- Chapter 38 -

Slash and Destroy

In the lair, the Hamato septet was chilling as Donnie explained their latest situation to April.

"Wait." April began. "You're saying… my blood is the key to the retro-mutagen?"

"Yes." Donnie told her. "You're already resistant to mutagen, and your DNA is more refined than Hisako's. It could reverse the effects of everyone Krang has tormented."

"Well… I'm not sure how it works," April admitted, "but if it means helping his victims, do what you need to do."

She stuck her arm out, rolling up her sleeve. Donnie felt around for a good vein, and eventually drew some blood with a syringe.

"Okay." Donnie declared. "Let's get started."

-X-

"MIKEY!"

Everyone jumped at Raph's scream of rage, while Kagome just rolled her eyes.

"Here we go again." she muttered as Raph stormed into the room, Spike on his shoulder and holding a stack of magazines.

"You bellowed?" Mikey asked, looking up from his 3DS.

"How many times do I have to tell you?! Stay out of my things!" Raph ranted, holding up one of his many copies of Seventeen. "Look! You got pizza stains all over the cover!"

"Wait." Kagome remarked. "That's the swimsuit issue from last summer."

She looked at Mikey, raising an eyebrow.

"I… read it for the articles." Mikey said sheepishly.

"Well thanks to you, it's completely ruined!" Raph snapped. "You wanna read these magazines, buy your own damn copies!"

"Chillax, dude." Mikey replied. "I'll clean it for you."

Mikey snatched the magazine out of his hands and began licking the pizza stains off. Annoyed, Raph snatched the magazine back and whacked him upside the head with it.

"God, everything you touch turns to junk!" he shouted. "You frickin' screw-up!"

"Ease off, Raph." Leo cut in. "It's just stuff. Meager possessions."

Raph whirled on him.

"What about your collection of Space Heroes DVDs?" he snapped. "You wouldn't brush it off so easy if Mikey got greasy pizza all over them!"

"Dude, would you give it a rest?" Vee snapped.

"Yeah, just go get another magazine." Hisako told him. "It's no big deal."

Raph slammed the magazine down on the table.

"Everyone always takes Mikey's side!" he exclaimed. "What-the fuck-ever!"

"Hey, keep it down out there!" Donnie shouted from the lab. "I'm in the middle of a delicate procedure."

In the lab, he continued working on April's blood.

"This may finally be the cure I've been looking for." he went on. "I can't afford distractions with Raph exploding all the time."

"I just gotta know," April began. "What exactly does Kagome see in him?"

Donnie shrugged.

"There's no accounting for taste." he remarked.

"I can totally hear you, Egghead!" Raph yelled from the living room.

"Working in here!" Donnie snapped back. "If something goes wrong because you don't know how to shut up, I won't be held responsible, Raph!"

As he turned to shout that, his elbow knocked into a vial of chemicals, as well as his sample of mutagen. Donnie gasped, but was unable to catch them in time and they mixed together.

"Uh-oh…" Donnie let out as the mutagen began rapidly bubbling and shaking.

"It's gonna blow!" April yelled. "Hit the deck!"

They dove to the ground, covering their heads as the mutagen exploded, releasing firework-like blasts all over the lair. Everyone else immediately dove under furniture to escape the blasts, Raph shielding Spike with his own body. Eventually, the blasts tapered off, leaving the lair in ruins. Splinter then ran into the room, surveying the damage.

"What is going on in here?" he demanded.

"I'll tell you what's going on?" Raph shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Donnie. "Donnie here almost blew us all up! Including Spike!"

"It only happened because you wouldn't stop bitching and screaming, Raph!" Donnie shot back. "You blew my concentration! And I told you I won't be held responsible!"

"No, you're being held completely responsible." Raph growled. "You're the one who set off a fucking bomb in the lair!"

By this point, Hisako had had enough. She stormed over to Raph, grabbing him and spinning him around.

"Raph, what is with you today?" she demanded. "All you've done since you woke up this morning is blow up on everyone! What is your problem?!"

"You wanna know what my problem is, Hisako?!" Raph demanded, dislodging himself from her grip. "I'm tired of all of you! You're always screwing up, and I'm the one who pays for it!"

With that, he stomped into Donnie's lab, coming back out with a canister of mutagen.

"So until the mad scientist gets his act together, I'm holding this for safekeeping." he declared.

"Raph, come on! That's my last can of mutagen!" Donnie objected. "I need it to cure Sydney and the others! You know that!"

"Should've thought of that before you blew up the lair." Raph retorted before going into his room, slamming and locking the door behind him.

"Yeesh, what crawled up his shell?" Mikey questioned.

