A/N: - I am so sorry I haven't updated as quickly as I wanted to - I was banned from the site again...but yet again it was for a ridiculous reason! Thank you sooooooo much for all your reviews. It's so much fun to read them! I like reviews – anyway, new topic, the next chapter! It's here and ready for you to read. Only one thing left to say now: - ENJOY!
The next site they were led to was the dock; a site none of them had wished to revisit in a hurry. It brought back too many memories and the four brothers physically shuddered at the thought of it.
"I never wanted to see this place again," growled Raph, shivering not with the cold but with fear.
"None of us wanted to see this place again…" Leo put a shaky hand on Raph's shoulder.
"Yeah – I wonder if the Shred-Head's body is still down there," Mikey peered over the edge of the wooden decking and into the deep blue waters that lay below.
"Maybe," Donnie answered, "the chances of the body being discovered are highly unlikely."
"Good thing too – if Marcie got hold of it then she'd probably go all evil scientist on us and find a way to bring the Shredder back to life!" Mikey ignored the glares Raph and Leo were shooting at him.
"No-one's here," Leo observed quietly, listening for any sound that might signal the presence of another.
"Let's go," sighed Raph, turning to walk away. Suddenly, he crashed down through the decking and landed with a loud splash. His three shocked brothers ran to where he'd fallen though but they too crashed down through the decking and into the water one after the other. Coughing and choking they surfaced again,
"What the shell was that about?" Donnie coughed up at least three litres of water as he grabbed hold of Raph.
"I'm not sure – but I think these guys are stupider than we thought they were. They seem to have forgotten that we're turtles," Mikey replied before Leo could open his mouth to say something.
"Uh, guys?" Raph froze. He'd seen something and it wasn't very pleasant. Right above them, grinning down at them through the holes they'd created when they'd fallen through the decking, was Marcie.
"So, I see you doubt the intelligence of my forces – how utterly foolish of you. You have until next Friday to give yourselves in to authorities before I kill your human friends. Of course, the longer you leave it, the less chance there is of them being completely unscathed…so I suppose we'll soon see how much you value your allies and friends…" she cackled and left the turtles, who were despairing. They swum round to the edge of the dock and clambered out of the freezing water, laying on the decking until they'd caught their breath again.
"We can't let her kill April and Casey!" Raph exclaimed.
"I know, Raph, but we can't give ourselves into the authorities either. But at least now we have a deadline so we know how much time we have to think of a plan." Leo sighed, getting to his feet and helping his brother up.
"You know what I think?" Mikey asked.
"You think?" Raph looked shocked.
"Ha ha, very funny, Raphael. I think that while we're thinking of a plan it would be a good idea to think about what pizza topping we want to order on our pizzas for when we get back to the lair."
"You know what, Mikey? That's the most intelligent thing you've come up with all year!" Raph clapped his youngest brother on the back before rolling his eyes and walking on in the direction they would need to take to get back to their home.
"Uh, one large pizza with anchovies, mustard, whipped cream and jelly beans – what so you mean you don't do jelly beans? Fine, we'll have three large cheese feasts, please and we'll put our own toppings on them! Yeah, we'll pick them up! Bye!" Mikey slammed the phone down, "can you believe it?! They don't do anchovies, mustard, whipped cream and jelly beans!"
"I'm so shocked, I'm lost for words," Raph drawled sarcastically, smirking at Donnie and Leo. Donnie was trying to stifle his laughter but Leo looked tense.
"So who's gonna pick them up?" he asked.
"Uh, not me – I phoned through the order!"
"Not me, I need to re-arrange the furniture in mine and Mikey's room," Raph said hurriedly.
"I'll go if you do," Donnie offered, standing up and pulling on his trench coat and hat.
"Thanks, Don – it's nice to know that not everyone in this family makes pathetic excuses so they can stay here and watch TV." Leo shot a dirty look at Raph and Mikey, who were shifting uncomfortably. Donnie laughed and climbed up the ladder and out of the manhole and onto the street, closely followed by Leo.
