Chapter Three: Never Give Up!
I thought life was black and white!
Someone told me to run...
I know it's already over now!
I used to be the best fighter out there!
Now I'm holding back,
what I used to let go...
I'm nothing but a stray cat now...
Your best bet is to stay away...
Raphael paced back and forth outside of Donatello's lab; waiting to hear from his staff wielding brother and his mentor. They had locked the doors so they could tend to Rage's wounds without any distractions. It had been a full six hours since Raphael found Rage, and after much arguing over what their next move was, brought the injured girl home for Splinter to see if he could help the poor girl. Leonardo had suggested that they take her to the hospital, but Raphael told him that she managed to tell him that it wouldn't be such a good idea.
Leonardo was sitting against the wall; watching his younger brother pace back and forth. He looked over to the door in hopes of one of the two inside would open the door. The door seemed to taunt the perfectionist, forcing him to give up.
Michealangelo leaned against the rail opposite from the door, watching Raphael pacing. He looked down at the floor and began thinking back to when he and his brothers arrived at the scene...
Donatello's shell cell went off as he and brothers had just jumped off a random roof. As they landed on the next one, he quickly answered it.
"Hello?" He answered in an unsure tone; looking at his brothers. He gasped at his phone when he realized it was a very frantic Raphael on the other line. "Whoa, slow it down, Raph. What happened to Rage?"
Michaelangelo looked over at Leonardo with worried eyes. What was going on with Raphael? Was Rage hurt or something? Questions began to run wild inside the friendly turtle's mind.
"Okay, don't worry, Raphael, we'll be right there." Donatello reassured, hanging up, and facing the worried turtles. "We gotta go. Rage is hurt pretty bad."
Michaelangelo gasped and clutched his hand. "What's goin' on, Donnie?" He wanted to know.
"I'll fill you in on the way! They're in Central Park!" Donatello replied as he bolted off in the direction that Raphael had told him to meet them.
Once they arrived, the blue, orange, and purple-banded turtles were shocked at the horrific sight below them in the darkened ally.
Raphael was kneeling over Rage's battered body. Blood was all over the ground and their red-banded brother. Leonardo looked out into the open pathway, and saw Purple Dragons from the last time they went up against Rage lying on the ground, unconscious. He guessed that the girl had wanted to go another round with her. And even though she had won the second time, this time it looked like they had gotten her just as well as she had gotten them.
Once they had made it down to the two, they got a good look at the extent of the girl's injuries. Leonardo checked for a pulse; letting out a sigh of relief, he quickly looked up at Raphael.
"What happened here, Raph?" He asked in a final tone, trying to calm the paicing turtle.
Raphael punched his fists and growled in boiling anger. "I don't know, Leo!" He yelled, looking down in shame, "I used dat rock she gave me, and found her standing with all da Purple Dragons lying here." He explained in a frantic tone. "I called out ta 'er and she staggered over ta me and passed out!"
"This looks bad, guys,' Michaelangelo said in a worried tone, looking over at the girl's injuries, "she needs a hospital!"
Raphael looked over at Michaelangelo and said, "We can't! Before she passed out, she told me that "They'd" find 'er faster! She begged me not to take her there!"
"Well, we can't just leave her here! She'll die!" Michaelangelo protested frantically, looking to Leonardo for guidance.
Leonardo looked at the girl and thought for a moment. "We take her to the lair. Maybe Master Splinter can help her."
And with that, Raphael gathered the battered girl in his arms and they all took off for the nearest manhole they could find.
Michaelangelo shook his head clear from his memory, looked up at the door just in time to it to open; letting the two helping Rage outside. He quickly jumped off the rail and faced the two. Leonardo looked up and followed Michaelangelo's example. Even Raphael stopped his pacing.
"So she's gonna be alright?" Raphael asked in his thick Brooklyn accent.
Splinter nodded tiredly at his red-banded son. "She will be alright, my sons. But she needs rest."
"She suffered a lot more this time than the first time." Donatello stated as he looked back into the room where Rage lie sleeping fitfully. "She must've been caught off guard."
