Fights and Failures

"Thank you, come again." Li waved to the old lady that walked out of Second Time Around with a new set of kitten plates and sighed. That was only her second customer of the day, and she still had two hours left on shift. She leaned against the counter and looked outside at the clear, sunny sky and let her mind wander. Her mind went straight to the fight she and Raph got into that morning. He hadn't wanted her to leave the lair, not even to go to her and Piper's apartment in April's basement to get fresh clothes.

Needless to say when he found out she was still planning to work that day, he was not happy. They'd never had a fight before, and she was still feeling bad about it. She knew he was still beating himself up over her kidnapping the previous day, but that didn't mean she would hide in the lair for the rest of her life.

"He needs to realize I'm not going to break." The problem was that all the turtles thought she and Piper were breakable. She didn't know how April bypassed the breakable stage, but Li was very jealous of the fact that the guys treated April like an equal and her like a porcelain doll, especially Raph. He was the worst.

Still, she could see where he was coming from but it wasn't her that in trouble, it was Karai. She frowned when she remembered the desperation she had seen in Karai's eyes. Though she was an enemy of the turtles, Li would bet the farm that every word she said was sincere. What kind of trouble could you get into that you had to ask your sworn enemies to help you? She sighed again, fighting with your boyfriend and getting kidnapped in twenty four hours was exhausting, she needed a good bubble bath. Just then, the bell rang as someone came into the shop and she put on her work face.

"Welcome to Second Time Around, how can I help you?"

-/-

An old warehouse sat on the docks. It was exactly the same as the fifteen other warehouses surrounding it in shape, structure, and color. It was made out of the stainless steel that the other warehouses were made of, it came from the same factory as the other warehouses and was assembled by the same company that built the other ones. In fact, this warehouse was exactly the same as all the others except for the fact that the sound of a child's wails could be heard throughout the building.

"It's crying again." A man slapped a card down on a box he and his associate were using as a card table.

"So shut it up then." The man opposite him pulled the pile of gambled money close to him.

"It's not my problem. I was just saying."

"Yeah you're always just saying." The second man started shuffling the cards. "Ignore it. It'll eventually shut up."

"Not before my eardrums start bleeding. Did anyone feed it today?"

"Jimmy did."

"So's why's it cryin' then?" The dealer shrugged.

"Maybe it misses its mommy." The first man laughed as he picked up his cards.

"If my mommy was as hot as hers I'd be missing her too." They both laughed as the child continued to cry. They dealt the cards again and ignored the child until a door across from them slammed open and a man with dark hair and a lab coat started yelling at them.

"Will you keep that thing quiet! I'm trying to work!" He glared at both of them before slamming the door shut again.

"Little cocksucker." The first man cussed under his breath and threw his cards down on the table. "Why do they even keep him around?"

"'Parently he's got some sorta super weapon the boss's bosses want."

"Don't know what could be so great it's worth putting up with him everyday."

"Well apparently he works cheap too." The first man leaned in.

"Drugs?" He questioned. The second man shook his head.

"No, some girl."

"Prostitute?" The second man shrugged.

"Don't know. You better go check on the kid before pretty boy comes back."

"Yeah, yeah." He got up and stretched as the second man started shuffling the cards again. Several miles away, across the Brooklyn Bridge, Karai woke up with a start, her child's cries still echoing in her dreams. She put her face in her hands and cried.

-/-

"I don't care! You ain't going there until we got dis ting sorted out!" Li glared at Raph and folded her arms across her chest. He had been waiting for her downstairs after her shift, and for awhile they got along quietly, training for a little while and watching TV, when Li had sprung an interview on him she had the following day at the Bronx Zoo. They had been yelling ever since.

"I can't just put my life on hold like that, this opportunity won't come again, I was lucky to get the interview in the first place!" He growled and started pacing, it was against every instinct he had to let her out of his sight, and now she wanted to travel to the other side of the city?

"Do ya know what could to ya if ya get caught again?" Li blinked.

"What do you mean, caught? You make me sound like a thief!" Raph shook his head impatiently.

"Nevermind, but da answer is no!"

"I never asked you if I could go, I told you I was! I'll be careful, why can't you just drop it?" He stepped closer to you.

"Because I can't lose ya again!" They stared at each other a moment, neither willing to give in, before Raph turned and stalked out of the lair. Li dropped onto the couch and put her face in her hands. A cup appeared before her and she blinked and raised her head to see Master Splinter, another cup clutched in his hand. She murmured her thanks and watched the steam rise from the green tea as he sat down next to her.

"My son is often hot tempered and angry but he does not do it out of hatred or fear, but of love." Li sighed and nodded. She knew Raph just wanted to keep her safe, but couldn't he at least be reasonable about it?

"I know, I just wish he trusted me more."

"It is not a matter of trust, but of fear. My son is often terrified by the things he cannot control. Your safety is one of those things." Li sipped her tea, wishing she knew how to fix things.

/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/

Later that night saw Piper and Leo playing chess in the lair. Actually, Leo was trying to teach Piper more then they were actually playing, since she kept getting distracted.

"You see, I captured your pawn because you did not pay attention when my knight moved before you moved your bishop, now if you had-"

"What's the deal with you and Karai?" Leo looked up from his pawn, stunned.

"What?"

