The Offensive

MICHAELANGELO:

Raph and Leo did not speak to each other for days. Neither one of them would say a word about what had happened. In fact, neither one of them would talk at all. Leo didn't eat. Raph didn't come home. On the rare occasion that they ended up in the same room, the tension wound up like a spring, and I waited in horrific expectation of the moment when it would snap.

"You know, I kind of miss the arguing," Katarina sighed as she stepped into the kitchen. I glanced in her direction and did a double take. I had heard her come in, but hadn't seen her yet.

"Damn," I smiled. "What are you all dressed up for?"

"You like?" she grinned back, spinning around. She was wearing a tight, black leather skirt that sufficiently showed off her long legs. Her leather jacket was half-zipped and the shirt underneath it was red and cut straight across, just above her breasts.

"What's the occasion?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I've got a party I'm supposed to go to tonight. Figured I might as well just get dressed now instead of having to change later."

I nodded slowly. "You look good."

"Thanks." She ran her fingers through her hair. "Have you seen Raphael?"

I shook my head. "Not recently. He had a hangover this morning, but he left around noon."

She sighed. "I need to talk to him."

"Well, when I see him, I can let him know."

She shook her head. "No. That'll just piss him off. I guarantee it."

"Why? You guys have a fight?"

"Yeah, something like that. I... said some things I probably shouldn't have."

Uh huh. I hoped that the "something" that had passed between Raph and Kat was nothing like the something going on with him and Leo. If Raph weren't so damned stubborn, I'd consider him a suicide risk right now. I still didn't know the story behind the fight. All I knew was that it had something to do with Splinter, and with the girl who'd been on the floor. I hadn't seen her since that night, when she'd run out of here as fast as she could. I could only imagine what her story was. I didn't want to think about it.

"Well, with Leo and Raph not speaking to each other, it's been pretty quiet around here. We haven't had this much silence in months."

She nodded. "Where's Donny?"

"Take a guess." I nodded toward the closed off section of the lair.

"What does he do in there?" she questioned.

I shrugged. "Invents? Experiments? Who knows. He's in his own little world. Nothing gets in or out."

She smiled. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Raph and Leo fight, he experiments, what do you do?"

I stared at her for a moment. I'd never really thought about it before. "I watch a lot of TV," I offered. "More than I should, really. It pisses Leo off sometimes, but I don't fight with him. It's pointless. He's a lot better at it than I am. More practice."

"So what do you do, just quietly submit?" she asked sarcastically, still smiling.

"Nah, I have my own little methods of rebellion. I'm just a little more subtle than Raph."

Leo walked into the room. "I think a tornado is more subtle than Raph," Kat laughed.

At the mention of Raph's name, Leonardo tensed. There was a moment of nervous silence before Kat spoke up. "So what do you guys do for excitement around here?" Kat asked. "I mean, besides fight and watch TV?"

I shrugged. "Why, you looking for something to do?"

"Well, I was thinking maybe since you guys were so hospitable to me while I was here, maybe I could have you over to my place."

She jumped up and sat on the counter, smiling. "So what do you say? Pick up a pizza and head over to my apartment?"

Leo shook his head. "You go on ahead. I've seen it."

I shot him a questioning glance, but kept my mouth shut. Kat sighed. "She's not there, Leo," she mumbled. "And you need to get some fresh air."

I could feel the tension radiating from Leo, but I wasn't sure why. He said nothing. I shrugged. "Sounds like a good idea to me," I agreed.

Kat smiled at me and looked to Leo. "Come on," she prodded.

He eyed her suspiciously. "I..." he started. But he stopped. "Yeah," he finally relented. "Sure. Let me see if Donny wants to go."

I shot him a questioning glance. Donny? Leave his lab for anything less than World War III? Surely, he must by joking. But he turned and walked away, toward Donatello's hideout. He wasn't kidding.

I don't know what he said in there, but it must have been a convincing argument. A moment later, the two of them emerged, and the four of us went for a walk.

