Raphael seems especially fierce today.

Sarina's eyes narrow slightly as she watches him spar with Leonardo. He throws his punches and kicks with extra force that she hasn't seen from him lately. Their weapons clash again and again and Raphael just tries harder. Perhaps it's nothing, she thinks. After all, Michelangelo is still on bed rest. It's not often he's missing for training, or any of them for that manner.

Leonardo plants a solid kick to Raphael's middle and Raphael slides a few feet away, catching his breath with his fists braced against the dojo carpeting.

"So we're playing rough, huh? Fine by me," Raphael snaps.

He spins his sai and launches back into the fight. Leonardo grunts as he dodges this way and that, narrowly avoiding the sharp ends of his sai. As he leers back, unstable, Raphael drops and shoulder checks Leonardo in the chest.

He lunges and Leonardo crosses his katana in front of him, catching Raphael's sai. Raphael pushes in. "The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle!" he says, glaring. "So show me what you've really got!"

Leonardo shouts and presses forward, swiping his katanas down and knocking away Raphael's weapons. He grabs Leonardo around the middle and lifts him up, only to slam him back into the ground. Leonardo grunts in pain and his katanas clatter from his grip.

Destiny's tail lashes and she twitches, as if to move, but Donatello's hand grips her shoulder. Splinter's eyes narrow as his ears flatten.

Raphael's still on top of Leonardo, punching him again and again, and Leonardo holds his forearms up in a shield in an attempt to defend himself. He pushes himself up, trying to hit back, but Raphael grabs him by the leg. For a second, they tussle on the floor, Leonardo shouting in pain as Raphael yanks his leg in the wrong direction, and then they're back on their feet, gripping each other's shoulders, foreheads together, growling and gritting their teeth.

"Sensei..." Sarina says, moving closer to Splinter. "Perhaps we should step in?"

Splinter's brow furrows. Leonardo gets a hold of Raphael's head and slams it into his knee, once, twice. Sarina's eyes flash as she bites back a wince. She understands Splinter does not like to interrupt a spar if he can help it, but—

Leonardo has Raphael on the ground, legs around his neck, arm pinned, but Raphael screams and rises to his feet, carrying Leonardo with him. He raises Leonardo above his head and, with another scream of effort, slams him to the ground with all his weight in the swing.

Destiny is on her feet in an instant but Splinter is faster, already pushing Raphael away as he starts in on punching Leonardo again. Destiny rushes to her boyfriend's side, tail lashing nervously as she helps him sit up.

"Raphael, enough!" Splinter snaps, hovering over his eldest son with his hand outstretched towards the other.

"Come on, Leo! Is that all you got?!" Raphael demands.

"What the hell, Raph?" Leonardo retorts, gripping his arm. "What's up with you?"

"What's up is that we're being too soft during training! We're not a bunch of soft-shell kids anymore. We need to stop pulling our punches if we're gonna get tougher!"

"Pummelling Leo isn't gonna do that," Destiny says. She has her arms loosely around Leonardo's shoulders, holding him protectively.

Leonardo gently pushes her away as he gets to his feet, briefly touching his stomach as he bites back another wince. "It's fine," he says. He gives Raphael a stern look that mirrors Splinter's. "What's this really about, Raph?"

"I told you exactly what it's about." He jabs a finger at Leonardo. "We're not improving at all!"

"I think I know what's going on," Donatello says as he gets to his feet. He crosses his arms over his chest and fixes his stare on Raphael. "We had a rough fight the other day, but you don't get to beat Leo up just because you're feeling emasculated."

"Emasculated? EMASCULATED?! I'll show you emasculated!"

Raphael lunges for Donatello and he dodges out of the way, whipping his bō staff out as he goes. "Oh, there you go again. You know Taylor isn't here to watch you be all macho, right?"

"SHUT UP!"

"Donatello!" Sarina shouts.

Raphael goes for a swing and again, Donatello dodges. "Is it also because she found out about the bug thing?" he asks. He evades another blow and sweeps his staff behind Raphael's knees, knocking his feet out from under him. He presses the end of the staff against Raphael's plastron as he leans over him. "Raphie's scared of bugs and can't stand his girlfriend knowing he isn't a pillar of fearlessness, huh?"

Raphael growls, slapping the bō staff away and getting back to his feet. "You know what? Fuck you, Donnie. I quit." He turns and storms to the exit, fuming. "I'm done. Through. Adios!"

"Raph!" Leonardo shouts, but he's long gone. He sighs. "How many times has he quit the team now?"

"Mm...twenty-seven times," Donatello replies.

