All right, here it is: Chapter Two. Many thanks to my reviewers, you make me want to continue my work. As for the reference to the spelling of Raf's name, I wrote this before I knew that his name was spelled with a ph and not an f. Plus, I'm too lazy to keep typing ph, so in this story, it's an f. If that drives anyone crazy, my deepest apologies. It seems more like a nickname with the f in there.

Anyway, I don't own the TMNT, but I do own this story. I've incorporated stuff from the 2007 movie, just a head's up.

One year later

"Remember guys, we're only out here to train."

"Ha! Train? My shell we're only out here to train. Okay jungle boy, grab a vine."

"Jungle boy. That's a good one, Raf!"

The jab hit Leo somewhere deep inside as his three brothers jumped off the roof and went sliding down the long piece of piping that was connected to it, leaving him behind, the rain running off his nose. It hurt him to see how, in so little time, their friendship and brotherhood had fallen apart so easily. In the single year that he had been away, the boys had tried to settle down and get steady jobs, Mikey posing as a costume for kids' birthday parties and such, Donny running a computer repair service, and Raf doing nothing at all. But, with no one to fight and beat up, they had turned on each other, constantly squabbling and bickering until they could hardly string two nice words together. Then he had come back, hoping to whip them into shape and turn them into disciplined warriors who put the needs of others before themselves. It was Master Splinter's intention that Leo become the leader of the group, being the strongest and most mature of his brothers, but there was a problem. They wouldn't listen to him. He had tried to begin acting like a leader, but instead they ignored him and made fun of him, like the jibe Raf had made just now. If he had been younger, Leo would have cried, but he was seventeen years old, almost a man now. He was too old to cry. Sill, his brothers had been his entire life growing up, and sometimes, the thought of them was the only thing that kept him going during those long hours training in Central America.

And now, to come back and find his family in shambles had broken his heart, but it only made him more determined to bring them together and become a team once more, only better.

He jumped after them.

They turned a corner in the street, and then he heard Mikey yell out, "Hey guys! I've found something!"

His brothers all turned the corner again, then headed into the alley where his cry had come from, all talking on top of each other.

"Good work, Mikey!"

"What'd you find?"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"It's a girl," he said when they all calmed down. He pointed up the alleyway for them to see, but it did little. They couldn't see anything through the dark and the rain.

"I can't tell if she's dead or not," Mikey continued as they crept across the pavers. "She's just laying there."

As they closed the distance between them and the girl, she gradually came into view.

She was dirty and soaking wet, and as they came closer, their sharp noses caught the smell of blood, which was explained by the fresh wound on her forehead. She was lying on her back, one arm bent at the elbow, hand by her shoulder, the other crooked at an odd angle by her side. One of her knees was bent as well, touching one of her neat little black shoes to her ankle. Her head was on its side, facing them. Her eyes were closed and she wasn't moving.

Donny moved forward first.

"Hey," he said, reaching out with his Bo staff and poking the girl in the side. She didn't move. He crept closer. When she did nothing, he set the weapon down, by his foot so he could grab it quickly in case of emergency, and knelt down over her. His hands moved her head from side to side to check for a broken neck, then felt for her pulse.

"She's alive!" he yelled, and his brothers rushed over at the words. "She's alive," he repeated. "But barely. Her pulse is very weak, and it looks like she's unconscious. She needs medical attention, and fast!"

"Then let's get her to a hospital," said Raf.

"We can't do that! They won't take her, not without insurance."

"Maybe she has insurance."

"Maybe she doesn't."

"How would you know that?"

"How could I? I don't even know who she is, and neither do they!"

"Then what do you suggest? We can't leave her here!"

While his brothers were arguing, Leo had bent over the girl to examine her as well. She was wearing a simple white blouse, and a skirt, though it was too dark to tell exactly what the material was, white stockings and black shoes with ankle straps and small heels. A light came on in the window above them, probably some late-night stirring, and as the weak rays fell across her face, Leo gasped.

She was the girl he had seen on the stage a little over a year ago in the stadium. But oh, how changed! In a single year, her face had aged greatly, the rosy cheeks now pale, the cheekbones alarmingly pronounced. Then the light went out, and her face vanished into the darkness. As his eyes adjusted, he noticed a dark splotch on her shoulder. He frowned and moved her blouse off her shoulder so he could see the skin beneath.

"Hey Donny!" he called, and his brothers stopped their quarrel. "Come look at this."

Donny bent over the girl to observe the two round holes in her shoulder, then his face twisted.

"Bullet holes," he said grimly. "She's been shot!"

Leo's mind was made up in an instant.

"She's coming up with us."

"Leo," said Raf. "Have you been listenin' to anythin' I just said? Imagine what she's gonna think when she wakes up! She'll think we're kidnappin' her! She'll totally freak out!"

