"Sir, there appears to be a problem."

Bishop remained motionless for a moment. His hands clasped behind his back, he turned slowly on his heels. It was never difficult for him to retain his composure, but this situation was trying his patience.

"Problem?" Facing Captain Austen, Bishop narrowed his eyes sternly. "No, Austen. A problem would be discovering the elevator is out of order. When the elevator has participated in the disappearance of one and a half mutants, we've escalated just slightly above the realm of 'problem.'"

"Er, see… about that…." Austen cleared his throat, trying his best not to show his discomfort. He had seen what happens to men who are visibly fidgety in front of Bishop. "We've actually… tracked down said mutants." Bishop's eyes lit up as he asked where. Austen tried his best to stall without appearing to stall. Finally, he said, "The last place we traced them to was the lab on B7… before it… exploded."

Bishop kept silent before raising a single eyebrow. "B7? Exploded?" Austen nodded hesitantly. Though his hands were out of sight, Bishop's fists were clenched tight. "I see. Has anything been… recovered?"

Austen knew both of the connotations of this statement. On one hand, his superior wanted to know if the missing mutants had been captured. On the other, he was also checking in on the status of his… project. "It seems that the Slayer has been severely and fundamentally damaged."

"What exactly do you mean by 'fundamentally?'"

Another moment of silence passed before Austen could finally bring himself to explain. "It seems that some corrosive compound had been used. Its flesh is all but rotted through, and it seems that it has lost its sense of sight. Aside from that, its mental soundness now seems to be nonexistent, as it ran past us screaming incoherently."

Bishop unclasped his hands from behind him, taking a step towards Austen. "Are you saying," Bishop growled with the smallest hint of disbelief, "that you've managed to lose both the mutants and the newly-renovated Slayer?"

Austen seemed to choke on his words as Bishop continued to advance upon him. The only thing that kept this from turning into a vicious attack was the sudden flashing red light followed by a blaring alarm. As Austen looked around, momentarily confused, a guard ran into the room and called out, "Security breach, sir!"

Another snarl rumbling in his throat, Bishop pushed past Austen and left the room. His head throbbing, he walked into the surveillance room and asked what the situation was. A technician brought his attention to a radar screen. "A large aircraft is closing in fast! It's like nothing I've ever seen before."

Bishop squinted at the screen, noting the expanse of the blip. "I have," he whispered lowly. "Triceratons." A more experienced personnel member incredulously asked, "Triceratons? But we haven't had dealings with them in ages!"

Before Bishop could even have the chance to answer, the Triceraton ship opened fire. They only had three floors above ground, and these were mostly inconsequential. Somehow, Bishop felt that their attackers knew this. He stared grimly at the screen as the infrastructure trembled and his men continued to wait for orders from him.

"I suggest we find out what our new guests want."

--------------------------------

"Donnie, are you nuts!"

Michelangelo dug his fingers into his brother's shoulder just as Donatello released twin missiles at their destination. "What if you just blew Raph and Allison to little bits?" Shrugging Michelangelo's hand off of him, Donatello shook his head. "Not likely. As we know from the past, Bishop knows better than to keep his real base of operations where anyone could see them. He's most likely underground, and we're going straight for the root."

Unconvinced, Casey remarked, "What ever happened to all your stealthy ninja training? We just pretty much jumped out right in front of 'em and told 'em we're here." It was April's turn to shake her head as she looked out into the rubble that they were approaching. "With a spaceship this big, they've probably picked up on us anyway. Rather than trying to sneak in and giving them time to defend themselves, we're better off going full speed ahead."

Michelangelo and Casey blinked at one another as April released another shot. "How ya like that?" Casey asked. "And it's me 'n Raph that are supposed to be the hotheads of the group."

Leonardo said nothing. Though he was behind the others and slightly out of earshot, he could feel in the pit of his stomach that they were dipping in altitude, and quickly. Testing his injured ankle, he found that he could put all of his weight on it and successfully repress a wince. He wanted to grumble to himself about how useless this made him feel, but didn't want to be overheard. Looking up, he saw that he didn't need to worry about that.

