Chapter 26: Cooling the Fire

A/N: Another chapter is here! I'm so excited to be bringing you this chapter and I'm just one step closer to finishing this story completely. Thanks to those who have read and reviewed thus far. Your kind words mean the world to me. And if you haven't read and reviewed, don't be shy. I welcome any and all feedback no matter if it's good or bad. I hope you enjoy this chapter too.

Disclaimer: TMNT and all related characters are property of Nickelodeon. I only own the plot and nothing more than that.

Raph smiled as he navigated the rooftops with Lucindra. It had been a while since he'd been out after their ordeal at the warehouse, and being cooped up had been driving him crazy. But now that was all over and he was back where he belonged.

"I hope we get to bust some heads today," Lucindra said.

"Yeah, that'll be a good thing," Raph agreed.

A sudden commotion made them stop in their tracks. It sounded like someone was getting beaten up.

"What's that?" Lucindra asked him.

"I'm not sure, but we'd better check it out," Raph answered.

The two of them followed the sounds and were met by a very strange sight. The Purple Dragons were getting beaten up by a very large mutant turtle with spikes on his back. He swung a mace and had already taken two of the members down.

"Man, that's neat!" Lucindra commented.

"I can't believe there's another mutant turtle," said Raph. "Mikey will freak about this. I'm gonna go talk to him."

"Raph, I don't think it's a good idea," cautioned Lucindra. "He could be dangerous."

Raph shrugged. "I think I can take him," he said. And with that, he leapt down and confronted the larger mutant. Lucindra followed, though she wasn't happy about it.

The Dragons got up and fled without glancing at Raph or his human companion.

"Yeah, that's right, you better run!" the larger mutant yelled. "Stupid cowards!"

"Hey, nice job on that fight," Raph commented. "You've got some skills."

"Thanks," the mutant said. He held out a hand. "The name's Slash. I was a bouncer who was abducted by the Kraang and experimented on against my will."

"Whoa, that had to be rough!" Raph said. "My name's Raphael, but everyone calls me Raph for short. And this is my friend, Lucindra."

"Did the Kraang experiment on you, too?" Slash asked him.

"I was a pet turtle before I was covered in mutagen," Raph said and told him the story of how Splinter had bought them as pets and how they were mutated.

"Damn!" Slash said. "That has to suck!"

"Nah, it has its perks," Raph said. "Look, we've been lookin' for this girl who wants to kill us. She has red hair and blue eyes. Her name's Robyn O'Neil. I don't know if you've heard her story, but she's dangerous."

"Oh, isn't she the one who killed her sister?" Slash asked.

Raph nodded. "Yep, that's the one."

"Yeah, I heard about that story. She's one crazy chick."

"Have you seen her around?"

Slash shook his head. "Nope. I haven't seen anyone by that description, but maybe my teammates have."

"You have a team?" Lucindra asked.

Slash nodded. "Yep. We call ourselves the Mighty Mutanimals."

Lucindra laughed. "That is the corniest name ever!"

"Hey, it's better than the one Mikey came up for us," Raph said defensively.

"And what was that?" asked Slash.

"He once called us the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," answered Raph. "He wanted to write about our adventures and thought we should have a cool name. He even came up with a theme song and everything because he figured that one day his stories would become a TV show, and all TV shows had cool theme songs."

"Was it cool?" asked Lucindra.

"No, it was the lamest thing ever," said Raph. "I still have nightmares about it."

"Well, I'll have to ask Mikey about that theme song then," said Lucindra.

"Okay, but I warned you," said Raph. "Hey, Slash, maybe you could meet my brothers. We could always use some extra eyes to watch for Robyn."

"I'd like that," said Slash. "You wanna go now?"

"Raph, I don't think this is a good idea," said Lucindra.

"Why not? Slash is on our side."

"Yeah, but you know how Leo is about complete strangers," she reminded him. "He won't be too happy about this."

"Look, I'll handle Fearless, okay?" Raph said. "We need to do this. Slash will be a good ally to have, and we need as many of those as we can get." And with that, Raph led Slash to the Lair. Lucindra followed, though she wasn't very happy about Raph's recklessness.

"Awesome place you've got here," Slash commented as he entered the Lair along with Raph and Lucindra.

"Yeah, it's a nice home," Raph said.

"Raph, who is this?" Leo demanded. He pulled his swords out and took a defensive stance.

"Relax, bro," Raph soothed. "This is Slash. He was once a human who was mutated by the Kraang against his will. I met him tonight, and he thinks he can help us stop Robyn."

Leo glared at his brother. "So, let me get this straight," he said. "You brought over a strange mutant because you think he could help us stop Robyn? Are you that dense? For all you know, he could be working for Robyn herself."

"I'm not working for Robyn," Slash reassured him. "I would never do that to you guys."

"I still don't' trust you, Slash. You have to prove yourself to me."

"I will. I promise. I even have a team of my own who could help out, too."

"How many are there?" Don asked him.

"Three others and then me. Oh, and the human who lent us the base. His name's Jack."

"Jack Kurtzman?" Leo asked.

"Yep. Do you know him?"

