A/N: Okay, I've said this before, but the confrontation between Raph and Leo in the movie was FAR too tame for a situation like that; they're teens just having lost their father and have no idea what to do, SOMEBODY had to be distressed, right? So I added a little more 'drama' to it, and added Mikey and Donnie's reaction to it too.
I OWN NOTHING!
Enjoy!
Chapter 9: Fighting amongst Brothers
Since the apartment was empty for the time being, the four mutant turtles were free to roam around the rooms without fear of being seen, though Leonardo had strictly advised them to keep the curtains drawn. April told them before she left for her interview that day that they were free to do what they liked as long as they didn't go into her fathers' or Aunts' room, and any mess they made was cleaned up immediately; she wanted the place spotless before she or her family returned.
Raphael and Michelangelo debated on whether they should call her 'Big sister', 'Mother' or a 'Leo Jr.'.
Michelangelo spent most of his time in April's room looking through her comic books or action figures (which he thought was insanely cool for a girl like her to own), or flicking through her photo album, which he found lying on her bookshelf. He was quite surprised at the fact that the cute girl who had visited earlier was in most of them. Maybe that Irma girl was the only friend that she had for a long time.
That made Mikey pretty sad. Imagine if he was an only child; what fun would that have been?
After he put the book down, Mikey sat in front of the TV with Donatello, waiting for April's interview to start. Leonardo was mostly in the living room meditating or practicing simple katas (trying not to break or slice anything in half), and Raphael was in the kitchen, snacking on anything he found appealing.
By midday, the strawberries were 'mysteriously' extinct from the fridge.
Soon enough, the sound of Mikey's excited voice called all of them to the TV, where Channel Six News was showing April sat at a desk with Mr O'Brien Gambe. Donnie sighed and stared dreamily at the screen, Mikey sat cross-legged staring with a large grin on his face, holding a large panda teddy bear in his arms, whilst Leo and Raph were listening intently to what April had to say.
"Hello, this is Carlos Chang O'Brien Gambe, reporting live for Channel Six Eyewitness News, with Miss April O'Neil once again to tell us more on her thoughts of 'The Silent Crime Wave', and to share an extraordinary experience she had just last night. So April, tell us your thoughts."
"Well, Mr Gambe, this is beginning to sound less and less like your common garden-variety subway mugging…"
"She's such a great reporter…" Donnie sighed distantly.
"She's a babe!" Mikey grinned, then laughed as Donnie stared at him incredulously, his eyes wide and mouth hung open in shock. He smacked Mikey over the shoulder as his little brother smirked at him.
"Guys, shut it!" Leo hissed, straining his ears to hear what April was saying.
"…with an organization known as The Foot Clan."
"I'm sorry…'The Foot'?"
"I know it sounds like a funky club for podiatrists, but I've been doing some research and have been talking with a lot of Japanese-Americans in the past few days who say that our recent crime wave is reminiscent of a secret band of ninja thieves who once operated in Japan."
"Hmm…really? So, Ninjas in New York, huh? How interesting! So, do you think the police are looking into this?"
"Well, I don't know about you sir, but I doubt very much that Chief Sterns is taking this possible connection seriously."
Donnie gasped in shock, whilst Raph and Leo winced. "She didn't…" Raph snickered.
"She totally did…" Donnie smirked.
Mikey stared stumped at the screen. "Did she just diss the cops guy?"
"I think she did, Mikey." Leo said.
Mikey beamed. "She's such a bad-ass!"
"She sure is," Raph chortled.
"Well, Miss O'Neil, you still haven't told us how you got away from your attackers the other night."
"Oh, it's really quite incredible. Some of…the citizens of New York actually came to my rescue! Who says everyone in the Big Apple looks the other way, huh? Seriously though, Mr Gambe, I would like to take this moment to thank one of individuals in particular. And if he's watching…"
April turned to the screen and flashed one of the warmest, most sincere smiles any of them had ever seen.
"…Thanks, Raphael."
Raph's emerald eyes grew wide and his cheeks turned a furious shade of crimson.
Leo, Donnie and Mikey all turned on him and laughed as he tried to shield his flushed face. "Oooooh!" they all cooed in unison.
"Studly!" Leo laughed. Raph growled at him and blushed harder.
"Hey look! He's blushing!" Mikey exclaimed, pointing a green finger at the flustered red clad turtle turtle.
"I am NOT!" Raph snapped back, only causing his younger brothers to laugh harder as his voice cracked.
"I think he's actually turning red!" Mikey teased further, "awwww! Is 'Big Tough Raphie' all red and embarrassed?"
To show how 'embarrassed' he was, Raph threw his Sai in Mikey's direction, which landed right in-between his legs. All the laughter stopped as Mikey stared at the weapon wedged into the floor that had narrowly missed its mark, slightly paling.
"Ummm…maybe not, then" Mikey said.
