Another backhand sent Raph's head crashing into the wall behind him, the impact making only a dull sound upon contact, but Raph's pain was much more than dull. For a moment, the world tilted, spinning out of proportion threatening to send Raph on the floor, but he stayed on his feet for a little longer… being his typical pigheaded and prideful self as he didn't want to show weakness to the others.

The others being his two younger brothers, Kai and Nico.

Raph saw Kai, who was chained as Raph was, wince out of his peripheral vision as the blow was delivered. Nico, who was right next to Kai, clenched his jaw, a sure sign to Raph that he was controlling whatever anger he was feeling…Raph only wished he could reign in his emotions as his brothers did, but as his mother used to say, "Raph, just because you have a fiery head of hair doesn't mean you have to have a temper to match. Just try to think about something good so anger isn't an option."

Raph tried to think of something peaceful-a beachy area with soft sand, a setting sun, some grilled meat cooking over a campfire…

But Raph could feel the anger boiling in his belly, threatening to tear him a part if he didn't do or say something, to fight against what was causing his anger…and just when Raph thought he couldn't contain himself any longer, he felt two fingers tap the back of his wrist. It was something Raph had been familiar with since he was a youngling and to him, it was a sign to that he needed to reel in his emotions, to not do anything stupid until the time was right.

Raph looked at Nico who just as casually put his hand back in front of him, not making a sound with the chains that bound him.

Your brothers are here you, the touch always seemed to say. Don't lash out in anger Raph, not now.

At least Raph's younger brothers were seemingly hating this interrogation as much as Raph was. Another good punch to Raph's already bruised ribs sent him to the dirt floor, his body fighting for oxygen that just wasn't there.

The Kinder soldier(scum bag in charge of the interrogation) straightened his jacket before running a hand through his disheveled blonde hair. The poor man had worked himself into a frenzy, trying to get Raph talk, but to no avail. What the man didn't know was that this little beating was the least pain Raph and his brothers had faced in the past four months both mentally and physically.

It was a cute effort, really it was.

" It's too bad you won't release the intel we need young man, it would save you a lot of unnecessary pain."

Raph lifted his head to the black eyes of the soldier and gave him a careless smile, no doubt showing off his bloody mouth and newly chipped tooth. " Vat's very dice of you Donald." Curses. Raph's darn tongue was swollen.

Raph was greeted with a nice punch to the jaw, sending Raph lower to the floor until his face was in the dirt. It smelled lovely in case you were wondering.

" I told you not to call me by name you maggot," the soldier drew back his boot for a kick when Nico interrupted the blow with his typical, nonchalant tone that stopped the soldier in his tracks.

"Could you kill us already? I'm quite bored with this whole punch first ask questions later. Really cliché."

Raph wasn't sure if he should curse under his breath for his younger brother's stupidity or thank him for directing the soldier's anger somewhere else…even if it was only for a brief respite on his part.

Donald, evil soldier supreme, grabbed Nico by the shirt and slammed him into the concrete wall.

Ouch.

" I.. can arrange that… boy.." Donald said, drawing out each word with what Raph guessed was supposed to be a threatening undertone.

Nico rolled his eyes, though it was hard to see under his unruly black hair, but Raph knew the gesture well enough.

"Then don't be a coward and just do it you ninny witted butthole."

Kai snickered under his breath, stopped for a moment, then snickered again. Raph suddenly found himself wheezing out his version of a laugh … his bruised ribs crying out in protest the whole time. Before anyone could say another word, Raph and Kai were laughing uncontrollably, barely giving themselves time to breathe before another fit of giggles attacked. Tears of laughter were soon in the making and Raph couldn't stop himself.

Welcome to our world, Raph thought to himself. We laugh in the face of danger…literally!

Donald looked between the two of them, the upturn of his eyebrows showing a slight confusion.

Nico watched the laughing fits with a mild sort of amusement before he continued. "Please, you'd be doing me a favor."

That sent Raph and Kai into more laughing fits, but Donald didn't oblige to Nico's death wish. Instead, he seemed to be contemplating something and Nico made sure to offer a comment.