Leonardo nodded in understanding. "Either that, or she didn't expect them to come looking for her." He commented in a grim tone, leaning over in hs sitting position to look into the room beside him.
Splinter looked over at Raphael with serious eyes. "It is a good thing you found her when you did, Raphael," he stated in a grimancing tone, "A moment longer and the poor girl wouldn't haave survived."
Raphael looked down on his feet and glared at them in shame. "I wish I could've found 'er soona. I'd help 'er fight off dose creeps an' she'd wouldn't've gotten hurt." He said in a hated tone; balling up his fists while his anger began to rise.
Splinter walked over to Raphael, and placed a fatherly hand on his shoulder; causing his son to look at him. "She is safe now, my son." He said in a reasoning tone, "All that should matter now is that Miss Rage is still alive."
Michaelangelo looked from his father, to his brothers in confusion. "So- what do we do now?" He asked; bringing up a good point.
The giant rat stroked his furry chin thoughtfully for a moment. "We let the poor girl sleep for now. Once she is healed, you four will return her to the surface." He instructed in a gentle tone.
Raphael looked up at the old rat in contempt. "And what? Let dose freaks go afta 'er again? She'll be a movin' target out dare!"
Just as Leonardo was about to protest to his brother's anger, a wild scream broke through their home, causing the family to jump in surprise.
Donatello looked back into the room, ran inside; his family hot on his heels. The girl's body was convulsing uncontrollably, and she was coughing and gaging.
Donatello looked over his shoulder frantically. "Someone help me hold her down!" He shouted as he did what he could to stop her from shaking.
Leonardo and Raphael quickly obeyed their younger brother, and held the girl's body firmly in place. The two strongest brothers didn't use all their strength in fear of hurting Rage anymore than she already is, and let Donatello do his best to tend to the girl.
The purple-banded turtle pulled the blanket covering her body back, and everyone gasped at what they saw.
The girl's wounds looked as though they were closing themselves up at an alarming rate. It wasn't one's every day healing, but they were healing just the same!
"This isn't right," Donatello said, looking over at the medical mechines that told him about her statis.
"What's goin' on, Donnie?" Michaelangelo asked, looking at the girl's jerking body from beside Leonardo.
"Her wounds are already closing themselves up! It's not normal for humans to heal this fast!" Donatello replied, "It's like she's some kind of super human!"
"What gave it away, brainiac? The glowing red eyes, or the fact that she disappeared and reappeared behind us?" Raphael asked; scarcasim dripping in his words.
Donatello glared at his older brother from across the bed. "I just wasn't expecting this."
Just as Raphael was about to reply with a witty come back, Rage bolted up right in the bed; gasping and gaging for breath. She looked around in fear, until she realized the turtles around her.
She sighed in relief and placed her hand over her eyes. "Where- Where am I?"
"It's okay, Rage. You're safe here with us." Leonardo cooed in a gentle tone, taking a step back to let the girl breathe, while Raphael stayed close to her.
Rage looked up at Leonardo with a lost gaze. "How did I get here?" She struggled to say, looking around the room to prove her point.
Raphael reached into his belt, and pulled out the necklace to show her. "Dis lead me to ya." He answered in a firm tone.
"So you remember what happened, child?" The old rat asked, walking between the two brothers to reveal himself.
Rage looked up at the rat, and then back down at her hands on her knees. "I was on my way to see my brother's resting place when the guys I met the other night ganged up on me." She answered in a hollow tone; her hands slowly rolled into tight fists. "I never expected them to mess with me after what I pulled on them."
"What exactly happened, Rage?" Leonardo questioned in a firm tone, his eyes narrowed at the girl before him.
"I was caught off guard. I really wasn't trained to defend against weapons being unarmed." Rage replied honestly, "I wasn't ready to fight like that, I guess."
"I don' care about what happened, I just wanna know how ya healed so fast!" Raphael snapped, bringing up a good point. "It's clear dat yer not human."
Rage looked over at Raphael and sighed; relaxing her composture for a moment, and looked up at the ceiling. "You're right, I'm not human. At least, not anymore..." She answered in a bitter tone.
