Chapter 5: Help
The reporter chick had come through! They found his brothers and all it had cost Raph was three hours of his life hunched over in the back of a van listening to their nerd-chauffeur ramble on about nobody-cared-what. The idiot human was expected—annoying-as-hell—but expected. The huge-ass, metal samurai had been a surprise! But now they needed to escape and with three drugged-up, loopy brothers and two useless humans, Raph figured it was up to him to get them the-hell outta there. What he didn't expect, was help.
Raph groaned as he regained consciousness, his brothers barreling into him, grabbing their weapons and chattering nonsense. Shifting onto all fours, he looked up as they circled him, their movements frantic, eyes wild. And he was pretty sure Leo was mumbling about cleaning the dojo.
"The hell?" he muttered with a frown. Ten damn minutes ago they were barely conscious and now they're actin' like Mikey after he chugged that case of Red Bull!
Raph stumbled to his feet and damn if he didn't hurt everywhere!
Apparently seeing him on his feet was enough because they were off, yanking him toward the loading bay exit, Mikey shouting after them to be calm.
Shaking his head, Raph looked back over his shoulder. What the hell happened? he thought, thinking of the bastard in the metal suit.
Leo slid to a stop just outside, his erratic breaths visible in the cold air. Donnie and Mikey crashed into him.
The sun was setting and a dull orange light filled the courtyard, reflecting off the snow and ice. There was a semi-truck parked on their right which provided a little protection, but Raph didn't want to hang around to see how long it'd last. Hell, with their luck the damn thing was probably full of Foot soldiers! And Vern's van wasn't an option; there was no way in hell he and his brothers would all fit in that tin can!
The sound of a helicopter echoed off the stone walls around them and he looked up as it flew overhead.
Next to him, Leo was flapping his gob about needing a plan without actually making one. Donnie seemed to be rattling off math equations and mumbling about endorphins. While Mikey was in full beatbox mode, bouncing and spitting and drumming his nunchaku on his plastron.
Raph scowled at them. "What the—?"
April and Vern appeared through a door not far from the bay and Raph glowered at them. "What the hell's wrong with 'em?"
Wide-eyed, Vern looked at April, who looked guilty.
The rattle of automatic gunfire had Raph unconsciously curling his body protectively over the pair. Damn squishy humans, he thought irritably.
"I'm not squishy!" Mona pouted, stomping her foot.
Raph smirked, poking her in the belly. "Like the Pillsbury doughboy."
Raph started. He could hear his brothers shouting in alarm beside him, feel the sharp rap of the bullets ricochet off his shell.
Squeezing his eyes shut, Raph clenched his fists in frustration. Ever since he put that damn candle in the water, memories of Mona haunted him. Everything reminded him of her, of things she said or did. His crazy half-conscious brain even thought he'd heard her earlier when that metal asshole was trying to grind him into the concrete!
Shaking his head, he drew his weapons. "Stay down!" he barked, backing away.
More gunfire, but it wasn't just his brothers shouting anymore.
Turning, Raph saw a Foot soldier plow low and hard into another, grabbing his airborne comrade's gun and spraying several more with a long pull on the trigger while kicking another in the throat. Out of bullets, he hooked the gun around the neck of a third, pulling down and smashing his face into his knee before rolling over his back and ramming his feet into a fourth.
Raph blinked. "What the—?" Now they're fightin' each other?!
Following a series of quick, violent movements, the rogue Foot soldier landed in a low crouch on the frozen ground just a few feet from Raph; bodies littered the courtyard behind him.
Damn!
Standing, he turned his masked face to look at Vern and April. "Can you drive that truck?"
Raph blinked again. He was a girl?!
Wide-eyed, Vern jerked his head in what was apparently a nod because he followed up with a, "Y-yeah!"
Opening her hand, several keys jingled on a key ring and she tossed them over. "Move!" she snapped as another wave of Foot started to fill the courtyard, guns blazing.
Raph swore, following the rogue as she raced into the fray, his brothers not far behind them.
The woman moved fast, diving into a roll to grab a gun off the ground and firing off half a dozen shots before she was on her feet again. Raph kept a cautious eye on her. She was quick, agile and ruthless, her martial arts varied and fluid.
He didn't trust her.
The truck engine rumbled behind them, its tires crunching over the old snow.
"Raph!"
Smashing his fist into the face of another Foot soldier, Raph looked around.
Mikey was clambering onto the roof of the moving trailer as Donnie hopped into the back. Leo jumped in next as the truck lumbered toward the gate, already building speed.