Splinter smacks his staff sharply against the floor. "You have a brilliant mind, Donatello, and yet you see a fire and try to put it out with gasoline."

Donatello bows his head. "I'm sorry, father."

"It is not me who you should apologize to," Splinter replies. "You are growing up, all of you, and you must mature. I will not always be around to remind you of your foibles."

"We've made it through worse, father," Leonardo insists. "The worst of the worst, even, and we're going to keep—"

"Everything is impermanent, Leonardo. You cannot expect anything to last forever, even family."

Leonardo and Donatello's shoulders sag and Destiny waves her hands a bit, alarmed. "Woah, woah," she says. "I think everyone's feeling a little tender right now. Maybe we should take a breather? Check on Mikey, maybe?"

"An excellent idea," Sarina agrees as she turns off her tablet and tucks it beneath her arm. She gives Donatello a fleeting look. "I also think—"

There's a crash from outside the dojo and every eye turns to the doorway as lumbering footsteps come closer. Destiny's claws unsheathe as dark shapes appear, but she relaxes when she recognizes the newcomers.

Sarina, on the other hand...

"Intruders!" she says, her hands already glowing. "I'll make quick work of them!"

"Sarina, no!" Donatello shouts, grabbing her wrists and tugging her hands down. "They're friends!"

Three members of the original Mighty Mutanimals stand before them—Leatherhead, Slash, and Doctor Rockwell, alongside one more familiar face, Mondo Gecko. All four of them look haggard, drained.

"Greetings, turtles," Slash greets, his breaths slightly strained.

"Slash?" Leonardo asks, stunned as he walks forward. "It's been forever! I thought you left town!"

"We did for a while," Rockwell admits. "It seems we chose an unfortunate time to return for a visit."

"Mondo?" Donatello asks, still making a point of holding Sarina's hand as she stares at everyone skeptically. "You joined the Mutanimals?"

"Heck yeah! Joined a while back. They totally love my fighting style," Mondo says.

"Where is Michelangelo?" Leatherhead asks, looking around the room.

"Resting," Destiny says. "He got a little beat up the other day and wasn't up for training." She frowns a bit. "Uh, where's the pigeon guy?"

Their faces fall and the three elder members share a glance.

"Well...about that," Leatherhead rumbles.

"That's what we came to warn you about," Rockwell says. "We've uncovered plans to create mutant hunting weapons. I telepathically discovered that Don Vizioso wants to take control of the city, and the Don knows the only thing that stands between him and his goals—"

"Is us?" Leonardo guesses. Rockwell nods.

"They already got Pigeon Pete," Leatherhead says, grave.

"We need to take down the Don and his goons," Slash continues, catching one of his fists, "before he takes any more of us down."

Leonardo nods, then turns to Donatello. "Can you track Raph down in the Party Wagon? If he's out there alone..."

"Sure," Donatello says. His expression sags with guilt. "I...probably owe him an apology anyway."

"Indeed, you do," Sarina utters, giving him a brief yet stern glare.

Donatello's shoulders hunch.

----------

Raphael paces back and forth on a rooftop, throwing an occasional punch just to try and let some anger out. He's considered calling Taylor—he already did, technically, but he hung up before she picked up. He isn't sure he's in the right mindset to talk to her.

But, life can be funny sometimes.

"Raphael? Raph, you up there?"

Raphael stops, stiffening a little at the sound of her voice. He moves to the edge of the roof and there's Taylor, walking down the alley with her guitar case on her shoulder. She looks around with her lips pursed, her hair pushed over one shoulder, and his gut twists.

She stops, putting her hands on her hips as she looks up, and he ducks out of sight. He can't handle this right now. He can't—

"Raphael Hamato, you had better not be ignoring me!"

There's a clattering noise from the alley and he peeks back over just in time to see Taylor trying her damnedest to haul a dumpster over to the fire escape, too high for her to reach. She strains as she tugs on it, shooting another glare to the rooftop.

"I see you, idiot!"

He huffs, swinging off the roof and touching down behind her. She stops struggling with the overflowing dumpster, blowing a loose hair from her forehead.

"Seriously, what's up?" she asks. "You called me twice but I didn't get the chance to answer!"

"I didn't want to bother you, Tay."

"Um, I'm your girlfriend? You're supposed to bother me." She leans onto one leg, her hip jutting as she huffs again.

"How'd you find me?"

She holds up her Donatello-patented t-phone. "Donnie has a tracking app on all our t-phones, remember? After you called, I got worried."

"Well, don't be. I'm fine, and like I said, I don't want to bother you."

