A/N I do not own TMNT, but I am forever grateful for their existence!

How am I at 21 chapters already?! This thing is ending up way longer than I initially anticipated, but the end is in sight!

Protect

Chapter 21: Rescue

With Bishop leaning over him with a surgical drill, Donatello had decided it was indeed one of those days. It wasn't as though he woke up with an impending cloud of doom looming over him that certain mornings seemed to inherently possess. Most of the day had actually been rather pleasant. He had made some serious progress on his new computer coding, which would help with the Battle Shell's AI, and had even managed to finish the last of the documents necessary to file Michelangelo's tax return for his business.

No, if Donatello had to put his finger on it – which he couldn't, given he was once more strapped to another one of Bishop's endless supply of restraining gurneys – he would say the day hadn't taken a turn for the worse until nightfall. Heck, even being captured by Bishop the first time hadn't really ruined his day. Having his brother mutate into a giant fire-breathing dragon on the other hand… Well, that was probably where Donatello began to suspect the day would be unsalvageable. When said monstrous sibling took off with Michelangelo helplessly in tow, leaving Leonardo and Donatello at the mercy of Bishop's regrouped and incoming forces, he was more than ready to just call it a day and curl up his bed and wait for it to just be over already. Considering he was now in another one of Bishop's facilities being threatened with vivisection – yet again – Donatello was forced to accept the universe hated him. Well, it probably hated Leonardo too, but he wasn't the one currently with the drill by his face.

Switching the drill's motor off to make his words all the more clear, Bishop smugly scrutinized his prey, "I'm only going to ask you one more time, Donatello, where is Raphael?"

"How the heck should I know?" His patience was long gone, "Don't you have some kind of way to track giant flying dragons?"

"Electric ones yes," the agent stroked his implement fondly, "But organic ones that move as quickly as your brother are a little harder to track. Now, if you won't tell me where to find him, I will just have to use you and Leonardo here to replicate the results from earlier."

"What so you can have three monsters terrorizing your airspace?" Donatello smirked, "Oh yeah, I'm sure that will get you your funding."

Bishop ignored the latter comment, "So you can change? Show me."

"Sorry Bishop, that speciality is reserved for Raph only."

At this, Donatello found the metal bit spinning inches from his mouth, "You know, it looks to me like you may have a cavity back there. Better take the tooth out before we continue."

As the drill approached his mouth, Donatello slammed his beak shut, but that did not seem to deter Bishop in the slightest, "I don't mind going through obstacles to get at it, Donatello."

This incited Leonardo to snap, "Leave him alone!"

The man didn't remove his gaze from his target, "Why should I?"

"He's not lying Bishop!" In desperation he cried, "Only Raph can change!"

The note in Leonardo's tone caused him to become the new center of attention, "And why is that? What makes him so different from you?"

With his mouth currently free from danger, Donatello hissed at his brother, "Don't tell him Leo!"

Leonardo clamped his mouth closed and Bishop inspected the two before turning back to his original patient, "I advise you start explaining Raphael's condition Leonardo, or said brother will be the least of your worries."

The drill whirled back to life, but before Bishop could progress further, alarms suddenly were blaring throughout the facility. Bishop pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration before walking to a nearby intercom on the wall. He flicked a switch before he snapped, "Report!"

A female reply came from the speaker, "Sir, the dragon has found our location. We are currently under attack."

Bishop responded calmly, "And the fourth turtle?"

"No sign of it, sir."

There was a loud crash before the room's occupants felt the building vibrate, undoubtedly the result of one very ticked off Raphael. Bishop continued as though it were any other day at the office, "None at all?"

"No sir, the dragon arrived alone."

"Fascinating," Bishop stroked his chin before raising his voice into the intercom, "Do whatever is necessary to capture and subdue the beast. Ideally I want it alive, but if necessary, terminate it."

"Yes sir!" As the speaker went dead, Bishop casually returned to his subjects, "It appears as though Raphael may have had a snack before coming here."

Leonardo gasped, "He would never!"

"Really Leonardo?" Bishop chuckled darkly, "You cannot be so dense. You saw how you brother grabbed Michelangelo. I doubt he even made it past the skyline before he was devoured."

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Donatello yelled as he vainly tried to release himself from his restraints.

"Maybe not," Bishop shrugged, "But it is odd that Michelangelo is missing. Perhaps, he thinks he can sneak up on me," Suddenly the agent lunged across the room and there was a loud squeak before Bishop pulled a struggling Michelangelo into view. The orange-clad turtle was trapped in a head-lock and was grasping at his throat to regain air flow. With force only the tremendous Agent John Bishop could muster, Michelangelo was thrown onto an empty gurney, and in a flash of automated might, was tied down just as his brothers had been. Bishop straightened his tie, "Now then, with that little diversion out of the way, we can get back to business."

