Summary: Raphael's known for making mistakes, but he went too far. After slitting the throat of an enemy, his life begins to take a turn for the worse. As he is about to meet his end, one of Bishops scientists saves his life, and everything changes. Above his angst and drama, however,
a sinister plan emerges and all Raphael has ever known is at stake.
Rated: T for strong language and strong concepts
Disclaimer's note: I do not own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; Mirage Studios holds the rightful ownership.
Author's note: Oh my goodness, thank you so much for reviewing! I had never expected to get more than zero reviews for my first TMNT story! So a big, big thank you to ChelleNorlund and Kaaayyytteee (sorry if I misspelled that)! And instead of posting the next chapter on the 22nd, I've decided to go ahead and post it now. Enjoy!
I had started the project with a sense of adventure and hope. I left with a sense of confusion and betrayal. I thought we were researching an inexpensive and quick cure for malaria under a government grant, but truly, I was studying mutations in humanoid subjects. These humanoid subjects were mainly turtles; it had struck me as odd that I had only been dealing with turtles when the virus in question mainly affected mammals. They insisted, however, that picking apart the mutations in a humanoid turtle would unlock the key to a malaria vaccine.
I didn't question their authority, because I desperately wanted to make a change in the world. I wanted more than anything to help people on a larger scale and to save millions of lives. I was the only rookie on the team, and the only female on the undergraduate team. There was a tall, raven-haired beauty on the graduate team but she never looked my way. And with my curly blonde hair and chubby cheeks, no one seemed to take me seriously on the team.
They always saw me as cute little Kristine, not as a future scientist, so I was left out of important discussions and kept in the dark about our projects. I quickly learned how odd our project was when I began to break out in purple hives after handling a slimy green liquid in a biohazard chamber. The bumps scared me half to death, but I couldn't tell my supervisors. I was always horrible at putting hazmat suits on, and what if they decided to take me off of the team because of it? No. I couldn't let that happen. I had to save the world.
In the break room the next day, I saw the same purple bumps on the beauty's arm as she reached down to pick up a pen. In a daring act I almost never displayed, I crouched down next to her and showed her my own forearm.
"What are these?" I whispered. I didn't know why I was so afraid, but something deep inside of me was warning me of imminent danger. My childhood had taught me to listen to that thing deep inside of myself. I just knew, somehow, that these bumps would get me into huge trouble, and that I couldn't tell any of my supervisors.
She grabbed me arm and brought my ear close to her mouth in one fellow swoop. I squeaked.
"Meet me at this address," she said and hastily wrote something on the back of my hand, "and I will tell you everything." She pulled my lab coat over my bumps and secured it there, another sign to keep my mouth shut about the bumps.
I was terrified. What if I was contagious? What if I was infected with a virus the government was testing out for bio-warfare? What if I died? Luckily, for once, I was working with the computers and plotting our data from the turtle mutations. What did turtles, green goop, and purple dots have in common? There had to be a connection. I looked down at the address on the back of my hand and silently wondered how I was supposed to get there. I had no idea how to get around New York; I was from Fargo, for Pete's Sake! Maybe I could just wander around and hope to find it through sheer luck and get mugged, raped, and possibly killed in the process. Then again, I could possibly scare them off with my purple dots and tell them it's a contagious—
The wall interrupted my thought as I launched myself into its harsh embrace.
"Are you all right, Kristine?" Bishop asked. My back instantly straightened, and I quickly turned to see my supervisor.