AN: Hi! It's been forever since I've tried my hand at writing a full on story, so I might be a tad rusty.
I do not own rottmnt or any of the characters in my story. This is merely the work of a fan that loves rise and believes it deserves more than two seasons and a movie.
With that disclaimer aside, I hope you enjoy!
On the surface, Raphael appeared to be doing well. He would spend time with his brothers and friends, he'd put on a big smile.
But it was all for show, the truth was he rarely slept. Not since the Krang invasion. It was already a distant memory to certain people in New York, but he still woke up in a cold sweat just thinking about the fact he could have killed his own brothers.
He wanted to put the blame to Leo, and oh he did… but it solved nothing. The nightmares continued, like a show that would never end. In his mind, this was his punishment. Raphael believed he deserved this sort of crisis, he could have tried to do something, anything. He could've been more strict, he was the oldest… he should've been the one in control.
But instead, he was taken over by the Krang, and it nearly cost him everything.
On particularly hard nights, nights where he refused to sleep just so he wouldn't have to endure the nightmare of being controlled again, Raph found himself wandering through the streets of New York City.
It was… therapeutic, in a way. Listening to the hustle and bustle of passersby as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop, quiet as can be considering his stature. He closed his eyes, inhaling the air. It wasn't the freshest, but it was familiar, it was a way to help bring him to reality.
He needed everything to be real at that moment, he needed to be reminded he was no longer a Krang zombie. He was himself again, even if he still had leftover scars.
As he was breathing in and out, he felt something… no, someone collided into him. With that, he fell onto his back, his eyes wide.
"Hey, what gives?!" His eyes narrowed in anger, he looked up only to see a humanoid salamander glaring right at him.
"Hey! Watch where you're—" her eyes widen instead of glaring at him. "Wait a minute, you're a snapping turtle!" She exclaims, a big excited smile on her face. She took note of how he appeared to share similarities to her, those similarities being that they were both some type of human-like creature. Minus the fact she belonged to the lizard category and he belonged to the reptile category.
"And you're— uhh— you're a salamander…?" Raphael gave out a weak retort, unsure of how exactly to react towards her. At least until he noticed the girl had some random trinkets barely hidden in her worn out holster pockets. "Someone's been out shopping." He glared at her, already beginning to grow suspicious of this girl.
"What… oh! You mean these?" She offers a meek smile, slowly getting off of him. "Would you believe me if I said I found them?"
She already knew he wasn't buying her little story.
"Eh, worth a shot." She rushed forward, attempting to throw a jab cross to his face. Despite initially being startled, Raph blocked it by using his sai to create a red force field over himself.
This move left the girl equally stunned, "I didn't see that coming." She pulled out a pair of daggers from another set of holster pockets. She rushed forward again, an attempt to try and break through his force field.
Raphael could already feel his body breaking out into a cold sweat. His mind played tricks on him, as the girl in front of him flickered to the image of Krang, wickedly smiling while watching him crumble to their will. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes, he was struggling to hold it in, he felt a mixture of shame and anger. This wasn't him, this was a hollow shell of who he used to be. Raphael couldn't be that person again.
He was snapped back to reality when he heard the girl grunt in pain. His eyes dart towards the girl, laying in a small crater he caused. "Shit, I— I'm so sorry…" he ran to her, assessing the damage he caused her, a reminder of what could've been his own brothers, laying to waste in a crater. "I'm sorry…" the only words that could escape his lips at that exact moment. He tried to look for a pulse, anything to tell him she was still alive.
He would get his answer as she punched him.
He let out a soft grunt, while he was enraged, he was also relieved he didn't hurt her too badly.
"Damn, that packed a punch…" the girl chuckled a bit, twirling one of her daggers in her hand. "I think I heard about you, you're one of those 'heroes', right? The ones mentioned in the news for saving New York from those weird gummy-looking creeps?"
He paused, staring at the girl blankly. "Yeah… guess that'd be me." She wasn't necessarily wrong, even if he put part of the blame for the attack on himself. "Who the hell are you…?"
She paused, as if contemplating whether or not to tell the mutant turtle her name or not, she chose the second option, "… not important." She retorts in a snippy tone. "Now move, I got stuff to sell." She tried walking past him, but it resulted in Raph grabbing her by her arm. "Nuh uh, you're not getting away with your little robbing scheme."
"Still want to fight? Fine by me," with her free arm, she used her dagger to stab him, he'd grab that same free arm with his own. He'd glare at her as she struggled to free herself. "I don't want to fight you."
"Shame, I really want to fight you." She chuckled, managing the land a kick to his chest to make him release her.
Raphael hated to admit it, but the girl was definitely fast. She was already at the edge of the rooftop as he caught himself.
"You know, you're not half bad…" she admitted with an impish grin, "I wouldn't mind going toe to toe with you again." She turned her back on him and jumped onto the next rooftop, and then the next until he could barely see her.
Raphael hated her, but yet… he was also intrigued by her. He didn't even know the girl's name, but he definitely wanted to meet her again.