"What do you make of this, Leo?" Donnie asked as he rubbed his hands together in an attempt to warm them.
"I'm not sure what to think, Donnie. If we stay hidden then Casey and April will die – but if we give ourselves up then we will be thrown into some sort of lab or zoo for tests and public entertainment."
"I know what you mean…Raph wants us to give ourselves up…"
"Yeah, but he's not thinking fully about the consequences. I don't want Casey and April dead but I also don't want our family put in danger." Leo sighed as they reached the pizza shop. Since the time when Raph had encountered one of their delivery boys, they had always made sure they ordered pizzas from Pippy-roni's Pizzeria. The two reptilian brothers entered the shop, picked up the pizzas and made their way slowly back to the lair.
"Hey, Leo," Donnie suddenly saw something up on a roof not too far from where they were walking, "do you think that's one of Marcie's goons?"
"It's not big enough to be one of her fighters…it looks like a child," Leo replied, squinting as he tried to focus in on whoever it was that was watching them.
"Oh shell," Donnie gasped as he realised who it was, "it's Kirsty!"
"CRUD!" Leo yelled, taking off at a sprint to cover the last few blocks back to the manhole that was the entrance to their sewer home. He had to tell Splinter and the others; it was Kirsty that had been at the construction site that night. Marcie was using her own daughter to follow the turtles. It was a brilliant plan on Marcie's part, for who would suspect an innocent looking little girl of something so evil?
Arriving, breathless and agitated, back at the lair, Leo and Donnie were confronted as soon as they walked in. Raph wanted to know why they were out of breath, as did Splinter, while Mikey just wanted to know if they'd damaged the pizzas!
"You remember Kirsty?" Leo asked Raph as they sat round the kitchen table and opened the pizzas.
"Yeah – that's Marcie's daughter, right?"
"Right and she's the one who was at the construction site. She was the one who cut the ropes that held up the pipes and metal frames."
"No kidding?" Mikey had his mouth full of pizza.
"No kidding," Donnie grimaced, "I hate to say it but it looks like Marcie wants revenge for Shredder's death…"
"What do we do, Sensei?" Leo turned to Splinter, who had his head bowed in thought. On hearing his eldest son's voice, he looked up slowly,
"I do not know, Leonardo. I think that Kirsty is no threat to us at the present time. For the moment, we must focus our attentions on Casey and April if they are to live to see their honeymoon."
"Crud, I'd forgotten about that – Marcie must've kidnapped them after the wedding while they were on their way to the airport!" Raph smacked himself in the head.
"Where were they going for their honeymoon anyway?" Donnie raised an eye ridge curiously.
"Paris…you know, all that 'city of love' crap," Raph waved a hand dismissively, "but they ain't ever gonna get to see it if we don't do something!"
"Raph, please keep your temper – we can't help April and Casey if all you're gonna do is get stressed out and run off to try and rescue them on your own." Leo scolded him.
"Oh, that's right, Mr. Perfect – you share your perfect views with everyone – as always...excuse me while I bow at your feet!"
"Raph, that's not fair!"
"Oh, 'it's not fair, Raph, it's not fair'" Raph imitated Leo, putting on a whiny voice that made him sound like a three year old. Twirling his Sais and tucking them into his belt, Raph stormed into the dojo and, moments later, the sound of tearing material could be heard where Raph was once again taking his frustrations out on their new punch bag. The problem was, it didn't look new and they'd only had it for a week. This was because Raph and Leo had been arguing a lot again recently and afterwards, every time Leo won, Raph would stomp into the dojo and beat up the punch bag as if it were Leo…at one point he'd even tied a blue bandana round it and torn it to shreds. April had managed to patch it up that time but it was very doubtful that she'd be able to fix it from her current position. Leo was massaging his temples, feeling everyone's eyes on him. That was the seventh argument so far that week that he'd had with Raph…and it was only Thursday!