Michelangelo was looking at him with concern. "Hey bro, you wait in the plane, okay? Be our car alarm-" He didn't even get the chance to finish before Leonardo forcefully said, "No!" Standing up shakily, Leonardo insisted, "Raph and Allison are in danger, and we need to pull them out. All of us. Rope burn isn't exactly a cause for alarm."

"The problem with you is," Casey brought up, "you think that every boo-boo's a 'cause for alarm'… except for your own." Leonardo sighed and was about to begin to argue when April turned around and looked at him. "Casey's right, Leo. Sit this one out. If we get in a tight spot, you'll be our backup. I'd feel better knowing we've got one of our best on reserve rather than risk you getting hurt over something so simple."

Seeing April's point, Leonardo reluctantly nodded his head in agreement. Casey simply gawked at April. "'scuse me," he remarked, "but can ya say that again?" April asked what he was talking about, and Casey explained, "Those first two words ya started with. I think the first one was my name and the other one was 'right.'"

"Get ready for a crash landing, guys!" Donatello's voice called out. Michelangelo quickly went to hold onto Leonardo just before the space cruiser began trembling. Distracted, Casey lost his balance and ended up throwing his arms around April, nearly sprawling behind her. "Whoa!"

Donatello held the controls as steady as he could as he sent the space cruiser down towards the still-smoking hole in the ground. A glance told him that he and April were right. The blast seemed to have damaged a good deal of equipment, but the real base of operations was in the lower levels that they were swiftly approaching. He could see a few of Bishop's men scurrying about, either to get clear of them or to arm themselves. Silently, Donatello begged for Raphael and Allison to be all right.

As they touched ground, April shrugged Casey off of her and stood from her seat. "Come on," she said, tugging the still-dazed man behind her. "The exit hatch is facing a wall. If we slip out of there while they're still confused, we've got the element of surprise on our side."

"Y'mean," Michelangelo spoke up, "we didn't have the element of surprise when we said, 'Ding-dong, Torpedo Cosmetics calling?'" He was duly ignored as Donatello opened the hatch and killed the engine. Grabbing his bo, he pulled Michelangelo behind him. "Try acting like a ninja for once, huh?"

Leonardo watched them all go, frustrated with himself. Though he wanted to go and help his brothers, he knew that going out with a minor injury that might worsen was a bad idea. It was something that seemed more in character with Raphael, as a matter of fact. With a heavy sigh as Michelangelo waved to him before jumping out, Leonardo unsheathed his swords and sat back down, still prepared for anything.

Outside, standing in the small space between the cruiser and the wall, Donatello looked about. Casey was keeping watch on one side of them, April on the other. Looking up, Donatello saw what looked like an air duct. Under his breath, he murmured, "What I wouldn't give for Raphael's sais right now."

"No problem, bro."

Donatello looked to see Michelangelo twirling the chain of the ancient weapon Leonardo had given him from Allison's apartment. Ducking and throwing his hands over his head, Donatello feared the worst. As he gained the right momentum, Michelangelo fluidly tossed the sharpened end of the chain up towards the duct, catching it and managing to tear it free. Jumping away from the twisted metal, Donatello gaped at his brother, who was grinning at him broadly. "All in the wrist," Michelangelo remarked before leaping up into the pipeline.

Casey and April drew towards Donatello, looking up after Michelangelo. "Hey, where'd Mikey get the new toys?" Casey asked. Shaking his head, Donatello told him that it was better not to ask. Without another word, the three of them followed after the buoyant turtle.

From his post within the space cruiser, Leonardo warily kept an eye out for any movement through the window or open hatch. As time crept on, he stood and took a seat in the cockpit, just in case a speedy escape was necessary. His mind raced with all of the possible things that Bishop could have been planning and he decided that, if it took more than an hour for the others to return, he would take off and simply blast his way to them. Bishop wouldn't tear his family apart anymore. Not if he had anything to say about it.