Donatello blinked at her in response. "We kinda gathered that much. But what happened?"
Rage shot the brainy turtle a look. "Neji, my brother and I lived at the orphanage with two younger brothers. We were the best fighters at the age of 10. A master in the art of karate came and adopted me and my brothers and taught us. Neji and I were the best fighters out of the four of us. And at 10 no less! I don't remember much, but I remember a few men dressed all in black came to Mr. Kemo and offered to get us into a martial arts tournament..." She paused for a moment to wipe a few tears that fell from her duel colored eyes. "We thought we were going to Ohio for that tournament, but we were only half right."
"So what happened?" Leonardo asked, not liking where Rage's story was going.
Rage let a shaky sigh escape her lips, and continued her story. "We did go to Ohio, but we never went to a tournament." She expained, "We were drugged and when we woke up, we had these collars around our necks!" She said lazily; pulling her shirt collar down for all to see the metallic collar bolted to her neck.
Michaelangelo gasped and covered his mouth. "That hadda hurt."
Rage chuckled weakly in reply. "You have no idea." She shrugged and went on with the tale. "Anyway, it turned out we were selected to be the latest science project for a kind of secret organization called, Specailly Trained Animal Research Studies, or as the media in Ohio called them "S.T.A.R.S." for short. All because we had phoenamal fighting skills! They promised to give us back to our family after they were finished, but days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months and months turned into years. Soon after we turned 15, they preformed one last experiment. I survived, but Neji... he- wasn't so lucky."
"So that's what happened to your brother." Michaelangelo said, realization hitting him square on the face.
A cold chill ran down everyone's backs; causing the lot of them to shiver in response. Rage didn't allow that to go unnoticed, and smirked at the four brothers. "I told you it might turn your blood cold..." She said in a quiet tone.
"What did they do to you exactly, Rage?" Leonardo asked in a firm tone, still not liking her story.
Rage shot the blue-banded turtle a dirty look. "You really want to know what I am? I'm a monster. I was made to fight." She answered in a cruel tone, looking him dead in the eyes.
Rage looked up at the ceiling with a pained expression playing across her face. "They wanted to make an army of soldiers like me. They experimented on their own, but none of them ever survived though. They were much too old, and their bodies already knew what to do when something like infections or diseases entered their bodies. So they tried their twisted experiments on children like me and Neji. It was literally a kindergarden from hell. Actually, it's more like a "farm"..."
She paused, looking back up at the ceiling, she she looked back over at the family before her, and smiled faintly at them. "You could say that it was a nightmare that I really couldn't wake up from."
"But what about your remaining family?" Splinter asked in a sympathetic tone; hoping to help ease the girl's pain as best he could.
Rage looked over at the giant rat, and shook her head. "Since I've been gone for so long, they wouldn't remember me." She explained, "When Neji died, they sent messengers to my family, telling them that we died in some freak car accident... Since they think I died, I guess I had to play the part."
"But they're your brothers." Donatello protested, looking over at his brothers. "If something like that happened to me, I'd want them to know I was still alive."
Rage smiled at Donatello. "It's easier said than done. For obvious reasons." She said, proving her point by showing them her glowing red eyes and two very sharp classic vampire-like teeth.
"Yeah, but-" Michealangelo started, but stopped himself, not knowing what to say.
Raphael growled and balled his fingers into tight fists. "We gotta stop 'em! They could-!"
Rage shook her head once again. "I already crippled their project by destroying their labs before I escaped. They won't be taking any more children off the streets for a while at least." She told him, lifting a hand up to try and stop Raphael from leaving.
"That's good to know." Leonardo said in a relieved tone as he pretended to wipe a bead of sweat from his forehead.
Rage looked over at the turtles and blinked in confusion. "I told you my story, so are you going to tell me your names? I'd like to thank my rescuers."
Michaelangelo smacked his forehead. "I knew we were forgetting something!" He cried out in embarrassment.