"Raph will get over it," Donnie reassured Leo as the two of them sat on the floor of the room they shared.
"Yeah, I guess," Leo sighed, climbing into his bed.
"He will," Donnie repeated, climbing up the ladder to his own bed and pulling the covers up over his head. It had been a long morning and it was about time they had a rest.
Mikey awoke at about midday, his stomach telling him it was about time for something to eat. He crept into the kitchen, secretly hoping he would get there before any of his brothers woke up and finished the last of the pizza. But as he neared the kitchen he heard raised voices. They're at it again?! Sheesh, they need to get a hobby! He winced as he heard something smash and heard Raph reel of a list of curses that was directly aimed at Leo. Leo was responding with curses of his own and Mikey saw no need to get involved. He would just wait outside for one of his brothers to win the argument and then he'd make a move in to lighten the mood.
"You think you can tell me what to do?! Well, guess what, Leo, you can't!"
"Raph, you're not thinking rationally – you'd never be able to rescue them on your own! We need to do it as a team!"
"'Cept my team is a complete let-down!" Raph snapped, launching himself at his older brother, catching him off guard and knocking him to the floor.
"Don't you dare say that! Insult me and my leadership as much as you want but don't insult Mikey and Donnie when they're not here to defend themselves!" Leo kicked Raph off and pinned him down.
"Get off me, Leo! Fine, I'll obey you: you can't lead, you can't fight well enough to be leader, you think you're so perfect but you ain't, you think you're better than me just because Sensei likes you better. And I know Mikey and Donnie would agree with me when I say that you're a stupid, power-hungry, lousy excuse for a brother!" Raph threw Leo off and stalked off; leaving a baffled Leo sat on the floor by the table, breathing heavily. Mikey timidly shuffled into the room and sat down, taking a slice of pizza as he did so.
"You mind if I ask what that was about?"
"Nah – Raph just thinks he can rescue Casey and April on his own without us and I was merely pointing out the flaws in the plans that he'd made…then he got mad…"
"Yeah, I heard the last few minutes of it. And, just for the record, I don't agree with him and neither would Donnie." Mikey bit his lip, hoping he'd said the right thing. Leo got to his feet and wrapped his youngest brother in a brief hug,
"Thanks, Mike," he whispered before leaving to practise in the dojo. Mikey just stared after his brother, confused. He didn't understand why Leo and Raph had been arguing so much lately – the situation hadn't been helped by the kidnap of April and Casey but they had been getting ratty with each other before then anyway. He picked up the box with the remaining few slices of pizza in it and headed to the dojo to find Leo. It's time someone got to the bottom of this! Sherlock Mikey…I like it, he thought as he walked.
"Hey, Leo…you want pizza?" Mikey asked as he entered the dojo. But Leo was nowhere in sight, "uh, Leo?" he looked round nervously.
"Mikey?" Leo was directly behind Mikey.
"Shell, you had me worried there!"
"I was just waking Donnie. We have to go after Raph – he's probably out looking for Marcie's HQ again,"
"Yeah, probably. So, where do we start?"
"Donnie is looking to see where we haven't been yet,"
"Guys, I know where Raph is!" Donnie ran into the dojo and Leo and Mikey whirled round to face him.
"What…I mean, how? The crime spots are all so spread out! How do you know which one he's gone to?"
"Think about it, he wouldn't want to go trailing over to the other side of the city without us and there's a crime spot close to Casey and April's apartment. We just assumed that was because they were trying to throw us off course. But Raph will have gone there looking for clues as he also probably doesn't know exactly where the crime spots are and knows that he won't be able to get to many of them in broad daylight. He's not as stupid as he looks!"
"Trench coats on, everyone," Leo ordered, "we've got a Raphael to find…"
"Raph, it's not your fault," Leo put a hand on his brother's shoulder. Raph was knelt on the floor looking at the wedding photos of Casey and April.
"I know, Leo, but I can't help thinking there's something we can do." Raph sighed and picked up a photo that had been framed, handing it to his brother in blue, "look at this, Leo. I think they were planning on sending this to us."
