I've been promising some action for while and I'm happy to say it only goes uphill from here! (does big cheer and funny looking dance!)
Well, still don't belong to me (pouts)
Thanks to TheIncredibleDancingBetty!
Happy Reading!
"So what's the plan?" Suri asked Raph later that night.
She shivered, half from the cold and half from the energy running through her veins. They crouched on an old rooftop, watching a robbery take place below. She waited for the answer from the turtle. Turing her head, she gazed proudly at his new mask.
She's found an old red cloth in a dumpster and made the turtle a mask. To her, he just didn't seem complete without it. They way he took it and they way he moved now, made it seem that he wasn't complete without it either. He seemed to be happier. He seemed whole again.
He crouched beside her, enjoying the feeling of once again having a mask upon his face. He was in shock when she gave it to him, but when he saw how different it was from his original, he couldn't resist. The mask tails were a lot shorter, going only to his neck. The slits were smaller, giving him enough room to see out, but giving his normally narrowed eyes a more demeaning look.
Even though he was now no longer training, didn't mean he had to stop. He busted crimes much more often now, enjoying the sense of Leo freedom. Suri had insisted on joining him on his nightly outings, only to prove that she was more than capable of handling herself, she could kick butt good. Raph style.
"I jump on the ringleader." Raph whispered, pointing to the plump, bald man who was shouting orders to his incompetent hired help.
How comes all ringleaders had to be fat? He wondered.
"Can I take the skinny dude with the knife?" she motioned with her black gloved hand to a man who seemed to be second in command. That left two other bozos.
Raph's amber eyes narrowed as he watched the two hired hands stagger back out of the warehouse, carrying another large case filled with who knows what.
"Okay," he held up his three-fingered hand. "I've been timing and in-between each load, there's a three minute wait before they come back out. I figure if we move quickly and quietly, we can knock out those two," he said, referring to the fat and skinny man. "And be waiting for the others by the time we get out. That thing looks heavy and by the way they're handing it, it must be fragile."
"Or explosive." Suri muttered with a role of her eyes.
"Or that. We make our move on the next trip."
The two silently waited until the two men had gone back into the warehouse to pick another load before dropping silently behind the two goons.
"Hey pal," Raph tapped the fat dude on the shoulder with one finger while the other hand was doubling into a large fist. "Christmas ain't for 'nother one month so try laying off the gifts a tad."
The man snapped his head around, reaching for his gun not-so-concealed beneath his heavy winter overcoat. His eyes blazed in fear right before Raph's fist connected with his stomach. He let out a muffled "oof" and swayed on his short, stubby legs. Raph's other fist rose up and associated with his nose.
And it all happened in less than fifteen seconds.
The man beside him let out a startled cry as his boss sank to the ground. He backed up nervously, only to receive his own tap on the shoulder. A second later, he joined his friend on the ground in la-la land.
"And the jerky." Raph finished as he stood over the two unconscious men. Suri stood beside him, an equal grin on her face.
"You did good." She commented as she offered her hand to shake.
"You too." Raph shook her hand, but the fire wasn't gone. He was just getting warmed up. "Let's make short work of those other two thugs and then call the cops to come pick them up." He cracked his knuckles. "Gift wrapped. Shall we?"
Suri wriggled her eyebrows as she cracked her neck. "Lets."
Ten minutes later they watched from the same rooftop as the paramedics pulled the unconscious crooks into the back of awaiting ambulances. Two officers stood around, scratching their heads. One young man walked around, trying to find clues to the mysterious caller.
"I can't figure it out chief." He walked back to the other two officers, shrugging his shoulder. "There's nothing. No torn piece of clothing, no footprints, no blood samples, nothing."
The chief seemed to be a woman in her late thirties with wild blonde hair. She pulled on her cap, wiggling it in place. "Did you check for wiped areas?" at the man's confused look, she sighed. "You know! Area's that look like something, a hand maybe, was wiped across it to hide the evidence."
"Ah, no chief." The man stuttered, looking embarrassed.
The woman sighed, turning to the older man standing beside her. "Who trains these newbies anyway?"
The man shrugged meekly.
Suri chuckled at the way the chief woman was obviously scaring the crap out of the other men. She wasn't named sheriff for nothing.
Raph nudged her shoulders, signaling her it was time to go. With one last look at the officers, she followed the newly red masked turtle into the night.
"You two looked like you had fun tonight?" Becky commented dryly as the two figures hurried into the warm warehouse, shivering and wet.
One of their fights had brought them to the docks and into the freezing cold, almost frozen water.