Splinter smiled fatherly at his youngest son, and turned his attention back to the girl in bed. "I believe you have a valid point, Miss Rage. Let me tell you our story."
After Splinter had finished his tale, he looked over at his brothers and signaled them to introduce themselves.
Leonardo took a step forward, and bowed respectfully at Rage. "My name is Leonardo." He said in a proud tone, offering Rage a small smile.
Michaelangelo jumped up and pointed to himself. "I'm Michaelangelo! All the cool brothers' names end with an "o"!" He said in a brightened tone as he took Rage's hand and mock courted her, earning him a smack on his head by Raphael.
Donatello shook his head shamefully at his younger brother, and looked back at the girl before him. "I'm Donatello. Don't mind, Mikey. He's still young." He said in a blunt tone as he offered Rage a polite smile.
Raphael folded his arms over his chest and looked firmly at Rage. "I'm Raphael. And the first thing you gotta learn 'bout Mikey is to ignore 'im. Your life will be much easier dat way."
Rage smiled up at the turtles. "It's very nice to meet you." She told them in a sisterly tone.
"And I am Splinter." Master Splinter said as he bowed his head to the girl.
"And I am simply Rage now." Rage said in a polite tone, offering them all the best bow she could from her position on the bed.
"So your name was "Allyce Sohma" back then, huh?" Donatello asked, raising a brow in confusion.
Rage nodded to Donatello. "That's right. But when I was "killed", I figured I needed a new name." She told them as a matter of fact. "They took my human life from me and name name to stop me from killing myself after my brother died."
"It's probably for the best, eh? I mean- if you used your human name, it'd raise too much suspision, right?" Leonardo guessed lifted in finger to his lips in thought.
Rage replied with a smile. "The way I see it, my life as a human ended, so the name had to go. I chose the name, "Rage" because well, it's different, and I'm not exactly what you'd call "normal"."
Michaelangelo jumped past his brothers and sat down on the bed beside Rage's legs. "I like it! I think it suits your fighting style!"
Rage laughed at Michaelangelo. "Thanks, Michaelangelo. I think."
"I am surprised that you reacted so well at our appearance, Miss Rage." The old rat said in a satisfied tone, nodding to the girl's cool demonor.
Rage shurgged her shoulders in response. "Well, I can't say that I'm normal myself, ne?"
"Point taken." Michaelangelo said in a blunt tone as he blinked over at the girl beside him.
Rage sighed and pulled the blanket covering her body and pushed her legs over the bed she was sitting on, and placed them on the ground. "I should be heading back now. I'm sure I've taken up too much of your time. Thanks for the safe, you lot." She said in a hollow tone as she began to slowly push herself off the bed.
Michaelangelo grabbed Rage's shoulders and tried to hold her back to the bed. "But you can't! You're still hurt, right?" He protested; looking up at his brothers. "Uh, guys? A little help?" He asked as he tried to stop the girl.
"I can't believe I'm sayin' dis, but Mikey's right. You can't go anywhere in your condition!" Raphael said in a rough tone as he placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.
Rage looked up at the turtles with a start. "But I'm taking up your space." She tried to reason with the family in front of her.
Splinter raised a hand to quail the scene. "Please, Miss Rage. You are our guest. You must stay at least until you are healed."
Rage looked up at the turtles; then to the rat. "You- you don't mind my being here with you?" She asked, not believing what she was hearing.
"Let's decide what your next move is after you've healed, okay?" Leonardo suggested in an older brother tone, hoping to get the girl to stay.
"Besides, you'd be a sitting duck if you walk out of here in the shape you're in. No offense, but I don't really think you'd be able to stand a chance against the Purple Dragons if they try to get you again." Donatello reasoned; pointing to the girl's closed up wounds.
Rage looked down at her bandages, and back up at Donatello. With a sigh of defeat, she gave up and relaxed her body under the two turtles holding her in place. "You win." She mumbled.
"That does bring up another question for me though." Donatello said; scratching his head in bewilderment. "How'd you manage to heal yourself so quickly? And why couldn't you do it before when we found you?"