Leo reached out and Raph grabbed his wrist, vaulting into the trailer with a grunt.
Donnie immediately pulled him further inside, chewing his lip and hovering over his cracked shell like a damned mother hen.
Shaking his head, Raph looked out, past Leo, to see the rogue lady still fighting.
"Come on!" Leo shouted after her.
Turning, she started toward them, moving fast, when a bullet caught her in the shoulder. Her body lurched and spun and she landed hard on her knees.
Donnie froze beside him and Leo made to jump down after her but Raph grabbed his shell.
Blood staining the snow beneath her, she looked up, Foot Clan mask still in place, and pointed a pistol in their direction.
Raph felt his eyes narrow and Leo hesitated.
That was all it took.
As the truck smashed through the wrought iron gate, the woman rolled to her feet with a furious shout, shooting several Foot soldiers before they lost sight of her behind the courtyard wall.
The world seemed to fall away, the noises around him muted and distant. The truck was still barreling away from the estate. Mikey was thundering around on the roof. There was gunfire and shouting and revving engines in the distance. But Raph could only hear the quiet trickle of dirt and debris, could only see the huge blocks of broken concrete.
Could only feel the burning knot of guilt and loss in his gut.
"She's already gone, Raph."
"Raph?"
Gasping, Raph blinked and there was Leo, twenty-three, not thirteen; his eyes were dilated, not bloodshot, but his expression was conflicted, that same horrible—
Clenching his jaw, Raph looked away. What the hell?!
"We got company!" Mikey called from the roof.
Leo turned.
A cloud of snow billowed around the rear of the trailer so it took a moment to see them: two SUV's and an old school hummer closing in fast.
"Damn," Raph muttered.
"Look out!"
Mikey's shout of warning was all they got before the trailer jackknifed. Cargo became projectiles and Leo flew out the back with a startled yell.
"Leo!"
Raph grunted when something smashed into his jaw; he tasted blood. He heard Donnie yelp nearby before something else plowed into his legs and he hit the floor.
Then everything went still.
Pressed against the wall in a low crouch, Raph growled. A heavy crate was leaning against his shell and a couple metal drums blocked his view.
Donnie stumbled noisily to his feet and swore.
Shoving the crate away, Raph blinked up at his little brother. Donnie didn't usually swear and certainly nothing that colorful.
Getting to his feet, Raph looked out the back—and swore.
The trailer was balanced precariously on the edge of a steep, snowy incline.
"Well damn, I forgot my skis," Mikey chirped somewhere above them.
Raph rolled his eyes. At least the moron's alive!
"Leo," Donnie murmured.
Leo lay several yards away, half buried in snow and not moving.
Donnie started toward the back but stopped at the sound of gunfire.
Then the truck started to slide.
"Shit!" Raph grumbled, bracing himself.
Leo was slowly sitting up, head bowed away from them.
"Leo, move!" Donnie shouted. "Move!"
Looking over his shoulder, Leo rolled at the last second and disappeared beneath the truck.
"Son of a bitch!" Raph muttered as the trailer jackknifed again.
Donnie groaned; he looked like he was going to be sick.
"YeeHAW!" cried Mikey.
The truck straightened, plowing down the mountainside, when Raph and Donnie looked up. There were five vehicles now, each with an armed Foot soldier poking through the sunroof.
Leo yelped, sliding into view on his shell and trying to avoid getting run over or shot.
"Yeah, Leo!" Mikey shouted. "Slalom, dude! Slalom!"
Raph scowled at the roof. "I'm gonna—"
The high-pitched buzz of a motorcycle engine cut him off and Raph watched as it snapped through the lower branches of a couple pine trees, flipping over the rear SUV. The rider landed deftly on the roof, quickly taking out the guy in the sunroof, while the bike hurtled into another SUV with an explosion that would've made Michael Bay proud.
Mikey whooped and Raph grinned, glancing at Donnie whose mouth was hanging open in astonishment.
Leo hollered.
One of the sunroof bastards had fired some kind of electrified harpoon, catching Leo in the shoulder.
"Guys!" Mikey called down, sounding worried.
Growling, Raph started forward but Donnie stopped him. "Allow me to be the badass for once."
Raph opened his mouth to argue but Donnie just patted him on the shoulder with an uncertain smirk before flipping out the back.
"Woo!" Mikey cheered. "Eight-point-three, Donnie!"
Raph clenched his fists, feeling restless. "Hang on, Leo," he mumbled to himself, watching Donnie slide up alongside their brother's unconscious body.