DONATELLO:

I'm not sure how he knew, but somehow, Leo had anticipated what was going to happen. It was crazy, but it was almost as if he'd been expecting it. Not that he was any more prepared, but he didn't seem surprised at all. But he couldn't have known. How could any of us have known?

The street was dark, the lights lining the street having been turned off in an energy conservation measure. Never mind that the darkness beckoned thieves and murderers; it was far better to shut off all the lights than to raise the price of electricity. Of course, who was I to talk? I didn't pay bills. Not with money, anyway. Although I had often concluded that I more than paid my debt to society through my own blood, which had been spilled in these dark alleys almost nightly for the past three years. No, I was being dramatic. The truth of the matter was, I rarely got hurt on nightly patrols. Sore, maybe, but generally not hurt.

On the other hand, while the pitch-black streets invited murderers and rapists, they also welcomed asocial mutant turtles. We roamed freely through these alleys with no fear of being seen.

"So how long have you lived in New York?"

"Well," Kat mumbled, "I was born here. But I grew up in Japan. I moved back when I got out of school."

"Did you live with your parents in Japan? Or did you go alone?"

She sighed. "My mother died when I was young. My dad didn't know what to do with me so as soon as I was old enough, he sent me to a boarding school in Japan."

"That's... drastic," Mike observed.

"{Do you speak Japanese?}" I assumed, asking her in the foreign language. I didn't speak the language as fluently as Leo did. But I could communicate with little hesitation. For me, reading was much easier than speaking.

"Hai," she responded. "{Though I do not have much opportunity to use it here in the states.}"

"Ever think about going back?" Mikey asked. He didn't bother to try and keep the string of Japanese going.

"No. I never really saw it as an option. Besides, I don't think I really fit in over there."

"I'd love to see Japan."

Suddenly, Leo jerked to a halt. We all stopped and turned to him. "What?" I asked.

"Something's wrong," he growled low, reaching for his weapons.

I glanced around and saw the shadows move. I could see nothing threatening, but I began to feel the danger. We were being watched. I realized that we had instinctively enclosed Kat between the three of us. I heard her gasp as the shadows took shape. It was obvious who they were, and they wanted a fight, or they wouldn't be stalking us. We couldn't run; there was nowhere to go. But with the three of us together, I figured it would be a fair fight. Too bad Raph was probably off drinking somewhere. He'd enjoy these odds.

It didn't take long before the alley was full of dark figures. I did a double take as I glanced at the apparent leader. I was not used to seeing female foot soldiers. In fact, she was probably the first I'd seen in the six years I'd been encountering them.

I gripped my bo and braced for combat. The fight came soundlessly, the figures moving as one with the shadows. I caught the fist that came at me with my weapon, snapping hard against the wrist. Maybe I broke bones. Maybe I just made a bruise. At any rate, he backed off. But I didn't have much time to think about it before I was attacked again.

KATARINA:

As they sprang into action, I moved to the wall. I pressed my back to the brick, ready for combat if they attacked. Combat. Right. In a leather skirt and high heels. I wasn't doing any combat. I was sitting back and watching. That was all I could do. The three turtles stood in front of me, demonstrating the typical male instinct to protect. I didn't mind, by any means; it gave me time to see the odds we were up against. There was no way in hell the three of them were going to take on all of these foot soldiers. Not without a serious act of God. I looked for a way out. There was one choice: run. The problem was finding a place to go.

I saw them fight, locked in combat against immeasurable odds. For every one they took down, another two appeared. And the fight raged on. I didn't know how long, but it felt like only seconds. I lost sight of Mike as he melted into the crowd of black. I struggled to see through the darkness. I smelled blood. Then, I heard sirens. Red and blue lights flashed in the alley, and all hell broke loose around me as the ninjas vanished into thin air. I felt Donny grab my arm. "Come on!" he pressed, dragging me away from the police cars.

"Where's...?" I started.

"No time!" he interrupted.

We stumbled through the darkness, him half carrying me because of the high heels. I was going to twist my ankle, and I knew it. I couldn't kick them off, since they were strapped to my feet. I'd just have to take my chances. Don jumped onto the dumpster pressed against the alley wall and reached down to pull me up. He helped me over the dead-end wall, and vaulted over behind me.

