of taking out Slash. He was my pet and I'm the reason he is the way he is, so he's my responsibility."
"Looks like we all have some messes we need to clean up." Leo answered matter-of-factly as he stood up. "I'm going to look in on Donnie and Mikey before I head back to bed."
"Wait a sec." Raph said. "Get your mattress and bring it out here."
"Sure…" Leo answered not quite understanding. While Leo was busy getting his mattress, Raph went to his room gathering Mikey into his arms he carried the sleeping turtle and lay him one of the cushions in the pit. He left again to retrieve his own mattress, when he returned it was to find Leo laying his mattress onto the floor of the pit before going to examine Mikey as he slept.
"I've almost forgotten how peaceful they looked while they slept." Leo answered as he tenderly ran his fingers down the side of Mikey's face. Most of the bruises and scratches that had decorated Mikey's face and body had faded somewhat, but they weren't completely gone.
"Yeah..." Raph agreed a smile lightly spreading across his face as he laid his mattress on floor of the pit beside Leo's. He stepped back into the dorms once more, this time coming out carrying Donnie taking great care not to awaken his immediate younger brother. Leo had placed Mikey down on the mattresses and was just covering his baby brother with a blanket when Raph came in cradling Donatello in his arms.
Soon all four Turtles were curled on the two mattresses. Donnie and Mikey lay blissfully asleep in between their older siblings. Leo had settled next to Donnie and had fallen asleep as well one arm draped protectively across the bodies of his youngest brothers. Raph did likewise from where he lay next to Mikey, he couldn't help but smile as the gentle breathing and snores of his brothers lulled him to sleep. As much as they irritated him, annoyed him, and downright infuriated him…he wouldn't have it any other way. It wasn't his anger that made him who he was…it was his brothers and they were the only family he'll ever need.
Thanks for reading… I hope you enjoyed this fic. And thank you to everyone who is readying
FYI I am actually doing a ninja turtles video podcast called: Heroes in a Half-Cast. A link to it can be found on my Profile.
I'm also creating a text and art based RPG called Infernal Star. I haven't gotten all the kinks out of it yet, but I'm intending it as the sort of RPG where there is a created world and the world itself is created through any stories and art created by the people participating in this world.