Stunned at how quickly the tables had turned, Michelangelo groaned, "Whoa… Forgot I was going against the dork version of the Rock."

Apparently less than impressed that their one hope of rescue was now also captured, Leonardo snapped, "Well if you hadn't skipped training so much lately because of your vendetta with Raphael, maybe you would have stood a fighting chance."

"Geez Leo," Michelangelo huffed back, "Remind me not to risk my shell next time you need saving."

"You call this saving?" Leonardo countered.

"Guys!" Donatello barked at them both, "This is not the time!"

Leonardo and Michelangelo both simultaneously glared at the source of their interruption before Bishop chuckled darkly, "My, my, my… Aren't we all a little tense?"

This provoked Michelangelo to sulk, "Hey, you'd be tense too if you were in our boat."

"Perhaps," Bishop shrugged nonchalantly, "But I'm not. You are. And I have questions that still need answering."

"See about that," Michelangelo smugly smiled as the building began to quiver ominously, "Raph has other plans for us."

At that moment, the air was filled with the rumble of cracking concrete before the ceiling of the lab was deftly cleaved off, revealing a gigantic Raphael. Donatello gawked as his brother easily threw the remnants of the roof aside before undoubtedly smirking down at the room's inhabitants, "'Sup guys?"

Donatello stuttered up in disbelief, "R-Raph?"

"Hey Donnie," Raphael lowered himself closer, "You doing ok, bro?"

The purple-clad turtle nodded, "Uh-huh."

"RAPH!" Leonardo's voice was a mixture of relief and frustration, "You're you? But how?"

Nodding in the direction of Michelangelo, Raphael smiled somewhat shyly, "You can thank Mikey on that one, Leo."

Leonardo turned dumbly in the direction of said turtle who cheekily grinned, "You're welcome."

Before the elder could respond, a gun-shot ripped through their conversation. Immediately the three restrained turtles scanned themselves for injury before zeroing in on Bishop who had directly shot at Raphael's face. For a moment, everything was still until Raphael lifted his hand to pinch between his eyes. After the sound of a metallic rattle from the bullet clattering on the cement floor, a clearly unharmed Raphael, growled at the agent, "You think that pea-shooter is going to work on me?"

"That was no ordinary gun or bullet. It can penetrate solid steel," The man backed away shocked as Raphael moved closer baring his teeth, "Your organic tissue should be ripped to shreds!"

"I'd say take it up with your scientist goons," Raphael snorted, "But you're not going to live that long."

Raphael lunged at Bishop gnashing his teeth, but Bishop was expecting his move. Managing to dodge the deadly jaws by sliding across the floor under the incoming sabers, the agent came to a stop by the intercom. He rapidly began typing in a code, "Well gentlemen, as always it's been a pleasure, but I'm afraid this is where we will end our business for today."

The blaring sirens activated earlier were silenced momentarily while a new message rippled through the base, "SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED. THIS FACILITY WILL DETONATE IN TEN MINUTES." Then, without further ado, Bishop flew through a set of doors into a still intact part of the lab and disappeared. Raphael snarled, "That bastard! I swear I'll tear through this whole stinking piss hole if I have to –"

"SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED. THIS FACILITY WILL DETONATE IN NINE MINUTES THIRTY SECONDS."

"RAPH!" Leonardo yelled through the cacophony, "I think we have bigger problems to deal with!"

"Yeah dude," Michelangelo squealed, "Like us all blowing to kingdom come if we don't get the shell out of here!"

Although cursing inarticulately under his breath, Raphael redirected his attention to his three trapped brothers, "What? You guys need a little help?"

"SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED. THIS FACILITY WILL DETONATE IN NINE MINUTES EIGHT SECONDS."

"Stop joking around Raphael!" Leonardo glowered.

"Don't worry Fearless," Raphael inspected the gurneys before smoothly slicing through the metallic restraints with his claws, "No one's getting grilled while I'm here." With his brothers released, Raphael offered a palm, "Now, you want a lift or are you do you want to keep moping for a few more minutes?"

"SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED. THIS FACILITY WILL DETONATE IN EIGHT MINUTES NINTEEN SECONDS."

Donatello shook his head as Leonardo rolled his eyes before both followed Michelangelo onto their brother's monstrous hand. After carefully curling his fingers around them, Raphael rose onto his hind legs. Towering over the base, Donatello gasped, "This is just too weird."