April looked at Kagome.

"You ever look at him and think, 'Wow, I'm dating that asshole?'" she asked.

"Some days are worse than others." Kagome informed her.

"And you guys rag on me for hanging out with Leatherhead." Hisako said flatly.

"Well, Leatherhead at least has a legit excuse for having a hair-trigger temper." Vee pointed out. "Raph doesn't."

"Point taken." Hisako conceded.

-X-

In his room, Raph set the mutagen on a table and Spike on his nightstand before plopping onto the bed.

"Screw those guys. Screw all of them." he grumbled. "They just wanna goof around and make fools of themselves."

He looked at Spike, who just watched him from the nightstand.

"You get it, don't you?" Raph asked. "Sometimes I wish it was just me on my own. I'm tired of this team!"

After a few minutes, a knock sounded on the door.

"WHAT?!" Raph screamed.

Hisako opened the door, a stern look on her face.

"Master Splinter says we have to clean up. All of us." she informed him. "So get out here before I drag you out."

"No way! Not a chance!" Raph snapped. "Donnie can clean up his own explosion!"

Hisako shrugged.

"Alright then." she told him, slowly turning to walk away. "I guess I'll just tell Sensei you're not listening to him. You'll be in the Hashi before you can say-"

"Fine!" Raph cut in. "I will!"

He got up and stomped toward the door, slamming it behind him with such force that the canister of mutagen fell off the table and cracked open, spilling its contents on the ground.

Witnessing the whole thing, Spike approached the mutagen puddle, sticking a single toe into it…

-X-

Outside, the others along with Splinter were cleaning up the mess when Raph stormed in. A broom, surrounded by a green glow, hovered in front of his face.

"Here." Hisako told him.

Raph snatched the broom and threw it to the ground.

"This is completely unfair." Raph griped. "Donnie made this mess, so why do we have to clean it up?"

"Oh, stop with the bitching and moaning already, Baby Wah-Wah!" Vee shouted. "I'm fucking sick and tired of listening to it!"

"We're all cleaning, Raph." Leo told him. "So just start sweeping."

"No!" Raph snapped, throwing the broom down. "Why should I have to clean up someone else's mess?"

"Raphael, may I make a suggestion?" Splinter said calmly.

"Suggest what?" Raph demanded. "I'm sick of suggestions! What could you possibly suggest?!"

Splinter darted forward, jabbing a pressure point in Raph's neck, causing him to drop to the ground.

"Perhaps you should sit and mediate for a while." he said.

Grumbling, Raph pulled himself up and went back into his room, closing the door behind him.

"Seriously, what the hell is his deal today?" Kagome asked.

"He's a little grouchy." Mikey remarked. "Probably woke up on the wrong side of the gutter this morning."

"Raph's always had a short fuse, Kagome." Leo pointed out.

"I know, Leo." Kagome told him. "But never this short."

"Want me to sniff out the problem?" Hisako suggested.

"No." said Splinter. "Raphael will tell us in his own time."

-X-

In his room, Raph leaned against his door, still in a nasty mood.

"Always me, right?" he hissed. "Raph the hot-head. Raph the loose cannon. Raph the bad guy. They just don't get it!"

"They never have…"

Raph jumped at the sound of a deep, raspy voice.

"What the-" he let out. "Who's there?!"

"They never understood ya." the voice said. "Not like me."

Out of the darkness emerged a large, hulking mutant turtle covered in spikes. Raph gasped before looking at the broken canister on the ground and putting two and two together.

"No way…" he gasped. "Spike?!"

"Hey, Raphael." the newly mutated Spike said, smiling. "Knew you'd recognize me, no matter what."

-X-

Out in the lair, the group continued cleaning, and Donnie sighed.

"Y'know, it is my fault Raph's so mad." he remarked. "I did make a mistake with the experiment."

"It's not your fault, Donnie." Leo told him before thinking for a second. "Well… it kinda is, but that's not the point. Raph just has to work on his insanely bad temper."

"At least he didn't try to smash someone's head in with a pipe this time." Mikey pointed out.

"I thought we agreed never to bring that up again." Hisako reminded him.

"Just saying." Mikey said. "Maybe he should switch to decaffeinated pizza."

At that moment, something began beeping, and Donnie pulled a small device out of his pocket.

"Okay, what's that?" Vee asked.

"My mutagen tracker." Donnie replied. "One of my latest inventions. Considering how all our enemies seem to have access to the stuff, I figured having a tracker would help us limit their supply."

"You… have a lot of free time on your hands." Kagome remarked, before shrugging. "I'll get Raph. Hopefully, he won't go ape on me."

