Disclaimer: TMNT is property of Eastman, Laird, and Nickelodeon.
A/N: Whoo-hoo! Thank you reviewers and story alerters. Got Chapter 2 for ya!
Leo Rescues…Again
3 Months Earlier…
Blood pooled beneath his knee and a curse slipped past clenched teeth. Strong hands closed over the wound as if the pressure would magically knit the muscle back together. He shook himself. The cut wasn't deep enough to be fatal, but man. It frickin' stung.
He swore again, glaring at the bodies strewn between himself and the lip of the roof where his brothers had vanished. He could hear the sound of the continuing battle rising from the alley.
He had been finishing up with his opponent when he saw Leo and Don take off after the fleeing remains of the Foot. He watched Mikey somersault, kick over the edge, and give him a boisterous wave before he, too, vanished.
"Stupid kid," he grinned and tossed the limp warrior aside. He had taken four steps after them when one of the sprawled shadows suddenly lurched upright. Raphael had leapt back in surprise, but the katana sliced across his thigh all the same.
He snarled at the now officially unconscious man with a feeling the guy would be taking measures never to cross "the red one" again. Raph clicked his tongue as shouts and smacks of wood and steel upon flesh continued to rise.
C'mon, guys! How long does it take ta bring down a coupla Foot geeks?
Movement.
Raphael spun to his left, narrowing his eyes at five figures outlined against the opposite building. Centermost was a slender form covered head-to-toe in steel armor. She stepped down and her guards followed. Raph growled, his hands abandoning the wound in favor of his sai.
"S'up, Karai?" he said coldly. "Nuthin' on TV tonigh'?"
The woman paused just beyond his strike range. "You are injured."
"Ain't nuthin' a band-aid can't fix."
Slowly, she moved to his right. Raphael shifted so he could keep track of both her and her goons. His skin crawled at the familiar ring of katanas unsheathing. "That is excellent. I have no use for a dead turtle."
At some unseen signal, her guards attacked. Raph lunged to his feet, deflecting each blow with his own weapons. He ducked and jumped back, hissing as the gash split wider on his landing. He drove an elbow into the gut of one man and the hilt of his sai jammed into the temple of another. Both men dropped behind him. He spun to avoid a slashing blade and all but stumbled right into Karai.
He twisted aside before they could collide. But his wounded leg was left exposed and, in a flash, her steely fist pounded into the gash. Pain burst inside his stomach and Raphael hit his tail. He grabbed the wound as a fiery pulse consumed his leg and crawled up his side. His voice cracked with his curse.
Panting, he tried to roll back to his feet only to collapse again. Grit and tar dug into his hip. He threw a furious glare to the woman.
"Relax, Raphael. You will be taken care of."
Then, a rooftop and eternity away, Michelangelo's laughter drifted between them. Raph heard Leo barking orders and Donatello's sharp battle cry. The turtle's eyes locked with the woman's and he threw himself to the side, scrambling for his brothers' voices.
His mouth opened to call for them, but a light step came too close behind him and his vision blossomed with stars.
His sai clattered upon the rooftop.
The back of Donatello's thumb ran anxiously across his lower lip. He paced around his lab, grabbing supplies at random only to shove them back into place with a frustrated grunt. His gaze cut, venomously, to the lab door where Leo had vanished to explain the night's events to Splinter.
Meaning their master now had more information on the current patient than the resident "doctor" did. Maybe if he drank more tea, he'd be privy to information too. He slammed a cupboard, making the steel container vibrate.
Raphael had dropped off into his delirious sleep on the way home and Leonardo had been almost catatonic himself. He had slouched in his seat, glaring out at the frigid night as if it had insulted him. He had left Don to maneuver April's van in and out of traffic in a frantic silence. Mikey had been in the back, hugging Raph to his chest to make the wild ride more bearable. And all the while Donatello had felt the blue gaze constantly switching between the brothers in the front. Waiting for one of them to break the silence.
A futile wait, it seemed. Leo had revived himself long enough to move Raph into the lab and now he was gone again. And he had left the younger pair with no clue as to what had happened in that warehouse.
Donnie's light growl rumbled as he passed by his workstation where a pair of sai were carefully crossed one over the other. Found abandoned on a rooftop three months ago after the Foot had vanished into the night. He couldn't bear to think that their owner had been whittled down to the ruined frame on his table. The frightening remains of a once-strong warrior.
He ground his teeth. It's Raph, genius. You've patched him up hundreds of times. Fix this!
Don drew a breath and retuned his attention back to his patient. He frowned. Truth be told, the lack of physical injury shocked him. He had feared they'd find their brother cut to ribbons. But aside from the obvious weight loss, an odd pair of scorch marks at his temples, a long healed scar on his thigh, and a small incision on his side…he seemed fine. No broken bones. No torn muscles. No infection or temperature. Scrapes and bruises here and there, but none of them were serious. It was as if Karai hadn't wanted to inflict any lasting damage. He honestly wondered what she had done for the past months.
Donnie stopped, staring straight ahead.
Had he really just thought that?
He jumped as a hand closed about his wrist. Mikey was leaning over Raph, holding his arm, and frowning.
"You say something, Mike?"
"I said you gotta relax before you have an aneurism or something." Donnie scowled and tried to pull away, but Mikey's grip tightened. The older turtle blew out a sigh and forced his muscles to unclench a fraction.
It was enough. Mikey released him and sank back to his seat at Raph's shoulder. Donatello went to a closet and pulled an IV stand and a bag of solution to the table.
