The Incident
Raphael POV
We've been seein' Molly for about three months now and I'm still not seein' a point to it. Leo's still wound up tight and gettin' on my nerves. I have to admit, she's been sort of growin' on me. The only other chick I talk to is April but she's not tryin' to get in my head. I guess you can't be called a maniac without someone thinking you need some kind of therapy. Me, I just think it's all a waste of time.
Third Person POV
Molly's cellphone rang as she made her way through the tunnel. A bit surprised she could get service, she took the call with gritted teeth. She knew very well what it was about and she was not in the mood to argue. Being employed under the government to analyze soldiers who came in contact with the Triceratons was beginning to be more demanding than usual. There was a sudden influx of patients who spewed bigoted statements about anything non-human. Some had even mentioned the turtles, mistaking them for aliens and she could not help but take it personally when they talked about them as if they were monsters. Her employers urged her to pick up more patients, more hours to better accommodate them.
"I told you specifically what hours I would be agreeable to work. I can find work elsewhere." She asserted. "Negotiation is not an option. We agreed on this when I first started two years ago." She listened intently as she stepped into the lair. "I don't care if they want to see me. I am not the only one who specializes in these cases...No, a raise won't make a difference. Hello? You're breaking up. I will have to call you back; I have some appointments to make. Hello? Hello!" Exasperated, she began to furiously text on her phone when she crashed into a large unknowing creature with leathery skin.
Molly adjusted her glasses and peered up at what seemed to be a large, humanoid alligator. The color disappeared from her face as she stared at the beast. Words escaped her. Not even a scream dared to come forth so intense was her fear. The creature looked back at her as if it suddenly realized she was what had bumped into him.
"Pardon me." He said. When she did not respond, he became aware of how he must look to a human who had seen him for the first time and he waved his hands. "Oh! Please don't be frightened! I mean you no harm!"
"You're talking." She whispered, rational thinking clearly not functioning as he was not the first humanoid animal she encountered.
"Oh! Woah! Molly-O! Don't worry about old LH here!" Michelangelo shouted, coming into view from the media center his brothers following close by.
"He's really a gentle giant!" Donatello offered.
"Most of the time." Raphael added.
"LH?" She shook her head and began to piece together her composure.
"Please, you may call me Leatherhead." The alligator stated holding out his hand.
"M-molly." She forced out, taking a hold of his large, scaly hand in a trembling handshake. "Sorry, I...I'm not used to...I'm hearing your words but it's just a lot to take in right now."
"Of course." He turned to the brothers. "I believe it is time to take my leave."
"Oh, please don't leave on my account!" Molly's shaking voice faltered under her panic.
"On the contrary, I have other things to attend to." He bowed his head slightly in a nod. "It was a pleasure." Molly watched him leave, wide-eyed and embarrassed for her reaction. After all of the things she had seen, she let this expose her fear. Giving herself a moment to collect her composed demeanor, she turned to the turtles who looked amused to see this new side of her.
"Raphael, I will be seeing you first." She was relieved her voice stopped shaking.
"So ya met Leatherhead. Pretty scary, huh? Afraid he might be hungry for some human meat?" Molly just about wanted to hurl something at Raphael to wipe the grin off of his face.
"Stop being ridiculous. We have a lot of work to do." She huffed and took a seat on her stool. "Now where did we leave off last time...?" Suddenly a different phone went off. She pulled it from her pocket with a frown.
"Somebody forgot to shut their phone off. Am I going to have to take it before the end of class?" He taunted folding his arms over his plastron. Molly only scowled in response as she answered it.
"Molly speaking..." She spoke softly into the receiver. "Lexa, are you alright? I'm in the middle of a sess-" For the second time that day, the color drained from her face. "Alright, alright. I'm here..." She stood from the stool and started to leave the room. "I understand..."
Raphael followed her up to the entryway of his room and let his gaze follow her the rest of the way as she walked down the hall, murmuring into the phone. Leonardo was below, slashing his swords in the air. He halted his exercise to watch her. Donatello and Michelangelo paused their scrimmage via video game. The seriousness of her demeanor slowly oozed into the lair.
"You think she's alright?" Michelangelo inquired.
"I don't know." Donatello replied. "She usually never brings her phone or turns it off before a session.
"No, I AM listening but you have to understand you are breaking up." She spoke with urgency. "No one finds you a burden. Why don't we meet somewhere? You're where!? Don't move! I will be right there! Please. Stay. Put." She hung up the phone with an exasperated sigh and turned realizing all eyes were on her. "I'm sorry but we'll have to reschedule. An emergency came up. Donatello."
