Author's Note: Here's what I personally think should've happened in the scene where Shredder attacks the lair! If y'all like it, I'll do more of these drabbles! I own none of the characters, alas…only my own ideas that added to the plot from the 2014 TMNT movie!
We're Still Standing
No...Splinter... April could not bear to watch the rat she used to own as a pet get thrown around like a rag doll. She glanced around quickly for anything that could help distract the man known as "The Shredder," and her eyes caught onto Raphael's daggers...sais, they were called...Yes. Raphael, please don't hate me for touching your stuff... With a grunt of effort, she grabbed the weapon and yanked it from its hiding place before rising onto shaking legs and rushing towards the scene ahead of her. She got the turtles and their father into this. Like hell she'd sit around and do nothing about it.
"Splinter!" she cried out as she took a step onto the railing and propelled herself onto the back of the armor, her arm stabbing downwards to embed the sai into the shoulder. Shredder spun around to face her, and she stumbled backwards onto her feet with wide eyes. He had only become angrier, and this time, his rage was directed at her and not the rat. That image of the skilled warrior coming towards her with every intent to kill became etched in her nightmares from that moment forward. Vaguely, she heard the worried cry of Splinter before feeling something wrap around her midsection and tug hard. Crying out, she flew towards the sewer concrete arms first as she tried to catch herself.
A snap of a bone alerted her to the fact that she had indeed made impact with the ground, and a scream tore itself from her throat. Cradling her injured arm to her chest, she half crawled and half limped over to where she had been hiding before, and she collapsed back against the concrete while she tried to remember how to breathe properly. She could hear yells of both sides, turtle and man fighting against one another as weapons clashed and tranq darts were fired.
"Children, drop your weapons...or your...father...will die." April tried to sit up, but she gasped and fell back against the cold floor, her hand shooting to her stomach. Her torso would probably be bruised later. Once more, she gritted her teeth with effort as she sat back up and finally looked up over the table to see Shredder slamming his fist into Splinter's gut. Her eyes squeezed shut when she heard his sons crying out for him, her own chest aching at the thought of anything happening to this family. She fought the urge to scream, fought the urge to come out of hiding.
Raphael. Where is Raphael? She had to find him. She pushed herself as low to the ground as possible and tried to keep her breathing shallow and her movement still. The turtles were struggling as they were being led out of the sewers, and she listened to the Foot soldiers yelling commands and taunting the poor turtles. God...this is all my fault. I need to help them. I can't let them die. April could feel the tears streaming down her face. Her father would be incredibly ashamed of sound of Shredder's mechanically cold voice shook her to the core as he asked about the fourth turtle.
"He's dead."
No. NO! Raphael could not be dead...Her head turning towards the fan room, she realized that she had to make it there, to check for herself whether or not he survived. The redhead almost began to move when Shredder spoke once more.
"And the woman? Miss O'Neil?" Her emerald eyes grew in size as her heart thumped in terror against her aching ribcage, and her head swiveled around for a place to escape.
"No sign of her, Master Shredder. She may have run when she had the chance."
"Unlikely. If she is anything like her father, she is no coward. Destroy this place. She will be destroyed with it."
"Yes, Master Shredder." April grabbed the other sai and clutched it to her chest before she began to make her move. Peeking around the corner of the table, she found the sewer deserted and stood up, eager to get to Splinter and check on him. However, a sudden blast inside the lair flung her backwards, and she cried out in shock before her mind went dark.
"April...Hey, April! C'mon...Wake up!" A gruff voice was yelling at her and calloused hands were shaking her frame gently. With a groan, the reporter's eyes fluttered open to see a relieving sight above her. The face of none other than a very much alive Raphael was gazing down at her, his entire expression full of concern. He could see every emotion crossing her soft features, and all of the earlier frustration he had felt towards her melted away. She looked both genuinely terrified and genuinely ashamed of what had happened.
"Don't worry...I've got ya..." It was almost as though he was reassuring himself more than he was reassuring her, his fingers stroking through her hair in a soothing gesture.
"Raphael? You're alive," she began, her voice raspy as she tried to remember what had happened.
"Yeah. So are you." He was pointing out the obvious, his eye ridge raising, and he looked her over. "How ya feel?"
"My head is sore...and my arm is numb..." she mumbled before her eyes filled with panic. "Splinter! Where is he?!" She tried to sit up too quickly but instantly regretted that decision. His large green hands tightened around her to keep her steady.
"Woah! He's restin'! Chill...take it easy, April. You took a hit when the bombs went off." They stared at each other for a long and awkward moment, both of them realizing his hands were wrapped around her torso. With a clearing of throats, he gingerly released her before he helped her stand up, albeit slowly, in case she was injured further than what he had seen. "Splinter told me what you did for him...with my sai...so uhm...thank you." Raphael rubbed the back of his neck and shifted his weight from foot to foot. That's when he noticed that she was still grasping his other sai in a deathlike grip, while her other arm was cradled into her chest at an unnatural shape. It was as though his entire hulking form softened towards her. Her gaze followed his, and when she saw what he was looking at, she held it out to him to return his weapon to him.
"If it wasn't for me, none of you would be involved in this...you'd be safe," she responded with a guilty quiver of her lip. Fury at Shredder filled the giant terrapin as he saw the young woman's eyes water. Shredder was messing with so many lives in his quest for power, and he would pay for it. No matter what he had first thought of April intruding upon their lives...she never deserved this. She had good intentions at heart, and he could see it now. "I'm so sorry, Raphael. I had no idea...If I had known..."
"April." Raphael's deep voice washed over her in a calming lullaby as his hand curled over hers, pushing the sai back towards her as if telling her to keep it. "I...I know you didn't. We have to get my brothers back. We can't be angry right now. Or guilty. I just need my brothers back." She glanced up to see him staring down at her with an unreadable expression, and an idea struck her like a truck with broken brakes. She laid a hand on his arm with a brightness in her eyes that surprised him for a moment.
"I know how to do it. Raph...Let's go get them back." He watched her slip his sai into her boot, and she almost jogged past him before his hand wrapped around her wrist and halted her movements. Her gaze filled with confusion as he softly slipped her injured arm into his hand, and before she could say anything, he grabbed the red cloth he had been knitting and ripped it up, wrapping her arm with it and tying it off.
"Thank you," she stated gratefully as she stared at the temporary splint and then back up into his face, which looked a bit sheepish and unsure. April's fingers skimmed over the material before she shook herself and stepped past him towards the entrance to the sewers. The mutant grabbed his brothers' weapons and hustled after her, the gentle moment passing them by. There was no time to waste contemplating these sudden and foreign feelings he was having. His brothers' lives were on the line, and he would not fail them. We...He glanced at his side, where the worn and exhausted April was staring ahead of her determinedly, and his eyes looked her up and down once more. We will not fail them.