"Interesting," Nico said. " You want information, but your orders were not to kill us, were they? You need us alive because you need our brother, Leo."

"Shut up!" Donald screamed. He pulled out his gun and pointed the nozzle into Nico's face who had a look on his face that said: really?

"It takes only one to spill the beans, two won't walk away from this alive, I can guarantee that."

At the word 'beans' the brothers lost it again, but Raph sensed what Nico was getting at…he was stalling with his infamous silver tongue, buying time with his words.

" C'mon Donald, what are you really here for? Money? To find our brother so you can destroy us all at once? Or do you just follow orders like every other senseless twit who has to wear that fashion disaster uniform?"

"That is none of your concern," the soldier replied with a twinge of annoyance. "I suggest the only talking you do from now on is about your brother, the avatar."

That shut up Raph and Kai. Their laughters dwindled down to a cold silence in a matter of seconds at the mention of the avatar as they were no doubt all thinking the same words: "Oh crud cake."

Not many knew who Raph's youngest brother was, not even the Kinder soldiers should have that intel- they'd been too careful, too cautious to let anyone besides themselves to know about Leo's… abilities.

Raph had assumed that their capture had made enough sense considering he and his three brothers were wanted by the United Kingdom, but the avatar….how had Donald known about that?

Nico saved the day as he scoffed unbelievingly. "Seriously? The avatar? That fairytale character parents tell their children about? I only wish such a story was true."

"Don't play coy with me," Donald said. "I know he's the avatar, we have proof and if you tell us his location, we will give you a quick, painless death."

"That's comforting," Kai said under his breath.

Just as Raph was about to go into his infamous series of cursing and yelling, his anger finally ready to explode, the door blew up.

No, really, it blew up. Flames engulfed the metal door, hot enough to send it reeling inwards to the large, cylinder cell Raph and his brothers were being held in. The sound was unexpectedly loud as the cell echoed with the blast causing Raph's ear to pop and his cheeks to travel back to his ears.

" What the blast?" Donald questioned aloud.

Haha, get it? Blast, just like the door….oh, never mind.

A figure stepped in the now empty doorway, temporarily hidden by the smoke that floated about aimlessly, but Raph knew who it was.

The confident posture, the wild hair, the clenched fists were ready for a fight…it was Leo.

"Geez bro, don't you ever have an undramatic entrance?" Raph complained.

A short " Stop your whining," emitted from the shadows and Donald took that time to point his laser blaster right where Leo's shadow was formed.

In the most sarcastic tone, Kai squealed out, " Oh jeez Leo, lookout! He's got a gun!"

Donald began to open fire, but Leo was already on the move.

Raph's brother emerged from the smoke at a run, his body already dodging the blasts from Donald's gun mere seconds before he took aim and shot. When Leo was within arm's length of Donald, he made a single, crippling jab to his wrist, dislocating it and sending Donald's gun flying to the other side of the cell.

Before Donald could even muster a scream, Leo swiftly followed up with a roundhouse kick to his head, and the Kinder Soldier fell to the floor in a crumpled heap, unconscious.

There were a few moments of silence as the brothers were re-united after six days of separation, but such a sacred thing as silence was few and far between in their relationship.

All at once, the brothers spoke out:

" I'm hungry," Kai stated blatantly and loudly.

" 'Bout time you came," Raph said.

" I think I caught a disease," said Nico.

" You all smell," Leo said.

Raph clasped his hands collectively, though it proved rather difficult with the chains and all, but he rubbed them together as if something great had just happened.

"Well, now that we're all caught up on our missed conversations, are you going to free us now or what?"

" Since you asked so nicely, " Leo retorted.

Leo proceeded to free Raph and the others from their chains by grabbing the metal with his hands and using his water bending to freeze the links before breaking it.

Raph rubbed his sore hands and wrists glad to be free. " You have a ride set up bro? The guards will be here any second."