"Karai, you know, the one that wanted to kill you guys? The one you had a thing with?" Leo opened and closed his mouth, speechless, before clearing his throat.

"Who told you about her?"

"Does it matter? Answer the question." He looked at the floor.

"It was nothing, we never...don't worry about it. Now, do you see your mistake?"

"That my boyfriend has a thing for old Japanese women?" His mouth formed a thin line and she could tell he was not happy.

"I do not have a thing for her. I have a thing for you, understand? I love you."

"Then why are you avoiding the question?" Piper knew she should drop the subject, it wasn't doing either of them any good, but the not knowing was killing her and she couldn't stop worrying.

"I already answered your question. I'll be right back." He headed toward the kitchen and Piper watched his back. At that moment, the door banged open and she looked over to see Raph stalk into the room. He looked over at her and Piper nodded toward the tunnel that lead to April's.

"She's in her room." He left down the tunnel without another word and Piper looked back at the chessboard. Looks like she wasn't going back to her apartment tonight.

"Looks like I'm not the only one with problems." She moved a piece on the chess board and waited for Leo to come back.

Raph entered April's basement and went over to the girls' apartment and opened the door. The main room was empty, he headed toward Li's room and stood in the doorway. She was sitting on her bed, facing away from him. She was holding a book, silently reading the words on the page, unaware of his presence.

"Hey." She looked up from her book at the sound of his voice.

"Hey." They stared awkwardly at each other for a moment. Raph looked especially uncomfortable. He had come in here ready to argue again, and to possibly handcuff her to her bed, but seeing her sitting there with her head down drained the anger right out of him.

"...I'm sorry alright. I worry about you. I worry about failing you again." Li set her book down.

"You never failed me."

"Yes I did. I'm supposed to protect you! I just-" He sighed. "I'm afraid I'm not good enough." Li looked at him with incredulity and stood up to face him.

"Raph, it's not your job to protect me, I mean, it was my fault too, and for goodness sake, you are too good enough, jeez." She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder. "Stop that, okay? It's in the past, right? Let's focus a bit more on the present." She leaned up and kissed him and his arms tightened around her.

"I can't stand the thought of losing you."

"You won't." They kissed again and he picked her up and deposited her on the bed.

"I love you."

"I know."

A shadow moved quickly moved over the rooftops, picking up speed as it ran. The shadow had one mission and one alone: liberate her daughter. She was headed for a warehouse near the docks, she landed silently on the roof of a building across the wharf and surveyed her surroundings. It was misty near the docks, providing good cover, and the clouds shielded her from the moon's light. After weeks of searching she had finally discovered where her daughter was being kept and now all that was left was to get her away from the men that were trying to destroy her life and get back to Japan. It would have been easier with help, she mused. It really would have been. So many of her Foot soldiers were still in Japan and the ones that were left in New York had betrayed her and joined her enemies. She supposed this was her fault for thinking she could leave her past behind her and start a new life. The past never stayed dead for long. She had hoped that her lie to the turtles would work and they would aid her in her quest. She could not blame them but she could not help but resent them. Leonardo got to keep his family while hers was torn apart. First her father, and now her daughter. It wasn't fair, she thought, it just wasn't fair. Yes, she had done bad things in her life but in the end she had chosen honor and did that not count for something? No, she thought, apparently it didn't. She was alone and for the first time she felt the pain of it.

She landed on the roof across from the warehouse holding her daughter and took a moment to steel herself. This was it, no mercy. She made quick work of the first two men she found. They were not trained warriors but she could not bring herself to care. They had taken her daughter. A third fell at her hands before an alarm was sounded. She cursed herself. She was getting too old and out of practice, if she had allowed some hired help alert others to her presence. She made quick work of the first wave of reinforcements she met. But her luck wore out when out of the shadows stepped four people. The four people that had taken her child and were slowly destroying her life. The Elite.

Splinter sat on a tatami mat in front of several burning candles, the ambience of the room calming his mind. He closed his eyes and freed his mind of all distractions and earthly problems, becoming one with the universe. He breathed in the scent of incense, his nostrils filling with the scent of sandalwood. He opened his mind to the world and his whiskers stiffened. There was something-off, something was not right. But what? A sudden sense of dread filled him. He calmed himself and tried to clear his mind once more, hoping to hone in on the source of his distress. His-sons? No, not them, that wasn't right. A sense of relief filled him at that, until he focused on the two newest additions to his family. Something was off and he told himself to warn his sons, but that was still not it. Someone he knew was hurting but he didn't know who.

/=/=/=/=/=/=/

Karai lay on the ground, her mission a failure, her body broken, but with anger in her eyes. The leader of the Elite kicked her, and she bit her tongue to keep from screaming.

"You are finished Karai, there is no hope for you now." She tried to stand, but he kicked her back to the ground.

"You are weak, and now you are useless. Get rid of her." Two ninja came forward and grabbed her arms, and she winced. They had broken her left arm, and her right leg, as well as her clavicle. As soon as she was up, the Elite jabbed at her with the side of his sword, and forced her right arm out of its socket. She screamed and the two men began dragging her away toward the docks. Tears welled in her eyes, but she didn't let them fall. She had failed. The two men lifted her up, and threw her into the Hudson. All hope of seeing her daughter again drowned with her.