"Huh?" Leo looked at the photo confused. It was a picture of Casey and April outside the church where they'd got married. Casey was grinning broadly and was dressed in a suit, but he still looked himself with the tie loose and his hair slightly messed up by the breeze. April, however, was smiling shyly at the camera and looked stunning in a strapless white dress that flared out at the bottom. Her hair was loose and she was wearing a headdress of white roses with a single red one at the front. As he peered closely at the photo, Leo noticed something else. Casey had a red bandana round one wrist and a blue one tied round the other. April had the same except the bandanas she wore were orange and purple. They looked slightly strange with the dress but it was a touching symbol none-the-less. On the back of the photo there was a message from each of them. Casey's message read: Hey dudes,
We really wanted you at the wedding but, since that was impossible, we settled for borrowing some of your bandanas as a symbol – hope ya don't mind! I also wanted you to know that you're the best friends I've had in a long time! Thanks for all you've done for me,
Your friend, Casey Jones.
April's message read: Hi guys,
The wedding was gorgeous and I couldn't be happier. Thank you so much for everything you've done – if it weren't for you then me and Casey would never have lived long enough to get married. We're all family now, as I've said many times, and I hope that it will always remain that way,
The now happily married, April O'Neill.
Leo gave the picture to Mikey and Donnie, who each read it in turn, and an awkward silence fell over the group.
"So what do we do now?" Mikey asked nervously, bracing himself for another Raph and Leo fight.
"We go and find them," Leo answered softly.
"Really?" Raph looked gob-smacked as he got to his feet.
"Really…if we leave it any longer then we may never get round to all the crime spots before next Friday." Leo was stunned as Raph pulled him into a body binding hug.
"I didn't mean what I said, you know,"
"Yeah, you did – you just don't want to make me angry when I've consented to go with what you want to do." Leo pushed Raph off him roughly, leaving the hot-headed turtle feeling slightly put out.
"Guys, we're going to have to wait here until tonight. We leave at dawn tomorrow morning to find Casey and April – it's too risky to search in broad daylight. We're bound to be seen or reported as skulking figures if we have to go to any dodgy areas. Then we won't be of any use to them." Donnie pointed out.
"Ok," Mikey agreed. Raph nodded to show he'd understood the plan and Leo just remained silent but flashed a small grin at Donnie as a signal that he was in favour of the plan.
"Leo, are you mad at me?" Raph asked once Mikey and Donnie had gone to the kitchen to raid the fridge.
"Why would I be mad?" Leo asked smoothly.
"I don't really think you're a bad leader or a lousy excuse for a brother…I'm sorry…I shouldn't have said it."
"I know, Raph – but you're so unpredictable that even when you apologise a thousand times over I don't believe you. We always just get into the same fight no long afterwards. I know you never truly mean what you say but at the time you always mean it or you wouldn't say it. Just try to learn to control your temper for once, Raph, and then we wouldn't argue so much."
"I'm going to get something to eat," Raph growled, clearly struggling to keep his temper with Leo at that precise moment, as he headed off to the kitchen to assist Donnie and Mikey in raiding the fridge, freezer and various cupboards. Leo followed; he was very hungry and knew that April and Casey wouldn't mind them eating their food without their knowing – shell, they'd got used to it by now. He helped his brothers put together a plate of ham, cheese and ketchup sandwiches. There wasn't any junk food in the cupboard as April was trying to convince Casey that there were other foods in existence that tasted just as good, if not better, and that he needed to keep himself healthy if he was going to start up a hockey club at a local school to earn some cash. Mikey had sniggered when they'd been told while his brothers tried to keep straight faces for the sake of what little dignity Casey had managed to preserve over the years…and that wasn't very much whatsoever!
A/N: - And there you have it – the third part to Wreaking Revenge…hoped you liked it. As usual, I'm going to ask you to review for me, but I'm sure I don't need to ask, lol! ;-)