Leo was working on freeing Kai as he responded with his wispy form of a smile, "Don't worry about the guards, and yes Raph, you'll love our escape vehicle."

Their escape vehicle was a hoover van. A mini hoover van to be exact, and the thing was so darn rusted that it looked ready to fall apart… let alone be able to carry four passengers. On the back window,which was encrusted with dirt, someone had scribbled the words, 'Will trade for taco.'

It wouldn't have been a fair trade.

" Umm Leo, you sure that's going to get us out of here?" Kai asked.

" Yeah, I don't think that's going to be…", Raph was going to say fast enough when Leo interrupted.

"Get your butts in the van or you can walk back to the bunker. I won't say it again."

" Leo," Nico said as he proceeded to take the backseat, " It makes me all warm and toasty inside when you take charge like that."

Raph and Kai got in without further comment as Leo got behind the wheel and gunned the engine. " You might want to buckle up," he said but before Raph could even muster the question: " Why the heck would we need a seatbelt for this piece of junk?" Leo put the minivan into gear and they blasted off at speeds well above the 90s.

" Haha, this is great!" Kai screamed, throwing his hands up in the air as if it was some ride. "Nitro ride in the minivan… woo hoo!"

For the next forty minutes, Raph held on for the ride of his life, watching the land rush by in a dizzying blur and listening to Kai scream randomly about how great everything was.

Before nightfall, Leo finally stopped at the edge of a small clearing that was surrounded by large evergreen pines. It was a peaceful, secluded spot and Raph immediately recognized the area as the spot of one of their many safety bunkers.

Over the past several years, Raph and his brothers had been on the run from Kinder soldiers, rouges, and the United Government in general, and it was during all that time that the brothers had established different safety bunkers that were never more than 50 miles away from whenever the heck their crazy lives took them. It offered them a time of respite, a place to temporarily call home, tend to their wounds, and plan their next mission… if you want to get all fancy with the term.

Raph got out of the van a bit woozy and he realized it wasn't just the van ride of death that made him feel that way. He was starving.

They had been fed a few times during their imprisonment, but stale bread and moldy apples were only so satisfying.

Leo seemed to read Raph's expression. " I have chicken soup and some rolls in the freezer, I'll get that ready while you guys go clean up," he wrinkled his nose up at that last statement as if to prove how bad they did smell before he got down to his knees to where a hatch was embedded in the earth.

He placed his thumb on a small sensor pad towards the bottom of the hatch and a soft blue light began to go up and down beneath his finger before it beeped and the hatch opened with a slight hiss.

" Ladies," Leo said gesturing to the dark hole, "welcome to our ever humble abode."

Two showers, one short nap, and a nice new set of clothes later, Raph felt like a new person and with the smell of chicken wafting into his room, Raph could almost say he was at peace for a moment.

He exited his room and from the balcony, he saw that his brothers were all gathered around a table below wolfing down the food like there was no tomorrow which was never really for sure anyway.

Raph went down the spiral metal stairs one step at a time, careful not to satisfy the inconsistent flares of pain that came from his bruised ribs. Nico greeted him with a melancholy nod and Kai said something about Raph's bed head, but all Raph could focus on was the food.

Chicken soup with actual chunks of chicken, little dumpling cubes, and vegetables. A plate of rolls soaked in butter was in the middle of the table and Raph grabbed three, dipped one in the soup and tried not to inhale it all at once. He closed his eyes, appreciating the burst of flavor and warmth in his mouth. A growing lad could always appreciate a good meal and oh was he enjoying it.

Leo came out of the kitchen with another batch of rolls; when he saw Raph, he gave a little smile.

"Feeling better?"

"Like a friggin princess," Raph replied, mouth still full. "Where did you get all this food anyway? I know we never keep anything this fancy in our freezer."

Leo placed the rolls on the table and took a step back as the brothers reached for them ravenously.

"Got them from a booth at the market area in Ikaria…right after the soldiers took you," Leo paused for a moment as if he was dwelling on the memory. He continued. " I was following your trail, trying to find you guys and this old woman had seen what had happened. She was kind enough to let me know what direction the Kinder soldiers took you and then she gave me all this free food."