-X-

Raph looked over the mutated Spike, gushing over his pet's new form.

"I can't believe this is happening. I mean, this is amazing!" he declared, before realizing something. "Wait. What am I gonna tell the others?"

"Tell 'em you got a new partner." Spike declared. "One that knows the meaning of being a true warrior."

Raph tilted his head quizzically.

"New partner?" he repeated in confusion.

"Yeah. Think about it." Spike remarked. "Think about it. No siblings holding you back. Just the two of us against the world. We'll be the ultimate ninja team!"

Raph grinned.

"That would be… awesome!" Raph let out.

At that moment, a knock sounded on the door.

"Raph?" came Kagome's voice. "It's me. Can I come in?"

"Crap!" Raph let out. "Spike, you gotta-"

He turned, but much to his surprise, Spike had suddenly disappeared.

"Whoa." he whispered. "So that's what it's like."

After a minute, he shrugged and went for the door, opening it.

"Hey," Kagome said. "Listen, Donnie got a hit on some new mutagen. We're about to head out and could use your help. You coming?"

"Yeah, I'll catch up." Raph told her. "You guys go ahead."

"Well, okay." Kagome gave in. "See you in a bit."

She went, and Raph closed the door, almost jumping out of his shell to see Spike standing there as if he had been there the whole time.

"You don't need 'em, Raphael." he declared. "We can find that mutagen on our own."

After a second's hesitation, Raph nodded.

"Let's do it!" he said. "But you're gonna need to gear up."

He went over to his closet and opened it up, revealing a slew of weapons. Spike went over and picked two weapons in particular: a large mace, and a set of tekko-kagi claws he mounted on his right arm (1). He then tied a black mask around his eyes. Raph looked him up and down, whistling in awe.

"You look awesome, Spike!" he remarked.

"Never really liked the name Spike." Spike replied, hefting his mace. "Call me… Slash."

"Okay, Slash it is." Raph conceded. "But wait! How're we gonna find the mutagen?"

"I got a nose for the stuff." Slash replied. "I can smell it a mile away. Being around you all my life helped with that little gift."

He sniffed the air, catching the trail.

"Shall we?" he offered.

Raph grinned at that.

"After you."

Above ground, Donnie was in the lead, holding the tracker out in front of him. Hisako lagged behind, looking at Kagome.

"Any idea why Raph decided to stay behind?" she questioned. "Doesn't sound like him."

"Maybe he felt guilty about yelling at us?" Mikey suggested.

"Maybe." Hisako said uncertain. "I just… I can't shake this feeling that something's off."

"It does seem a little off." Kagome conceded.

"We'll worry about that later." Leo cut in. "Right now, the mutagen is the top priority."

Unbeknownst to the rest of them, Raph and Slash were on the rooftops, also tracking the mutagen. Both of them eventually found it, near a soda machine.

"Huh." Vee remarked. "Didn't see that coming. Maybe Krang's men or Stockman got clumsy and dropped it again?"

"Doesn't matter." Leo declared. "Let's just grab it."

On a different rooftop, Raph and Slash looked down to see the same mutagen canister.

"Alright, I got this, Slash." Raph told his new partner. "Wait here."

He went down, making for the mutagen, but before anyone could go for it, a pizza delivery boy strolled up, grabbing the canister.

"Hey, free energy drink." he declared. "Still sealed, too."

With that, he walked away, carrying the canister with him. After a minute, Vee broke the stunned silence.

"Well, shit." she let out.

Leo made to go after him, only to bump into Raph just as soon as he rounded the corner.

"About time you showed up, Raph!" Leo shouted after the initial shock passed. "Where have you been?!"

"Looking for the mutagen, which we lost thanks to you!" Raph snapped.

"Oh, hell no!" Leo shot back. "You are not pinning this on me!"

"Well, it sure as shit ain't my fault!" Raph retorted.

"Boy, I sure hope this argument takes long enough for the pizza guy to get away with the mutagen!" Vee cut in, snapping them back to attention.

"I'll tail him." Hisako said, hurrying after him.

Almost as soon as she rounded the corner, a massive hand closed around her face and yanked her into a nearby alley.

"Hey!" Hisako shouted. "Put me-"

The figure lifted her up and flung her down on the ground with bone-shattering force, knocking her out cold. With that done, the figure reached down, yanking the dark green cloth mask off of Hisako's face. It held it up, revealing itself to be Slash.

"You're done holding Raphael back, bitch." he snarled.

-X-

"Hisako, did you get the mutagen?" Kagome said into her phone, getting no answer. "Hisako?" She dropped the phone. "Damn it, she's not answering."

"That can't be good." Donnie remarked.