Raph got up from the couch and plucked his Sai from the carpet and walked over to the window. "Don't worry about it, Mikey. Donnie's just sore 'cus she likes me more than him!" he said smugly. Donnie gasped in outrage, which went ignored as Raph turned to Leo.
"So what do we do now?" he asked.
Leo stood up and folded his arms. "What do you mean 'What do we do now?'?"
"Splinter is out there somewhere! We can't just sit here!"
"Don't you think I know that?"
Raph stopped in his tracks. He glared at his brother, his eyes practically shooting daggers at him by its intensity. Leo was unmoving however, and shot those daggers right back in his face.
Donnie looked up from the screen and saw where this argument was going to lead to, so he slowly but gently took Mikey by the shoulders and helped him to his feet, not tearing his flattened gaze from the two glaring brothers.
Mikey looked up at Donnie, confused at first, before glancing at Leo and Raph, and then looking back up at Donnie. "Fight?" he asked quietly.
Donnie nodded. "Fight," he replied simply, his tone serious as he led Mikey away from the soon-to-be 'battle' ground.
"…Kitchen?" Mikey asked.
Donnie nodded. "Kitchen"
As soon as the two were out of sight, Raph shot at Leo, "So…what are we gonna do about it, 'Leader'?"
"What can we do, Raph?" Leo shot back, "April's our only link to these guys. We have to wait until she comes up with something."
Raph clenched his fists to his sides, "Oh, so that's the plan from our 'Great Leader', huh?!" he shouted, stepping threateningly up to Leo and jabbing an accusing finger in his chest. "We just sit on our butts, do we?!"
"Knock it off!" Leo snapped, slapping Raph's hand away, his own temper rising, "What do you want from me, Raph? I don't see you coming up with any bright ideas! And rushing blindly into the city and interrogating every random person off the streets isn't one of them! We need a smarter plan than that! And you need to start following my orders!"
Raph growled like a feral dog at his brother. "I am so sick of your stupid 'Space Hero' Zen crap, Leo! Why do think you have to act like dammed hero all the time?!" he screamed.
"Oh yeah?! Well I'M sick to death of your temper and bad attitude!" Leo screamed back, finally having enough of his brother and finally giving in to the stress that had mounted on him since their sensei had disappeared. "Why do you have to act like such a jerk all the time?! Ugh, I've had it up to here with you, Raphael!"
"What did I do?! Why the hell are you talking to me as if it's my fault?!" Raph yelled.
"Because it IS your fault, you idiot!" Leo bellowed, "This whole mess is your fault! If it weren't for you being so careless, The Foot would never have followed you, found our Lair and taken Sensei! None of this would have ever happened if it weren't for you!"
Raph stared wide eyed at his older brother in silent shock.
Mikey and Donnie peeked around the kitchen door and stared at the two of them in disbelief. Leo would never say something like that, to any of them, not even to the hot headed Raphael.
Leo never lost his glare, and never averted it from his younger brother.
Raph's anger boiled as he looked down at the floor. "Oh yeah…? Is that how it is…?" he whispered, before stomping past his brother and heading towards the front door, "Well, I'll just take my attitude and leave!" he shouted over his shoulder.
"Why don't you?!" Leo shouted back, not looking behind him.
"I Will!"
"Good!"
"Great!"
"Go Ahead! We don't need you!"
The front door slammed shut.
Leo looked down at his feet. He felt so ashamed of himself. How could he have said something so harsh like that, to Raphael of all people? Raph had already felt entirely responsible for the loss of their Sensei, and now he just had to go and make it worse.
Leo looked at his hands. 'If sensei could see me here now…' he thought, "he'd say I'm a terrible leader…'
Leo clenched his fists as he turned and ran into April's room, slamming the door shut behind him.
Back in the kitchen, Mikey and Donnie sat at the table in silence. Mikey turned to Donnie, his blue eyes wide and slightly afraid of what he had just seen. Donnie, without missing a beat, immediately went over and wrapped his arms around his little brother, who clung tightly in response. Donnie knew Mikey hated conflict between the four of them just as much as he did, and he hated to see his older brothers fight.
As far as they knew, their arguments had never reached the point of physical violence, but even so, this was the worst they had seen it get between the two.
"Don't worry, Mikey," he said gently, "They...just need some space. They'll make up eventually. They always do, right?"
Mikey looked up at Donnie as he smiled down at him reassuringly. He looked to the side in thought for a minute, and then nodded his head with a smile.
Donnie smiled. That's what he liked to see. "Hey…you wanna go watch some TV with me?" he suggested, deciding to get both their minds off of things for the time being until April returned. Donatello had seen enough drama for one day, thank you very much.
Mikey pretended to think about that. "Can we have…Pork rinds?" he asked with a freckled grin.
Donnie grinned back with a nod. "Pork rinds."
