Chapter Twenty

Another loud crack of thunder shook the house as Raphael continued to stare into the dimly lit foyer from his seat in the living room. He was so lost in the many thoughts that were running through his head that he didn't hear the rain as it pounded violently on the roof above him. He sighed then sunk down lower into the chair he sat in.

Linda was sitting on the couch facing Raphael, and as she looked up from Andrea, who was sleeping in her arms, Linda could plainly see the sadness and confusion that still sat heavily on the turtle's face, and it made Linda's heart ache for him.

It had been nearly three weeks since they had buried Vanessa, and Raphael had completely shut himself off from everyone, including his newborn daughter, who he still believed didn't belong to him, and Raphael wasn't shy about the distance he was keeping from Andrea. The rest of the household had shared in the caring for the baby, working in shifts throughout the day and night. Raphael had also let his grief overcome him so much that he quit his job, never left the house, and would sleep for days at a time, but no one dared to complain. They all knew Raphael was hurting deeply, and they just let him have his space.

Linda looked back down at Andrea, then carefully lowered her into the yellow and white bassinet that sat next to the couch. When she sat back down, Linda's eyes went back up to Raphael's face, and noticed he had still not moved. She then turned to Mandy and Angie, who were sitting on the floor under her looking through a pile of fashion magazines and quietly talking to each other. Every once in awhile, one of them would look up at Raphael, then move their eyes back down, each wanting to say something to him to cheer him up, but each had a loss of words for the turtle.

Raphael sighed again as he leaned his head back into the chair and allowed the sound of the rain outside to ring in his ears, and as he concentrated deeply on it, he closed his eyes slowly and begin to let sleep take over his body once more. Then suddenly, Raphael heard another noise come through the rain, and his eyes flew open. His looked around as he listen for the distant sound again, feeling slightly uneasy as to what he thought he had heard. For a few seconds, Raphael let his body relax, thinking that he was hearing things, but he then leaned back up from the chair as he again heard it. His actions attracted the attention of the girls sitting across the living room from him, but only Linda and Angie felt the sense of danger that Raphael did.

"Raphael? What's wrong?" Linda said in a low whisper. Raphael responded by holding up his right palm, and he slowly stood up and tiptoed across the tan carpeting to the open door frame. His eyes went to the large windows in the foyer as the sound echoed again, and Raphael could feel his stomach tense up, and he knew right then what he had heard: the sound of a clip being loaded into the base of a gun. Panic then swept through his body as the sound grew louder in his ears, and as he turned back to the girls, only Angie seemed to know what Raphael had heard, and he could see tears in her eyes as fear took over her body.

"They've found us." Angie whispered.

Raphael then flew back into the living room and started to collect Andrea's diapers and toys and haphazardly throw them into the diaper bag. Linda watched him for a second before she spoke.

" Raphael?"

"Get yer shit together! We gotta get outta here!" He stuff the baby's things down deeper into the bag and zipped it shut.

" What? Why?" Mandy asked, oblivious to what the other three were sensing. "What's going on?"

" Don't ask questions! Just fuckin' move yer ass!" Raphael screamed at her as he flung the diaper bag across his shoulder and helped Linda as she picked up Andrea and placed the still sleeping baby into a demin blue baby sling. Linda then tighten the strap on the sling, making sure the baby was snuggled tightly to her chest. Raphael looked back at Mandy and he could see that his harsh tone had frighten the young girl. He placed his hand to his forehead and sighed.

" Look, I'm sorry, but I ain't got time to explain." Raphael watched Mandy's face soften and Angie pulled her to her feet. Angie patted Mandy's shoulder, then they all followed Raphael back to the doorway. Raphael stopped and looked around, then began to take a step out into the foyer.

" NO! WAIT!" Angie cried out as she grabbed Raphael's arm, and just as she pulled him back, an ear piercing explosion blasted through the front windows, sending fire and glass towards them, knocking them all to the ground. Linda held onto the baby tightly as she fell, and winced at the pain in her left waist as she caught herself on the wooden floor. Raphael quickly regained his footing and pulled the girls up to their feet. He then surprised them all as he pulled back the front of the baby sling and smiled at the still sleeping infant inside.