Leo put his foot down and glared at Raf, their faces only inches apart.

"I'm not going to turn my back and leave things to chance while this girl's life is on the line. Now shut up, grab her and let's get out of here."

"Okay, okay!" Raf growled, scooping up the girl in his arm and throwing her over his shoulder. "Jeez."

His brother could be really bossy sometimes. Especially now, that he'd come back from Central America. He'd been acting all high and mighty, just because Master Splinter had judged him worthy of the position of "leader." What the old rat didn't know, of course, was that Raf had wanted to be leader of the gang, and had nearly been crushed when he'd chosen Leo instead. But then again, Leo had always been Master Splinter's favorite, even though Raf was sure he was a better fighter than his brothers. He'd been able to beat all three of them at once one time, but it did no good. There was something Splinter had seen in Leo that deemed him "leader." To this day, Raf was still not sure what that was.

Once back in their underground home, Leo took charge again.

"Mikey, go get some washrags and towels so we can clean her off. Raf, put her on the couch and make sure she's comfortable. I'm going to boil some water."

"I'll go get my medicine kit," said Donny, and he and Mikey vanished into the back rooms. As Leo grabbed a pot from the cupboard and filled it with water, Raf dumped his small burden on the couch, picking her legs back up as they slid off.

"Raf do this, Raf do that. I swear," he grumbled, dusting his hands off. "If Pretty Boy can't learn to do his own dirty work…"

He stopped, staring at his hands. They were smeared with blood.

"Weird," he muttered, looking closer at them. "That ain't my blood."

Realization dawning on him, he turned and looked at the girl.

"Leo," he called.

"What?" answered his brother from the kitchen.

"I think she's been hurt somewhere over here."

"Where?" Leo had come over to look.

"Over here, on her legs or somethin'."

"What makes you say that?"

Raf showed him his hands.

"Hmmm."

Leo bent over the area where Raf had pointed. Her legs were dirty and one of her stockings had a tear in it, but other than that, he couldn't see anything. Wondering how he was going to do this and not invade the girl's privacy, he edged up the hem of her skirt just a little, but the answer to Raf's bloody hands was there in plain sight. Her thighs, at least the tops of them, were smeared with blood. Leo frowned, then stood up.

"Mikey," he said, his brother having just entered the room carrying four washrags in one hand and a towel in the other. "Go get Master Splinter." As the orange-banded turtle left the room again, Leo turned to Raf.

"He knows more about these things than we do," he said. "But if it's what I think it is…" His hands clenched into fists and he hissed through his teeth, "someone is going to pay dearly for his crimes."

Raf looked from the thin trickle of blood that had begun to run down the girl's thigh, to his hands, to his brother's hardened face, and then the full concept of what may have happened to the girl began to dawn on him.

"Monstrous," he breathed, as Mikey returned accompanied by their father, teacher and master, Splinter. On the other side of the room, Donny also entered, holding his first aid kit in his hands.

"Sorry. Took me forever to find the darned thing."

He stopped at everyone's grave faces.

"What's the matter?"

No one answered him. Instead, Master Splinter followed Mikey over to where the girl was lying on the couch, still unconscious. He swept his serene brown eyes over her.

"What happened?"

At first, no one spoke. No one knew what to say. Finally, Leo opened his mouth, staring at his feet.

"Mikey found her first. She was out in a back alleyway soaking wet in the rain. We didn't want to take any risks, and we didn't want to leave her there, so we picked her up and brought her back here. She's pretty beat up."

"You did a wise thing, my son," said the old rat. "Though I don't know what her reaction will be when she wakes up."

He smiled, but the boys did not return it.

"Master, there's somethin' else you should know."

"What is it, Raphael?"

Splinter never called them by their nicknames.

Raf showed him his bloody hands, then pointed to her skirt. Splinter saw the blood and his eyes narrowed.

"We knew you'd know more about this than we do, so we got you at once," said Leo.

"Hmm."

Master Splinter put one of his hands on the girl's forehead.

"She's running a slight fever." He turned to his sons. "I must examine her myself. I need you boys to step into my rooms for a few minutes. I will call you when I am finished."

"What's going on?" said Donny.

"Yeah? What's everyone so uppity about?" asked Mikey as he and Donny were shepherded out of the room by their brothers.

"What's Master Splinter doing in there?"

Mikey tried to catch one last glimpse of the scene in the other room. Raf pushed him and closed the sliding door.

"Leave 'em alone."

"I just wanna see what he's doin'," Mikey whined.

"What is he doing in there?" Donny agreed. "Why did he make us leave the room?"

"'Cause he doesn't want us to see what he's doin'," said Raf.

"He probably doesn't think we're old enough," Leo suggested.