"Welcome to my life Don," Leonardo grumbled.

As Raphael began flapping his wings, Michelangelo teased, "Hey bros look at it this way: think of how much we'll save on fuel using Air Raph."

Rising steadily into the air, Raphael growled, "I ain't your private jet Mikey."

"Awe come on Raph!" Michelangelo batted his eyelids up at his brother imploringly, "Can you imagine the reaction I'd get if I showed up at Comicon riding on you?"

"This really a discussion you want to have several thousand feet in the air Mikey?" Raphael rumbled.

"Guys!" Leonardo snapped gaining his brothers' attention, "First off, Mikey we have already drawn more than enough attention to ourselves today, and we do not need more! Second, although I appreciate the rescue Raph, now that we are out of Bishop's hands you need to change back."

"Not gonna happen."

Leonardo gaped at Raphael, "Beg pardon?"

"I can't change back, Leo." Raphael sighed, "At least not for a couple of days."

Their blue-clad leader smacked his face down groaning unintelligibly into Raphael's hand. At Leonardo's distress, Donatello questioned his much larger brother, "You need extra mutagen to revert after such a massive transformation don't you?"

Raphael nodded, "Yep."

"Interesting." Donatello rubbed his cheek thoughtfully, "Well I guess we're going to have to find a place to lay low for a few days then."

Pulling his head up Leonardo frowned, "Easier said than done. Where are we going to hide? Raph isn't going to fit in the lair and will stick out like a sore thumb up at Casey's farm."

"Being taller than a high rise does have that affect, yes." Donatello agreed.

"Not to mention the problem of feeding him," Leonardo continued.

"Guys, I'm right here."

Michelangelo comforted his brother, "Ignore them Raph, they're just not thinking big enough."

"Mikey…" Raphael groaned.

"Okay, poor choice of words," Michelangelo defended, "But seriously, you already solved this problem earlier."

"I did?"

"Yeah dude, that place up in the mountains was pretty secluded. We could camp out there for a few days until you can get back to your usual mean green self."

"You know," Raphael tilted his body allowing him to change course, "That's not a bad idea Mikey."

"Why are you guys always so surprised?" Michelangelo scoffed.

Ignoring the orange-clad turtle's sulks, Leonardo attempted to take charge, "Wait, we know nothing about this place!"

"Chill out Leo," Raphael continued to beat his wings in the new direction, "Trust me, there's not a soul around for miles, and even if there was, it would be next to impossible for them to climb up to where we're going."

"And if they do manage it?" Leonardo frowned.

"Pretty sure no one in their right mind would mess with Raph bro." Michelangelo chuckled, "Can you imagine the shock a rock climber would get if they came face-to-face with that mug?"

"Plus, it's not like the three of us are useless Leo." Donatello came to his brothers' rescue, "Last time I checked we could all hold our own in a fight."

"Fine," the eldest huffed, "But the second I feel we've been detected we're leaving."

The three younger siblings couldn't argue with that. Besides, they were all becoming too weary to argue from lack of sleep and nourishment. A while later, as evening was beginning to fall, Raphael finally began his descent to land once more in the mountainous clearing. Relaxing his hand on the ground, his three brothers hopped off before Raphael gave a massive stretch and laid down, "Man, am I beat."

Leonardo had already begun scoping out the clearing, "Alright guys, if we split up we can get camp set up in no time. Mikey, you're on firewood, Don's on water, and I'll go see what I can find for food. Raph-"

Said brother interrupted with a low snore. Michelangelo quietly laughed, "I think Raph's out of commission captain."

"We'll let him rest for a while." Leonardo shook his head with a faint smile on his face, "He has been through a lot today."

"We all have," Donatello yawned, "The sooner we get camp made the sooner I can pass out."

"Agreed." Leonardo nodded before the three brothers took their separate ways into the forest.

A few hours later, the three turtles were crouching around their make-shift fire pit near their sleeping brother, while Donatello, mask hanging around his neck, worked with the flit trying to convince the tiny sparks into a larger flame. Leonardo had managed to snare several rabbits, which were now skinned and waiting to be laid in hot coals – once said coals were made. Michelangelo meanwhile once more had his old sketchbook open while resting his carapace against Raphael's forearm. Their dragon of a brother had slept soundly while his brothers had gone about their separate tasks. Only now, as Donatello cursed under his breath, did he stir. After rubbing his eyes with the arm Michelangelo wasn't resting on, Raphael drowsily murmured to his youngest brother, "What'd I miss?"