Apparently, the few people that had been on this level had escaped and didn't plan on facing down an unidentified spaceship. Most of them were probably back with Bishop. Leonardo's sharp eyes went over the vicinity, thankful for its apparent desertion. It only made him all the more tense when he saw a figure emerge from a door a few yards ahead of him.

The door cracked open and a man slipped in. It looked as though he may have been in the room when the blast first sounded, as he looked disheveled and his clothing was hanging on him by threads. He looked about the room and, catching sight of the space cruiser, seemed to tense up. Leonardo sunk down in his chair, thankful that the darkness prevented him from being seen.

It wasn't until the man sidestepped into the room that Leonardo saw that he had a tight grip on someone's wrist. Leonardo slowly leaned forward as the person pulled someone else into the room. The turtle felt a lump in his throat when he recognized the frightened girl as Allison.

Careful to stick to the shadows, Leonardo slid out of his seat, never taking his eyes off of the pair as he made his way towards the open hatch. From what he could gather, this was one of Bishop's goons who went to grab Allison, hoping to use her as a shield against whoever might be inside the spacecraft. The thought made Leonardo's blood boil as he lightly stepped out of the space cruiser and went around towards the back of it.

Crouched down and being able to see the feet of the approaching pair from underneath the spaceship, Leonardo held his breath and waited for them to get closer. Allison's bare legs were shaking, and she was obviously hesitant to go near the unknown craft that caused such a powerful explosion. The man, however, was a bit more confident. Leonardo wondered if he didn't recognize it as a Triceraton craft and somehow suspected that the turtles were about.

Standing, Leonardo peered towards the side just as the man pulled Allison towards the hatch. He looked from the opening to the warped covering on the floor that Michelangelo had worked on, then up to the air duct. He dropped Allison's hand and stepped towards it, seeming almost to contemplate jumping up there himself. He wasn't given the chance.

Catching only a small whisper of sound, the man whirled around just as his shoulder was grabbed and he was slammed against the wall by Leonardo. He grunted loudly in pain, but was immediately shut up by a large green fist jabbing him in the stomach. Leonardo let him go as he doubled over and fell to the ground.

Having registered the fact that Allison had cried out, Leonardo turned to her, aiming to comfort her and tell her that he was going to get her out of here. He was surprised, then, when he saw that she had fallen to the ground besides the coughing man, an arm protectively around him as she asked if he was all right.

Blinking, Leonardo was numb for a moment. Slowly crouching down besides the two of them, he thought that this may be a younger recruit of Bishop's who decided to turn against him, and had helped Allison escape. After a moment, he finally asked, "Did I miss something?"

Allison looked up at him, seeming to repress concerned tears. "Leonardo," she whispered, trying hard not to cry. She wiped at her eyes with one hand, the other arm still over the curled-up man. "I… you…." At a loss for words, she finally sighed. "You don't know how happy I am to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Allison," Leonardo replied, still feeling uncomfortable with this stranger in between the two of them. "And you're back to normal, too. This is great. The guys are here, along with April and Casey." He took out his shell cell, ready to make a call. "I'll let them know that you're here, and once they find Raph, we'll haul shell out of here."

At this, she looked down. "Leo… that's not gonna be necessary." A sharp stab of fear went through Leonardo as his thoughts turned cold. Unable to form a response, he waited until Allison was ready to speak. Looking back up at him, she finished, "Raphael's right here."

Dropping his shell cell, it was all Leonardo could do to merely gape at her for a moment before lowering his eyes to the man who slowly seemed to be getting over the pain. It was plain to see at a single glance that, even if they found the makings of a fantastic disguise, the crumpled heap in front of him was definitely not a turtle. He couldn't deny, however, that the man's bitter smirk seemed oddly reminiscent of his brother's. It was the distinctive, gruff voice that floored him most. "Thanks a lot, bro," was the sarcastic remark.

