The deafening sound of the first explosion shocked Raphael, who dropped his phone on the ground, and hurried to his bedroom door, concerned about his brothers and desperate to find them. Opening the door, he stepped out into the passage and called, "Guys, ya okay? What happened? Guys? Leo? Mikey? Donnie?" He made his way to the lounge, spotted an olive green prone figure in the debris that littered everywhere, and, his heart pounding, he raced to Donnie and screamed, "Donnie! It's me, Raph. Gonna get ya outta here, bro." But before he could commence, a second blast occurred, caving the roof in and sending Raphael flying backwards and landing on the ground with a dull thud. As he shielded his face, the debris continued to rain down, some of it landing on him and pinning him to the ground. After checking that no bones were broken and with a loud grunt, Raphael slowly lifted the rubble off of himself and sat up, taking in the effects of the explosion. The lounge and most of the lair was a trainwreck that would take weeks, maybe months to repair, but that was the least of his concerns. He needed to find his brothers and fast. "Guys?" he called anxiously, standing up. "Guys, if ya can hear me, say somethin'. Please."

"Raph?" Leo choked out from nearby, still buried underneath the rubble.

After rushing in the direction of Leo's voice, Raphael began to lift the heavy rubble off of him and said, "Gonna get ya outta here, Leo. Hang on."

"It hurts so bad, Raph. I can't breathe."

"Sh, Fearless. Try not ta panic."

"I think my leg's broken or worse. Have you found Mikey and Donnie?"

Raphael ignored the question and continued to move the heavy rubble until all of it was off of his brother. Then, panting heavily, he stared at his eldest brother, whose face was ashen, pain etched on his handsome face, cuts and lacerations all over his plastron. "My leg. Is it broken?" Leo asked again. "And my plastron?"

Raphael's heart sank at seeing the awkward angle of Leo's leg. He was no doc, but he knew it didn't look good. It might even have to be amputated. His stomach tightening in knots, he gently touched Leo's leg, making him whine, and said, "I ain't no doc, Leo."

"But you've seen enough injuries to know what it could be. Be honest, Raph."

Raphael was saved from answering, when an ear-splitting cry sounded. Mikey, Raphael thought and ran in the direction of his brother's voice. "I'm here, Mikey," he said. "Gonna be okay, bro. Hang on."

"Leo? Donnie?" Mikey asked from beneath the rubble. "They okay, Raph?"

"I found Leo and we're gonna find Donnie, okay? Ya hurt?" Raphael asked, moving the rubble off of him.

"My arms and hands hurt, Raph. Real bad," Mikey wailed. "And my left leg. So bad. I think they're broken."

"Almost there, bro. There. We're done," Raphael said triumphantly, as he lifted the last piece of rubble, but his elation at freeing his brother vanished when he saw the extent of his injuries. Mikey's arms stuck out at awkward angles, the bones piercing through his skin, and his hands appeared crushed. The same with his leg. Raphael thought in dread, he may have ta have them amputated and if I can't find Donnie, it's gonna be me doin' it. No way. I ain't got experience with operations!

"And, Raph?" Mikey said. "Think they're just broken?"

"I need ta find Donnie. Hang on."

"It still hurts, Raph."

"Raph?" Leo moaned. "Need you. I don't mean to be a pain, but it's so sore."

And I can't get ta the lab, Raphael thought despondently. It's barricaded by rubble. What the shell am I gonna do? I need medication for them and medical tools. All in the lab and infirmary. Shell, we're all screwed. Pinching the bridge between his nose, Raphael said, "Try ta hang on a bit longer, okay, bro?"

"I can't!" Mikey bawled. "It hurts so bad. Make the pain go away, please. Please."

Just then the sound of groaning could be heard, and his heart racing in excitement, Raphael ran in the direction of the sound and said, "I'm here, Donnie. Gonna be okay, bro. I'm movin' the rubble, okay?" Raphael began to lift the heavy rubble off of his brother, praying that his injuries weren't as severe as those of his other brothers. "Ya hurt bad?"

"No. Only my head hurts, so I think I just have concussion. How are Leo and Mikey? You find them? Do you know what happened? Who did this?"

"That's the last bit of debris. Yer free now," Raphael said, moving the last bit off of Donnie.

Donnie sat up, smiled gratefully and said, "Thanks, Raph. You all right?'

"Yeah."

"And the others?"

"Raph!" Mikey screamed. "Please. I can't wait any longer!"

"You didn't answer my questions, Raph," Donnie said.

"Truthfully, I ain't no doc, Donnie, so it's best ya see them for yerself, but my gut feelin' is it's real bad. Mikey and Leo need operations and unless we get into the lab and infirmary, which are barricaded by rubble, ta get the medical supplies, there's nothin' we can do. We can't even give them pain pills."

Don slowly rose to his feet and said, "What operations are we talking about?"

"Amputations."

