Song: Prison - Wage War

I attack my punching bag in the main room. I let out soft grunts with each movement, the aching in my muscles giving me energy. It feels good to let my anger out through something productive, though tackling Michelangelo is closely preferred.

   "Argh!" I growl as I sink my fist into the bag over and over again. I feel my body tense and relax as I work to make it stronger.

   One day, I will have to use my strength to take down our most challenging enemies. I want to be ready, because that moment can come around the corner in an instant. The prospect of an end to the worst set of evildoers keeps me on my toes.

   "Raph!" Leonardo's brisk voice breaks me from my zone.

   I spin around, trying my best to hide my irritation. I hate when my brothers interrupt my workouts. "What is it now, fearless leader?" I ask with a hint of mockery.

   Leonardo ignores the edge to my tone. He is used to my irrational behavior by now. "I'm going to search for Bebop and Rocksteady. Some more turtle power would be nice," he responds promptly.

   Michelangelo perks up from his seat on the couch. He throws his video game controller down and is at Leonardo's side in an instant. "Time to learn how to disco!" he exclaims as he happily wiggles his butt.

   I pound my fists together. "Finally! Some real training!"

   "Not so fast." Leonardo sports his annoying, 'think before you act' tone. "I don't mean we're going to beat anyone up. I meant I needed more turtles to help me negotiate with them."

   I curl my lip. "What am I? A lawyer? The only thing that I'll be negotiating with them is where they want to get stabbed," I argue.

   "We're more likely to find out what they're up to if we talk with them first," Leonardo scolds me, his serious blue eyes fixated on me.

   "Fine," I groan reluctantly. "But if talking doesn't work, they're getting what they deserve."

   "Where's D?" Michelangelo questions, looking up at our leader with round eyes.

   "He's in his lab with Lizzy," Leonardo explains. "He's going to run some blood tests on her."

   I blink, a bit worried. Is something wrong with her?

   "Why?" Michelangelo squeaks before I can speak, fear haunting his face. "Is she ok?! I knew we shouldn't have been eating pizza and dancing at the same time!"

   Leonardo gives him a look that suggests he has grown two heads, but he doesn't bother asking. "She's alright. I think. I don't know." He shakes his head like he's shaking off a bad thought. "Donnie will be able to tell us what's wrong with her. I mean, if there's something wrong with her," he retraces his words quickly, when an anxious expression flickers across the orange-clad turtle's face.

   I study Leonardo. He is acting strange. His posture is held straighter, but he is struggling to stay focused. His mind seems to be drifting elsewhere.

   I shake my head slightly. If he keeps daydreaming, I'm going to have to slap him.

   "Let's move out, team," Leonardo orders before bolting out of the lair. Michelangelo and I pursue him swiftly.

   We make it to the surface in record timing. The moon is only just rising into the sky, its light only faintly visible through the dark clouds. I scan the area to make sure no one is around, and then I grapple my way to a roof. Leonardo commands us to stop once he is up here.

   "We need to search for traces of Bebop and Rocksteady," the blue-clad turtle says briskly, his eyes surveying the ground below us. "Raph, you go south. Mikey, go west. I'll check east and we'll meet back here in five."

   Michelangelo and I nod obediently.

   "Spread out!" Leonardo calls, before jumping away.

   I head south, keeping my eyes peeled for anything strange. The streetlights helped reveal anything hidden in the shadows. I search every road and alley I can within five minutes, but I don't find anything.

   I head back to our meeting place, discouraged. We should have brought Casey; at least he knows where to find them. But he's probably busy dreaming about hockey pucks and what not.

   Michelangelo finally arrives and relieves me from my mental arguments.

   "Find anything?" I ask him as I gaze out at my surroundings.

   "I found a perfectly good pizza that someone tossed!" Michelangelo replies proudly, licking his lips. "Can you believe someone would throw away such a beauty?!"

   I shrug. It'll never makes sense to me how humans can't finish their pizzas. If I ate like that, I'd starve. "Humans are weird," I conclude.

   We wait for Leonardo, but after another three minutes, he still doesn't show up. It isn't like him to ignore his own plan.

   "Do you think something happened to him?" I wonder out loud.

   "Maybe he got distracted petting an alley cat!" Michelangelo suggests. "That happened to me before. Their big, cute eyes are just so irresistible!"

   I sigh in exasperation. "I'm talking to a dimwit," I mutter. "We should go check on him," I inform him a bit louder, before taking off in the direction Leonardo went.

   "I'm telling you, bro, he found a cat!" Michelangelo's voice carries easily through the still air. "He's probably squishing it and rubbing his face all in the animal's soft, warm fur. He might even be trying to feed-"

   "Will you shut up?!" I snap, leaning over the edge of a building. "He's not petting a cat, you shell-head!"

