I do not own TMNT.
"Wake up sweetheart."
Donatello's eyes flew open and he let out a gasp as someone kicked him hard, right in the stomach. A familiar kunoichi was bent over him, a smirk plastered on her face. Her makeup, usually immaculate, was smeared and a bruise decorated her cheek. She laughed, giving him another kick, this time in the chest. Donnie flinched, pain burning where her foot had collided with him.
"You were old cold for hours," Karai said, standing up straight and placing her hands on her hips, "I almost thought I had given you too hard a whack on the head. But you're aren't dead. At least not yet." She prodded at his cheek teasingly with the tip of her sword. Donatello tried to reach up and whack her tanto blade away, only to find that his hands were bound behind his back. Donatello glared at her. He had hoped they had seen the last of her for a while, but the revenge-driven ninja was determined to make their family suffer. Donnie looked around his room, now his prison. There were obvious signs of a scuffle; the shelf of different chemicals he kept over his desk had been spilled, resulting in several burns and stains on the papers scattered around the wooden desk. The chair was completely overturned and the sheets had been torn off the bed.
"Hey Donnie." Michelangelo's sad voice came from beside Donatello. Donnie turned to look over at his younger brother and immediately saw that both him and Raph had been bound, their hands tied behind their back and their ankles held together with rope. Raphael scowled angrily, glaring at nothing in particular, and a trickle of blood ran down his face from a cut on his lip. Mikey seemed fine, other than his previous wounds.
"Not so tough now, are you?" she laughed, smiling crookedly at the three of them and flouncing into a bean bag chair in the corner of the room. Donatello was fuming; she had simply waltzed in and made herself at home. She had no right to even be here.
"Still on that hunt for revenge?" Donatello spat, his reddish brown eyes burning, "You're wasting your time. You're just like your father; your world revolves around revenge, so when you've killed everyone who's ever hurt you, then there will be nothing left for you."
"Once I've killed everyone who's ever hurt me, my life will be complete, not empty," Karai hissed, narrowing her eyes, "I sit next to the man who controls the most powerful force in New York. Once you mutants are out of the way, there will be nothing stopping us from becoming the most powerful force in the country, the world! Trust me, turtle, once you're dead, there will be everything left for me."
"What are you going to do with us?" Donatello spat indignantly.
"I want to see the two people I hate the most in pain, your rodent master and your oldest brother. And I'll be killing two birds with one stone; following my father's orders and getting revenge. Look at the opportunity that's come to me," Karai's mouth split into a sickening grin, "The best revenge is one that's slow. I want them to see everyone they've ever loved die in front of them. I know what pain is. I know what it feels like, how to inflict it, and most of all, who deserves it. If anyone has ever deserved this, it's you."
"This won't make anything better."
Karai whipped around and stared at the one who had spoken. Raphael. For once the constant fire in his eyes was absent, leaving them looking empty. He was curled against the wall, everything about him emanating defeat. "You'll just have more death hanging over your head. And it will never go away. You have every right to hate us, but pain is a vicious cycle. The more you deal out, the more you receive," Raphael said quietly.
"Then what do you suggest I do, turtle?" Karai growled, snapping out her tanto blade and holding it underneath Raphael's chin, "Let you all go? Fat chance."
"Of course I wouldn't suggest that," Raphael growled angrily, "You really think I'm that stupid? Of course I'm not expecting you to let us go. After all, you're...you. But this is wrong, and you know it."
Karai sniffed in distaste and drew back, sheathing her tanto blade, "You and your brothers betrayed me," she said, waving her hand dismissively, "How much would you know about honor?"
"More than you," Raphael replied coldly.
"You are hilarious," Karai said with a sneer, "What other smart remarks have you got up your sleeve?" Raphael simply cast his eyes downwards, refusing to acknowledge her.
"I'll have to tell Leo how entertaining you were," Karai said, lazily studying her fingernails, "Now, would you like to hear what I've got planned, or would you rather have it be a surprise?"
