Author's Note:

Hey everyone! First, let me say that I'm SO SORRY that it took so long for me to update. Believe it or not, it actually took me all day to write this…the muses are not being kind right now. But hopefully I got the job done. I'm always grateful for feedback, good or bad!

Thank you ever so much to my reviewers. Each review is like a great big Christmas present. Love you all!

Black Mirror: Don't worry, Raph is back in this chapter. Things are really going to heat up with the three of them in the next one, so stay tuned for that one too!

Mickis: Again, sorry that you were sick! I think that I already responded to your bird flu comment in a review for Deputy Wildlifers…thanks for your compliments!

SMN: Believe me, the idea of OC's was a back and forth battle when I planned this story. The answer to your question is yes…however, they are supporting characters only. And I will do my best to stay away from the Mary Sue stereotype – in fact, you may not even LIKE my OC's evil grin I think it's more realistic that way.

T: I've gotta keep you coming back, don't I? I see that you have a new user name…congrats! Any writing going to be coming from you?

Rianna: Yes, I'm glad that I'M not in it either! Although, then again, I wouldn't mind being locked in a room with Raphael…(unlike Donnie, you'll see.)

Sporkey Anonymous: Hey girl! You know I luv ya, but I'm still waiting on No Regrets (smiles)

Pacphys: Thanks for the long review! Glad to see that you're enjoying. I don't think that I'll be disturbing you with another "licking" like scene…at least not in this chapter. As I go on, I make no promises!

GemDrive: You're review made me giggle. Bad ass April? Yeah, I can totally see it. You've put ideas in my head for subsequent chapters, LOL.

Dory'sHumanReplica: Well, here's a little taste…but I'm afraid that you might have to come back for the next one too!

Governmentcontractor: Thanks! I take that as a HUGE compliment coming from you. Great job on Cat and Mouse.

Kristy99: Thanks. I was hoping that I wouldn't lose people in my explanation.

Brigitta: Sorry to scare you! Hopefully you won't need a blanket for this one. But you DEFINITELY will for the next one…

Sprite232: Okay, I am SO SORRY that I forgot to thank you on the last chapter. AH! Anyway, I absolutely love your reviews. You are hilarious! Your feedback means a lot to me. Hopefully you aren't too mad about how long this took!

Reluctant Dragon: Yeah, I know, it was sort of out of the blue. But hey, maybe it's more fun that way! (At least for me! Muwahahahahah!)

Lunar-Ninja: Thanks, I hoped that that line would come across as funny. I bet that you did great with honor band!

Lioness Goddess: The good ones never seem to win, do they? Thanks for your review!

Linchi: Scary indeed. Now I have to get on you too….I want the prequel to RED!

Fallen Hikari: You made me laugh too. Some gratitude, huh? Don't worry, he'll get his. Sorry to leave you hanging for so long!

Silver Snow Leopard: Die? Leo? I wouldn't do that…would I? Cue evil laugh again: Muwahahahahah!

Blix: Hey! Don't worry, I'll give you a little with this chapter. But like I said to some of the others, the real action with those three is going to come in the next one. So hopefully you'll stay with me!

And finally, I don't own anything. For that to happen, I would have to get a divorce, meet Peter Laird, get him to propose, and then get married. Even then, would I only be entitled to two of them? Anyway, somehow I don't foresee any of those events occurring…
"Death aims with fouler spite
at fairer marks."
-Francis Quarles, Divine Poems

CHAPTER 4: FIGHTING FOR LEONARDO

MICHAELANGELO

The classic mistake in firing a hand gun is to let the recoil from the first bullet jerk the barrel. This allows little hope of the second bullet effectively hitting its target. Lucky for Leo, the man on the rooftop did just that. Because if he would have been hit squarely from such close range, my brother wouldn't still be alive.

The scary thing was, I still wasn't sure that we could keep him that way.

I'd been in enough edgy situations to know how to stay cool and concentrated. But nothing could have prepared me for the raw panic I felt when Leonardo's body fell still on the ground. For a moment, the whole world seemed to spin. I vaguely sensed a warmth across my cheek, and realized that I'd been splattered with Leo's blood. Man, I felt so dizzy…

Then, suddenly, everything snapped back into focus. The gun had been redirected at a new target.

My head.

I didn't think; I moved. With a speed born of terror, I spun to the left, sending a roundhouse kick at the man's outstretched arm. My foot connected with his wrist, sending the gun clattering toward the cement guard rail. He let out a pained cry, cut short as my second kick knocked him unconscious. His body collapsed with a dull thud.

A sharp sting radiated up my leg, and I did my best to ignore it. Damn hurt foot. I drew in a quick breath, then turned toward Leonardo. I was faintly aware of the little girl sobbing behind me, blending with April gasping Leo's name.