Another explosion shot through the front doors and Raphael pulled all the girls toward his chest, using his shell to protect them from the flying debris. Then, it was suddenly quiet. Raphael released the girls and slowly turned around. It was then that his eyes met the glowing yellow eyes of a tall mutant tiger dressed all in black. Raphael then noticed the massive army behind him, consisting of humans and mutants, all dressed in the same black uniforms. The turtle narrowed his eyes at them as an angry rage coursed through his body. He huddled the girls behind him and prepared himself for the attack.

At first nothing was said, and the only noises that were made were the crackling of the fires around them and the rain that came down outside. The mutant tiger then took a step forward and the girls drew closer to Raphael's back.

"Ah, good evening, Raphael." Doctor Gershin growled in his German accent. " Ladies." He then bowed to them, but never removed his eyes from Raphael's face. He then smiled and chuckled. " Now, I really don't want to destroy this beautiful house any more than I already have. Just give yourselves up now and it will make things so much easier for you."

Linda could feel the anger rising in Raphael and she watched him clench his fists as he spoke.

" That might be fine for you, Doc, but I don't like takin' the easy way out." Raphael took a step up as he popped his knuckles and glared at the tiger.

"You are such a hardheaded fool, Raphael." The tiger laughed as he snapped his fingers. Raphael then watched as the army behind him cocked the semi automatic rifles they carried and lowered them toward him. Gershin laughed again as he returned Raphael's angry glare. " I don't think you really want to put the lives of those lovely fraulines on the line just because you like to engage in hand to hand combat, my friend."

Raphael shook his head. " Okay, first off, I ain't your friend. Secondly, why the hell would I even consider givin' myself up to a Nazi like you?"

Gershin's eyes grew big. " What! How dare you call me a Nazi! How dare you compare me to the idiot Hitler!"

Raphael then noticed a few of the mutants and humans behind the doctor were giggling, and Raphael smiled, guessing that the words he had said had been used before. Gershin then turned around and faced the army as fire burned in his eyes.

"Denken Sie, dass das lustig ist?(Do you think that is funny?)" The doctor growled at them and bared his sharp teeth. "Es wird so lustig nicht sein, wenn ich Ihre Augen aus zerreiße! ( It won't be so funny when I tear your eyes out!) Schließen Sie jetzt es! (Now shut it!)"

"Ja Herr.( Yes, sir)" The soldiers said in unison. Gershin growled again as he turned back to Raphael. " Now, where were we?" Gershin then found himself on the ground and a sting ripped through his jawbone.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I was goin' do that!" Raphael said as he pulled his fist back.

Gershin grabbed onto his jaw, remembering how another turtle had broken his jaw the year before, and the anger in the tiger's eyes burned brighter.

"ERHALTEN Sie SIE! (GET THEM!)" Gershin screamed as he jumped to his feet.

Before Raphael could think fast enough, gunfire rang out over their heads and he heard Mandy and Angie scream as they hit the ground. Raphael ducked down as a mutant took a swing at him with the butt of his rifle, but Raphael caught it, then freed the gun from the mutant's hands. Raphael brought the gun down on the mutant's head and knocked him out cold. He then threw it at two humans who were charging at him, and the rifle hit them both in their faces, also sending them to the ground. As Raphael laughed at his accomplishments, another mutant came up behind him and grabbed Raphael in a headlock, and Raphael instantly recognized the voice of the mutant dog that he had fought months ago.

"Ich werde Sie diesmal, Sie mutierter Bastard töten! ( I will kill you this time, you mutant bastard!)" The dog applied pressure to Raphael's throat with his arm and Raphael scratched at the dog's arm with his fingernails. Then suddenly, Raphael found he was released and the dog was on the floor. Raphael turned and saw Linda behind him, and she shook her head at him.

