"Raphael?"

Scratching the back of his head, the human answered, "Yeah, that's what I thought." Allison couldn't believe it. What had happened? Why was he a human? Where were they? Were they out of danger? She couldn't bring herself to ask any of these questions as her eyes remained fixed on the naked teenager in front of her.

After a moment or two, Raphael finally made his way to his feet. To avoid gaping at anything inappropriate, Allison looked down at the five toes on each foot. She wondered how odd it must feel for Raphael to stand on those two feet… and she realized that he probably didn't have any answers about their situation himself.

Raphael took unsteady steps back to the locker door he had ripped off and thrown on the ground. Horribly aware of the fact that he was unpleasantly exposed in this new human form in a way turtles didn't have to worry about, he stooped down. Looking into the mirror that was attached to the inside of the door, he looked into his new face.

He was… handsome. Not a super model, no, but it was most indefinitely an improvement to his old face. He wasn't sure how he felt about the human male body, but his facial structures suited him fine. "Hey," he said, trying to laugh it off, "maybe now I can get a job in action movies. I got the trainin' for it."

He looked up at Allison and saw that she was not amused. Indeed, she looked as though she might have gone into shock. "Hey," he repeated, wanting to get up but choosing to stay his distance until he could get some clothes on. "You okay?"

"Raphael," she finally breathed out. "What happened to you? How did you…?" Raphael shrugged, also aware that her eyes were going over his entire body. He couldn't help but wonder if she shared his sentiments about his new appearance. "When I was gettin' you away from Bishop, he shot me with that stupid 'cure.' It only emptied halfway, though, so maybe…."

Realizing what he was saying, Allison uttered, "Instead of bringing you closer to the turtle side of you, it brought you closer to the human aspects." As Raphael nodded, Allison looked away, flabbergasted, "Great, it's sci-fi genetics. But of course."

"This might just be a blessing in disguise," Raphael said, standing up and turning back to the row of lockers. "Bishop probably don't know what you look like, and he definitely won't recognize me. We can at least blend in long enough to get outta here."

He tugged at one of the lockers, attempting to pull it out as easily as he had done to the first one. It wouldn't even budge. He tried again, using both hands. As he attempted again and again to open it, he suddenly had a distressing thought: his strength was gone. Though he was still muscular and probably far stronger than the average man, this body's flesh was weaker and its capacity far smaller than he was used to. And he was beginning to grow very angry at this stupid locker.

"Here," Allison said from behind him. Raphael turned around, surprised to see that Allison was holding out a pair of pants for him. He was about to ask her where she had gotten then, but looked down and saw that they were her own. Wholly uncomfortable, he pushed them back towards her. "No way. I'll grab my own."

"Raphael," Allison reasoned, "they're way too big for me, anyway. This shirt practically hangs to my knees, so I don't think there'll be much of an issue in the modesty department. You need these pants just as much as I need the shirt." Completely unused to the idea of needing to wear clothes, Raphael took them begrudgingly. Allison turned around and gave him her back as he hurried to put them on.

"Where are we?" Allison asked as Raphael got dressed. Stepping into her line of sight once more, Raphael replied, "We're somewhere in Bishop's base. I think I went down some stairs, so we're probably at the lowest level. I think we were underground to begin with, so this means lots of flights up."

Allison turned to face Raphael. Trying not to get caught up in the strange face speaking with a familiar voice, she queried, "Do you really think we can make it up there? I haven't seen any women working for Bishop yet, so I don't know if I can fit in. And if you walk around without a shirt, you're liable to stand out as though your skin were still green."

Raphael let out a smirk that looked even more mischievous than it did on his normal face. "I might be human, but I'm still a ninja, kid. No one's gotta see me unless I want 'em to."

Allison stared at him sternly. She obviously didn't think this was a good plan, but she also didn't know what else to do. "Raphael," she started again quietly. "What if you…." She looked away, clearly troubled. Serious now, Raphael gently took hold of her arm and asked, "What if I what?"