"Yes?" The turtle stood from his seat and approached her.
"What is the fastest way to Manhattan Bridge from here?"
Molly gripped onto the edge of Raphael's shell as hard as she could as they sped down the New York streets on his motorcycle. She squeezed her eyes shut not exactly trusting a turtle of his age not to get them killed. With a shaky sigh, she forced herself to focus on the issue at hand.
"I can't believe I'm going to say this but you need to speed it up." Molly yelled over the muffling of her mask and the rumbling of the cycle.
"Now you're talking my language! "Raphael boomed over the roaring engine.
He picked up speed much to Molly's displeasure. She opened one eye to see the distant Manhattan Bridge coming closer. Her heart leapt with relief that she would soon be off of this bike and hope that she wasn't too late. She could feel them decelerate as they skidded to a stop. Raphael must have spotted who they were looking for. Molly climbed off the motorcycle and removed her helmet. She spotted Lexa a little ways ahead.
"You should go now." Molly instructed Raphael before running off.
Lexa was woman in her early 20s. She was a petite blonde with a scar across her left collarbone. Her eyes were on the water below as she stood on the rail. Molly quickly approached her from behind.
"I'm here. You don't need to stand so close to the edge."
"I got nothing to live for, Molly." Lexa called out. "The results came in. I've got cancer. There's no way I can afford that. I don't want to go through all that. "
"You aren't alone in this." Molly spoke calmly. "I'm sure there are options. Your mother?"
"I can't burden my family with this!" Lexa snapped. "She would just looove this!"
"Lexa, you can fight through this. If you don't step away from the edge, you can' t fight through those consequences."
"I don't want to fight anymore. Why do I always have to?"
"That's the point in being alive. We fight for what we want because it allows us to appreciate the value of what we earn." Molly took another step closer, offering her hand. "Think of all you've achieved up to this point! Look at how far you've come! A part of you still wants to fight. That's why you called me. Let me help you. We can put our heads together and figure this out."
"You're really going to help me?"
"I haven't let you down yet." Lexa went to grab her hand. She lost her footing and dropped. Molly reflexively grabbed her by the arm and could feel the weight of Lexa drag her over the edge. She looked down to see that she had fainted. The dead weight of the unconscious woman was pulling her over. Her hands began to ache from the resistance of her pull and she began to fear that she was not going to be able to pull up. Molly suddenly felt someone grab her around the waist and pull her back. Her grip tightened on Lexa as she and the younger woman fell back on the ground. Looking up over her shoulder, Molly saw her savior. Raphael.
"You stayed." Her voice barely going over a whisper.
"A good thing, too." He said.
"Thank you. If you could do me another favor and help bring her to my apartment, I would really appreciate it."
"Yeah..." Raphael hoisted the unconscious girl up and over his shoulder as they walked to the motor cycle. Molly sat at the end while Raphael placed Lexa in front of her. Once she placed the helmet on and had her arms around her unconscious friend to hold her up, Raphael took his place in the front and started the engine. Releasing her, Molly leaned forward to get a grip on Raphael's shell again.
"You'll have to go slow but I don't live too far from here. There is an alleyway near my apartment. We can take the fire escape to my window. Start by going back the way we came." Molly said. With a nod, Raphael turned the motorcycle around and rode toward the direction they came from. As she navigated the way, she prayed Lexa would not wake up. This would be a terrible awkward situation to explain.
Once they arrived at the fire escape, they made their way up to the top floor of the building and in through the window. From there, Molly pointed out the couch to lay Lexa on. After draping a blanket on the unconscious girl, Molly and Raphael stood in silence.
"Perhaps some tea would be nice." Without another word, she entered the kitchen. Raphael looked around the living room. There were three shelves of books lined up against the back wall and a shelf with dvds on each side of the tv that was on the wall opposite the book shelves. A rug laid below the coffee table that sat in front of the couch. A recliner sat at the right of the couch with side table beside it. The wall to the right side of the room had the window that led to the fire escape. The door to the bedroom was adjacent to it. It was warm and the walls were decorated with pictures of family members, vacation spots and couple of April.
"Hey, Molly." Raphael called out, peering at the blonde.
"What is it?" Molly called from the other room.
"About this lady..." He paused thinking over his words. Just then, Lexa began to stir. She sat up and looked around, disoriented.
"Molly!?"
Molly entered the room and knelt by her side. The younger girl realized she was safe and began to cry as Molly rose up to sit at the edge of the couch and held her. Her gaze went to the window behind Lexa and she nodded to the turtle who had managed to escape undetected. He slipped away into the darkness. Molly had a lot more work to do before the night was over.