" You really shouldn't get so cocky with yourself, Raphael." She said as she hung on tightly the bundle in the sling.

" Okay, LEO!" Raphael joked, then ducked as more soldiers came at them. Raphael jumped up and delivered a kick to one while Linda did a back flip then a roundhouse to another, and between them they manage to knock out several black clad Germans. More gunfire rang out and Raphael then began to panic.

" Where's Angie and Mandy?" He asked Linda after she knocked out yet another adversary. Linda looked around as Raphael did, then pointed to the dining room. Both girls had ducked under the large oak table and were huddle together. Raphael could see the fearful tears rolling down Mandy's face, and it made his anger rise even more. He then grabbed Linda's arm as the ducked down from the flying bullets above their heads.

" We've gotta head for the bathroom," Raphael pointed to the hallway in front of them.

" The bathroom?" Linda asked then turned around to kick another human in the groin.

" Just get them and go. I'll cover yer backs!" Raphael then pushed Linda forward across the smoky foyer, and he could hear the bullets whizzing past his head. He was glad the smoke from the fires was blinding the Germans, but the fear of getting hit from a stray bullet kept him on edge, and he wanted nothing more than to get out of the house alive. But then, his fear came to life. Linda then suddenly screamed out in pain and fell forward, and Raphael could hear the scream of the baby under her.

" Shit! Linda!" Her turned her over and sat her up, noticing the blood that began to pour from her left thigh.

" I'm okay! Don't worry about me!" Linda pushed his hands away and reached down into the sling. Raphael also looked down, fearing the worst. Andrea looked back up at them, and Raphael swore he could see her smiling at him.

Another scream made Raphael and Linda look up, and through the fog, they could see a team of six soldiers had grabbed Mandy, and were in the process of pulling Angie out from under the table. Raphael jumped up, then fell back down as another stray bullet caught him in the shoulder. He cursed loudly as he fell back, and he held onto his shoulder, feeling his own warm blood oozing up from the wound. He laid his head on the floor as the pain grew throughout his body, and the chaos that surrounded him started to fade away. Linda crawled over to him, and her screams also faded as Raphael closed his eyes. For a moment, everything seemed calm to Raphael, but then a flash of light brought him back out of his pain induced dreams. Linda sat him back up and they stared in disbelief at the scene in front of them.

"Holy crap." Raphael muttered.

Angie was hovering over them, her eyes glowing white. The wind from the rain outside caught her long brown hair and it whipped around her face. She looked down at the Germans who had tried to restrain her and she held her hand to them, then began to tighten her fist. Raphael and Linda gasped as the Germans began to grab at their throats and coughed as if they couldn't breathe. Angie then lifted her closed fist, then as she slammed it back down, the Germans fell dead to the floor. Another wave of German soldiers ran toward her, and she shoved her hands at them, and they all flew back through the broken windows.

Another loud blast caused Raphael and Linda to turn away from Angie, and they gasped again. Mandy, who was helpless just a few seconds ago, was surrounded by orange and red flames, and she was tossing fireballs in every direction, setting the Germans ablaze. Raphael turned to Linda and could see the confusion in her that also sat on his face.

" Good thing they're on our side." He joked, which made Linda smile. " Come on. Let's go!"

They then began to crawl lower to the ground under the shield of smoke toward the bathroom as Angie and Mandy blocked the Germans from getting closer to them. Raphael flung the door open, then tossed back the green rug that covered the floor. Linda then watched in surprise as Raphael pulled up a trap door that led to a concrete passageway. Raphael looked up and laughed at the shock on Linda's face.

" We did this when we moved in. Just in case a bunch of whacked out Germans decided to blow up the place." He winked at Linda, and helped her into the hole and down the metal ladder. Raphael then looked up and found Mandy standing above him, and she was back to her normal self.

""I'll explain later." Mandy said with a smile, and Raphael laughed as he helped in down into the passage way. He then climbed to his feet and saw Angie standing at the edge of the hallway still in her trance. She lifted her hands and delivered another blast of white light, sending the gunmen back across the foyer. Angie then turned to Raphael, and the light faded from her eyes.