She looked back up at him, trying her best not to look as worried as she was. Finally, she went on. "What if… what if this is just a preliminary mutation or something? Like, your genes got confused because only a little bit of the cure went through, so they shifted into this for a while before going on and turning you into a regular turtle? Or what if there are some bad side effects? I just saw you try to open that door; your strength isn't what it used to be. If we waste too much time sneaking around and trying to stick to the shadows, it might be too late for you. Maybe we should… maybe I should just give you this shirt so that you can go straight through to the surface and contact your brothers. Then Leonardo and Mike can come back for me while Donatello runs some tests to make sure you're okay."

Raphael was already shaking his head as soon as her proposition became clear. "No," he stated when she was finished, dropping her arm. "No, no, and no. I ain't leavin' ya alone where Bishop can find ya and do whatever it was that he was gonna do to ya. You're comin' with me, even if I gotta carry you the whole way."

"Raphael, you can't carry me the whole way!" Allison was beginning to get exasperated. Clearly, she really was afraid that Raphael's current state was only temporary, and wanted him in the clear before something happened. "You're not strong enough! And now that I'm normal again, I'm not as fast or agile as I had been before. I'll only slow you down. The only logical thing is to-"

"Logic? Where do you get off talkin' about logic?" Raphael didn't mean to raise his voice, but his temper was flaring. "You just said so yourself, this is sci-fi stuff. Logic ain't got no place in this, kid. All I know is that we need to get outta here, and I'm not about to let ya outta my sight again! So even if I gotta strap ya down to my back, I ain't leavin' here without ya, you get me?"

Allison was about to counter in the way she usually did when she used to bicker with Raphael, but was startled by a sound at the door. Raphael whirled around as well. The boxes that acted as their barricade trembled as something outside tried to get in. Apparently, their voices helped Bishop's men pinpoint their position.

Raphael quickly darted to the pile of heavy crates at the door and jumped onto the first one so that he could reach into the top one. The trembling stopped, but Raphael had a feeling that that wasn't a good thing. They were most likely getting ready to fire. In that case, he had better get away from the door quickly, as he no longer had a shell to protect himself.

He took two guns in each hand and leapt down. Running to Allison, he pointed to the end of the row of lockers. "Go, go!" Trying not to panic, Allison obeyed. She ran as hard as she could, knowing that Raphael's reaction could only mean one thing. Feeling his hand on her back as he pushed her on, Allison flinched as she waited for the sound of the blast.

At the end of the row, Raphael thought he could hear the sound of blasters being charged up. He took hold of Allison and pushed her against the corner between the last locker and the wall. Out of habit, he covered her with his body, even though he was now just as susceptible to harm as she was. This thought only just managed to enter his mind when he heard the deafening sound of three crates of laser guns being blasted.

They were mostly safe from the flying debris, but Raphael did feel some bits of wood bite into his torso. He tried not to wince in front of Allison, but he couldn't help it; human flesh was so much more sensitive than that of reptiles.

When the airborne rubble became inconsequential, Raphael managed a glance behind him. He could hardly see where the doorway had been, as the dense smoke acted as a wall. He knew he had a chance.

"Here," he said, giving Allison two of the guns in his hands. Each of the guns had straps, and he threw one over his right shoulder, holding the other one in his left hand. Allison followed suit. Taking her free hand, Raphael told her, "C'mon, we haven't got much time."

Without another word, they ran into the smoke, Allison being mostly led by Raphael as she hoped that he had managed to maintain most of his night vision. It seemed that that had not been affected by his transformation as he shot a couple of blasts into what she saw to be empty smoke. She thought she heard men screaming and bodies falling, but her ears were still ringing from the explosion and she was too preoccupied by the debris tearing into the soles of her feet.

She could feel herself bumping into the doorframe and then into various people as she and Raphael sped down a corridor. The smoke was less thick out here, so she could see several men dressed in black being shot down by Raphael, who seemed determined to get to a set of double doors at the end of the hall. When the doors slid open, Allison realized that it was an elevator. Half a dozen more men marched out, all quickly taken out by Raphael. "Sorry guys," he grunted as he stepped over them and pulled Allison into the elevator. "This car's full."

