Disclaimer: As my parents say, I don't have any room for more pets, so alas I don't own the turtles and I'm not making any money.
A/N: Hey thanks for the reviews guys! Just for the record I started this story way back at the end of last summer. I am only getting it up now because I'm a very very slow writer. I apologize if anyone thought I was plagiarizing, but truly I'm not. Also a little side note, I tend to talk a lot so if you want some extra details about the story you can look at my bio. I'll update it every new chapter so you can get the inside scoop. You can see how the story got started and all that jazz. Oh and at the beginning of each chapter I am going to have a little first person clip so you can get a better feeling for what I am putting these guys through. Thanks all and please review!
Linchi- Yeah the Raph and Lone Cub epi has to be one of my favorites, and you mean I used the belt rankings right? Geez I was just kinda taking a stab in the dark with it. I have a book about martial arts but it's very basic so I didn't really know what I was writing. Thank for the compliment though… and the review!
Pacphys- Sorry about that. The computer apparently deleted all my star thingies… twice! I put in lines this time so maybe that will help. Thank you for telling me I didn't even notice! As far as Leo pushing to know what was going on. I don't really blame him. He's just acting the part of the older brother but with Raph being in a bad mood it turned foul fast. Thanks for the review!
BubblyShell22- Really you did? So you could tell me if I get something wrong? I researched many different kinds of blindness but Retinal Detachment seemed like the best option for the story. I think I stretched the truth a bit seeing as his retinas are detaching in both eyes. I do know though that if the retinas are left detached for too long they can't be repaired… although nowadays that is almost unheard of. Thanks for the review!
ShikamaruChick- I was shooting for different. My other stories haven't been all that out there. This one is kind of personal for me though (read my bio if you want to know why) so I think I'm doing better on it than any of my pervious stories. Thanks bunches for the review!
Lunar-Ninja- (Pouts) You don't like Cobart? I love him! He's so evil! You should have seen me when I was writing him, giggling like a mad man. Truth be told he wasn't supposed to be in this story but I needed a filler and I just thought hey what about an evil mercenary? It just rolled from there. He is quite ruthless though. (Look in my bio for where I got the idea for him) I tried to edit a little better in this one as far as spelling goes. Thanks for the review!
Wow! I promise the A/N and review returns aren't going to be that long next time! Sorry guys! On with the story!
Donatello:
I can't help but worry for Raph. Two days ago I diagnosed him with a disease of the eye, a disease that is going to ultimately cause him blindness. I'm not sure when blindness will set in, it could be a few weeks or a few months. Either way though Raph is going to have a rough road ahead of him. I'm scared for him. Medicine isn't my strong suit. I am trying to glean what I can off the net. Endlessly for the last two days I've been working, trying to find a solution. If there was just a way I could perform that surgery. I want to but I don't trust myself, so all I can do is search for another solution and hope Raph has time. With his life style I doubt it though. He's too active and in this case that isn't a good thing.
New York was a city of the night. The streets were still used by the homeless and the night owls even at this late hour. Raph could imagine the stars winking and smiling down at the cold, hard, unfeeling blocks of concrete known commonly as sky scrappers. The butcher closed and locked the door to her shop and headed down the street towards her apartment complex.
Across the street, Raph crouched on the ledge of a roof waiting for the eye doctor to lockup. If he followed him home every night maybe just maybe the guy would get jumped and he could just happen to jump out of the shadows for a second while rescuing him. Then he'd have to talk to the dude to keep him from freaking out. It all seemed right in Raph's mind.
He looked up to see the door to the office click closed and the doctor already halfway down the block. That guy sure moved fast! He tailed him for six blocks before the man came to an abrupt halt and pulled a key from his pocket. Inserting it into the keyhole he turned the knob and entered the building.
Six blocks until he got home. That wasn't much to work with. He had some work to do and some people to tip off. Not tonight though. If he stayed out much longer especially with the new news someone would come looking for him and that was the last thing he wanted.
Splinter feared greatly for his son. Raphael was strong and learned to survive anything thrown at him. The problem was that in order to survive it he had to accept it first, and Raphael wasn't willing or ready to accept his newest challenge. The giant rat thought as he sat on one of his rush mats.
His son would fight against this until there was nothing left to him and the real problem ate him alive. It was not the blindness that would give him the most trouble. It would be learning to accept the blindness.
Raph entered the Lair as silently as possible only to find everyone bedded down for the night. Apparently no one was worried about him that much. That was fine with him though. He didn't need to be watched every hour of every day. He made his way ninja silent up to the second floor and past Don's room. On his way past Mike's room he noticed the door open and decided to poke his head in for a moment.