" Come on!" Raphael grabbed her hand and pushed her into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Angie climbed down the metal ladder, then moved aside as Raphael jumped into the passageway. He checked to make sure everyone was accounted for, then he turned to a panel on the concrete wall. He punched in several different numbers on the keypad, and they all looked up as a steel paneling closed off the top of the hole, leaving them in total darkness. The girls then heard Raphael push another set of buttons, and the passageway was suddenly lit up in white lighting. Raphael looked around the long tunnel and nodded.

" Ya know, I make fun of Donnie a lot, but the guy's a freakin' genius!"

They all shared a well deserved laugh, then Raphael led them down the tunnel.

Back above ground, Doctor Gershin stepped outside in the rain as what was left of his troops filed out into the rain with him. The dark haired human that had been in charge of watching the Turtles house handed the doctor a map of the underground tunnel that his team had discovered just a few weeks ago, and a huge smile spread on the doctor's face. He then spoke to the human in their native tongue, giving him orders to clear away the bodies in the house, and Doctor Gershin jumped into his black Hummer. He looked into his mirrors as the rest of his team jumped into their twenty black vans, and they all pulled out of the half-circle driveway and onto the street.

"Can we please stop for a second!" Mandy whined as the cramps in her legs increased as she, Angie, Linda and Raphael ran down the tunnel.

Raphael growled as he grabbed onto his shoulder, and pressed down onto his wound. The flow of blood had slowed down to a mere trickle, but Raphael knew if he removed the bullet that was still lodge in his arm, the blood would pour out, and he couldn't afford to pass out at that moment.

"How much longer is this tunnel, Raph?" Angie asked. Raphael looked over at her and he could see the tiredness in her eyes.

" We gotta another half a mile. This thing stretches ta the Beach Channel, and comes out right under the Cross Bay Bridge." Raphael answered as he pushed his body forward, cursing himself once again for not keeping up with his ninja training.

Raphael then looked over at Linda, who was limping right beside of him, trying her best to ignore the shooting pain in her thigh as she held on tightly to the sling. Raphael could also see the look of worry that was pulled over her face, and he knew that she was thinking of Leonardo.

" There's a phone down on the other end," Raphael called out, but mainly directed his words to Linda. " We'll get ahold of the guys and tell them not ta go ta the house." He then looked back at Linda and saw the small smile that appeared on her face.

No one spoke during the last stretch of the tunnel, mainly out of exhaustion, and they were all thankful to see the other metal ladder and a black phone that was built into the wall. Raphael jerked the receiver off of the hook and quickly dialed Leonardo's cell phone. The girls then saw him narrow his eyes as he slammed the phone into the wall.

" What's wrong?" Mandy asked as she began to tremble. Raphael raised his eyes to the squared metal door that stood between them and the bridge above.

" The line's dead."

Then the metal door exploded above their heads, and Raphael could hear a familiar evil chuckle as he shielded his eyes away from the blinding light that shone down on them. He then felt a sudden blow to the back of his head, and as Raphael fell to the ground, everything around him faded into darkness.

" Okay! I take back what I said before! This day, right now, is the greatest day ever!"

Michelangelo bounced around in the back seat of Leonardo's Jeep as he and his brothers headed across the Cross Bay bridge. He held up the tiny navy velvet box and peered into the one carat, heart shaped diamond ring that sat inside of it. " I can't wait to see Linda's face when you give her this, Leo!"

Leonardo shook his head, then motioned to Donatello to grab the ring back from their overly-excited brother. Donatello turned around his seat, and snatched the box from Michelangelo's hand before the turtle knew what he had done. Donatello then closed the box, dropped it back into the bag it had come out of, and held onto it tightly.

" I'm sorry, Mike, but you won't be around to see it." Leonardo talked as he looked at Michelangelo threw his rear view mirror. " It's going to be a private thing between me and Linda."

" Have you thought about how you're going to ask her?" Donatello said as he watched the windshield wipers push the rain back and forth.