"R-Raph?" The human moved to get up, and Leonardo offered him a hand. Accepting it, Raphael slowly made it to his feet, still coughing slightly from the stinging pain of the attack. "Yeah," he responded. "And if I wasn't so beat up right now, you'd be dead meat."

Standing, Leonardo stuttered for a moment, trying to form the words. Still looking up worriedly from the floor at Raphael's wounds, Allison explained, "Bishop tried to reverse Raphael's mutation and turn him back into a turtle. Instead… well… this happened." Raphael noticed that Allison's voice came from below and, observing her concerned looks, rolled his eyes. "I'll be fine, kid," he moaned dismissively. "Once I get used to this body, everything's gonna be just peachy."

"Used to this body?" Leonardo asked, surprised. "You don't have to get used to it, Raph. Can't Donnie or Leatherhead change you back?" Raphael was about to answer, but stopped himself. Closing his mouth and looking blankly past Leonardo, it seemed as though he were seriously considering something for the first time in his life. Leonardo examined him carefully. After a moment, Raphael's eyes dropped down to Allison and stayed there, a strange look overcoming his entire face.

Just as Leonardo thought he may have uncovered the answer to Raphael's hesitance to change back into a turtle, a quick movement from the corner of his eye broke him out of his scrutiny. Instinctually taking a step back, he looked up just as a large figure threw itself down from the top of the space cruiser. As it collided with Raphael, Allison screamed and fell backwards.

"I can still see you," the disfigured creature hissed, digging his nails into Raphael's throat. "Though you try and try and try, I can still see you without my eyes, just as my subjects can catch their prey by their very scent." Allison tried to stand to find her laser, but Leonardo called for her to stay down. At the sound of his voice, the creature ceased his attack on Raphael and immediately turned to face Leonardo.

With a wave of nausea, Leonardo saw a blistered face with what looked like sacs of pus for eyes. Either the lips were gone or the teeth were bared in a perpetual snarl. "You," the thing said. "The leader. The one who thought it was so simple to be rid of me." Before Leonardo knew what was happening, the figure was on his feet and had lunged at him. Leonardo kept him at bay with his katana.

A stench of sulfur and burnt flesh emanated from the creature, but the words and voice were enough of an identification. Pushing him away with his blades, Leonardo bent his knees, ready for battle. "So, Bishop dragged your carcass back from Central Park, just like the scavenger he is."

The Rat King growled and lunged again, causing Allison to cry out. Deflecting the attack, Leonardo called, "Get inside the ship, and take Raph with you! Go!" Knowing that she would have normally objected, Leonardo could only imagine what she and Raphael had gone through as she quickly took Raphael's hands and struggled to get him to his feet, leading him to safety.

"Like rats in a trap," the deranged creature murmured. Crossing past the Rat King, Leonardo replied, "Accurate metaphor." It was clear that, whatever had happened that had given his opponent this new grotesque appearance, it had also done something to make him go even further off the deep end. With an animalistic yell that assailed Leonardo's hearing, the creature lunged again, this time mindless of the swords that stood in his way.

Seeing no other choice but to put this degenerated creation out of its misery once again, Leonardo pierced his sides with the point of his blades. He was shocked when he realized that the being didn't even seem to notice the blow, and instead delivered a solid punch to the turtle's face. Leonardo went sailing backwards, losing his grip on his katana and hitting a wall.

Shaking his head and trying to get his bearings straight, Leonardo quickly made his way back to his feet and tried to think of how to get his swords back. The thought no sooner crossed his mind than he saw the Rat King withdraw the katana from his flesh, letting out another growl.

With a small cry, Leonardo watched as his blades were effortlessly broken in half.

--------------------------------

Michelangelo stopped crawling when he heard Bishop's voice.

His sudden pause caused Casey to bump into him. "Hey, gimme some warning, will ya Mikey? I don't wanna end up with turtle butt in my face." Having a better sense of hearing, April reached over and put a hand over Casey's mouth. In the silence, Casey suddenly heard it, too. Bishop was nearby.