"Come on Leo," said Mikey. "What could there possibly be out there that we aren't out old enough to handle?"

He had a point. They had seen a lot, perhaps more than many kids their age had seen. But, as he and Raf traded glances, he knew there was much they hadn't. Especially with girls. Master Splinter had given them the "TALK" when they were fifteen, but words only went so far. Now they had a serious problem on their hands, one that was probably going to change their lives forever. Where did they go from here?

"Raf?"

Donny's voice broke his thoughts.

"What is that on your hands?"

Raf looked like he had been daydreaming. Now he jerked and looked down.

"Oh. It's blood."

"Blood? Where from?"

"The girl," he answered, getting up and sticking his hands in Splinter's washbowl. "She was hurt…you know…"

"Where?" asked Mikey, obviously not catching the message Raf was trying to communicate with his eyes.

He muttered something that sounded like "Under her skirt," and resumed washing his hands. Mikey and Donny looked at Leo, who did his best to duplicate the look that had been on Raf's face a moment before. Donny, he could see, was beginning to understand, but Mikey, as usual, was clueless. But at that moment, Master Splinter opened the door, and beckoned the boys out.

"This is very grave," he said, as he lead him back into the living room. "My worst fears are confirmed." He turned to them with a deep look in his brown eyes. "She has been violated in the most brutal way possible."

The boys looked at each other.

"You mean like…" Leo began, and Master Splinter nodded. He didn't need to say more.

"I want you boys to clean her up and dress her wounds. She has been beaten very badly, but I will need further analysis to decide if any bones are broken. Donatello?"

Donny nodded.

"Yes Master. I'll see to it."

"Please be kind to her. She has been ill-treated and she is very fragile, both physically and mentally. When she wakes up, assure her that she is safe and that you mean her no harm. Do not cause her any unnecessary pain or fear. Please boys," he begged, wringing his gnarled hands. "Be gentle with her."

"We will, Master," said Leo, speaking for all of them as they clasped their hands in front of them and bowed. Master Splinter left the room, his door clicking softly behind him. The boys turned to their task.

"Well, what do we do first?" Donny put his hands on his hips.

"Get her out of those wet things," said Leo. "I'm going to boil that water."

While Leo decided that the tea kettle was a more effective way to boil the water, the other three removed her wet clothes, shoes and stockings, Mikey having a little trouble figuring out how to undo the straps on her shoes. Donny's gentle hands moved over her body, looking for broken bones. He slowly made his way up her arm, stopping at her shoulder and frowning.

"Her right shoulder's dislocated," he called out, moving to the other arm. He looked at the two middle fingers of her left hand, and even Raf and Mikey could tell they were broken: they were so bent out of shape.

"That's not gonna feel good," said Raf. Donny continued his examination.

"Good God," he whispered, running his eyes over the numerous cuts, scratches and bruises that covered her body. "Who did this to you?"

He pressed her collarbone, then her ribs, gingerly, because of a particularly nasty bruise.

"Someone kicked you here," he muttered. "Hard, too. I can't believe none of your ribs are broken."

"Look how skinny she is," Mikey pointed out. "I bet you can count every single one of her ribs."

He proceeded to do so, but Donny slapped his hand away.

"Knock it off, Mikey."

His brother was right though. Every one of her ribs was clearly defined, and her hipbones stuck out so much Donny wondered if there were any organs left on her. Her thighs were so thin he was sure he could fit his hand all the way around them, and her cheekbones seemed way too large for her sunken cheeks. He noticed that one of her eyes had been blackened, and the wound on the side of her forehead was a bad one. He figured someone had hit her with a baseball bat or a crowbar, probably to knock her out.

Or to kill her? Donny shivered at the thought. The gunshots, the bruises, the blow to the head. This girl had sustained the worst injuries he had ever seen. She was also extremely malnourished, teetering on the edge of starvation. She had been brutalized beyond anything a human being should have been able to live through, and yet her heart was still beating and she was still breathing.

"You're one tough cookie, aren't you?" he said as he checked her pelvis, legs and toes for breaks. When he came up with nothing, he slipped his hand beneath her and felt along her spine.

"Hmm, the vertebrae need to be realigned, but nothing's out of order. Although… this is strange."

"What is it?" said Mikey.

"Help me turn her over. This scar," he said when they did. "I wonder where it came from."

"You think her attackers gave it to her?" asked Raf.

"Hmm-mm." Donny shook his head. "This is old. See how the tissue is stretched and faded a little? This has been here a while."

"What are you guys looking at?" asked Leo, coming over from the kitchen. He looked at the pink, crescent-shaped scar Donny was pointing at.

"Weird," he said, stroking it with his fingertip. "A childhood injury, perhaps? Or a surgery?"

"Maybe," said Donny. He got up and felt the girl's head, just to be sure nothing was broken. He made a face.