"Oh god, no. Leo…"

Dropping to my knees, my eyes scanned across Leo's unmoving form, trying to compute the sum of his injuries. I gently rolled him onto his back. As I did so, his head swung forward, revealing a deep gash across his temple. Probably sustained in the fall, I thought. My gaze then trained to his shoulder, which was actively squirting blood through the mangled bullet wound. The liquid cascaded in thick rivulets down his arm. I sat still for a few seconds, paralyzed, panting, hoping that I wasn't watching my brother die.

Shit.

Think, Mike!

Breathing…make sure he's still breathing…

I pressed my ear to his mouth, still feeling theheat of his breath against my face.

Okay, well that's good…now what?

"You've got to stop the bleeding."

The voice came from beside me. Not April, but the other girl. The older one. Her speech was slightly shaky, laced with uncertainty, which was further evident in her hesitation to come closer. She stared at Leonardo, her face a mixture of shock and pure amazement. Seconds passed before she looked back at me. I was silent, letting my eyes plead with her for help. After a long pause, she relented.

Sliding down beside me, I watched her work her fingers under Leo's shoulder, head cocked to the side as she felt for something. I regarded her quizzically. Her face was mostly hidden by her hair, which tumbled forward as she leaned over. Although her arms seemed thin and frail in comparison with Leo's well muscled ones, her movements held a certain strength.

"The bullet…it went all the way through," she said, pulling her hands back. My eyes widened. "No, that's good," she followed quickly, sensing my worry. "It means that the bullet isn't still stuck in there. We don't have to fish it out."

I nodded in understanding. I sudden gust of wind whipped forcefully across the rooftop, causing me to squint. I bowed my head, reaching up to untie the knot in the back of my mask. Wadding it up, I pressed the material against Leo's oozing shoulder.

Leonardo took a sharp breath and moaned softly.

"Leo? Bro', can you hear me?"

Come on Leo, you gotta wake up…I can't do this…not by myself…

His chest started to heave up and down. I laid a blood stained hand across his plastron, which was vibrating erratically with the beat of his heart.

"Keep both hands on his shoulder, Mike!" April yelled. She was squatting beside the unconscious man, anxiously trying to wrestle his shirt over the top of his head. Jeez, by the end of the night, no one was going to have any clothes left. Finally successful, she ran back to us, laying the shirt across the other wound on Leo's thigh. "We have to get the bleeding stopped now, or he's going to go into shock," she said worriedly.

Within the next few minutes, the shirt April was holding was already soaked. Red drops began to form on the corner of the material, dripping steadily onto the ground below. I could still feel the pulse of the artery below my own fingers, and tried my best to stay calm as Leo's breathing became more and more thready.

Oh god…

DONATELLO

"Raphael, would you sit down? You're driving me nuts."

Raphael shot me a malicious glare, and continued to pace around the small room. He twirled a sai around his fingers, switching hands every few seconds. One of his many nervous habits.

He was starting to remind me of a caged animal.

Casey was across from me, legs splayed in front of him, head leaned sideways against the wall. He let out a frustrated sigh, then held down a button on the cell phone. He brought it up to his ear. Being so close, I heard the automated voice on the other end. "All circuits are busy. Please try your call again later…"

"Anything?" Raphael asked, pausing a moment to look at Casey.

Wordlessly, Casey flipped the phone shut and closed his eyes.

Casey was worried. I didn't blame him. Our connection between April and my brothers had been cut off suddenly, and we had no idea if it was the phone company or if she'd had to deliberately break it. I could only pray that it was the former. Under either circumstance, we'd still been unable to call them back for over an hour.

"Dammit!" Raph snarled, heaving a sai at one of the boxes stacked at the back of the room. It impaled the cardboard, directly through the words "Christmas ornaments" scribbled on the side.

"Knock it off Raph, that stuff's breakable," Casey grumbled from the floor.

"Do you think it really matters, Case? Hell, there probably won't even be a Christmas this year, the way Donnie's been talkin'. No one will be left to celebrate."

Casey opened his mouth, then closed it again. He turned away, deciding not to answer.

"They'll protect her, Casey," I whispered. I tried my best to sound reassuring. He gave me a solemn nod.

I was pretty sure that he loved April. He just wasn't quite ready to admit it yet. For a long time, the two of them did nothing but confuse me. They played a constant game with each other, one day shyly flirting, the next being cold and withdrawn. Then, as I became more familiar with the ways of the world, I realized that this was completely normal. Normal in a really messed up sort of way.

My eyes wandered over to the storeroom door. Normally such a mundane object, it was now a source of quiet anxiety. Within ten minutes of closing ourselves in, someone, or possibly multiple someones, had made a game of throwing themselves against it. How they knew we were in here, I didn't know. Thankfully, the barricade had held. After a few low snarling noises, punctuated by a loud scream, all had become quiet again. At least for the time being.