Raph thought about that for a moment, "You sure there were no strings attached Leo?"

Leo gave him a look that said: Really Raph? I know when crap is up.

Raph's brother took a seat across from Nico who was now lighting his ever favorite pipe, smoking being one of the few things that brought the brothers memories of their father.

Raph, actually the oldest sibling, used to scold Nico for smoking dad's old pipe, but Raph realized it was almost comforting to have the familiar smell of tobacco and spice around. Raph himself couldn't stand smoking the stuff.

Leo was reaching for a bowl when he retracted his arm, a quiet gasp escaping his lips. Kai and Raph were too busy to notice the action, but Nico did.

" Hey, Leo, …you alright?"

Kai and Raph stopped stuffing their faces for a second and looked up. Raph noticed, for the first time, that there were deep circles underneath Leo's dark blue eyes…eyes that usually shone with energy and intensity, were now dull and tired. His face was unusually pale and his body was tense and rigid as if in pain.

" Leo, what happened?"Raph questioned.

Leo sighed and didn't answer for a while as he reached for the bowl again and served himself some soup and a few rolls.

" Let's just say finding you guys was much harder than I thought."

" You want to elaborate on that statement?" Raph said, anger filling his voice.

This is why his brother drove him nuts sometimes. Leo was the one who was actually willing to step in and be leader if Raph couldn't, to take care of his older brothers when they were too weak to do so themselves. It especially made Raph mad when Leo tried to keep secrets and made one wonder- what had exactly had Leo been doing in the past six days?

" Not really. I just want to eat my dinner in peace."

Nico and Raph locked eyes, a communication there that only they could understand. They would talk about this later, have a little brother pow wow.

But right then, chicken soup and Nico's pipe were good enough.

Leo woke up feeling like a freight car had hit him…actually, that might have been the better option. His calves were tense from walking, his head pounding with yet another lovely headache… but his lower abdomen hurt most of all. Leo had looked at his wound only once and a red, blue, and green bruise had stared back.

Yuck.

Leo took his time to roll off the couch; his nose wrinkled as the musty smell of the cushions overwhelmed him.

Six days.

Six days and he was finally back with his brothers. Six days of asking, and traveling, and searching…and fighting.

Leo's three brothers hadn't been taken to any Capitol stronghold(typical right?). It was one specifically designed to keep those with bending powers powerless which was why Leo himself had to manually shut down all of the blockers that were in the camp.

The blockers were invented recently to keep Leo and his fellow benders, so to speak, equal to the rest of humankind. In other words, they were a real pain in the butt when Leo and his brothers were in a hairy situation and they couldn't use their powers.

"Morning beautiful." Leo jumped a little as Nico emerged from the shadows with his typical, almost smirk expression. He was holding two cups of coffee, one of which he handed to Leo still steaming hot.

"How did you know I needed this?" Leo asked, curious of how his brother knew he was going to wake up and be in need of such a beverage.

" Have you seen yourself when you don't have coffee?" Nico replied simply as he took a seat next to him. The brothers were silent for a while, just enjoying the quiet of morning and the caffeinated drink when Nico finally spoke up.

"So," he said.

Leo shrugged, a bit perplexed. " So, what?"

Nico nodded, " Exactly."

Leo resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Nico always had an indirect way of getting people to talk about things they didn't want to, and it was annoying as heck because it worked.

Nico took one last slug of his coffee before he put it on the floor. " What happened while we were there Leo?"

Leo wasn't sure where to start, but before he knew it, he was blabbing about everything he deemed important. He told Nico about how he had found an abandoned hoover van in an alleyway after they had been separated in the city of Ikaria. He told him about all of people he had talked to, trying to find out if anyone had seen Nico or the others. He told him how the kinder soldiers had found Leo in the square and had chased after him, and how Leo had broken into the Capitol compound, disabled the blockers, and faced off against four earth benders.