His youngest brother was curled up on his platform in the corner fast asleep. A nightlight gave off a soft glow in the opposite corner. Raph shook his head. For a ninja Mikey could be a scaredy cat sometimes. He was supposed to thrive in the dark yet he still needed a light when he went to bed at night. Raph couldn't blame him really. Childhood fears died hard. Raph took the time to quietly close Mike's door before moving on to his own room.
Funny, was it just him or was he standing up for Mike? Raph removed his gear and crawled into his hammock. Maybe it was just this news getting to him and making him think the thoughts of a condemned turtle.
"Hey kid."
The teen turned at the sound of the gruff voice, but his eyes were not able to tell him about the owner of the voice because no one was there. His earrings jingled as he turned from right to left and finally in a full circle. The voice chuckled. The boy drew his jack knife at the sound.
"You know that eye doc's place on the corner of first and third?"
"Who are you?" The boy continued to turn and spin like an ballerina. This only made the voice laugh harder at the boy's expense.
"He carries a ton of cash on him. Dumb guy just moved to town and don't know about the rules here. The Dragons get the mohlah… or else someone might have a little bit of an accident."
The boy grinned and straightened up slightly from his defensive stance.
"Got that right Bro. The Dragons rule this Hood and ain't nobody gonna best us."
"Right on. But that Doc thinks he can. The quack is totally whacked."
"Yeah well we'll get im."
"Yeah." The voice agreed. "We'll get im. Tomorrow night. We'll get 'im then."
"Hey my homies are with ya Brotha."
"Sweet. Tomorrow then. Nine."
"Right then"
Raph grinned to himself as he moved farther into the shadows and out of the alley. He really hated these thugs but if he wanted his plan to go off right he had to play it just right.
He pried the manhole cover out of the ground and hopped down into the depths of the sewers. Walking on the ledge just above the lapping sewer waters, he headed for home.
This guy. This eye doctor. He was the last piece to the puzzle. It wasn't that hard for Raph to take down the punks that would attack him tomorrow. The man was just asking to get attacked sooner of later with how late he locked up anyway. Raph was just making it sooner.
He punched in the code for the door to the Lair and attempted to walk in casually. Mike was on the couch watching TV with a little to much interest. He was definitely up to something. No one else was anywhere to be seen. Probably off in their own rooms to get away from Mikey's shenanigans.
Raph almost made it to his room when suddenly the world spun around and he was on his shell. He could hear Mike's uproarious laughter from somewhere behind him. He growled and rolled onto his plastron. Getting to his knees, he shot a glare at the now quiet smug Michaelangelo.
"Mikey," he growled. "I'm going to kill you!"
Raph shot to his feet and pounced after Mike, but he slipped again and went down. Feeling the floor her realized that it was covered in some sort of slick liquid. By now Mikey was double over in hysterics. A loud 'crack' sounded as Mikey's carapace hit the floor. Raph grinned and untangled the leg he had used to knock his brother to the floor from Mike's own legs.
"Mike you're an idiot." Raph chuckled as he once again got to his feet.
Mikey slowly stood up as well letting a giggle slip forth every now and then.
"Hey Bro you were asking for it! Dude it was just too perfect! You shoulda seen your face!"
Raph gave Mike a hard shove sending him back on his shell.
"Make it count Mike cuz you won't be getting anymore perfect moments like that any time soon."
Using the wall to propel himself Mike slid in the direction of the kitchen on his shell while Raph slipped and slid behind him.
"You gotta admit though Dude this stuff is the best!"
"What is this stuff anyway?"
"It's a recipe Don gave me. Best part is you can't wash it off." He grinned evily and continued to slide around on this plastron in the living room. "You have to wait for it to absorb into your skin."
"You really are a complete dumbo Mike. That means you are going to be slipping around the rest of the night too."
"I know! Isn't it great?"
Raph grinned, "yeah Mike, real great."
Using his hands to propel himself, Raph charged right at Mike but stopped seconds before hitting him, the maneuver caused both turtles to slam into the wall. Mike chuckled and grabbed Raph in a head lock, easily flipping him over with the aid of the slime. Raph laughed and wrestled him to the ground. The two were like one big mass of shell and slime when Leo walked in. He had every intention of lecturing his rambunctious brother and asking where he had been for the last three hours but the sight of him and Mikey tumbling about on the floor roaring insults at each other was enough to make him bite his tongue. Considering how down in the dumps Raph had been since Donny told him the bad news it was a nice change to see him horsing around instead of acting like he was preparing to kill somebody. Leo shook his head and started off towards his room.
