Race. [TMNT 2012]

024. Attack; Raphael

Song: Thank You - Simple Plan

I remove my sais from their sheathes and extend them in front of me. I narrow my eyes and give the beavers a hard stare. My three brothers, Elizabetta, and April stand behind me, ready to fight for their lives. Lucy is the only one who retreats to the middle of us, Lilac standing protectively in front of her.

"You led them here?!" Donatello asks in a panic-stricken voice. "Nice going, Raph!"

I grit my teeth at my annoying brother. "They already knew about this place, idiot!" I shoot back.

"They didn't know we were staying here!" Donatello argues. He has definitely recovered from the Foot attack, because he is full of more logic than usual.

Dire starts laughing. The high-pitched sound sends a chill up my spine and I fix my gaze on him again.

"Beavers, exterminate these rodents!" The purple beaver orders his evil companions.

The beavers don't attack us with their own teeth and claws, however. They start shooting multicolored lasers out of their paws.

"Uh, dudes?" Michelangelo gasps as he dodges a blue laser. "I'm pretty sure beavers shouldn't have superpowers!"

I am 'lucky' enough to get shot at by Dark. His red beam turns to fire that ignites the floor. I manage to jump out of the way just in time, but the house isn't as fortunate. The wooden floor burst into flames instantly.

Just then, a blue laser is shot at me. I flip over it and it changes to water. It pours over the fire, leaving a huge burn mark in the wood.

Confused, I look over at Donatello for an explanation. But he returns the look, just as lost as I am.

Well, that's new.

None of us can even touch the beavers. By the time we dodge a laser, another one takes its place in half a second. We are all stuck in a never-ending loop of flips. Except Lucy, who is shielded from the chaos by the rest of us.

"Fiesty little fellows, aren't you?" I growl as I land on my feet. "I'll fix that."

When a red laser flies at me, I reflect it with my sai. It misses my target, however, and hits a curtain instead. The cloth catches on fire and quickly begins to spread throughout the room. I cringe as the whole wall goes up in flames in a matter of seconds.

Seeing the fire brings bile up my throat. I recall the pain of my last encounter with flames. I was barely able to walk for a while, and I still have the scar from the incident. I do not want to repeat that.

Fear gripping my stomach, I back away from the curtain. In the process, I accidentally run into Donatello. It causes a domino reaction, sending every last one of us to the ground.

Well, all of us except Leonardo. He doesn't seem phased by the beavers' arrival. In fact, he hasn't even drawn his katanas. He's just standing. He might as well be waving a white flag in surrender.

The beavers jump on all of us at once, pinning us down. For such tiny structures, they are awfully strong. I groan in anger as my cheek is forced to the floorboards. The smell of smoke lingers at my nose, reminding me that the house will be a pile of ashes soon.

"Leo!" Michelangelo whimpers as Dread curls his paws around the turtle's neck. "Help!"

"Please!" Elizabetta begs the blue-clad turtle as well.

"Leo..." Donatello chokes around the pressure on his throat.

I glare up at our once-reliable leader. His eyes are pits of cold darkness. The storm raging in his gaze has nothing to do with the enemies we face; he is dwelling on his thoughts again, completely oblivious to our agony.