With extra caution, the four of them noiselessly made their way to the source of the voice. They came across another air vent, and Michelangelo moved so that both he and Casey could peer into the room. Neither of them liked what they saw.

Bishop was out of his normal suit and tie, instead wearing his high-tech body armor. He was in the process of suiting up his wrist-mounted laser, speaking to the constant lackey, Baxter Stockman. "What exactly are you trying to say, Dr. Stockman?"

Despite his lack of a face, Stockman was very clearly exasperated. "I'm not trying to say anything. I believe I'm being rather clear, given the facts. The girl was seen in the company of a man dressed as one of your guards. The eyebrow-raiser here is that, upon opening his mouth, he sounded just like that meddlesome turtle."

"And so this turtle is disguised and on the loose. Your serum didn't work on him." Even more aggravated, Stockman clenched a robotic fist. "No, you igno-… no. No, that's not what I'm saying." Getting more impatient by the second, Bishop coldly replied, "Then explain."

Donatello strained to hear what was going on, being furthest away from the grate. Just as Stockman began what was supposed to be a clear explanation, Donatello gasped as his shell cell suddenly vibrated against him. April whirled her head back towards him as he fumbled to answer it, hoping the buzzing hadn't been audible to someone as far away as Bishop and Stockman were.

"Yeah?" Donatello whispered into his communicator in the thinnest voice possible. A vaguely familiar voice called, "Donatello? Don, is that you?" Donatello replied that it was, and the caller seemed relieved. "Donatello, it's Allison."

"Allison?" He struggled to keep his voice in control, not wanting his own relief to get the better of him. "Allison, you're okay! You are okay, right? Where are you?" Noting the whispers and somehow thinking it best that she lower her voice as well, Allison told him that she had picked up Leonardo's shell cell to alert him and the others.

"We've got Raphael in the ship. Leonardo's taking care of… well… let's just say one of Bishop's 'friends.' Donatello, you and the others need to come back and get us out of here now. Raphael… he's gotten knocked around a bit and… he's not looking too good. I'm… I'm really worried."

"Relax, Allison," Donatello said comfortingly. "Raph's used to getting knocked around. He can take it." Despite his reassurance, he didn't like the near-sobbing quality of Allison's voice. In response to him, Allison remarked, "Yeah, the old Raphael could take it. I'm not too sure about the new Raphael."

Donatello was about to ask what she meant when Michelangelo suddenly screamed, "Fire in the hole!" He rolled away from the group as Casey pushed back on April and Donatello. Donatello scattered as much as he could just as the vent that Casey and Michelangelo had been peering through evaporated with a loud bang. Remembering the shell cell in his hand, Donatello stuttered, "Uh, how about I get back to you on that?"

Putting the communicator away, he quickly followed as April and the others leapt out of the gaping hole where the duct had been, revealing themselves to Bishop and Stockman. "So, the cavalry's come at last," Bishop said mockingly. His nunchucks whirling about in his hands, Michelangelo exclaimed, "That's right! Prepare to be scalped!" Pausing, Michelangelo looked back at the others and said, "Wait, it's the Indians who do that. What cool things to do the cavalry do?"

"Duck!" Casey yelled, grabbing Michelangelo and flying to the ground. Donatello did the same to April as Bishop shot a steady line of laser blasts at the four of them. "Pity," Bishop told them. "If you had arrived only minutes ago, I could have at least let the freaks live. But given the disheartening news I just received, it seems that none of you have any purpose here anymore."

With a tight grip on the hockey stick he had brought with him, Casey rolled and jumped to his feet besides Bishop, meaning to take him off-guard. "I'll show ya a thing or two about purpose, buddy!" He brought his weapon down hard, only to have it deflected by Bishop's upraised arm. Not only was it deflected, but the hook of it flew off, succeeding only in ineffectually hitting against Stockman's metallic torso. Dumbly looking from his wounded weapon to Bishop, Casey asked, "What the heck are ya made outta, anyway? Titanium?"

