Diversity

Part 3

Leo, Don, and Mikey soon returned home after running the rooftops for a few hours, and breaking up some robberies. It had been a quiet night so far, but they were glad to be back in the security of their own home. Master Splinter came out of his room to greet them. "How did your patrol go, my sons?"

"It went well, Sensei, and it was good getting some fresh air again." Leo answered their father's question.

The wise rat looked at the number of his sons, and saw they were down one. "Where is Raphael?"

"He took off the second he knew he could go out, Master." Don said.

"He just really needed to let off some steam after being grounded for so long." Mikey answered with a chuckle.

"I understand. In other words, we should not wait up for him." Splinter said with a wry smile, and went into the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea.

Leo however, still worried for his brother, and decided that he would wait up for him to return. But for now, they would just have to wait until he returned.

........

Raph -strapped to a gurney and unconscious- was wheeled into a surgical room where Bishop waited anxiously for his prize to regain consciousness. While he waited, he examined Raph's lower body, the area he was going to perform his invasive surgery on. The plastron would have to be sawed through with a circular saw, but after he was able to get through the plastron, the rest of the surgery should be easy. But either way, Bishop was going to get what he was determined to get, and looking forward to the results he was going to get from his unwilling specimen.

He undid the strap over Raph's belly and in that moment, he felt the turtle finally beginning to stir.

"Where am I?" Raph said groggily.

"In my laboratory, Raphael." Bishop answered smugly.

'Oh no! Not Bishop!' Raph thought to himself, an icy finger of fear sliding down his back. "What do you want, Bishop?" He snarled, not allowing any of his fear to show in his voice or on his face. "Where are my brothers?!" He asked, sudden worry for his siblings shooting through him.

"It's just you I have captured Raphael." Bishop answered with a smile. "You have something I want." Bishop could not help the spike of malicious anticipation that shot through him at the plans he had in store for the hotheaded, combative, vicious freak.

"I have nothin' that you want!" Raph protested angrily, struggling against the leather straps that bound him to the table.

"Oh, but you do." Bishop's voice dripped with malice, an evil grin tugging at his lips. "Your entire body is worth a great deal to me, from a scientific, experimental perspective, of course. And very shortly, I am going to slowly, and oh so painfully dissect you, piece by tiny piece. Just to see what makes you tick."

Raph let out a derisive snort, trying not to let the panic that was beginning to well up from deep within him, choke him. "Figures. That's all you eva' wanted us for!" Raph bit out the words in a mocking voice, hoping to stall his enemy long enough for his brothers to save him.

Bishop -finished with his taunting for the moment- got down to the technical details, that of preparing the saw for its bloody job.
Raph, seeing his captor's attention being momentarily diverted, tried to struggle against his leather bonds again. Raph tended to exude the confidence and swagger of someone who was tough, but his thick veneer of cocky bravery was beginning to fail with each passing moment. He gathered up his fraying courage, cloaking himself in his steely resolve of never giving Bishop the satisfaction of seeing him scream.

Raph's eyes quickly scanned the sparsely furnished room, knowing that he had to get out of Bishop's lab before he was turned into something horribly unrecognizable.

Raph thought furiously. He had no idea if he was still in the city or not, or how long he had been out for, but he was sure that his family would find him and put a stop to this. He knew Bishop had taken his shell cell off -he couldn't feel it in his belt any longer- but as soon as his brothers -mostly Leo- noticed that he had been gone for so long, they would track him down and rescue him.

Raph just hoped they'd come soon, because Bishop was not waiting around this time. Bishop seemed oddly hurried. "You won't get away with this, Bishop!" Raph yelled at him. "My family will stop you!"

Bishop only smiled at Raph's threat. "So far, I am not seeing any trace of your family around trying to find you. Face it, Freak. You are mine now."

"Over my dead body!" Raph growled in defiance.

"Precisely." Bishop grinned sadistically, and walked over to him, circular saw poised and ready in his rubber gloved hand. With his free hand, he tapped on Raph's plastron. "This interesting piece of anatomy is a hindrance however, and must be removed before anything more... invasive, can be performed."

The saw started up then, the high pitched whir of the spinning saw making the skin on Raph's arms crawl in horror. Bishop only smiled as the saw was slowly lowered to the lower portion of his plastron. Raph watched as the man lowered the saw toward his lower belly, and Raph was unable to quell his horrified reaction, as overwhelming fear rose up and choke him. He struggled, thrashing wildly against his bonds, trying to move his midsection away from the punishing, spinning blade to no avail.

The saw was so close now; the spinning, cutting teeth a mere hairsbreadth from his plastron. Raph closed his eyes tightly; unable to watch the horrific act that was about to happen to him. He could feel the saw so close to his plastron, but he didn't immediately feel the sharp slicing of the blade. Instead, the blade stopped, and he heard a faint snapping noise. He opened his eyes in confusion and looked down his body. His belt had just been cut with the saw to get it out of the way.

"It was in my way." Bishop explained with a shrug." Now, the real fun begins." Bishop grinned evilly, with the saw still in his hand.

Things were about to get messy.