Courtesy of Dr. Stockman, he thought grimly.
It had been Raph's idea to sneak back into the demolished Stocktronics building after the police and fire department had cleaned up. Just to see what they could find before the company reclaimed the tech which survived the explosions.
"That's called looting," Donnie had said, doubtfully.
He could still hear Raph's deep laugh. "I'd call it Productive Salvaging from the jerk that jes tried ta kill us, bro."
And despite the bottle of Pepto-Bismal Donnie had downed trying to keep that trip a secret from Splinter, they owed much of their current medical supplies to that adventure.
Raph's idea.
He sighed and hooked the bag onto the stand.
"So…are you still mad?"
Donnie hesitated before glancing to his little brother. He let out a huff and went to a tool chest to dig for a clean syringe.
"It was a bad night, Donnie. You know Leo didn't mean…"
"Mike," he said, nodding to their unconscious sibling. "Now might not be the time for this."
"Just saying…" Mikey fell into silence as Don lifted Raph's arm. The inventor ran a finger along dozens of injection marks peppering the dark elbow. His brow fell and he cupped his palm, protectively, over the softer flesh.
C'mon, Raph, he willed as he extended the arm. He waited for those fierce eyes to snap open and a thunderous voice to demand they stop "pawin'" at him. He waited to have to fight him back onto the table while Raph cursed and flailed and swore revenge.
His brother only breath slow and even as if to mock him.
Don started again when Mikey's voice broke the quiet. "Cuz, you know, you tend to keep things inside until they totally explode everywhere. And we don't need a repeat of the other night like ever, right?"
"Mikey," Don cast him a weary look. "You want to help? Grab a sterilizer from the drawer behind you."
The youngest's face fell. "Sure, Don."
He watched him go with a small twitch of guilt. Donnie sighed and promised he would apologize once Raph was stabilized. Wiping a clean path over Raph's elbow, he searched for an open space along the vein. He grabbed the syringe from the table and blinked when the needle trembled in his hand. His gaze shifted to the mutilated flesh and sweat tingled as he realized he was about to re-assault it.
"So," Mikey said, casually appearing at his shoulder. "Wha'cha doin'?"
Donnie closed his eyes. Mike leaned in from the end of the table, his hands on either side of Raph's feet. His face was a mask of innocence, but Mikey knew full well that Don tended to relax if could talk and work at the same time. The older brother offered a grateful smile and returned to his task.
"I'm going to get a blood sample for you to take over to Leatherhead. He's got better equipment to find out what they've been pumping into him. Then we'll have a starting point on how to treat him. I'll feel better when we've got an IV and can monitor his stats, but we'll get a jump on fix -"
The needle touched dark skin.
Raphael's heel slammed into Mikey's chest, sending him crashing into the opposite wall. Don didn't have time to gasp before thick fingers caught above his wrist. In a flash, his shell rang off the metal cabinets. Raph's other hand clamped down on the smaller neck.
They were braced beak-to-beak. Raph's wild stare jumped between Don's eyes and his lip curled back with sudden rage.
"You."
Don let out a strangled gurgle as Raph's arm flexed. The younger turtle slid up and up until his toes left the ground. His clawed at the iron fingers with his own. The syringe slipped from the hand pinned at his waist. It clattered and rolled away between Raph's spread feet. Once it was gone, Raph's left hand abandoned the wrist to join its companion at his brother's throat. His eyes were narrow slits of gold.
"Raphie!" Mike grabbed his shoulder. "It's us, Raph! Let him -"
His elbow shot outward, snapping Mikey's neck back as a spurt of blood shot from the sea-green turtle's nose. Mike staggered, watching in horror as Don's legs gave a feeble twitch. Light brown eyes rolled towards the ceiling and his teeth were bared in a silent scream. Raphael's entire being shook in effort to keep him up.
"Deo!" Mikey cried through his pouring nose. "Madda Sp'inta!"
"Raph!"
Leonardo barreled into the lab with the rat on his heels. He blew past Mikey and tackled his enraged brother around the middle. Don's shell shrieked as he slid down the cabinets, an ugly gasp pulling into his lungs.
Raphael was clawing and kicking at the leader and Leo ducked to shield his face from the onslaught. He caught a punch to a head and struggled to keep his hold on his twisting and frothing sibling. Raph's body might have atrophied, but his anger certainly hadn't. And all while he fought, he kept his deranged focus aimed at Donatello.
Leo dropped his weight, sweeping his leg around to kick Raph's out from beneath him. They both went down, but with a sickening crack, Raphael's head bounced off the cement. The fight went out of him instantly.
"Raph!" Leo fought to free himself and knelt at his side. "I'm sorry! Are you all right?"
Bleary gold eyes rolled. Raph shook his head, still growling.
"Don'…let 'im…Leo…"
"I'ts okay, Raph. You're safe. Donnie wasn't going to hurt you."
"He's here…she's here…"
"No. Karai's nowhere near us. She doesn't know where you are."
Raph's hand caught his sword strap and jerked him down. "Donnie's hers, Leo. He's workin'…fer the Foot…"
Ice skimmed over the leader's skin. Raphael's grip fell loose and he slumped backward.
Leonardo slowly rose to his feet, panting. He looked up into Mikey's eyes which were huge above the wrist pad trying to staunch his nose. His gaze slid past him to where Splinter was holding a rigid Donatello. The young turtle's face was slack with shock.
"I'm what?"
* Well…it's Raph. It couldn't be a peaceful homecoming. Penny for your thoughts?