Leonardo shook his head. " I have so many ideas. I just want to be special. Something that she'll remember forever."

Michelangelo leaned forward and slung his hands around the seats in front of him. " I heard that this one guy stuck it the bottom of a glass of champagne. And this other guy had some restaurant bake it into a piece of chocolate cake. And this other guy-"

" Okay, Mike." Leonardo interrupted. " We get it."

" I really don't think Leo wants to spend the night in the Emergency room while a team of doctors try to pull a five thousand dollar engagement ring out of Linda's windpipe." Donatello pointed out, making Leonardo laugh out loud. Michelangelo shrugged his shoulders, then leaned back into his seat.

" Thanks, anyway, Mikey." Leonardo smiled at his younger brother through the mirror. He then looked back at the road as he turned the Jeep off of the Rockaway Freeway and onto a side street that led to their house. Leonardo then suddenly slammed on the brakes, throwing Michelangelo into the front seats.

" Mikey!" Donatello cried out as he pushed his brother back. " What did I tell you about wearing a seat belt?"

"Not to do it cause it spoils your dinner?" Michelangelo joked then gave Donatello a goofy grin. The smile then faded as Donatello stared blankly back at him.

" Oh, come on! That was from Tommy Boy!" Michelangelo threw his hands up, then pointed his finger at Donatello. " I know you liked it!"

Donatello smacked his forehead, then turned his attention back to Leonardo, who was slowly unbuckling his seat belt and opening the door as his eyes stared straight ahead.

"Leo?" Donatello followed Leonardo's line of sight, then finally noticed what his brother was looking at. Michelangelo gasped loudly then jumped out of his door after Donatello. They both joined Leonardo at the front end of the Jeep and stared in disbelief at the smoke that bellowed into the rainy sky above them. They then brought their eyes back down to the light gray colored, two story Victorian house that they all called home, and watched as several firefighters sprayed the destroyed entrance with water, smoldering the fires that shot out of windows.

"How...how did..." Michelangelo stuttered, finally feeling that he was at a loss of words. He gulped loudly then looked into his brother's tear filled eyes. Donatello inhaled his breath sharply as he turned his head to face Leonardo.

" Do you think-" He began, but his words disappeared as Leonardo dropped his head. Then without answering him, Leonardo took off down the wet street at top speed toward the house. Donatello and Michelangelo chased after him, but couldn't keep up with him. When they reached the driveway, they slowed down, and again stared into the smoke that poured out of the front of the house. Donatello then saw Leonardo talking to the fire chief, and he pulled Michelangelo with him as he walked. Michelangelo then noticed Raphael's Mustang, which was turned over on it's side with huge dents smashed into the sides and the windows busted out. He then saw his own car, which had the roof smashed in and the tires slashed, and he let out a high pitched shriek. Donatello also saw his brother's vehicle's, then gasped at the sight of his own truck, which was also turned over, and looked as if someone had taken several sledgehammers to it.

"Good thing you got full coverage, Donnie," Michelangelo joked as he saw the look of shock on Donatello's face, but stepped back as his brother threw him another dirty look. " I know, I know. Not the time for jokes, Mikey!"

They looked back over at Leonardo, who was shaking hands with the fire chief, and they watched with hopeful hearts as he walked over to them.

Leonardo sighed deeply as he looked back at the smoking house. " The whole front of the house is completely destroyed." He shook his head as he turned to Donatello and Michelangelo. " What about Raph? And the girls? And the baby?" Michelangelo asked, his voice rising higher in pitch with each question.

"They didn't find anyone in there." Leonardo's eyes went to the ground as he pulled his arms around his chest. " The fire chief said it looked like someone had placed several explosives along the front of the house."

" Explosives?" Donatello repeated. " But who would-" He then turned back and peered through the rain at the house across the street, and he knew that Leonardo could feel what he was thinking.