I was well aware that we were being followed. I was also aware that at the moment, we could do nothing about it. They were determined to finish the fight. And we'd gotten split up in the madness. My back pressed to the wall, I struggled to catch my breath. "You okay?" Donny asked.

"I think so..."

Suddenly, dark figures materialized out of thin air in front of us. Once again, we were surrounded. Donatello groaned as the dark woman stepped forward.

"What the hell do you want?" he demanded.

She smiled. "You," she rasped. "All of you."

She attacked with a simple blow and Don blocked easily before dropping and trying to kick her feet out from under her. She didn't have a chance to fight back. Suddenly, I felt myself be grabbed from behind. "Donny!" I cried out instinctively. I was slammed to the wall and felt pain as my head smashed into the brick. He held me with a hand over my mouth. I knew I could get out of the grip, but instead, I glared at the foot soldier. I ought to have him killed.

He studied me for a moment before I lashed out, lightning quick, and jammed the heel of my palm into his sternum. His grip loosened, as he realized the pain, and I hit his arm with mine and kicked him backward, the heel of my shoe plunging into soft tissue. He fell into Don who, as I realized, was again surrounded. It was as if the darkness itself were breeding the foot soldiers. They were everywhere. I ran to Donatello and braced for combat next to him.

"Go find Raph!" he ordered quietly as he faced the crowd.

"But I...!"

"Go!" he whispered. "They won't follow you as long as none of us are with you. When you find him, Raph will probably be drunk off his ass, so do whatever you have to to get him to safety. If they're coming after us, it's only a matter of time before they find him."

"What about you?" I demanded.

"Go!"

I turned and fled. He was right; they didn't follow me.

RAPHAEL:

The crowd roared in my ears. I stared down at the shotglass between my fingers. The clear liquid swirled with the colors of the bar. A blue gray smoke and dim florescent lighting. I lifted the glass to my lips and threw the burning liquid down my throat. I wasn't drunk. Far from it. It took a lot to get me drunk. But my senses were dulled. I was beginning to feel a little buzzed. Were I anyone else, I might be drunk by now. But I wasn't anyone else. I wasn't like them. A freak of nature, and alone even in the midst of those like me, I was hopeless, and I knew it. I hid my face from the crowd. The darkness covered me and I felt myself melt into it. There was a comfort there that I couldn't find anywhere else. Here in this place, where I was anonymous, I belonged.

"Raphael."

I looked up and saw Kat standing in front of me. She was wearing a tight leather skirt and a zipped up leather jacket. I stared at her for a moment. I had never seen her in anything like that. For a moment, she had my attention. "What are you doing here?" I demanded.

"I have to talk to you," she informed me.

"Go away, Kat," I snapped at her.

"It's important, Raph," she insisted.

I felt anger surge through me. Important? She had no concept of what was important to me, and I could care less about what she wanted to say. I had not yet forgiven her for her words the other night. I doubted I could. She'd hurt me, and I wasn't about to let her do it again. "Look, I don't care if the sky is falling, I don't want to hear about it right now."

"Raph you're..."

"Leave me the hell alone, Kat," I warned, cutting her off.

"You're in danger, jackass!"

I slammed the shotglass on the table. I didn't want to talk. My head was fuzzy, and I heard her say something more, but didn't understand it. "Yeah, when am I not in danger, Kat?" I shot back at her.

"Get out of here while you still can," she glared. She spun away.

Time passed; a minute or an hour, I couldn't tell. I couldn't shake her words. They were easing away the drunkenness faster than I could replace it. And I was losing interest in the alcohol. I looked around the bar. Katarina had vanished. I felt eyes on me. Two men, probably better described as teenage boys, were at the bar, half turned and glancing in my direction every few seconds. They didn't look threatening, other than that they seemed more interested in me than I cared for them to be. Still, Katarina's words echoed in my mind. You better get out of here while you still can...