He received no answer other than a swift hit across the face, sending him flailing back towards where he had come from. "Casey!" April yelled. Donatello held her back, his free hand going into the leather bag he had tied to his belt. "Stay back!" Seeing Donatello's movement, Michelangelo quickly shielded his eyes as Donatello pulled out two dosages of the mercuric fulminate he had procured from Allison's arsenal.

Donatello threw the two spheres down in front of Bishop and Stockman. The friction caused an explosion just big enough to knock the two of them off their feet, but not enough to bother the two turtles and their human comrades. In the thick black smoke that resulted, Donatello told the others, "Back into the pipes! We've got Raph and Allison in the ship, and that's all we came for!"

April helped Casey back up into the duct before climbing up herself. Michelangelo was about to exit before stopping and stating, "Huh, well that was anticlimactic." Donatello merely slapped him in the back of his head, telling him to hurry it up.

By the time the smoke had cleared, Bishop and Stockman were alone in the room.

--------------------------------

"Donatello? Don?"

The abrupt end to their conversation only caused Allison to worry more. Had her call blown Donatello's cover? Was he now in danger? Hating herself for fretting, Allison merely looked down at the shell cell in her hands, wondering how she always managed to screw things up. "Why you always gotta be melodramatic, huh?"

Allison turned around. She was standing at the doorway of a semi-private room within the ship, one with things that seemed like cots. She had laid Raphael on one of these, and he was now sitting upright, rubbing his head and looking at her reproachfully. "Raphael!" Despite his protests, she walked quickly into the room and crouched besides him. "How are you feeling?"

"Hunky-dory, kid," he replied bitterly. "Just like I told ya. Now lemme at that blind maniac and let's get the shell outta here." He tried to stand but stopped when he felt her hand on his chest. "No," she said sternly. "Leonardo's got it under control. You sit here and rest."

"The last time Leo had it 'under control,'" Raphael reminded her, "I was drugged up on Donnie's stupid meds and missed out on all the fun. Now, I'm gonna make it so there's nothin' left 'a the creep for Bishop to salvage for parts." A wide grin emerged, looking far too large for the human face. The expression made Allison shiver.

Noting her apparent discomfort, Raphael softened his voice, but only slightly. "I'm good. Really. Not as thick-skinned as I used to be, but I'm survivin'." Thoroughly unconvinced, Allison peered up at him skeptically. "I'd want you to do more than just survive, Raphael."

This made Raphael look at her oddly once more. Allison had noticed the glance when he was speaking with Leonardo, and realized now that she had seen it once more before. Looking down, she suddenly remembered. It was in the laboratory, just before they nearly… just before the surprise attack by the Rat King.

"Right," Raphael muttered, seeming to clear his throat. "Just… quit worryin'. Donnie and the others'll be back soon, and I'll let 'em patch me up so long's you promise to quit playin' Mommy." He stood and tried to leave once again, but Allison grabbed his wrist and kept him from moving. It seemed that he would have pulled away regardless, until she softly spoke his name. "Raphael?"

It seemed almost as though his back straightened at the sound of her voice. Glancing at her over his shoulder, he asked, "What?" Slowly, Allison rose and hoisted herself onto the cot, gradually pulling Raphael to sit besides her. It seemed foolish to want to talk about something so trivial when Leonardo was out fighting a deranged maniac and the others might at this moment be in similar trouble, but she hoped that, if nothing else, it would at least keep Raphael from going out and getting himself even more hurt.

When Raphael finally consented to sitting, he merely looked at Allison guardedly. Trying to work around the brick wall he suddenly felt he needed to build around himself, Allison quietly asked, "Are you… are you happy?"

"Happy?"

"Well, content. With this."

"With what?"

"Being human."