He shot blindly out into the corridor, mostly to act as a deterrent so that the elevator doors could close. Once they were shut inside, Raphael looked around. It looked like there was an emergency escape shaft sealed off by the light fixture. He decided there was only one way to find out. Pushing Allison to one side of the wall, he shot up at the ceiling.

As the light fixture came crashing down, Allison covered her ears and yelled. "What did you do that for!" Without giving her an answer, Raphael managed to leap up to the passage, glad that his lack of a shell at least made him lighter on his feet. With minimal effort, he pulled himself out of the elevator car and turned to give Allison an assist. She seemed puzzled, but soon enough caught on that the elevator would be stopped by Bishop or his men and so they needed to get out before it stalled. Taking his hand, Allison allowed Raphael to pull her out.

He held onto her tightly in the dark, narrow shaft. The elevator was still going up, but he could bet that that would either change or he wouldn't want to face whatever would be waiting for it. Breathing hard, Raphael walked Allison to the other end of the shaft, where the doors would open. He tensed when he realized she put an arm around him and found the splinters of debris in his flesh. Before she could say anything, Raphael jumped off the ascending car and onto the ledge of another floor, pushing Allison as close to the closed doors as possible.

Allison's heart jumped to her throat as she felt herself being pulled away from the rapidly rising elevator. She could feel her bare ankle hanging above an untold number of stories, while the only thing keeping her from falling backwards was a creature who was now only human. As the car zipped passed her and blew her hair around her face, Allison wondered how she ended up doing more stunts in real life than she did whilst filming her movie.

The two of them pressed against the closed double doors, panting. Allison was panting because she couldn't believe she had just done that. Raphael, on the other hand… simply had not gotten used to the lack of endurance his new body had. I dunno if I can live like this for the rest 'a my life, he thought. The idea brought a shudder to him, and he decided it best to move on, rather than think about the lasting consequences of that night.

Raphael pressed his ear against the doors, listening intently in the hopes of discovering whether they should go up the shaft manually or attempt to explore one of the landings. Not hearing anything, Raphael decided to go for it.

Looking down at the gun in his hand, he carefully let go of Allison and fiddled with the settings. He hoped that these things worked similarly to the weapons he had worked with in the past. Setting it on its lowest frequency, he aimed it at the topmost corner of the left hand door, telling Allison, "Watch your head and hope this works."

Allison cringed, expecting to go blind from a bright flash going off in such a tight space. Instead, she was relieved to see that she hardly noticed when he shot at all. He managed to disengage the left door, and together, they succeeded in slowly prying it away without too many worries about their balance.

Once the door was out of the way, Raphael held onto Allison as she slid into the opening and into a new room. He followed quickly behind her, not daring to leave her alone for even a few seconds. What he saw in the room was enough to make him shiver.

"Great," he muttered. "Another lab. Just what the mad scientist ordered."

Allison stepped inside, looking about the dark laboratory. Various pieces of equipment jutted out at odd angles, giving her a sense of awkwardness. She felt sick to realize that—even with the apparently modern touches—is still seemed reminiscent of the lab of Dr. Frankenstein. Wrapping her arms around herself as she took wary yet curious steps into the room, Allison gasped, "Does the government actually fund that psycho for all of this stuff?"

With her back turned to him, Raphael took this opportunity to pick the splinters out of his side, wiping the blood away from his relatively-pale skin as best as he could. "You'd be surprise what idiots with fancy titles like 'President' can get away with doing," he remarked bitterly. "Especially when they think it's for the good 'a their country. Personally, I'd work on fixin' up our sewer systems, but I guess everybody's got their bias."

Allison didn't answer right away. Wondering if she had wandered off, Raphael glanced up. She had turned to him, looking worriedly down at his injuries. "Jeez," he breathed, already anticipating her thoughts. "Just a couple 'a scratches, so don't start." Straightening up, he went to move past her. "C'mon. Let's see if there's anything useful around."