Nico perked up at that part. "What were earth benders doing in a capitol stronghold?"

"You got me."

"You said they were able to bend but you couldn't?" He asked, clearly shocked… at least as shocked as Nico ever got.

Leo nodded solemnly. " Yeah, it was the strangest thing. It was almost like … like the blockers didn't affect them. It was like they were immune to it. I've never felt so powerless before."

" So that's how you got hurt," Nico stated simply. "Did you do your water bending mombo jumbo for healing?"

Leo shrugged. " Time is the only thing I need for bruising, I'll be fine."

Nico nodded, as if to himself, apparently content with the answer.

Leo had grown up a water bender, and only a year ago he had discovered his ability to manipulate the other elements. It was a lot of extra weight for a sixteen year old to carry on his shoulders, being the avatar and all, but that's where his brothers came in.

Well, technically, they were not his blood brothers, but they had been adopted together by a loving couple and to Leo, they would always be family. Leo often laughed to himself when he thought back to how difficult it must have been for his parents to raise four bending teenagers at the same time.

Raph-earth and metal bender. Neo-fire and lightening. Kai-air bending.

'Difficult' might not be the right word.

Leo heard footsteps from above and he watched as a red-haired monster slowly made his way down the metal steps. Leo and Nico watched with amusement as Raph sauntered into the kitchen blindly, bumping into things and cursing under his breath. He eventually emerged with a loaf of bread and some jam which he threw onto the table.

He began to stuff his mouth with globs of bread of which he messily dipped in the jar of jam. A purple stickiness eventually covered his face and within minutes, Raph had consumed half the loaf and the entire jar of jam. When he was done eating, he sat back and belched loudly.

" And so the creature awakes," Nico commented.

" Shut your cake hole," Raph said.

He seemed to notice, for the first time that Leo was present, sitting next to Nico on the musty couch. His green eyes squinted, the gesture hinting that he was suspicious.

" Is there anything you guys want to clue me in on."

Before Leo or Nico could answer, a startled cry came from upstairs.

Raph got up, half surprised and mostly angry, knocking his chair down in the process.

" Kai! What the blazing heck are you screaming for?!"

Kai came running down the stairs, half-dressed, his air bending tattoos clearly visible. He had a frantic look on his face as he grabbed Raph's arm and began to drag him away from the table.

"There's a monster upstairs!" He declared.

Leo and Nico looked at each other, unbelieving. Monsters did exist, of course, whether you were referring to the various wild beasts of the United Kingdom or man himself. But for Kai…well, that was always a different story.

Nico put his hands on his knees and hoisted himself off the couch. " Breakfast and a little entertainment was never a bad combination," he slapped Leo's leg. " C'mon, lets see what this new monster of Kai's is."

So Leo and his brothers headed upstairs to investigate the mystery creature. Kai bravely refused to go back into his room first and let Raph lead the way. Leo didn't see anything at first but the blankets from Kai's bed, which were strewn across the floor as if he had rushed out, suddenly began to move.

" Kai, you want to do a little air bending so we can see what we got here," Raph asked, gesturing to the moving blanket creature.

Kai shook his head violently. " Heck no, it's a friggin monster Raph! I brought you here to destroy it, not sight see…just kill it!" Kai stepped behind Raph as if for protection, and Raph looked one hundred percent done with his brother.

" Leo, would you do the honors," Raph asked.

Leo answered by thrusting his hands forward, letting the wind flow freely in the room and lifting the blanket off the horrifying… polar bear dog?

Raph grabbed Kai roughly and pointed at the little pup. " Is that the monster you were referring to?"

Kai shrugged, a bit confused. " That thing tried to eat me! I swear!"

Nico grabbed the bear dog and hoisted him onto his shoulder, his fingers giving the little the polar bear dog a good scratch. The dog wagged its tail and gave a happy yelp.

" While you two argue about the monster problem, the pup and I will be downstairs having breakfast," Nico said as he turned and walked off.

Leo and Raph followed suit while Kai insisted the bear dog was dangerous. " He almost licked my face off!"