Molly awoke to the sound of whispers. Shaking her head, she realized it was coming from the window that led to the fire escape. She quietly slipped out of bed and slid her closet open enough to grab a broom. She softly made her way to her open bedroom door. With a deep breath, she flicked the lights on, drew back the curtain and roared at whoever stood outside her window, broom raised above her head at the ready. In an instant, her demeanor dropped when she saw four startled mutant turtles standing outside her window.
"What the hell are you doing here!?" Molly demanded.
"We were on patrol and we figure we would check up on you." Donatello offered. "Raph told us what happened. Is she still here?"
"She went to her mother's." She grumbled stepping back to allow them in.
"It was mostly Donnie's idea." Michelangelo chimed in.
"I know it's awfully late and you had a rough night but I was able to talk the others into doing an impromptu group session." Donatello explained.
"You're looking babe-alicious by the way, Molly-O." Michelangelo added. Molly looked down at her outfit. Shorts and a tank top. Naturally, braless. She shoved the broom into his plastron and stepped into her bedroom for a bathrobe. Raphael slapped Michelangelo upside the head and Leonardo shook his head with a sigh. Now dressed more appropriately, Molly reentered the living room Pulling her dark hair into a ponytail.
"Does Splinter know you're here?" She inquired, hands crossed over her chest.
"He knows we went out on patrol." Leonardo answered. "He doesn't know we decided to come here."
"I am allowing this to happen only once due to the fact that our sessions were cancelled today." She was starting to wonder if she was losing her mind a touch. Any normal client pulling this, she would have called the cops. "Sit." She indicated the couch. "I'll be a moment. Are you thirsty?" All four responded in the negative as she entered the kitchen. Grabbing a glass and a pitcher of water, she sat in the recliner and poured herself a drink. "I'm a bit shocked you want to do this. Our group sessions have not been progressing."
"We're ready to talk about the incident." Donatello insisted taking a seat on one end of the couch. Michelangelo sat on the other side.
"All of you?" She inquired. They unanimously nodded their heads solemnly. "Well, alright. What happened?" The brothers looked at each other.
"It began like any other night." Leonardo began sitting in the middle of the couch. "We were on patrol..."
Cold. Midnight. The New York streets were characteristically full of the sounds of traffic and chatter. The weekend party scene was still going strong. Vigilant gaze peering over the edge of the rooftop, the moss pigmented mutant watched for any disturbances. A casual breeze brushed against the tail of his cobalt mask. A brief sigh passed through his mouth before he turned to face his brothers.
He first looked to Michelangelo who restlessly spun his nunchucks, eager to do something. Anything. It had been a rather quiet night for them. Donatello anxiously clutched his bo staff awaiting orders. All muscle and attitude, Raphael wore his impatience like a glove. Impatient for not having blown off the pent up energy. Impatient for having to take orders from anyone. Impatient over anything at this point.
Leonardo knew what he had to do. Without a word, he took off in a sprint and leapt from their current rooftop to the next. His brothers fell in line. It was nights like these he was thankful for. There was less lip from Raph. Less techno-babble from Donnie. Less joking from Mikey. They just ran. Dodging and flipping from roof to roof with no clear direction.
All of that would come to an end when the cry of a distressed victim cut through the silence. Each turtle came to a halt and peered over the edge of the roof. A gang surrounded some unfortunate fellow who was probably heading home. From the tattoo that wrapped around the tricep of one of the members, it was clear that they were part of the Purple Dragons. The brothers looked at each other and a quick nod from Leonardo gave them the go. They dove down, kicking off the walls to slow the momentum of their fall for a safe landing behind the gang. After a moment of shock and sputtering, the humans attacked while the victim ran, apparently not noting or caring who or what saved him.
Leonardo drew his swords and flipped them so the blunt edge would be the one to make each strike. His brothers followed suit and each drew their own weapons. A short skirmish made it clear that the turtles had the clear upper hand. Even when the gang fought dirty, they had neither the speed, strength or skill to overpower the quartet of mutants. Raphael even stuffed his sais back into his belt and went all out with his fists. The leader half listened to Michelangelo badgering as he knocked a gang member over the head with his nunchucks. Donatello was more for dodging and countering with his bo. When all members were groaning on the ground, the turtles disappeared into the shadows. Back to the rooftops, they were rejuvenated but something felt off.
"Did that feel easy to you?" Leonardo inquired of his brothers.
"No that you mention it..."Donatello looked over the edge at the gang members who were suddenly not there. "They're gone."
"Probably ran scared." Raphael waved off the concerns of his brothers. "Of course it was easy to take them out. We've been dealing with bigger fish."