He stopped when he felt her grab his wrist. "Raphael," she said quietly but firmly. "You're hurt." Before he could object, she strapped the gun she was holding onto her shoulder and gently touched his wounds. He involuntarily shivered. It was partly because of the flicker of pain that came from the gashes, but it was also… something else. Human flesh was so much more sensitive than that of reptiles. Though her touch wasn't necessarily more pleasant now, it was certainly… different.

Allison squinted down at the injuries Raphael had already managed to sustain. She didn't dare put too much pressure on them, as she knew from experience that Raphael would never bother to tell her that she was hurting him. She could feel the sticky blood dripping down and gently dabbed at it with the long sleeve of her shirt. She thought about looking for a lamp so that she could get a good look at what she was dealing with, but didn't want to risk signaling anyone to their location.

This was an odd situation for Allison. Just the day before, she had been worried that she might have been coming down with something. And now she had managed to go in and out of a mutation and was standing half-naked with the human form of someone she had only previously known as a turtle. And he was hurt. And there were people chasing after them. And they didn't know where they were. And they were alone. She felt vulnerable, and she hated it.

Clearing her throat, Allison said, "Guess you're not as tough-skinned as you normally are, huh?" She looked up at him at that, and stopped. Confused, she noted that he was looking at her with a strange expression on his face. She was about to ask him what was wrong when he lowly responded, "Yeah. Not as tough."

Raphael could see her swallow uncertainly. He wondered if his face was more expressive now than it had always been, and for a moment he feared what it was that she saw in it. He didn't know if he was concerned that she got the wrong impression… or if she had gotten the right one.

Glancing down, Raphael was surprised to see that he had put a hand on her waist, almost as though he meant to embrace her. A peculiar sense of disconnectedness suddenly came over him as he realized that it seemed as though she were expecting something from him. Was she? Or was it simply his imagination?

Deciding to find out for sure, Raphael slowly leaned into her. He could see her tense up a bit, but she didn't pull back. Then it wasn't his imagination. This was really happening. He was really about to ki-

A sudden creaking sound came from the darkness, startling Allison and causing her to break away. Blinking in surprise, Raphael straightened up and breathed deeply, trying to push out whatever thoughts had overcome his mind. He didn't understand why he couldn't sense it before, but he could sense it now. They weren't alone.

Wiping her palms against her sides, Allison looked about nervously. She was also flustered, not knowing what had come over her. Thankfully, she had enough sense to not worry about that now and simply get one of her guns ready as she surveyed her surroundings.

Whatever had made the sound clearly did not mean to make another one. Silence infected the lab, adding to the already-awkward air between Allison and Raphael. Biting her lip, Allison cautiously took a few steps forwards. She could tell from the corner of her eye that Raphael was shadowing her every move.

Both of his lasers out, Raphael's sharp eyes scanned the entire room. The sound had come from somewhere to the left of them, if he pinpointed it correctly. A large rectangular outcropping poked up from that direction, looking rather similar to the tables that he and Allison had been strapped to not too long ago. That was when Raphael began to have a very, very bad feeling about this.

Allison gasped and turned sharply, having thought she had seen something swiftly cross by her left. Raphael pivoted, catching a glimpse of something to his right. Their backs to one another, both of them wondered if there was more than one attacker or, even scarier, only one.

Allison suddenly felt Raphael's arm around her waist and realized she was falling downwards. There was shooting involved as Raphael called, "Watch your head!" Quick to obey, Allison threw her free arm up over her head as Raphael tackled her to the ground. He landed solidly on top of her, but quickly rolled off and continued shooting.

Allison warily peeked up to face their unseen opponent. It took her a moment to recognize him. He seemed taller and was no longer covered by his odd bandages. Nonetheless, Allison had to hold back a shocked scream when she realized who it was.

Standing a few yards away from them was the Rat King.