As they went, Leo hurried ahead. As the other tried to follow, Slash snuck up behind Donnie, grabbing him and hoisting him into the air before yanking him into the shadows. Donnie barely had any time to yell before Slash beat him unconscious. Kagome looked back at that, noticing in shock that Donnie had disappeared.

"Guys, Donnie's gone as well!" she pointed out. Mikey and Vee looked back, and out of the corner of her eye, Kagome saw Raph ascending a fire escape.

-X-

Raph got up to the rooftop where he'd left Slash, and was shocked to discover he was nowhere to be seen.

"Raph!" came Kagome's voice.

Raph jumped, turning to see Kagome, Mikey, and Vee ascend the fire escape after him.

"Where are you going?!" Mikey demanded. "Hisako's not answering her phone, and Donnie's disappeared too!"

"Wait, what?!" Raph let out. "When did this happen?!"

At that very moment, Slash landed on the rooftop, seeming out of breath and holding strips of purple and green cloth in one hand.

"GYAH!" Vee screamed. "What is that?!"

Raph chuckled awkwardly.

"Oh, yeah." he let out before regaining his composure. "Guys, this is Spike. He got into the mutagen."

"Uh, what?" Mikey let out, confused.

Kagome looked at Spike, and gasped, realizing the strips of green and purple cloth he was holding were Hisako and Donnie's masks.

"Wait…" she managed. "Hisako… Donnie… what did you do to them?!"

Slash quickly put the masks behind his back.

"Sorry, sweetheart." he replied, feigning innocence. "Got no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't lie to me, you bastard!" Kagome shouted. "You had Donnie and Hisako's masks in your hand! I saw it!"

"Raphael, we don't have time for this." Slash insisted, ignoring her. "We have to find the mutagen."

"What about Hisako and Donnie?" Vee demanded.

After a minute, Raph caved in.

"Sorry, Slash." he told him. "But family comes first, no matter what."

Slash scowled at that.

"How about I make the choice easier for ya?" he demanded, before darting forward and punching Kagome in the face, sending her flying across the rooftop to slam back-first into an air conditioning unit.

"KAGOME!" Raph yelled in shock. Mikey and Vee charged at him, only for Slash to easily slap them aside.

"What are you doing?!" Raph demanded.

"You said it yourself, Raphael." Slash told him. "You don't need these clowns."

"That doesn't mean I want them dead!" Raph yelled. "What the fuck has gotten into you?! They're my family!"

"I don't wanna fight you, Raphael." Slash replied. "Just leave me to my work."

"Your work?!" Raph repeated. "This isn't you, Spike! The mutagen's messing with your head!"

"I told you, my name is Slash." Slash said simply before backing away and running.

With that, Raph hurried over to Kagome, helping her to her feet.

"Raph…" she managed, "after this, we're going to have a serious talk."

"I know." Raph said. "Rag on me after all this, okay?"

"That all depends on what your psycho pet did to our siblings." Vee said sternly.

They descended the fire escape just in time to see Donnie and Hisako stumble out of the alley. Donnie was supporting Hisako, who was nursing a bloodied lump on her forehead.

"Look at the funny frog man…" Hisako let out, pointing at Raph and laughing goofily.

"Whatever attacked us gave Hisako a hell of a hit in the head." Donnie remarked in fear.

"It was Spike." Kagome told him. "He got into the mutagen, and he's out of his goddamn mind."

"Spike?" Donnie repeated, before glaring at Raph. "Way to keep that mutagen safe, Raph."

"Yeah, I know!" Raph snapped. "I'm an idiot!"

"Hey…" Hisako managed loopily, "what's the giant porcupine doing?"

They looked behind her just in time to see Slash jump down, Donnie's and Hisako's masks now tied around his arm.

"Why are you doing this, Slash?!" Raph demanded. "I thought you were my friend!"

"They're holding you back! Limiting your potential!" Slash replied. "I'm trying to make you the warrior you were always meant to be!"

"No! I never wanted this! They're my family!" Raph told him, glaring at him with tears in his eyes. "You're not Spike. Not anymore. You're just a warped monster. A vicious, deranged freak."

Slash looked visibly hurt for several seconds, then let out an enraged roar and charged at Raph.

-X-

Meanwhile, Leo was still tailing the pizza guy when his T-Phone went off. He answered it, revealing a disheveled, bruised Kagome.

"Leo, we need backup!" she shouted.

"Kagome?!" Leo exclaimed. "What's going on?!"

"Spike turned into a mutant monster! He's trying to kill us!" Kagome informed him.

"What?!" Leo shouted.