"S-s-sure d-did." Suri chattered as she huddled around a fire. "It w-w-w-was f-f-fun. R-right R-R-Raph?" she held her hands as close to the fire as they would go without catching her gloves on fire.
"Right S-Suri." Raph chattered, equally freezing. Being cold-blooded didn't help things either.
Becky sighed as she covered them both in heavy blankets. She handed the two steaming cups of co-co, provided by K.P.S (Keep People off Streets) organization,
"They were by today." She commented to them. "They brought some mattresses, heavy blankets and some coffee and co-co for the smaller children. Also coats and shoes and extra clothing."
Suri sipped her warm drink, shivering in delight as it went down. Raph would have rather had coffee, but he made no protest. Warmth was warmth as a hot drink was a hot drink.
"So, did you two lovebirds have a romantic evening out?" Joey chuckled as he walked up to the two shivering people.
Raph raised an eyebrow. "Lovebirds?" he asked.
Joey flashed them a smile. It wasn't a sparkling clean one either. "Sure, what else would ya two being doing out on a night like this unless you desperately wanted some privacy?"
Suri brought one of her hands away from her mug and the warmth long enough to shake her fist at the man. "Joey, g-get your butt o-out of h-h-here. Or I'll kick it, I s-swear!" she threatened.
Joey slapped his knee, laughing. "What? A young pretty thing like you gonna kick my sorry butt. That'll be the day."
Raph stood up, hovering over the man. He eyes narrowed playfully. "If she doesn't I will. And trust me when I say it'll be a lot further."
Joey shook his head laughing, but got the hint and left to bother another circle of people.
Raph let out a relieved sigh as he sat back down. He barely had a few minutes before another person ran up to him.
"Raphie! Raphie!" Sammy squealed with delight at sight of the turtle. She clambered up onto his new. She reached up with her tiny hands and felt the new mask. "Pretty." She cooed. She reached behind his shell and began to tug at the tails.
Raph winced, as the tugs got stronger. "Hey, Sam, don't tug my head off." He kidded.
Sammy immediately stopped tugging, looking horrified at the thought of tugging his head off. Raph chuckled at her face.
"What don't want to tug my head off?" he asked.
Sammy seriously shook her head no, a determined look on her face. "No." she told him. "That mean blood and that sticky." She wrinkled her nose to prove her point.
Suri reached over and grabbed the small girl, rocking her to her chest. "How's Sammy girl today?"
Sammy thought before replying. "Mommy and daddy got tired so they take nap. I drew funny picture of them sleeping. Then daddy woke up and got mad."
"Why, cause you were drawing him?" Suri asked.
"No," she shook her head. Her curls bobbed everywhere. "Cause I tried to move him. Didn't want draw him sleeping that way."
Raph chuckled as he leaned over and whispered in Suri's ear. "Seems you got an artist on your hands."
"Seems I do." Suri told him as she gave the small girl another tight hug. "Seems I do."
Leo angrily swung his katana at the approaching Foot. It didn't matter where he was, in the dojo practicing, in a sparring match with his brothers, or fighting to protect his family-the slice of the blade through air never ceased to amaze him.
He didn't know whether it was the way the blade glistened and reflected the suns glorious rays during the days, or the way it seemed to glow with power from lightning in the sky during a storm. Or maybe it was the way the rain seemed to bounce off it, leaving it reflecting everything around it oh so much clearer.
Maybe it wasn't the appearance, but the sound. The way it seemed to swing through the air, making the deadly weapon seem like an art in its own unique way. Or was it the hum it made as it moved with ease.
To the enemies, the unfortunate ones about to meet the end of the blade, the sound brought fear and panic.
It was the cracking of a thousand guns exploding at once.
It was the snap of the whip about to meet flesh.
It was the howl of wolves surrounding their prey.
It was the thudding of many hooves, trampling everything in their trail.
It was death.
But to Leo, it wasn't any of those things. It was a joyous sound, a sound that seemed to declare his victory even as he swung it.
It was the purr of a well-tuned motorcycle.
It was the slash of enemies flesh meeting steel.
It was the cry of defeat from the defeated lips.
It was life.
It was hope.
It was triumph.
It was the katana.
"Meet your end freaks!" Hun roared as he lunged forward towards the turtle.
As if a practiced dance, Leo shifted aside with grace, his weapons falling towards the man even as he moved the first foot.
All around him, the sounds of battle raged on-the crack of a Bo against an enemy, the whistle of a blade, the jingle of chains as the snap of wood in the air.
The cry of the fallen and the howl of war all blended together. To him it was music to his ears.
To them, they were an enemy.