The screeching crunch of metal splintered through the air and Raph's eyes snapped over to the SUV the motorcycle rider had commandeered. It fishtailed in the snow before smashing into the side of the hummer again.
Raph's eyes narrowed; the rider was wearing a Foot mask.
I'll be damned!
A volley of gunshots spit up snow around Donnie and Leo slid away from him, free of the harpoon.
"All right, that's it!" cried Mikey, his footsteps loud overhead as he took a running leap off the back of the trailer. He landed hard on the SUV, yanking the Foot soldier out of the sunroof before punching a hole through the roof over the driver's side and grabbing the wheel. "Raph, look!" he shouted with a laugh as the vehicle swung around. "I'm drivin'!"
Raph's grin was dark as he took several steps back before racing forward and jumping. He curled his body, rolling through the air and crashing through the back of the SUV feet-first. Twisted metal and broken glass exploded through the interior as he made quick work of the remaining passengers.
Grinning with the rush of adrenalin, Raph pulled himself out of the confined space, swinging up onto the roof next to Mikey. But his little brother's usually carefree expression was troubled.
Looking around, Raph's heart nearly stopped when Donnie disappeared behind the front of another SUV. Before Raph could figure out how to get to him, the front end of the SUV flipped up and back and there was Donnie with his bo staff, grinning over his shoulder as the hummer swerved to avoid the upended SUV.
Badass! thought Raph with a grin.
It was just the hummer left and damn if that rogue Foot soldier wasn't givin' it hell!
Raph and Mikey abandoned their SUV, sliding up beside Leo and Donnie. Leo was still unconscious.
"Come on, Leo, wake up!" cried Mikey, slapping Leo's face.
Frowning, Donnie pushed him away before looking forward. "Uh—"
"Dudes, is that what I—"
Raph looked around. "What?"
"Uh, there appears to be an incoming drop—"
"What?" Raph snapped impatiently. He couldn't see anything past all the snow that damn truck was blowing around!
"A cliff!" Leo shouted, sitting up and scaring the shit outta Raph and Donnie.
"Damn it, Leo!" Raph growled.
"We gotta get April outta there!" said Leo, unceremoniously using Raph's plastron as a stepping stool.
"Put on a few, Leo?" Raph grunted irritably. Bastard was heavy!
Leo shot him a look before vaulting onto the roof of the trailer.
"Oh, shit," said Mikey, bumping into Raph, his eyes focused behind them.
Raph looked uphill and swore.
The Foot soldier poking out of the sunroof of the hummer was settling a rocket launcher on his shoulder. It hissed and whistled when he pulled the trigger, shooting straight for the SUV at the same time the rogue lady crawled through the sunroof and jumped.
The SUV exploded, propelling the rogue Foot soldier violently through the air. She landed hard in the snow several yards away, her body limp as she slid down the mountainside.
Raph swore again, shifting his weight and moving in her direction.
The hummer roared, speeding up alongside the truck.
Almost gotcha, he thought as he reached out, fingers curling around her bicep. He pulled her onto his chest and scowled at the hummer.
Fishtailing near the front of the truck, they shot another one of those damn electric harpoons through the cab window.
"That's it," he growled, wrapping his arms around the woman, holding her tight against his plastron, before digging his feet into the snow and kicking off.
"What the—?" he heard her mutter before his momentum propelled them into a barrel roll. Man, she better not puke! he thought as he shot toward the hummer, his shell slamming into the side. Metal screamed and crumpled around him, glass shattered. The woman grunted, her head snapping against his plastron, breaking her mask.
Flipping over the wreckage, Raph looked down at his passenger as his shell hit the snow again and felt his breath lodge in his throat.
The truck plowed over the edge as she sat up. Her lower jaw was visible beneath her broken mask and she chuckled, patting his plastron. "Nice!" Then she rolled off him.
Raph felt the scrape of stone against his shell. He could see the damn edge now! He used his sai to slow his momentum and was on his feet in one fluid movement.
He didn't think, didn't hesitate. He marched past Leo, who was kneeling beside an unconscious April; he ignored Donnie's hum of concern—he could feel the glass in his arms from the damn hummer.
She was standing at the edge, her back to them, and Raph reached out with a shaking hand, yanking off the cap and mask.
"Hey!" Her head jerked back and she whipped around with a ready scowl.
A familiar scowl.
Raph forgot to breathe as two narrowed, silver eyes glared up at him.
© Nickelodeon