"No. Something doesn't feel right." Leonardo asserted. "Even the man they attacked barely reacted to us."
"Guys…" Michelangelo finally spoke up. "I don't feel right..." Before anyone could react, he dropped. Panic struck the leader as he knelt by his brother's side.
"Mikey! MIKEY!" He shook his brother. Donatello began to search himself until he found and ripped off a transdermal patch but it had already entered his system.
"Leo..." Down Donatello dropped. Leonardo looked at his brother Raphael who appeared to be trying to fight off the same affliction that had affected his brother. Only...was he seeing double?
"No..." He growled trying to steady himself. "Raph...We got to..."
"H-hang in their, Leo..." Raphael slurred. Leonardo could not tell who dropped first. He sank into black and felt the cold cement of the rooftop on his face.
When he came to, he was still surrounded by darkness, only he was indoors. There was no more crisp, night air around him. He shook his head and waited for his eyes to adjust to the dark as much as possible. He could sense someone else was with him.
"Raph?" He groaned out, still feeling woozy.
"You're awake?" A small voice breathed out.
"Where are we?" Leonardo inquired. "Who are you?"
"My name's Allie. One minute this guys just grabbed me and next, I passed out. I woke up here." The other on explained. "And you are?"
"Leo." He said as he felt around. "Any idea how big this space is?"
"Not a clue." Was the reply. "I can't move. They tied me to a chair." Leonardo felt his way to the chair Allie was tied to.
"What direction did they enter?" He asked trying to feel out the rope that tied her.
"Behind me. They opened a door and tossed you in."
"I'm going to get you out of here." Leonardo murmured as he untied the knots. "Just stay close to me." A crash came from the other room.
"What was that?" Allie gasped, standing up from the chair.
"I'm not sure but if luck is on our side, it might be my brothers." Leonardo stood. A man came crashing through a door from the area Allie had described as the entryway. "Stay close." Leonardo instructed as he made his way to the door. Raphael stood at the other side of it dusting off his hands.
"Got ya a little gift." He grinned, handing over his brother's katanas.
"You shouldn't have." He stepped through the door and looked back. Slowly, Allie made her way to the broken wood and stared at the brothers.
"What...are you?" She whispered.
"We're turtles!" Michelangelo piped in, appearing behind them. "Bros! We gotta get out of here fast!"
"Where's Donnie?" Leonardo questioned.
"He's already working on our exit strategy on the roof." Raphael replied, pointing toward a hallway.
"Let's go." Leonardo directed. They began to make their way down the hall when Leonardo stopped and looked back. The girl was still standing behind the broken door. "Allie." He sprinted back to her and offered her his hand. She took a look at the three fingers and yelped. "Allie, we're not going to hurt you."
"Get away from me, you freak!" She cried. Leonardo blinked and looked at his hand.
"We don't have time for this!" Raphael growled. He strode over to them, grabbed her and threw her over her shoulder. She cried out in alarm as they ran down the hall.
"Listen, lady! We ain't gonna hurt ya" Raphael shouted over her screaming. "We're tryin' to get ya to a safe place!"
They pushed through the door to the stairwell and rushed up the steps. Sounds of footsteps were following behind. As they hit the fourth row of steps, they heard the door below open again. Rounding the fifth set of steps, a rain of bullets scattered by their feet.
"Let's hustle!" Leonardo called out as they neared the door to the exit. Allie screamed even louder as a bullet hissed past her thigh. Once on the roof, the blades of a helicopter began to start its rotation. From the entrance of the vehicle, Michelangelo waved them over. They boarded the copter and set Allie down. As it began to rise from the cement, their pursuers bursted through the doors to the stairwell and began shooting.
"Hold on, guys!" Donatello called, steering the helicopter away from the barrage of bullets. Everyone not buckled in was thrown to the side.
"Ugh! I'm going to be sick!" Michelangelo groaned, sliding into one of the seats. Allie slid near the opening with a cry.
"Allie!" Leonardo reached for her and grabbed her by the hand. "I got you!" Her eyes wide with fear, she desperately clung to the turtle. Donatello steered the helicopter the other way, causing everyone to whip along with it. Leonardo lost his hold on Allie who flew out the helicopter. Grabbing on to the landing skid, she looked up to the eldest turtle.
"Help me!" She begged.
"Hang on! I won't let you fall! I promise!" Leonardo yelled as he leaned out of the entrance. They reached for each other. "Just a little further!"