"Leo! No! Don't!"
Leo turned but it was too late. He was on his shell with the other two in no time at all. As he joined in the fun he made a mental note to figure out what Raph was up to.
"Cobart you can not possibly expect me to take this order seriously."
"You have your soldiers and I have mine."
"A bunch of old humans are not soldiers!"
"They're the best kind of soldiers Saki. They don't have much time left to live so they give it all to you for the cause. They have no one left to love them so no one cares if you kill them. They're spies, willing to carry out my every order."
Saki growled. This Cobart was out of control, but he couldn't help but like the man.
"You truly are ruthless Cobart."
"It's why the army kicked me out. They wanted soldiers. I was a ruthless killing machine. The government doesn't really go for that.
The night was just the same as any of the other nights in the Big Apple. It was somewhat stormy for the beginning of Spring. A few rain dropped tapped out a slow tempo on the rooftop. The thunder rolled in the distance daring the clouds to unleash their pent up fury. Off in the distance lightning crack, promising a terrible storm. For Raph there was a hint of adrenaline in the air. His adrenaline. He had oiled the leather strappings on his sais and the metal was gleaming from the polishing they had endured earlier that day. He had on a new mask and his knee and elbow pads as well as his wrist wrappings were all washed and clean. He was ready to kick some Thug butt! Raphael had never had a chance to prepare for a battle like this before and he had to admit it had him on edge all day. He had to keep reminding himself that thugs weren't going to jump out of the walls and ambush him because he was the one that set up the plan. It never happened though so now he was on top of the corner roof across the street from the doctor's place waiting for things to spring to action.
The door to the eye clinic clicked open and it took all that Raph had not to jump out right then. The soon to be mugged man was young, a doctor in his late twenties. He may not have been rich but he certainly looked it. His black hair was cut short, almost a crude cut, making him look like he had just returned from the Army boot camp. He had small round glasses shoved up close to his face. His blue dress shirt was still crisp and clean after a long day a work and his black slacks showed no traces of lint. He wasn't a scrawny man but he didn't have bulging muscles either. Yet the way he kept his eyes looking straight ahead, never turning his head left of right told Raph that he was nervous but trying hard no to show it. Up the block Raph could see the Thugs moving into position. On silent feet he followed the doctor up the street by rooftop. He counted down the seconds until the gangsters made their move. Twenty or so young kids sporting the Purple Dragons logo crept close to the openings of near by allies wanting to witness the robbery.
"Three two one." Raphael counted just as the biggest of the kids yanked the doctor into the alley. Raph didn't waste any time. Leaping the last two roofs, in seconds he was down in the alley laying it on thick. He ducked in and out of the shadows on purpose, even brushing by the doctor once but he always kept an eye on him to make sure he didn't go anywhere. With the numbers he was fighting against though he had to be careful. He tried to pick off the ones that stayed out of the packs first then put himself at the edge of a pack and worked his way to the other side, disarming and bringing down the punks as fast as possible. By thug fifteen he was breathing heavy and his arms were shaking lightly. These kids weren't as easy to bring down as regular old Foot soldiers were. The Foot were taught the art of ninja quickly. When they were turned out to work the streets the simpler aspects of Ninjitsu were all they knew. The thugs were different though. The used whatever came to hand and automatically used it as a beating object. They may not know how to do split kicks but any punch they threw had enough power behind it to knock an elephant to it's knees, and they not only knew how to give monster whacks, they could also take them.
Raph brought down the last of them with a resounding back kick to the temple, then all was silent. He could hear himself gasp for air heavily as he crouched down to pick up the few shirkins he had thrown. Turning he noted the good doctor staring wide eyed at him.
Now came the hard part, introductions. He tried a smile and a wave and a garbled Hi. It was totally unlike him and he wanted to kick himself for it but he needed this guy and he couldn't afford to scare him off. In return he got a very shy half wave half 'please don't hurt me' hand in the air. Aw screw it. He couldn't do the nice turtle thing. Stalking over to the bewildered man he grabbed his wrist and helped him up out of the muddy puddle he was still sitting in. Taking the same wrist and forming the grip into a handshake he pumped the man's arm up and down once or twice roughly.
"Name's Raph." He grunted.
"Um… Kevin. The man managed to stutter.