"Yeah, he and Ali were assigned to April's case," Don answered. "He still doesn't believe that we saw Robyn at the warehouse though."

"Well, maybe we can draw her out," Slash said. "If she's still in the city, that is."

"I still think this is a stupid plan," Leo said.

"Leonardo, it is prudent to have more allies working with us if we are to succeed," Splinter said firmly. "You may not trust Slash, but I feel he and his team will help us. You must learn to work together. A true ninja takes advantage of a situation and uses it to the best of his ability."

Leo sighed. "Hai, Sensei," he said. "Okay, we can try this."

"I have a good way for you guys to stay in touch with us," Don said and pulled out his T-Phone. "I can make some for you and your team so we can call you if we need you."

"Sounds like a plan. When will they be done?"

"In a few days," Don answered.

"Good. We'll meet you then to get them and go over some stuff."

"It is an honor to work with you, Slash," Splinter said graciously. "Thank you for helping my sons."

"No problem, Master Splinter," Slash said. "I'd better head out to tell my team what's going on."

"I'll walk you out," Raph offered. "I have to take Lucindra home anyway."

"Wait, before we go, I wanna ask Mikey about that theme song," Lucindra said.

"Oh, yeah, it's the best," Mikey said. Then he started singing, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, heroes in a halfshell. Turtle Power! I have more, but that's the main part. What do you think?"

"Not bad," Lucindra said. "That could probably turn into an awesome TV show one day."

"I still think it sucks," Raph said.

Mikey stuck his tongue out at Raph. "Yeah, like you could do any better."

"I probably could," Raph retorted.

"Well, when you come up with something, let me know and we'll see who's better," Mikey challenged.

"I will!" Raph retorted. "Let's go, you two."

Slash, Lucindra, and Raph left the Lair. Raph was still seething over Mikey's lame theme song and how Leo didn't trust Slash.

"Is Leo always like that?" Slash asked him.

"Yeah, he's always got a cob up his ass about something," Raph answered. "It's just so stupid."

"He's been through a lot though," Lucindra said. "You can't blame him for feeing that way."

"We all have been through a lot, but that doesn't mean he has to be a stick in the mud," Raph grumped. "Slash is tryin' to help and we need all the help we can get."

"Don't worry, Raph," Slash soothed. "I can see why he would be that way. He's the older brother, right?"

"Yeah, and the leader of our team," Raph answered.

"Then it makes sense he'd be so uptight."

"Yeah, but he shouldn't be," Raph said. "He needs to lighten up."

"Well, thanks for walking with me," Slash said. "I can go on my own from here."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm good," Slash said. "See you around, Raph."

"See you around," Raph said as he bumped fists with the larger mutant.

After Slash was gone, Raph took Lucindra home. She seemed a lot happier than before, and that made Raph feel better, too.

"So what do you think of Slash?" Raph asked her.

"He's cool, and I think he'll make a great friend," Lucindra said. "Just don't sweat Leo, okay? He's only looking out for you."

Raph sighed. "I know, but I just get so mad at him sometimes."

"Well, if you were leader, I'm sure you would probably worry about your brothers, too."

"I do worry about them!" Raph retorted. "The difference between me and Leo is that even though I worry about my brothers, I still trust them and don't second guess them. Leo does that all of the time no matter what it is, and it gets on my nerves!"

"Maybe he does, but he has his reason for it, Raph. Just try not to get mad at him, okay? You guys need each other right now."

Raph sighed. "Yeah, you're right," he said resignedly. "I guess I need to cool it, right?"

"For now," she said.

"Well, I better get home," Raph said. "I'll see you later."

"See you later, Big Guy," Lucindra said.

Raph waved to her before going home. He found Leo sitting up and waiting for him, and he tensed, expecting a huge lecture from his big brother that would lead into one of their infamous fights.

"Raph, I want you to know that even though I still don't fully trust Slash, I'm willing to give him a chance to help us," Leo said. "Splinter's right that we need help on this Robyn issue, and if Slash and his team can give us that, I'm willing to work with them to see how it goes. But if Slash betrays us in any way, all bets are off. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I get it, Leo," Raph said. "Are you done now?"

"Raph, don't be like this," Leo begged.

"I'm not," Raph answered. "Are you done with your little lecture?"

"Yes, I'm done."

"Good. See you in the morning."

Raph stormed to his room. He should have been glad that Leo was willing to still work with Slash, but the fact that Leo still didn't trust him rubbed Raph the wrong way. They needed help, and even though Raph often was the one who acted like they didn't need anybody else, he understood that they couldn't do this on their own. On instinct, he looked down at his phone, expecting a taunting text about not trusting strangers, but his phone stayed silent. Raph wasn't sure whether to take that as a good sign or a bad sign, but he knew that the war was far from over when it came to Robyn. They would just have to take things in stride and strike when they were ready.

A/N: Not the best ending for this chapter, but I felt it needed to end here. Yeah, I added Slash and the Mutanimals to the mix though I changed Slash's origin a bit because I felt it fit better with my universe. Only one chapter to go and this story will be complete. Feel free to leave a review and have a shelltastic day.