"Well, it's kinda part of the experiment." Rage explained in a quiet tone. "I can't really heal myself completely, I can just close the wounds. But the one of many drawbacks of the proceedure is that when we are injured, our bodies sort of "shut down". My injuries were already closing by the time you showed up. It just takes a while for it to kick in. And let me tell you, when it does, it really hurts. Another drawback you could say."
"I'd like to take a few samples of your DNA if you don't mind." Donatello requested politely. "I really would like to know what they did to you."
Rage smirked playfully at the purple-banded turtle before her. "You won't like what you find under my skin." She warned in a playful tone.
"Why's that, Rage?" Leonardo wanted to know.
"You won't believe me. It's impossible that I'm even alive, but I'll tell you just to ease your minds." She paused to take a breath. "What the proceedure was, what they physically did isn't possible."
"Trust me, we've seen some pretty trippy stuff in our day. Nothing could surprise us." Leonardo reassured the girl.
"Well, alright then. The proceedure itself required a full-body upgrade. They had replaced my original human DNA with some kind of super charged jungle cat DNA." She said, looking up at Donatello with straightforward eyes. "If you take a sample of my blood, you'll see that I have no human DNA left. Most of my bones were also replaced with the same jungle cat bones as well to give me my agility, strength, and speed."
"So dat's why you told me not ta take ya to da hospital!" Raphael said as he realized what Rage told him.
Rage nodded in confirmination. "You got that right, Raphael. Should I go to a hospital, they'd probably call the nearest vet they could find." She joked, trying to lighten the mood.
"You're right. That is impossible. I mean- the human bone marrow alone reporduces blood so when you lose some, it would just generate more for you to survive." Donatello said as his became more confused now than he was before.
"Well, I did actually die a few times on the operating table." Rage said as she mocked a thoughtful look. "But that's why they replaced most of my bones. And since they replaced my blood, the animal DNA they suped up would nuturlize any human DNA markers that would rebuild themselves in the bones they couldn't replace. And actually, now that I think about it, if someone could live literally forever by transfusing newborn baby human with their own, then it's not really impossible for the things they did to me."
Splinter bowed his head in respect. "It must be painful for you, Miss Rage." He said in a saddened tone as he looked over at his guest.
Rage smiled and shook her head. "It did hurt. A lot. But it's over now, Splinter. After a while the pain went away. But I'll never forget it. Let me assure you."
Splinter smiled weakly at the girl before him, and placed a gentle hand on hers. "Rest now, Miss Rage. You must regain your strength. I will send my sons to fetch you some food and drink when you awaken."
Rage smiled weakly at the old rat and nodded. "I will rest when you stop calling me "Miss"." She said in a soft tone. "Thank you all for what you've done."
And with that, Rage had finally allowed the persistant Michaelangelo and Raphael push her down into the bed. Michaelangelo pulled the cover back over her body when he got up off the bed.
"See ya later, chickie!" He said in a teasing tone.
"An' no tryin' ta run away." Raphael waved a finger in a mock scolding manner as he turned to leave. He turned back around, and grabbed the orange-banded turtle by the back of his bandana; dragging him as he walked out of the room. "Com'on, Mikey." He said in a warning tone.
"Aw, aw, aw!" Michaelangelo said in a hurting tone as he hopped along with his older brother.
Leonardo followed the two out of the room, but stopped and turned around to face Rage before he left. "You're going to be alright now, Rage. Don't worry. We have your back now."
Rage nodded and watched the trio leave and sighed as she rested her head on the pillow under her. Donatello watched his brothers leave, and turned his head to face Rage before he, too, took his leave. "I'll make sure Mikey don't bother you while you're sleeping." He told her in a reasurring tone as he smiled down at the girl on the bed; tucking her in, "Just let me or the guys know if you need anything."
"Thank you, Donatello." Rage whispered as she shed a few tears of joy.
Donatello gasped and shook his head brotherly at her. "Call me, "Donnie. Everyone does."
But his words fell on deaf ears when he realized the girl had fallen fast asleep. He smiled and shook his head once more before he left the room; closing the door as quietly as he could...