"Ugh. She's filthy. Looks like they dragged her through a bog before they beat her up."

He was right. The girl's hair was so matted with dirt and blood that they couldn't even tell what color it was. But Leo knew, because he had seen it before, a little over a year ago. Bright, flaming red, shining burnished gold in the stage lights. She had been fatter then, rosy lips pulled back to reveal straight white teeth and the voice of an angel pouring out of her throat with such power and intensity that he'd felt both his heart and his eardrums throb. She had looked so happy then, her face turning as red as her hair as she flew back and forth across the stage, and to see her now, as his brothers turned her back over, so pale, thin and bruised, made his blood boil. He felt his eyes burn, but whether they were tears of rage or sadness he did not know, and he whispered in a choked voice, "Where was your hero?"

"What?" said Donny, and Leo blinked, jerking out of his thoughts. "Did you say something, Leo?"

"No," said Leo, and the tea kettle began to whistle. The water was boiling, and it was just the distraction he needed to wipe his eyes while his brothers weren't looking. He had a feeling they would not understand his tears, and just laugh at him more. Besides, he was too old to cry.

Between the four of them, they took a bowl of water and a washrag each and set out cleaning the dirt, grime and dried blood from the girl's body.

"So, what exactly was Master Splinter talking about?" said Mikey as he wiped down her tiny, fairy-like feet. "With the violation and stuff?"

"Rape, Mikey," said Raf. "Don't you know what that is?"

"Watch those fingers, Raf," said Donny as he gently cleaned her shoulder. "They're broken." Ignoring Raf's growled reply of, "Yeah, I know, I know," he turned to Mikey and said, "Master Splinter referred to it as sexual assault, and it's one of the worst things you can do to a woman. It's abuse, and men are not to use their strength to hurt." He turned back to his work, moving down her arm. "Yuk," he said, looking at her hand. "Some of her fingernails are broken."

Mikey was still musing over what he had just learned.

"Rape, hmm. Master Splinter said crimes like this existed, but I never thought we'd run across one."

"He gave us a whole lecture on this stuff, and how to treat girls," said Raf. "I remember that."

"Oh yeah!" said Mikey. "And he was using examples from the TV!"

They all smiled at the memory of the frail old rat ranting at the television while the boys sat on the couch and tried not to laugh. Then they were solemn, staring at the girl's pitiful little body, and they were reminded of the horrors that these crimes caused. They had seen situations like this on television of course, but it was nothing compared to the scene before their eyes now. It only reinforced their knowledge that the real world was nothing like what people saw on TV.

Donny had moved from her arm and was now cleaning off her face. Now that most of the blood was being wiped off, the wound in her head only looked half as bad as it had before. Now, it only looked like a nasty bruise. Donny finished cleaning the muck out of her ears, then took her chin in his head and gently turned her head from side to side.

"Pretty face," he muttered. "Pretty girl. Kind of a shame someone would do something like this to her."

The others nodded and suddenly, without really meaning to, Leo lost his temper. He flung his washrag into the bowl so violently he splattered murky water everywhere and startled his brothers. He jumped up and stormed off a few steps.

"How can someone do something like this?" he yelled. "How can anyone possibly have the guts to do this to a defenseless girl and feel no guilt?"

"I don't know, Leo," said Donny softly, threading the hooked needles that he would use to stitch up her gunshot wounds.

"Some people," said Mikey, looking uncomfortable as he wiped the blood from the girl's thighs. "I don't even want to imagine what she went through."

"Did you clean those bullet wounds, Raf?"

"Yep. First thing I did."

He moved to help Mikey mop up the rest of the blood, and Donny first sterilized the wounds with an alcohol swab, then began to close them. Mikey winced as he pushed the needle through her flesh.

"Ugh, Donny. You know that makes me queasy when you do that."

His brother didn't answer, too bent on his work. He closed one, then the other while the others finished cleaning her off. When they were finished, they turned her over and cleaned her back while Donny closed the wounds from the back.

"She's lucky the bullets went right through her. If one had gotten lodged in the bone, I would have had to operate, and that would have been mess." He tied off the tread and severed it with his teeth.

"She's lucky to be alive," said Raf, taking his bowl and pouring the contents down the drain. "She just better not freak out when she wakes up. We saved her life, and she'd better be grateful."

"Oh shut up, Raf," Donny scolded. "As Master Splinter said, she's been through a lot. She's probably traumatized. Now, help me get all of this gunk out of her hair. Leo, we're going to need more water."

Hee, hee, hee. Awkward stuff for the boys. But oh, don't we love to torture them. I tried to stay as in-character as possible, right down to Raf's speech. Again, apologies if the ph vs. f thing drives people crazy, but I think it works better. Anyway, keep the reviews comin'!