"Watch out, Leo!" Raphael shouted, grabbing his brother and pulling him back as more bullets pelted the machine. As a bullet struck the metal right by her hand, Allie release her hold in shock. She reached out as she fell down, down until she crashed into the rocky depths of the water below.
"We have to go back for her!" Leo shouted. Donatello growled as he attempted to straighten out the copter.
"It's with the deepest of regrets that I must inform you that there is no way she could have survived falling that far!" Donatello cried. "And by the looks of it, we might not survive if we don't get out of here!" He directed the helicopter away from the building and bullets for a man began to take aim with a rocket launcher. "How does everyone keep getting one of those!?" He steered the vehicle away as the shot was taken. Barely dodging out of its course, the helicopter veered to the right, sending all but Donatello flying to one side. Once he leveled out the copter and they were out of bullet range, he leaned back and sighed. "Is everyone alright?"
"She's gone…" Leonardo hung his head. "I let her go..." The brothers rode in silence for the rest of the ride home.
The room was quite after Leonardo finished the story. He buried his face in his hands, reliving the moment. Donatello lowered his head in guilt. Raphael stood behind the couch with his arms folded over his plastron. He looked away. Michelangelo stared at the floor.
"How long ago did this happen?" Molly finally asked.
"About six months ago." Donatello replied.
"I could have saved her if..." Leonardo shook his head.
"Go on and say it!" Raphael growled. "If I hadn't stopped you!"
"No one is blaming you, Raph." Donatello interjected.
"No one except old fearless, here." The largest turtle sneered.
"One more second and I would have had her." Leonardo finally barked, standing and facing his brother.
"So I was supposed to let ya get shot up? Is that how we're doin' it now?" Raphael rounded the couch and stood face-to-face with his brother. "You didn't even know her! Why the hell do you care!?"
"I told her I wouldn't let her fall. I gave her my word!"
"Then stop making promises you can't keep!" Raphael thundered. Standing, Molly tossed the water in the pitcher at the arguing brothers. All brothers stared wide-eyed at her.
"Woah, Molly-O!" Michelangelo grinned.
"Cool off, boys." She muttered, unamused. "Here's what I'm trying to understand. Why did the events of tonight trigger the big reveal of 'the incident?'"
"Here's the thing." Raphael wiped his face with the back of his hand. "That Lexa girl. She looks just like Allie."
"You've got to be kidding me." Molly put the pitcher on the side table and dropped back into her chair.
"Are they sisters?" Leonardo inquired. "If they are...Well...Maybe she woouldn't want to speak with me, but I owe her an apology for losing her sister. If I was faster, I could have saved her."
"They aren't sisters." Molly confirmed. "Allie is Lexa."
"You mean...Allie is alive?" Leonardo stepped forward and grabbed Molly by the shoulders. "She didn't die?"
"Unless it was someone impersonating her, no, she didn't die." Molly sighed shrugging off Leonardo's hand.
"Why did she introduce herself as Allie?" Donatello looked at Molly, quirking a brow ridge.
"Her name is Alexandra. She introduces herself as Allie. I called her Lexa. It's a pet name." Molly confessed.
"A...pet name?"
"Something you give to a lover." Molly muttered. "Ex lover." She didn't allow the boys time to react. "That certainly explains how that scar came about. Of course, when she told the story, it was four men and she didn't even recall the names. How interesting how all of this comes together." Molly pressed her thumb and index finger against her eyes. "I think it's time for you guys to go home."
"You're not mad, are you?" Michelangelo asked.
"Of course, I'm mad." She stood up from her seat. "It's four'o'clock in the morning, I have work in three hours and have manage about three and a half hours of sleep. I would like to get in two more hours if you don't mind."
"What about Lexa?" Leonardo asked.
"She's alive. You didn't fail her." Molly clarified.
"But why was she kidnapped."
"That is not my place to say." Molly pointed to the window. "We will continue our sessions Thursday. We have cover so much ground that we will have a lot of running room with dealing with these issues. Until then, I bid you all a good night. I trust you can see yourselves out." Molly strode to her bedroom and slammed the door behind her. She leaned against the door and listened to them shuffle out. "Alright Lexa..." She whispered as she crawled into bed. "What the hell do you have to do with these turtles?"
Author's Note: I want to bring Leatherhead back. I actually enjoy him and I feel he could use some help with dealing with his own inner demons. Molly is kind if growing differently from what I first set out for her to do but I don't really mind it. What are your thoughts? It's been a while since I seriously wrote out an action sequence. So please don't mind this one. I rushed through it! So little time. So much I want to write. Thanks for reading!
Update 12/21/15: Decided to add 1st person narrated intros to give it the same feel as the 2003 cartoon.