We'd turned the radio off a few minutes ago. The station that we were originally listening to, the one with the government interview, had gone off the air. The remaining two stations had no new information, and broadcast conflicting messages. One was yelling to "get out of New York while you still can!" and the other was begging people to stay locked in their homes. Both were giving me a headache.

I suddenly felt my nose wrinkle, a pungent odor overwhelming my senses.

"You guys smell that?" I asked, cringing.

"Wasn't me," Raph quipped, giving me a sarcastic smile.

"Seriously."

Casey started to shake his head, then jerked back in surprise. "Gah, I do now. What is that?"

Raphael crossed the room, sniffing the air with mock exaggeration. As he got closer, I watched his eyes squint together, a distasteful groan escaping his lips. "Boys, if I had to guess, I'd say we're sharing this basement with a dead body."

Great. Wonderful. Could things get any better? If it smelled this bad now, I could only imagine what it'd be like in a couple of hours…

Raphael turned his attention to the refrigerator near the door, seeming to notice it for the first time. He tugged at the handle and peered inside. "Hey Casey," he said, shuffling something inside, "You got anything in here besides…"

More shuffling.

"…freeze pops?" He held up a string of the brightly colored frozen ice.

Casey's face lit up for the first time since we'd come down here. "Whoa, I forgot about those!" He rose up off the floor, quickly but stiffly. "Throw me an orange one, I'm starving."

"Man, there are over 500 in a box, and you've got three boxes in here!" Raphael replied in amusement. "Why in God's name do you need so many freeze pops?"

"Hey, everything's cheaper in bulk," Casey answered, snatching an orange tube out of Raph's hand. "Besides, they go faster than you think. Donnie, you want one?"

"Sure, why not?" Raphael started to hand me a red one, but I pulled my hand back. "Anything but red. Those are disgusting." Raphael rolled his eyes, breaking me off the next in line, a purple one.

"Here," he said, tossing it with a bit of force. "This one's probably more your style."

"Thanks." I gave him a half smile, humored by my own joke.

We sat in a circle on the floor, the room quiet besides the crinkling of plastic. Casey went back for a second one, then a third, fourth, fifth…maybe he actually did need that many freeze pops. The things you learn about someone when you're locked in a basement storeroom.

The minutes continued to tick by slowly, and I realized that some of Raphael's restlessness was starting to wear off on me. I needed something to occupy my brain, to keep out the morbid thoughts that kept weaseling their way through.

"You got any games or something in here Casey?" I asked, scanning the shelves behind him. Casey raised his eyes, looking at me from just under his eyelids. He was still hunched over and concentrating on eating.

"Jeez, Donnie, the world's freakin' ending out there and you wanna sit and play Scrabble? How messed up is that?" Raphael replied roughly.

Of anyone to be stuck in a small space with, it had to be someone pleasant like Raphael…

I shook my head, then went back to leaning against the wall. It was going to be a long night.

99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer…

LEONARDO

Awareness…

Pain. It hurts. Something's wrong…

I have to move! Mike…Mike!

So dark…have to wake up…open my eyes…

Falling.

Hurting.

Suffocating.

Sleep…just go back to sleep…

APRIL

There was no thunder, no lightning. Just rain. Cold, hard, sleeting rain. I watched Michaelangelo, his body drawn over his brother's, doing his best to shield him from the watery onslaught. His face was frozen in quiet resolve. He wasn't going to let Leonardo die. Not here, not tonight.

It was hard to tell if Leo was improving. He would move intermittently, and the bleeding had mostly stopped from the wound on his thigh. I had peeled back my make-shift dressing to inspect it, finding to my relief that the bullet hadn't completely impacted his leg. It was more of graze injury, skimming the flesh away from a part of his thigh.

His shoulder still worried me. It continued to trickle blood, and looked horribly mangled.

So much blood…

"Was Jake okay?"

I raised my head, meeting the eyes of the girl across from me. Her voice was barely audible over the drumming of the rain. The younger one was sitting beside her, knees drawn up to her chest. Seeing them beside each other, I guessed that they were probably sisters.

Regaining my train of thought, I realized that she was talking about the man who had shot Leo.

"Yeah," I said, shaking my head slightly. "Just knocked out. He'll be fine."

"Listen, for what it's worth, I'm sorry," she continued, more to Mike than to me. "He…we were just scared. And confused. Still really, really, confused." Her expression was soft, wet hair clinging to the sides of her face.

Tears welled up in my eyes. Wait until Leo wakes up, then you can apologize to him…

"I'm Tara," she said, extending her hand toward me. "And this is Abby."

"April." I took her hand hesitantly, watching the blood from our hands run onto Leo's chest.

I wanted to cry.

Sitting there, on the rooftop, the rain washing down over my face, I felt like I was drowning.

A/N: Thanks for reading guys, and if you're so inclined, please leave a review and tell me your thoughts! You're all are what make this worthwhile…I'm really excited for the next chapter (as you could probably tell from the shoutouts). Maybe I'll even get started tonight!