He turns and deploys his grappling hook, launching him back to the roof even as Taylor shouts after him. He hears her cursing as he touches down but he ignores it. He's sure that she'll just give up and talk to him another day. He'd deserve it.

Instead, she hauls herself over the edge of the roof a few seconds later. "You asshole! What the hell?" she demands as she gets to her feet, brushing off her jeans. "This is not how a 100% honesty policy works."

He turns away from her, arms crossed. "It's not a good time."

He hears her footsteps and then she's in front of him, her hands on his arms, her hazel eyes narrowed with frustration. He clenches his jaw.

"What's all this about? You've been weird ever since the Stockman thing the other day."

Donatello's words echo in his head and he grits his teeth. Again, he turns his head away from her. He can't focus on his anger if she's looking at him like that.

Her grip softens, just a bit. "Is...is Mikey okay? He didn't take a turn for the worse or anything, right?"

"He's fine," he mutters. "But that doesn't matter. They're not my problem anymore."

"Qué?"

"I quit."

"You...quit?" Her grip tightens on him again. "What do mean you quit?"

"The team," he says. "They need me way more than I need them. Screw them."

She stays quiet. Her hands slip from his arms and, for a second, the tension in his chest releases. She'll give up now, walk off and leave him to stew.

She grips his jaw and turns his head towards her, startling him with the deadly seriousness in her eyes. "I get wanting some independence, but you can't just...quit your family."

His nostrils flare and he jerks his face away from her. "That's rich coming from you!"

She recoils and somehow, her expression gets darker. "Low blow, Raphael. I'll ignore it for now because you're obviously pissed—"

"I—"

"But seriously, what? What could they have possibly done to deserve this?"

Treating him like the bad guy? Not taking training seriously even when their little brother almost bit the bullet? Treating his feelings like they're irrational?

"Fuck, I mean, I'd kill for a family like yours," she continues. She takes his hand, tugging it after her as she takes a few steps. "Come on, let's go talk to them. Maybe it's all a big misunder—"

He stops short, planting his feet and tugging his hand from hers. Hurt flashes in her eyes.

Raphael swallows. "Why do you care?" he asks. His shoulders sag even as his hands clench into fists. "Why are you even with me, Tay?"

She blinks. "The hell kind of question is that?"

"I..."

He stops, hating the way his chest tightens up, hating the way she looks at him with such genuine confusion. She has to know, right? She has to see how weak he is. Donatello was—is right and it feels like bile in his throat. She deserves a man, a real man.

"I couldn't protect you," he mutters.

"This again?" she asks. "Raph, I don't need you to—"

"But you did!" he retorts. She flinches back at the way his voice raises. "You needed me. You and Casey needed me and I...I was..."

His hands are shaking and he can't say what he wants to. He can't admit it, can't admit that he feels like a failure as a brother, as a son, as a friend and as a boyfriend. But none of them care, not really, and Taylor can't possibly care this much either.

She comes closer to him, reaching out. "Can we please talk about this, mi amore?"

He catches her wrists before she can embrace him. "I...I just don't want to. I...don't know how to."

"Raph—"

Far off, a few blocks away, there's the sound of glass shattering and alarms pierce the silence. Their heads whip towards it and Raphael grins, releasing her.

"Fucking finally," he says.

"Raphael, wait!" she begs, but he's off without a word, racing towards the sounds of battle.

----------

"So who's the chick, Don?"

Donatello grits his teeth and grips the steering wheel a little tighter. Mondo Gecko sits beside him in the Party Wagon passenger seat, looking far too interested in all the bells and whistles laid out before him to allow Donatello any time to relax.

He wishes Sarina would have just agreed to come with him, but it seems she was less than pleased with how he handled Raphael's feelings and took it upon herself to be too busy helping Michelangelo to come with him. It's her choice, in the end, but he would much rather be talking out their little spat than babysitting Mondo.

"She's Sarina, my girlfriend," he answers.

"Woah, really? I didn't think babes dug mutants. Makes me think I've got a chance!"

Maybe a random dropout skater chick got mutated into a chameleon and she's just been waiting for her leopard gecko Prince Charming, Donatello thinks. He shrugs. "Guess so. I—" He reaches over and smacks Mondo's hand away from the oil slick button. "Don't touch that."

"Chill out, bro. I'm just trying to get this radio working," Mondo retorts. "Then we can part-ay!"

Again, he hits a series of random buttons and Donatello's eyes widen. "That's not a—"

Too late, a missile made from an old fire extinguisher launches out the roof and destroys a nearby hot dog stand. Donatello glares at Mondo and he curls into his seat, gripping his snapback.