"Just get it over with Karai," Donatello hissed. The three brothers watched the kunoichi, their anger being reflected in each of their eyes. Karai grinned, standing up and looking down at the three turtles.
"First of all, I need to thank you Raphael," Karai said, crouching down to be at eye level with the red masked turtle, "I couldn't possibly pull this off without your help." Raphael eyes flared up with anger as he stared at the girl, clenching his fists, but he refused to respond.
"Hmm, no more comebacks? How disappointing," Karai laughed, standing back up, "Well Raphael, I have to congratulate you. You've done such an impressive job avoiding the inevitable; the fact that you're going to kill your brothers. How long has it been?"
"Five days," Raphael said through clenched teeth, "Five days like hell. But you already were aware of that weren't you?"
"Five days," Karai muttered to herself, staring thoughtfully at the wall, "I wonder..." she shook her head, her eyes losing their faraway look, "Well, Raphael, you won't be avoiding it much longer. You're a tricky thing to control though, so we're going to have to make a deal."
"What makes you think I would make a deal with you?" Raphael spat.
"If it was the only way to save your oldest brother, I think you'd be willing to talk," Karai said, lifting up Raphael's chin with her sword, "Here's how it works. You're going to kill your two younger brothers as I hold back Leonardo. Then once you're done with your dirty work, you're going to let me kill you. As long as you do as I've said, Leo won't get hurt in the process."
"And the alternative?" Raphael breathed out, his confidence suddenly lost.
"If you decide you'd like to try and save your two younger brothers, first of all Leonardo will die as well as your brothers. Then-" Karai broke off with a chuckle, "Well, I know something about the poison that you don't. You should have accepted my earlier deal Raphael. You could have prevented all this from happening. But you being you, of course you rejected my generous offer. Let's just say that if you aren't dead or cured soon, things are going to get very, very bad. You can give them a nice quick death, or you can wait to find out what the poison is going to do to you. I promise that none of your brothers are going to receive a painless death if you choose the latter. But, it's your choice."
Karai removed the sword from under Raph's chin and smiled sweetly. Raphael stared at the ground, his breaths shallow. I can't do this anymore, choosing between the lesser of two evils. I can't do this, I can't do this-
"Hey."
Raphael looked up to see Donatello leaning in towards him. His eyes were bright and earnest. "Accept her offer," he hissed under his breath.
"What? What are you talking about?" Raph said, blinking in confusion, "She wants me to kill you-"
"Trust me," Donnie said, his expression emanating cockiness. Raphael stared at his younger brother a moment longer, then turned to Karai.
"Fine," he said in a somewhat unsure voice, "I'll take you up on your offer."
"Finally using that brain of yours?" Karai laughed, "Took you long enough."
Raphael turned to Donatello, his eyes flitting around in panic. "She's going to make me kill you!" Raph hissed under his breath, his eyes wide with fear, "Please tell me you have a plan."
Donatello glanced at Karai, who had collapsed into the bean bag chair once again. She held her sword in both hands, tilting it back and forth lazily and watching the light glint off it at different angles. Donnie motioned at Mikey with a jerk of his head, and Mikey leaned forwards from behind Donatello to see Raphael. A smile flickered across the youngest brothers mouth.
"We've got more than just a plan," Donatello said with a smirk of pleasure. He leaned forwards a bit, revealing that he had a small glass shard in his hands, and he had been working at the rope binding his hands.
"How did you-?" Raphael began.
"You've got Mikey to thank for this," Donnie whispered, "Before Karai bound you two up, he managed to slip a shard of glass into his belt." Mikey glanced for a moment at Karai, checking to make sure she wasn't looking, then took his hands out from behind his back and grinned, revealing that the rope had been cut. Then in a flash he had put his hands back behind him.
"You guys are just..." Raphael trailed off, shaking his head and smiling just a bit.
"Not the B-team anymore, eh?" Donatello joked.
"Definitely not," Raph said in relief.
Donnie smiled, revealing the gap in his teeth, "Nobody's dying today."