He stared at her blankly for a moment before turning away and replying, "It's got its perks, I guess." Allison asked what sort of "perks" he meant. Raphael seemed reluctant to answer. Finally, he responded, "I'm lighter on my feet. Once I get used to this, I'll probably be a whole lot faster and agile. Not as strong, maybe, but it'll gimme a reason to work on defensive fightin' instead of offensive, just like Splinter's been tryin' to get me to do." He paused for a moment, and the quality of his voice changed slightly when he continued. "I can go to the movies. Go opening night to a big theatre in the middle of Times Square, with all those other people, and pay my fifteen bucks for a ticket and popcorn and just enjoy it. I guess that means I could watch your movie, too. Yeah, just sit there and watch it and laugh about how far away everything in it seems. How that couldn't have really happened. Not to me. Not to some average Joe', sittin' in Times Square with a bucket 'a popcorn in his lap."

Allison noted the faraway look in his eyes. Maybe this hadn't been so trivial after all. She remembered something Donatello had told her about Raphael long ago, when she had first met them all. He had said, "I guess the thought of being an outcast for the rest of his life pretty much weighs on his mind more than he'd like to admit." Never had she ever seen such a clearer example of this. It made her nearly want to cry.

Maybe this was actually… good for him. Maybe he was fated to become human, and increased interaction with the outside world would make him lose some of his edge. She could get him a job, possibly even as a stunt double on lower-budget pictures that didn't look too far back into a person's credentials, and he'd be happy. Surely, his brothers and Splinter would be supportive of this. It's what he wants… it's what he needs.

Not wanting to disturb his reverie, Allison gently put a hand on his bare arm. She felt a bit hollow, as Raphael had been the one who inadvertently taught her to be content with who you really are, that even outcasts have strength. And yet, as he slowly turned to look at her hand, she saw a sort of bliss that she would have never associated with Raphael. "It sounds great," she told him softly.

Raphael looked up at her. "Yeah," he replied. "But, ya know… no one goes to the movies by themselves, do they?" Allison tilted her head slightly as she responded that it happened, but wasn't usual. "Well," he continued, "might as well have the whole experience, huh?"

Allison raised an eyebrow, hoping to take this lightly. "Are you asking me out on a date, Raphael?" He laughed, though his lack of green coloring made the bright red blush more apparent than it would have been under normal circumstances. "Not a date. Just a couple 'a friends. A couple 'a normal friends goin' out to watch a normal movie on a normal Friday night."

Looking away, Allison covered her face to suppress a laugh. Even with genetic experimentation, mutations, ninjas, and other assorted nonsense, Raphael was still the average teenage boy. He just never had the chance to express it. She put her hand down and was about to comment on how their age difference would probably need to come into consideration even more now that he actually looked as young as he was… until she saw his face.

He was looking down, an arm wrapped around his abdomen. His eyebrows were knit in what could have either been concentration or pain, Raphael's teeth were suddenly gritting. Concerned, Allison put her hand back on his arm. "Raphael?"

She was shocked when he threw her hand off of him and turned away from her. Standing, she looked down as he gave her his back. That's when Allison's worry came back full-fledged. A strange dark discoloration lined his spinal cord, and the skin seemed to be pulled taught over something.

Taking a step back, Allison feared the worst. Had she been right? Was Raphael about to complete his de-mutation and go from human to normal turtle? She tried to be positive and hope that he was simply going back into his normal form, but the blood-curdling scream he emitted made it hard to be an optimist.

"Raphael!" She stepped towards him again and softly touched his shoulder. He only bucked away from her and screamed at her. "Get outta here! Go!" She tried to object, seeing no reason to run or be afraid of him. Circling him so that she could try to look into his eyes, she saw that he had covered his face with his hands. "Just get outta here, Allison!"

The mention of her name, which he so rarely called her by unless he was overcome by emotion, caused her to take a step back again. It was the hand over his face that made her understand. Whatever he was changing into or out of, he didn't want her to see it. He didn't want her to feel for him.

In tears, she sped out of the room.