" How could I have had let this happen?" Leonardo asked his brothers as the tears in his eyes began to fall down his face, and he turned away from them. " We knew that they were over there, and yet, I did nothing. I should have seen this coming. I should have done something!" Leonardo then slammed his fist into the side paneling of Raphael's overturned car, and he fell down to his knees as he sobbed.

Michelangelo knelt down and grabbed Leonardo, pulling his oldest brother against his chest. " It's okay! It's not your fault, Leo!"

Donatello joined them on the ground and patted Leonardo shoulder. " Mikey's right, Leo. You can't beat yourself up! None of us knew that this was going to happen." He then pulled Leonardo back and stared into his brothers' brown eyes. " Even if we did, there is no way we could prepared for something like this." Donatello looked back at the house and studied the blown out windows, then jumped to his feet. Leonardo and Michelangelo watched Donatello as he walked around the crumbled front porch and ran his fingers over the broken door frame. Donatello brought his fingers back, rubbed the white powder around in his fingers, then inhaled it's still strong odor.

"Ammonium Nitrate?" Donatello whispered loudly to himself. " How can that be possible?" He then turned to find Leonardo and Michelangelo staring at the powder on his fingertips.

" What's not possible?" Michelangelo asked.

"This chemical compound used in these explosives," Donatello pointed his finger up and around the door frame and into the entrance way as they stepped into the house. He then kneeled down to the scorched wooden floor and traced his fingers along the cracks. " It's a raw material that's used in explosives for mining." Donatello removed his fingers from the floor and looked up at his brothers. " There's just one tiny, little detail that's weird about it."

"Which is?" Leonardo asked.

"Ammonium Nitrate isn't processed in the U.S. It's made in Africa." Donatello stood back up and brushed ashes off of his pant legs.

"Africa?" Michelangelo scratched his head as he looked around. " What the heck is a bunch of German dudes doing with explosives from Africa?"

Donatello shrugged his shoulders. " I don't know. They might a supplier from there or something. It's probably not important, anyway. I just thought it was weird." He then noticed Leonardo was on his cell phone and he didn't like the worried look that was on his brother's face.

" Leo, if they're in the tunnel, Linda won't be able to get a signal on her phone." Donatello pointed out, but then stopped talking when Leonardo turned around and showed him Linda's half melted phone in his hand.

" I was trying the phone in the tunnel," Leonardo pushed a button and shoved his phone back into his pocket. " The line's been cut or something. I'm not even getting a busy signal. It's just dead air." He then looked through the huge hole when the windows once stood and he glared at the house across the street. " I know they have them."

Donatello and Michelangelo then watched as Leonardo ran into the living room, and after a minute he came back out, carrying all of their weapons in his hands. He tossed Donatello his bo staff, then threw Michelangelo his nunchucks.

"I think it's time we show those Germans they picked the wrong turtles to mess with." Leonardo said as he shoved Raphael's sais into the waistband on his pants, then whipped one of his katanas in the air.

"All right! Now that's what I'm talking about!" Michelangelo spun his nunchucks around, but brought them too close to his face. " OW!" He rubbed at his cheek, then grinned at Leonardo and Donatello. " Hehehe. Out of practice, am I!"

Donatello shook his head and he playfully pushed Michelangelo out of the door. " Alright, Yoda. Get moving!"

" We need to break into that house and see if they left any clues." Leonardo pointed across the street. " It's not much, but it's the only thing we have to start from."

"Hang on, let me grab some stuff!" Donatello tossed his bo back to Leonardo and ran back into the house. He reappeared several minutes later with his old, brown duffel bag sling over his shoulder. Michelangelo rolled his eyes and laughed.

" You still have that thing?"

Donatello took his bo back from Leonardo and patted the tattered bag. " Hey, this thing, as you refer to it, carried all the stuff that saved our shells." He then walked by Michelangelo with a smile on his face. " Besides, I consider it to be a good luck charm."

Michelangelo then looked over at Leonardo, and lifted his finger to his head and spun it around in a circle. Leonardo held back his laughter, then they both followed Donatello to the dark, empty house across the street.