An enemy meant to be disposed of; killed off.
To Leo, they were a well-oiled machine.
A team of warriors.
Defenders.
Protectors.
Survivors.
He watched his family, part of it anyway, fight with the courage of a thousand men, the strength of an army, the bravery of knight.
This is what they had trained for.
This was who they were.
They were ninjas.
Before Splinter gave them their weapons, trained them or placed masks on their faces, they were fighters.
The longed for the familiar energy surge they received during battle. They longed for sweet taste of victory upon their lips.
Even the quietist of them all had been trained to be a killer. To handle a weapon with such efficiency, it left thugs with baseball bats and pocketknives in shame.
Even through all this, Leo missed the familiar yell of a certain voice. He missed the curses brought upon the men in such rage; it for sure would leave them cursed. He missed the flutter of the blood red mask as they owner lunged about with such grace behind certain strength and fury.
He missed the familiar chuckle as he brought down a fighter. He missed the bulging muscles that added force to their team. He missed the irritation when the fight was over and there was too much energy left over.
He missed all of it.
He missed Raphael.
Even as the last man fled or went down under the turtle's weapons, Leo wondered if Raph missed them. Surely he missed some things about home. As he went over to his brother's checking them for injury, another thing struck him.
He missed the way Raph would try and pursue the retreating figures. He missed, the way he would insist he was fine, despite the fact that he would have a long, deep gash on his arm or leg from a blade, which would be bleeding heavily.
As odd as it sounded, he missed the wild look his brother had in his brown, almond colored eyes when the fight was over; when he was still firmly clutching his sai's, blood dripping from the blades and adding to the pool of blood on the flooring.
He missed the way Raph would ignore his orders to retreat, if necessary, and continue on his crazy and maniac way.
He missed the final words- curse words most of the time- that Raph shouted in the wake of the retreating enemy. If it was the Foot, the threats tended to be more violent, or as Mikey called them, a bouquet of creative and colorful words.
"You okay Mikey?" Don asked as he shuffled over to them, trying not to step on the corpse littering the floor. He used his Bo as an aid, his limp evident.
Mikey rubbed his head, a bruise forming about his eye where Hun had gotten in a lucky hit in. "Yeah, you?"
Don nodded his head, although pain was etched on his features. "Yeah, how about you Leo?" he turned to the eldest turtle.
Leo shrugged, rubbing a stiff shoulder. "A few scratches but I'm good. What happened to your foot?" he pointed to the foot that was resting slightly above ground, not to put weight on it.
Don flashed his a painful grin. "I'm good, just a sprain. Aught to be good in a day or two."
Silence overtook the three as they starred around them, lost for words.
"I miss Raph." Mikey suddenly said quietly. "I miss the way he would barrel over the Foot when he was fighting and the grin on his face. As crazy as he was, I miss him."
"Me too." Don spoke up. This was the first time he had voiced his thoughts about his missing brother.
Before the battle, it wasn't that different. Raph never spent much time in the lair anyway, and Don was so caught up in his lab, his never really noticed whether Raph was gone or not. But during the battle, he too missed his wild brother.
Sure he was nuts.
Sure he was a maniac and out of control most of the time.
Sure he was a hothead.
Sure he was a jerk and a bully.
But he was also a brother and a valuable member to the team. Don just never really noticed it until now.
Leo just nodded his head quietly. "Me too guys." He spread his arms around him, at the damage and the dead bodies. "But brother or not, we're still family. And we still have a job to do, protecting this city." His voice got gentler as he went on. "He will come back you guys. Raph may be stubborn. He may be nuts at times but he's still part of this family. And believe it or not, he needs up just as bad as we need him."
"Really?" Mikey looked hopeful at his brother's words.
"Definitely Mikey." Leo sheathed his katanas. "Lets go home guys."
The three disappeared into the night, leaving behind evidence of a battle. However, they were unaware of the red eyes watching them as they fled the scene and the deep, chuckle that followed.
"Mine."
Raph groaned as the bright sunlight from the early morning rays hit his straight on. One second he was in comfortable darkness, sleeping soundly and the next there was a blinding white light on his face, making him wince even though he eyes were closed.
He missed the lair.
He missed his hammock and the way it swayed gently, almost rocking him to sleep.
He most of all missed waking up in darkness that he could control. In the lair, unless one of his brothers disturbed him and that he could control with a simple lock of the door, he woke up in the same darkness he fell asleep in.
Here, it was multitudes of darkness and light.
Stifling another groan not to wake the kids, he turned over, pulling the covers up higher and over his head.