   Michelangelo spots something below us. "You're right, Raph! He's getting beaten up by Bebop and Rocksteady!"

   "What?!" I look where my brother is pointing. Sure enough, Leonardo is dodging Bebop's lasers, while Rocksteady charges at the turtle repeatedly. He is stuck in a never-ending loop of either being shot or flattened.

   I groan in annoyance. Why did he pick a fight on his own? He knows better than to do that! He has some serious explaining to do. But first, we have to save him.

   Michelangelo and I dive into the fight. I jump onto Rocksteady's back and hook my sais around his horns, forcing him backwards.

   The rhinoceros lets out a frustrated yell. "Is more of turtles! We trap them and take them to the Shred-Man!" he calls to his warthog companion.

   "Great idea, G!" the other mutant agrees as his lasers fly after Michelangelo. "Then we can demand payment if he wants to get his revenge on them!"

   "Oh, no you don't!" I shout as I tug Rocksteady's huge head back further. I grunt with the effort, and get thrown off-balance when he backs into a wall. I roll off just in time before I get squashed.

   "Raph! Mikey!" Leonardo calls, relief in his voice.

   "I will make turtles into the pancakes!" Rocksteady booms. His huge fists come crashing down towards me.

   I scramble to my feet and flip away, landing on my feet. I grip my sais tightly, battling against the rhinoceros' strong horn and heavy blows.

   "What's gotten into you, Leo?!" I yell to the blue-clad turtle, an edge to my tone. "You must have lost your shell if you think rushing into a fight by yourself is a smart thing to do! What happened to 'negotiating'?"

   "Sorry," Leonardo grunts and he tumbles away from Bebop's lasers. He doesn't bother explaining himself, like he's scared to tell me.

   Instead, he uses a katana to knock Bebop onto the ground. He stands over the warthog and narrows his eyes. "Why are you blocking off the road?" he asks. He points one of his blades at the enemy. "Tell us! Now!"

   Bebop stays silent.

   "Really, dawg?" Michelangelo butts in, glancing over at Bebop as he helps me back Rocksteady into a corner. "You never stop talking!"

   Still, the warthog mutant says nothing.

   "He will tells you nothing," Rocksteady laughs coldly, his small eyes fixed on Leonardo. "We has made deal with Dr. Stockman that will gives us big reward when finished."

   I growl and move my sai closer to his neck, but the rhinoceros doesn't flinch. He only smirks.

   Leonardo looks at me. His expression tells me that he is thinking of the Shredder. I know he's running through his mind all of the things he can lose to our fiend. His family, his friends, his honor, his life.

   In his moment of distraction, Bebop jumps up.

   "Look out!" I shout, but it only backfires. Since I'm now distracted, Rocksteady throws a punch at me and sends me sliding across the concrete.

   I let out a groan of pain. I angrily pull myself back up and look at my weapons. One of my sais is broken. That makes me even more mad.

   I run at the rhinoceros again, but he is done underestimating me. He comes back at me full-force, something I've never been able to top. I am punched, kicked, and practically butchered into fresh turtle meat. I fall onto the ground several feet away, pain clouding my vision.

   With me down, Rocksteady only has to focus on Michelangelo. Before I know what's happening, the orange-clad turtle gets beaten just as badly as I did. Then, without warning, the mutant pick/ up Michelangelo and throws him against a wall. It dents, and my younger brother sinks to the ground, unconscious. His arm bleeds heavily.

"Mikey!" My own problems forgotten, I drag myself to his aid. Rocksteady's laughter shakes the ground as I scoop my little brother up. "Mikey, no! Wake up! Wake up!" I yell at him repeatedly, shaking him violently.

The young turtle opens his eyes, the sky-blue color almost drowned out by busted blood vessels. "I'm totally fine, dude," he chokes out hoarsely. "I just think I broke everything."

Leonardo flips over and tries to take him from me. I move him away from my leader's reach, glaring at him.

"Let's bring him back home, Raph," he decides impatiently.

"I'll carry him," I spit, standing up. I have to ignore the shakiness of my legs and the aching in my arms. That fight really messed me up.

"Fine," Leonardo agrees, though I know he doesn't want to. We start back towards our lair.

"That's right, turtles!" Bebop squeals after us. "Get a move on! You know you can't beat us! We're too fast and skilled for your sorry little tails!"

I stop in my tracks for a split second and spin around. "You know what, you little-" I start to snarl, but Leonardo tugs me away.

"Ignore them, Raph," he mutters. "We'll find out what they're up to soon enough, and then we'll take them out. But we can't do that now, especially without Mikey."

I know he's right, but that doesn't stop me from feeling ashamed of myself. They're good opponents, so it murders my pride to think about them.

I guess I need to practice more.