Raph gave a whole hearted grin this time. 'Well he didn't scream then faint and he didn't swing anything at me yet! He's the best we've had so far!' He thought. Suddenly Kevin's eyes grew even larger if that was at all possible and his mouth parted. 'Nope I spoke to soon. Looks like he's a screamer.'
But then Raph realized that he wasn't gawking at him but something behind him. He turned half way and was plowed in the face by a huge fist. Stumbling backwards as bright star bursts of light exploded in his eyes and made them sting like they were on fire.
"Aw damnit!" He screamed as he pawed at his eyes. He could faintly hear the guffaw of many punks. There must have been another group set up for backup that he had missed.
Drawing his sais he screwed his eyes shut against the lancing pain and dropped into a crouch. Raphael concentrated hard and felt a breeze to his left. Lashing out against what he thought was a jack hammer punch with an arm above his head to block and a sai flicking to the right at stomach level to stab. His sai brushed empty air but his forearm made contact. Red hot flames slashed through his skin. It wasn't a punch. It was a knife and by blocking the way he did he had only managed to drive the blade a few inches into his arm instead of his neck. He roared as the owner of the knife twisted it deeper. Sweeping out blindly with his left leg he caught a pair of feet and the kid holding the knife went down. No sooner was he gone though then two more took his place. Raph could hear them chuckling. A crack to the back of his shell told them what their weapons of choice were, bats. One sent Raph flying across the alley only to crash into the fire escape. He stumbled to his feet, eyes still closed against the bright lights shooting before him. His left arm dripped warm blood along his wrist and to the tip of his sai. A flurry of moment in front of him caused him to drop into a crouch once again, his right leg extended to the side for balance. He had miscalculated again though because the rushed movements weren't anyone's efforts to get to him. They were someone's effort to get a gun. Someone in the group was toting a gun. He barely had time to react when he heard the hammer being cocked. He jumped to the side, his right leg flying up as he did just as the gun went off. The pain that followed caused him to let out a half cry half whimper. Without even thinking he tried to put weight on his now injured leg, it didn't support him. His cries drowned out the thunderstorm, now in full force. He forced himself to get up and put his back against a wall. This was it. He was done. Of all the battles he had been in and he was going to be done in be a few street thugs and all it took was two major wounds and his vision playing havoc with him. There was no way he was going to win this fight.
"Kevin duck!" Raph growled through his pain as he pulled a handful of sherkins from his belt and pelted the gang members with them. He was rewarded with three screams. That meant two of his sherkins were possibly still out there and not embedded in somebody. He didn't have to wait long for them to come flying back, both at head level. Ducking barely low enough for them to go whizzing by he shot two more from his belt straight back from where the other came. One of the screams he recognized. It was Kevin. He had hit Kevin! A roar was heard directly in front of him and the sound of charging foot steps. He held his sais up in a 'X' in front of his face but when the weapon the kid was wielding connected his bleeding arm gave. The object came slamming into his head increasing the amount of colored lights and then nothing.
"This is dumb Leo. Why would Raph be up to something?"
"Because he was just told two days ago that he was going blind. Now he's looking for some heads to bust. I just have this nagging feeling that he's up to no good. Now let's get looking. If he went searching for a fight no doubt he's found one by now."
Little did Leo know how true his last statement was.
The three turtles jumped off the roof they were resting on and split off to scourer the city for their hot headed sibling.
Kevin wasn't sure what that thing was but it had obviously just saved his life. By now his would-be attackers had forgotten about him and had turned their attention to the creature lying sprawled on the dirty alley floor. Two of the biggest thugs still standing grabbed hold of the Thing's hands and started dragging him deeper into the alley. Kevin had to save him! Grabbing the closest thing to hand, which happened to be one of the sharp three pronged forks Thing was wielding, and brandished it at the smaller of the two kids.
"Leave him alone or you'll be in big trouble!" He shouted as he shook the fork to and fro before him.
The kid dropped Thing's hand and chuckled evil, advancing on Kevin.
"We've got a real warrior on a hands here. He fights the bad guys and he's gonna whop me. Is that what you're gonna do tough guy? You gonna whop me?"
Kevin shuddered and almost dropped his weapon.
"N-no… I'll call the cops!"
"Oh! The pigs! The thugs advanced once again and muttered darkly. "They won't get here fast enough to save your sorry ass."