I downed the rest of the alcohol in my hand and tossed a tip on the table. Eyes followed me out of the bar. I could feel the danger now. There was a tension in the room. I reached for my belt, brushing my hand against my sai for reassurance. Confident that I was fully armed, I pushed through the door and into the night. I was surprised to find that it was raining. I was not, however, surprised that I could still feel eyes watching me. They were going to follow me if I gave them the chance.

I turned into the alley next to the bar and stopped cold. It was lined with dark figures. They clung to the roof of the two buildings and lined the walls. I didn't have a chance to try and guess how many there were. They didn't give me time to think. They acted. I reacted.

I spun into a roundhouse kick as I reached for my weapons. I felt the connection, and saw one of the foot soldiers stumble backward. Escrima sticks came down toward my neck, but I caught them with the sai and twisted. The weapon flew out of the boy's hands and I side kicked into his ribs, already turned to face another attack. I spun the sai in my hand and used the blunted handle to smash into the bridge of his nose. Then I swung my arm sideways, catching the sides of heads with the metal prongs encasing my hand.

I didn't give myself time to think, but I somewhere inside of me, I knew I would not win this fight. There were too many of them. I had fought against unbeatable odds before, and I knew I should run. But I would die before I gave in to the foot clan. Even knowing I would lose, I had to fight. It wasn't in me to do anything but fight. But somewhere in the back of my mind, I had to wonder what they would do this time. Maybe they'd just kill me and get it over with. I doubted it. More likely, they would use me as bait and try to kill all of us. Someday, they would succeed. For my brothers' sake, I hoped it wasn't today.

I felt bones crack as I attacked the black-clad demons around me. I knew better than to over-exert myself, and I wasn't breathing hard. But I could still feel the exhaustion setting in. It wasn't a physical exhaustion. It was the knowledge that no matter how many of them I took out, there would be more to take their place.

Suddenly, I felt pain sear through my left arm. Great, Raph, I chastised myself. Just let your mind wander... I mean, no matter that you have a half billion members of the foot clan trying to take your head off...

The blood running down my arm woke me up. I spun to the man who'd put it there and sliced across his chest with the tip of my sai. The katana he was holding, dripping with my blood, dropped to the ground. I couldn't fight like this. I was losing blood fast. Soon, I'd be unconscious. When I tried to use my left arm, it responded in excruciating pain. This fight was over.

Suddenly, I heard tires screech behind me. I heard my name. Without thinking, I turned and vaulted over the hood of the car. The passenger side door was already swinging open and I dove inside. We sped off before the door was even closed. I breathed hard, adrenaline still pumping through my veins. "Try not to bleed all over my car, huh?"

I glanced over at the driver and saw that it was Katarina. I had expected that. I shrugged out of the trench coat, grateful that it was dark and rainy outside. A deep gash ran from my shoulder to about an inch above my elbow. I clenched my teeth at the pain. "I'm not sure I can do anything to stop it," I informed her.

She glanced at me, a concerned look on her face. Headlights flashed in the rearview mirror. "I can't stop," she told me, glancing behind us.

"I know," I cringed, trying to think.

I struggled with my bandana and tied it around my arm with my free hand and my teeth. It wasn't much, but at least it was something. I pulled it as tight as I could and held it. I was losing blood fast. We swerved around a corner and she floored the gas pedal. I caught my breath as we lurched forward. The cars behind us quickly caught up.

"You're not gonna outrun them, Katarina," I whispered.

"Shut up, Raphael," she shot back.

Suddenly, she slammed on the brakes. I cried out as I flew into the dashboard, hitting my already-injured arm. We spun on the slick street and I heard the tires squeal as we took off again. I felt light on my face and looked out the windshield. "Jes-!"

They swerved to avoid us and we just barely avoided a head-on collision with the cars that had been following ours. I heard them crash behind us and jumped back up onto the seat, looking out the rear window. A ball of flame protruded out of a large window in a shop. The other car was spinning. It stopped when it hit a light pole.

Katarina's eyes flicked to the rearview mirror, then back to the road in front of her. She let up on the gas. I turned and sat in the seat, drenched in my own blood and helpless to stop it. I leaned my head against the cool pane of glass next to me and slipped into blackness.