"He's too strong! We-" but Kagome was cut off when Slash grabbed her, and the screen went blank.

"Kagome!" Leo let out. "Goddammit!"

He looked up at the pizza guy, deciding to forgo subtlety.

"Hey! Pizza guy!" he yelled "Stop!"

The pizza guy did so, and Leo ran over to him and snatched the mutagen canister right out of his hands.

"Sorry, gotta run!" Leo said as he hurried away. "Thanks!"

The pizza guy stood there, confused, before breaking the silence.

"What just happened?"

-X-

Things were not going well for the others. Slash had beaten everyone but Raph into the ground, and was now wearing Mikey and Vee's masks around his arm alongside Donnie's and Hisako's, along with Kagome's scarf around his waist like a belt.

"Pink ain't really my color, but a trophy's a trophy." Slash remarked.

"Slash…" Raph pleaded, "just stop this, please!"

"We could've been a great team, Raphael!" Slash yelled. "But you're as weak and pathetic as these guys!"

"At least they don't see family as weakness!" Raph shot back. "I'd rather be like them than you any day!"

Slash scowled, swinging at him with the tekko-kagi claws, which Raph managed to duck.

"You can't win this." he declared. "I've watched you and the others train for years. I know ALL of your moves, your technique!"

He raised his mace, preparing to smash Raph, but just as he was about to do so…

"HEY!"

They both looked, seeing Leo standing at the mouth of the alley, ready to fight.

"Leo!" Raph said happily. "Man, am I glad to see you!"

"You messed with the wrong family, Slash!" Leo declared.

"Leonardo." Slash said, sounding almost bored. "I was wondering when you'd show up."

He turned to him, popping out his tekko-kagi claws.

"I'm really gonna enjoy shredding you." he snarled.

"Tekko-kagi claws?" Leo said flatly, before looking at Raph. "Seriously, how could you not see this coming?"

"He was my pet!" Raph defended.

"'Was', eh?" Slash repeated. "So… that's the way it's gonna be."

"You made your choice." Raph told him. "And I made mine."

Leo charged forward, and he and Raph clashed with Slash's claws. Their fight leading them to a rooftop and leaving smashed pavement and property damage in their wake.

"Leo, please tell me you have a plan!" Raph let out.

Before Leo could say anything, Slash batted him aside with his mace.

"They're weak, but we're powerful!" the evil turtle declared. "Our anger makes us strong!"

Scowling, Raph charged forward, snatching his siblings' masks and Kagome's scarf back before jabbing Slash in a pressure point in his neck, the very same one Splinter had used on him earlier. The large turtle froze, teetering on the edge of the roof.

"This is for my family!" he shouted, landing a jump kick that sent Slash flying off of the roof.

He heard a distant thud, and let out a sad sigh, tears swimming to his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Spike…" he let out. "I'm so sorry…"

Later, everyone was bandaged up in the living room, watching TV. Raph held the lettuce leaf Spike always chewed on, looking at it forlornly. Splinter approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I am sorry, my son." he said. "I know how much you cared for Spike."

"Even after everything that's happened, it still hurts." Raph managed. "I... I just can't bring myself to hate him."

Kasumi walked over at that, sitting next to Raph.

"Raphael... do you know what Yoshi and I do, whenever we miss our loved ones from the past?" she asked. Raph shook his head.

"We focus on our loved ones in the present." Splinter told him.

Raph looked at his siblings and Kagome, who were all focused on the TV. After a minute, he stood up and walked over.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked. Mikey and Hisako parted to give him room.

"For what it's worth, Raph," Hisako began, her words slurred but sane once more, "I'm sorry about what happened with Spike."

"It's okay," Raph told her, managing a smile. "You guys aren't too bad to hang out with either."

"I'll remember that, Raphie." Kagome said playfully.

Unbeknownst to the Hamato Clan, Slash had survived his fall off the roof, and made his way to Old Hob's hideout. He stood before the cat mutant, explaining his story.

"So…" Hob let out, "you wanna join my gang?"

"Yeah." Slash said bitterly. "The guy I thought was my friend betrayed me."

"Don't worry." Hob assured. "We'll make 'em pay."

He stood up, patting Slash on the back before looking out the window.

"Stupid humans look down on us mutants, treat us like scum." he declared. "Well... now it's our turn."

Author's Note:

(1): Tekko-kagi claws. The weapon of the Shredder. Meant to symbolize that Slash isn't quite right in the head at the moment. Also, the claws harken back to Slash's 1987 version, where he used arm-blades like that, as well as the bladed gauntlet Dark Leo used in IDW's City Fall storyline.

Another one bites the dust.

Please R&R. Until next time!