Don sucked in a deep breath and said, "I was hoping that would never happen. We're ninjas, Raph, and fighting is our job. That's our purpose. If we can't do that…If Leo and Mikey can't do that anymore, what the shell are they going to do? Leo, especially, will go crazy, being confined to the lair and he'll feel useless and a burden. It'll just be me and you patrolling and defending the city. That's not how it should be, Raph. It should be us four."

"I know," Raphael said, fighting back tears. "Damn it. I wish it were me instead of them."

"And I've never performed amputations before. What if I screw up? All kinds of infections can occur if the wounds aren't sterilized enough and…." Donnie said, his eyes filling with tears. "That could lead to sepsis and death."

"Raph!" Mikey mewled. "Please. Need meds. It's throbbing like crazy."

Don and Raphael forced themselves to be strong and went over to their brothers. "Hey, Mikey," Don said, looking at his fallen brother's injuries, his heart shattering in two, because they were as severe as he'd feared. Raph's right, he thought. Mikey's hands and arms appear crushed and so is his leg. He's going to need….

What's the verdict, Doc?" Mikey asked. "Broken and you can fix, right?"

"I don't know, Mikey," Don lied. "I'll know better when we can get into the lab and infirmary and I can use my medical tools to examine you. We can only do that once me and Raph have moved the rubble blocking the path to and in front of the lab and infirmary. That'll take some time, so I need you and Leo to be patient, okay?"

"And me, Don?" Leo asked. "I will be able to still be a ninja again, right? It's not mangled too badly?"

Going over to Leo, Don said, "As I told Mikey, I'll examine you both properly when I can. Try to relax."

"And you and Raph are okay?" Leo asked.

"We're fine, Leo," Raphael said. "Now, I want ya ta stay calm. We'll be back as soon as we can, okay?"

Leo nodded, and, trying to ignore his aching leg, said, "I'm glad it was me and not you guys."

Donnie and Raphael then started moving the rubble, as fast as they could, trying to clear a path to the lab and infirmary, occasionally taking little breaks from the strenuous work.

xxx

Two hours later, the backbreaking work was finished, and Donnie and Raphael headed back to their brothers. "All done," Raphael said. "Now, we're gonna take ya ta the infirmary and Donnie will check ya out." He lifted Leo up into his strong arms, the forest green turtle gritting his teeth in agony, and carried him to the infirmary. After placing Leo onto a stretcher, the emerald skinned turtle went to help Donnie pick up a shrieking Mikey. They carried him to the infirmary and placed him onto a stretcher.

"Now," Donnie said, getting his medical supplies. "I can properly examine you. Let's start with you, Leo." Leo squeezed his eyes shut, fearful the news was going to be awful. If my leg is too mangled, I can never be a ninja again. What the shell will I do, he thought in despair? And I know Raph would be a good leader, but that was my role. What use would I be to anyone then? No. Please let it be just broken.

Raphael took his hand, squeezed it and said, "It's gonna be okay, Leo. I promise. Me and Donnie will do all we can ta help ya and Mikey, okay?"

"Okay," Leo whispered, his eyes still closed.

"I trust you guys," Mikey said bravely, as the pain still coursed through his body.

After several minutes of examining Leo, Donnie said with a sigh of relief, "The bone's sticking out of your leg, Leo, and it's a bad break, but it's repairable with a splint or cast, which I can do and will shortly. You'll be up and walking in six to eight weeks. Your plastron is fine apart from nicks and cuts, but they'll heal too. A full recovery."

"I can still be a ninja?" Leo said excitedly, his eyes shining in happiness. "Really?"

"Yeah, bro," Raphael said. "And when yer better, I'm gonna beat ya at sparrin'."

"Dream on!" Leo said. "Wow. Really?"

"Yes," Raphael said, squeezing his hand again. "Yer gonna be just fine, Fearless. I'm gonna be there for ya every step of the way and help ya."

"Thanks, Raph. I appreciate it."

"No problem. What are bros for?" Raphael said, gently pulling his hand away.

"Now me," Mikey said, hoping his diagnosis was just as good.

Donnie examined him, and after several minutes, choked out, tears raining down his face, "Mikey, it's not good. I'm sorry."

"What do you mean?" Mikey asked anxiously, his blue eyes wide in panic. "You can fix me, like you can, Leo, right? My limbs are just broken."

Raphael and Leo looked at Donnie, their hearts sinking, as Donnie said, "Your limbs are crushed and unusable, Mikey. I have to amputate them. I'm so sorry. I wish…"

Mikey let out a guttural scream that pierced his brothers' hearts and Raphael thought, as he cried unashamedly, I wish it was me. Not Mikey. Not sweet, loveable, Mikey, who's gonna be a triple amputee. How is he gonna fight? How are we gonna get all the medical stuff we need ta build prosthesis's? They're expensive and even if we could get them, how could we afford them? Fuck. It should have been me!

A/N Poor Mikey. Can he ever fight again? How will he deal with his injuries?

Thanks to all following. :)