"Not much," Michelangelo remained focused on the sketch he was working on, "I got wood, Don found a stream nearby, and Leo caught some rabbits. Now we just need Don to get the fire going and we'll be all set."

Raphael glanced at an aggravated Donatello as another meager flame lit briefly before dying into a pitiful tendril of smoke, "What's the problem? Don knows how to make a fire."

"Yeah," Michelangelo looked up, "But everything's pretty damp. It must have rained pretty hard while we were on our rescue mission."

Shaking his head at his frustrated sibling's display, Raphael rose his head from the ground, "Yo Don, why don't you let me do it?"

Looking up with narrow eyes Donatello sighed, "I almost had it like fifty times, but it can't get hot enough when everything's so damn damp!"

"Bro it's cool," Raphael brought his long neck over to the pile of logs before eyeing his sibling, "Uh, you might move away Don. You know, just in case."

Not needing to be told twice, Donatello jumped to his feet giving his fire-breathing brother plenty of space. Raphael inhaled slightly before frowning in concentration and upon opening his mouth, came a narrow, yet very hot jet of flame. Almost instantly, the logs hissed before erupting under the heat to burn at last. Cutting off the flame, Raphael inspected his work before pulling back, "Considering my smallest target up until now was a fighter jet, I'd say it's pretty good."

"Nice bro!" Michelangelo cheered, "Now we can finally eat!"

As Leonardo moved forward to prod the fire so as to create an appropriate bed of coals, Donatello flopped down beside Raphael's arm, "Thanks Raph."

"Don't mention it Don." Raphael settled his head back down so he did not tower quite so much over his brothers.

Once satisfied that all he could do now was wait, Leonardo leaned back into a kneeling position, "I've been meaning to ask, how did you guys know where to find us?"

"April." Michelangelo once more leaning on Raphael's forearm responded cheerfully, "When she saw you guys get captured she followed Bishop to his hide-out just outside the city. She then texted me letting us know where to go." At Leonardo's concerned expression, the youngest smiled, "Don't worry, I let her know we're all safe, and that we'll be back in the city in a few days."

Donatello tilted his head, "Ok so you knew where the base was, but how'd Raph know which ceiling to dig into?"

"Obviously I couldn't just rip the place apart looking for you guys," Raphael responded, "I didn't want to risk squishing you. So Mike went in first to find out where you were. He gave me his shell cell headset to place in my ear before he left so as he went he could tell me where he was. The whole time he was in there I mostly just made a lot of noise, but what I was really doing was keeping track of him. Once I heard Bishop and Leo's voices, I knew he'd found you, and all I had left to do was get you out of there."

"Wow," Leonardo nodded showing he was impressed, "You guys really did come through for us."

"Course we did!" Michelangelo bubbled before becoming more serious, "Besides we kind of wanted to make it up to you guys for having to put up with the two of us these last few weeks."

Raphael grimaced, "Yeah… None of this would have happened if Mike and I had just talked instead of being such asses to each other."

Donatello and Leonardo shared bewildered expressions before the younger of the two croaked, "Are you guys actually apologizing to us? Of your own free will?"

"Hey Brainaic," Raphael scowled, "It doesn't take your brains to know we screwed up."

"Yeah!" Michelangelo chuffed, "Whatever happened to being gracious?"

"Do you even know what that word means?" Donatello cocked an eye ridge.

"I do read Donatello!" Michelangelo snapped.

"Easy guys!" Leonardo rose to his feet moving around the fire towards Michelangelo, "Don and I are just happy you guys are on good terms again. That's all."

"Hmph," Raphael grumbled half-heartedly, "Can't say I don't feel the same."

"Awe shucks Raph," Michelangelo teased while elbowing his larger brother in the arm, "Admit it, you'd be lost without me!"

"Maybe," he smirked down at the youngest, "Still doesn't mean I'm going to fly you around everywhere."

Michelangelo covered his heart in mock protest, "Oh you wound me bro! That wasn't my intention at all."

"Right…" Raphael rolled his eyes before taking in all his siblings, "I uh… I am glad you guys are ok… You know with this…"

Leonardo grinned smugly, "I told you it would be ok, Raph."

"I know Leo!" He snapped at the eldest, "But talking is different than doing."

"We're your brothers Raph," Donatello rose to walk over where Michelangelo was leaning on Raphael. He placed an olive green hand on his arm, "We'll always have your back. Even when you're a fire-breathing behemoth, we'll stick with you."

Raphael curled his neck so that his head was facing his brothers. Large pools of molten amber churned in a whirlpool of emotion, "Thanks guys."