"My bad, bro," he says.

"Just...just—" Donatello shakes his head, turning the wagon down another street. "Let's just find Raph, okay?"

Thankfully, it doesn't take long—Mondo only attempts to press one more button before they zero in on Raphael's location. They find him in an alley next to a white van, staring proudly at a pile of tied-up thugs.

"You've gotta step up your game if you're gonna commit crimes in my city!" Donatello hears Raphael say as they pull up behind him.

"Raph, what are you doing?" Donatello asks through the open passenger window.

Raphael shoots him a glare, then turns his chin up and starts walking away. "Getting along fine without you, obviously."

Mondo leans out the window as Donatello cruises the wagon next to Raphael. "Raphael," he says.

"What are you even doing here, Geek-o?"

"I sometimes throw tantrums too, bro, but friends don't turn their back on their friends."

Raphael growls and stops, making Donatello hit the brakes. "Forget it, guys. I'm done with you for good."

Raphael storms around the side of the van and continues down the street. Donatello's lips purse and he rolls down his window.

"Raph, look—" he starts.

"Save it, Donnie. You got your digs in."

Donatello grips the steering wheel again, giving a brief glance to Mondo, who shrugs, hands up. He turns back to the window just in time to see a rocket headed right for them.

"DONNIE!" Raphael shouts.

Donatello can only brace himself as the rocket hits the Party Wagon, exploding in a cloud of red smoke. The vehicle pitches to the side, landing hard and skidding across the pavement.

----------

Raphael has no idea what's going on. All he knows is that there are thugs dressed the same as the guys he just busted standing on a roof a few buildings away and they're holding some wicked-looking artillery. Also, one of those weapons just blasted his brother off the road and three more rockets are coming for him.

Raphael backs up, throwing shuriken and detonating the rockets early. He turns around when he hears movement, just in time to see Donatello crawl from the Party Wagon with Mondo.

"Donnie! Are you—"

Foolish mistake. Another rocket goes off, this time exploding against Raphael's shell and knocking him flat on his face. As a cloud of red smoke surrounds him, he coughs, suddenly dizzy. Why is it so hard to breathe?

"RAPH!"

Raphael struggles to his knees and Donatello yelps as he's forced to duck back behind the Party Wagon, bullets trailing behind his feet. Raphael takes a few gulps of air, his muscles quaking as he braces his hands against the pavement.

"Raph, they're loaded with mutant hunter rockets!" Donatello shouts.

"What?"

Raphael looks over his shoulder to find that even more masked thugs have appeared, each carrying a black and red Tommy gun. Raphael just barely has enough time to duck behind the nearest parked car before they light up the street with blasts of red light. Red lasers streak past, charring the street, and Raphael grits his teeth as he digs for a smoke bomb.

He tosses it out into the street, clouding the area in purple smoke. The thugs cry out at their loss of sight, shooting blindly into the smog, and Raphael uses it to his advantage. One by one he takes them down and, when he's cleared them, he turns his attention to the rooftop.

A quick grappling hook ride later, he's facing half a dozen more guys, and they shout as they try to shoot him down. He's too fast for them, disarming them and using their own guns to smack them around. He slams one guy's head into a pole, then whips around and kicks another in the stomach as he wrenches his rifle from his hand. A third runs up and Raphael throws the rifle at him, hitting him square in the face.

The rooftop access door opens and even more men spill out. He punches one, evades another, struggles against another's hold, and it starts to feel like they're never going to stop. Every time he turns, there's another bug waiting to be squashed.

He hops up onto a nearby radiator, kicking one in the jaw, then backflips as he hooks his legs around another's neck. He jams his elbows into the guy's neck, slamming him into the pavement, and a blinding pain shoots through his temple when he turns to fight the next guy.

Raphael collapses onto his stomach, head spinning, and one of the thugs stomps closer, the butt of his rifle aimed and ready. Raphael starts to get up.

"Get the mutie!"

A foot slams him back to the ground and then more join in. Raphael can't recover fast enough, suddenly overwhelmed by a flurry of punches, kicks, and rifle blows.

"Hey, you!"

Raphael blinks blearily, just able to see Mondo's skater shorts past the thugs' legs. Then, a scream, and Mondo's gone again. The kicking and punching return and Raphael has never been happier to have a shell, even if it still stings like hell.

"Raph, no!"

Donatello's voice. Raphael again tries to get up, but he gets kicked in the jaw and he's down again. Everything hurts. He hears explosions and grunts of effort, but it's getting really hard to stay awake.