He must have fallen asleep again for when he woke up, the kids were gone. He threw back the covers and jumped off the mattress with a groan.
He hurt.
Everywhere.
"Morning sleepyhead!" Suri greeted him cheerfully as she placed a steaming cup of hot chicken broth in his hands.
Raph breathed in the smell, savoring the warmth cupping his hands. Last night was cold.
"Morning." He mumbled as he sipped the broth. He hummed, eyes closed, as it went down.
Suri sat down beside him, holding her own cup. She sipped it as she studied the turtle. "So how was your night?" she asked.
Raph shrugged. "Okay. And you?"
Suri shrugged as well and she looked down at her cup, eyes troubled.
"Hey, ya okay girl?" Raph nudged her.
She nodded, still not looking up from her cup. "Yeah, just thinking about last night. It was the one of the coolest nights of my life but…" she paused. "But I had the strangest feeling that we were being watched."
"By who?"
"I'm not sure." Her face was deep in thought. "Maybe I was just imagining things, but it seemed off somehow."
Raph had a sudden tingling sensation run through his shell. It was when he got a bad feeling about something. "Hmm, well I don't know what ta tell ya." He confessed. "I'm just in the dark as ya are."
Suri regained control of herself as she straightened her shoulders. She flipped her hair of her shoulder and nodded twice. "Then I was just a silly thing I thought I saw. Nothing more than my imagination acting up."
Raph was about to nod when Becky ran up to them, her face flushed from running. "Raph," she panted.
Raph stood quickly and grabbed her shoulders. "Calm down Becky, just tell me what's going on."
"Purple Dragons." She whispered through pants. "Big fight…down by docks…Shaun's there…" she was too winded to say more but Raph got the picture.
He straightened up and ran for the doors that led to and alley and to the rooftops. He heard pounding of feet behind him and knew who it was.
"Suri!" he didn't stop running as he glanced over his shoulder at the approaching girl. "You have to stay here."
"Why?"
"Cause this is a fight more grownups. Stay here or else." He left the threat hanging as he shoved the doors open with a loud push. The doors slapped to the side, ringing as they hit the concrete walls on either side.
He bounded up the fire escape, muscles bulging as they tightened with each hold on the metal bar. His legs gave him strength as he pushed off the ledge, flipping down the side and onto the final ridge.
Using his legs, he jumped onto the roof and began to run. He didn't care what people saw below, as long as his friends were safe. He doubted anyone could see much; just a rushing blob of green, red and brown, he was running so fast.
Gathering his strength, he hurled over the first jump with ease, landing on both feet and sliding into a run a second later. His arms pumped beside him as he flew.
Shouts, screams and yells could be heard coming from behind a large warehouse, used to store crates and boxes. Peering over the side, he observed the fight.
Shaun and a few other men were battling some Dragons for some reasons. Blood spots could be seen clearly as the thugs attacked the defenseless homeless.
With a growl, he leapt down, landing between the two teams.
"Raph!" Shaun yelled, thankful beyond words at the help. His right eye was swollen shut and his arms were dotted with small bruises.
Raph wanted to turn and help his friend, but a baseball hurtling towards his face required his attention. With a quick motion, he hit the ball with his foot, sending it right back to the owner-right in the forehead.
"With interest!" Raph hollered as he punched another Dragon trying to sneak up behind him. With a quick snap, his legs performed a perfect split as they hit the two men on the left and right.
But it seemed for every man he took down, six more took his place with more energy than Raph possessed. With a growl, he lunged forward, using his training and animal instincts. Using fists, kicks, jumps and even teeth if needed, he fought off the crooks but they swarmed him like ants on a breadcrumb.
All a sudden, a powerful kick in the shell sent him hurtling towards a large box. Without enough time to protect his face, he hit straight on with a loud scream.
A piece of wood dug into his arm and splinters pierced his body everywhere. He could smell blood. His blood. He rolled out from under the crates his body protesting his movements.
He had to get up and help.
He weekly pushed himself up on his arms, struggling to get his feet out from under him. He thought he had it when a foot hit his side with a loud crack.
He bit back the scream, forcing it back down his throat when he heard the sickening sound of bones breaking.
His side swelled in fresh, new pain, as it seemed to cover his whole body in mere seconds. He clutched his side with both hands.
Shell it hurt.
Another foot connected with his leg and it seemed like a swarm hit him. Legs, arms and fists pounded his body, leaving him gasping for breath and air.
A foot flew threw the air and connected with his face and he saw darkness once again.
What do you think? Enough starting action? Please review and let me know!
Flames will be used to bake cookies! YUMMY!!!!!!!!!