Kevin was shaking all over by now and his knees clacked together but he stood his ground. The mammoth of a kid cracked his knuckles slowly and deliberately while Kevin watched on in fear and wondered just how he ever thought he could take this kid on. The kid took a pair of brass knuckles out of his pocket of his grungy Jnco jeans and slipped them onto his over sized fingers. Throwing back his fist he growled and spit over his shoulder."
The doctor let out a shrill scream and dropped to the floor, rolling up into a ball to protect his face and stomach from the beating he was about to receive.
The thug had his fist halfway to Kevin's side before a green foot came flying out of the air and came smashing down into the crook of the thug's elbow, hitting a pressure point in his shoulder. He screamed as he held his arm but that too was cut short by a stick hitting him across the throat. He crumpled to the ground as his only friend standing dashed out of the alley as if the hounds of hell were nipping at his heels.
Kevin still sat shuttering and shivering in the fetal position on the ground, letting out a few whimpers and 'don't hurt me's
"Oh man! Raph!"
Kevin poked his head out of his human ball to see who had spoke. It was another creature must the same as Thing and it seemed concerned.
"Come on Raphy. Wake up Bro."
He pulled a small object out of his belt and activated it, speaking with who ever was on the other end.
"Hey guys I found Raph and you better get over here quick. He was in a fight and it looks like he got his shell waxed."
There was a beep and the Thing number two put the object, now an obvious cell phone of sorts, back in his belt.
Come on Bro. Don said you gotta wake up. Come on dude." Mike checked to make sure Raph was breathing and breathed a sigh of relief of his own when he confirmed that he indeed was.
Kevin heaved himself off the dirty alley floor and stumbled over to where the second Thing was gently slapping the first Thing's cheeks. Thing 2 seemed to notice him for the first time and muttered a little 'Ut oh'
"Leo's gonna have a cow when he sees this. What's your name dude?"
"Kevin." His response was that of a guilty child, as if it was wrong for him to be named Kevin.
"The name's Michaelangelo. Do you know why my Bro is passed out here on the ground seriously messed up?
"Well I got jumped by those punks. I was as good as dead until he came and helped me but he got hit in the face and everything just went downhill from there."
Mikey's eyes grew large and he knelt beside his brother again, increasing his shaking and patting tenfold.
"Dude Raph! You gotta wake up Bro!"
Two more creatures came bouncing down from the fire escape with weapons at the ready. One with a purple mask around his face and a long stick in his hands rushed over to the unresponsive one.
"What happened?" He asked
"This dude said Raph was playing hero and got whacked a few good ones."
The purple one nodded as if he expected that much. Crouching down he peeled back the First Thing's eyelids. Taking a flashlight from his bag he shined it in his eyes, his expression grim. Yet another thing leapt in front of Kevin. The swords he was wielding gave a threatening first impression, crossed in an 'X' and pushed towards the petrified doctor.
"Who are you?" His face dark and dangerous, daring Kevin not to answer him.
"I… um… you see… Kevin." He finally spat out, his voice cracking a bit.
"Leo we have to get Raph home pronto. He's losing a lot and blood and I want to get him fixed up before he wakes up.
"I know who you are." Leo didn't even turn to acknowledge what Don said. "I thought Raph might keep an eye on you." He half whispered to himself.
"Leo! We gotta get going!" The one called Don urged.
Leo put his katanas away after hearing Don call for him again. He couldn't just leave Kevin here. Raph had wanted to talk to him and now Leo himself wanted to talk to him.
"I don't have time to deal with you now. You're coming with us."
"Master Splinter isn't going to like this Leo."
"Well right now we don't really have a choice Mikey."
Leo took off his bandana and took a step towards Kevin who took a step back. Right away Leo saw this was going to be tough.
"Ok look," He started. We're not going to hurt you. We just want you to come with us. Our brother is pretty messed up and we need to get him home. We're honor bound not to hurt you. I just want to blindfold you because our father is pretty picky about people seeing where we live."
Once again when Leo stepped forward, Kevin matched it with a step back.
"I don't have time for this." He muttered. His eyes took on that same glare they had when he had first bounced down into the alley from the fire escape. "Either you let me blindfold you or we're going to have to force you to come with us."
Mikey and Don both looked up when they heard the change in Leo's voice.
"Leo…" Mike tried, but Leo didn't even turn his way. Mikey could understand how upset Leo was but scaring the eye doctor wasn't exactly the way to deal with it.
Kevin also noticed Leo's mood swing. Considering how the other one had fought he didn't want to get on these guys' bad side. After all, the first one had tried to help him. He should at least make sure he was ok. He gulped and ducked his head as he took a step forward, a silent statement that he would go with them.