The Disposable, Hated, Forgotten

Raph

Raph got increasingly annoyed as Will poked and prodded him till eventually the unease dissipated and turned into annoyance. Still, he tried to keep his temper to himself. Occasionally he couldn't suppress an exaggerated sigh or an eye roll, but he was doing a lot better than usual. Unfortunately, this was mostly because he was so tired and everything just hurt. He would never admit it to any of his brothers, but he felt like he'd been hit by a bus and then gone ten rounds of sparring with Leo.

The other reason is he was concerned about Mikey, a lot. Raph knew that his little brother felt extremely guilty about what happened even though Raph was the one who ran over without thinking and got himself blown up. Mikey was the last person who Raph would blame for what happened. He didn't do a lot of meditating stuff except when he had to during training, but he truly hoped that it would help Mikey get back to his happy, humorous self.

"Welp, you're recovering remarkably fast," Will interrupted his thoughts.

"Yeah, usually do," Raph replied absentmindedly, "Mutant DNA helps a lot when it comes to healing."

"Yes, your brother mentioned aliens of some sort?" Will asked, obviously fishing for information.

"Yeah, sure, something like that."

Raph refused to give him more than the guy needed, they were at risk as it was. Unfortunately, the newly dubbed King of Brooding by Raph was much more perceptive than Raph liked.

"So do you mind telling us who this Shredder character is you mentioned," he said from the corner of the room.

Raph scowled. Darn it. That was the last thing he wanted him to ask.

"I don't see how it is any of your business," Raph replied hotly. "I would guess you of all people would understand the need of privacy, seeing how you hide in the corner like a coward."

Raph hadn't meant to be so harsh, but he obviously struck something because the boy's cheeks turned a dark shade of red and pressed himself deeper in the shadows. At first he felt smug, but then the feeling was quickly replaced with a stab of guilt. They were just trying to help him and his brothers. Will cleared his throat in a failed attempt to break the uneasy tension.

"Well um, I'll just give you some medicine here Raph and we'll go and let you rest for a bit," Will said while bringing over a large needle.

Raph immediately jerked to attention, he hated needles.

"What is that?"

"Just some pain killers," Will replied, confused.

"Then no thank you," Raph said sternly, "I can deal with the pain."

"But...you don't have to," Will said still confused about Raph's refusal. "The morphine will help."

"Nuh uh," Raph replied, "I am not going lay here on my back, vulnerable, while I am doped up. No, nope, nada. I am not going to let you put that in me."

"I could give you less, so you won't be so dazed," Will offered.

"I don't want anything that is going to impair my judgment or my ability to react," Raph said again. "You aren't going to convince me, so I suggest you go."

Will hesitantly put the needle away. A soft knock at the partially ajar door caused Raph to turn his head. A young woman walked in, a rather pretty girl. She had thick blond hair to her shoulders and stormy grey eyes that gave her a slightly threatening look, which only made her look cuter to Raph. He looked the girl's orange shirt that overlapped her worn out jeans. On it was a pegasus and a bunch of odd symbols that had some vague resemblance to english letters. What really caught Raph's eye was the knife that was sheathed on a belt around her waist, he could respect a girl like her.

"Heya Annabeth," Will said to her in a pleasant tone, "Didn't expect to see you here."

"I was sent here by Raph's brother, Leo," Annabeth replied.

"Oh, don't tell me Leo recruited me a babysitter," Raph scoffed.

"Your brother is worried about you," Annabeth replied, scowling. "He asked me to stay with you just in case."

Raph smiled at the girl's stubbornness, it reminded him of him and Leo butt heads in a fight. Both too proud to back down, both too scared to admit to the other they were acting like this because they cared.

"There is absolutely nothing I can say to make you leave, is there?" He asked her smirking.

"Nope."

"You're a lot like me, Annabeth. I admire your persistance," Raph said. "Ever think of training to become a ninja?"

Annabeth's scowl melted into a small smile at Raph's kind-of-compliment. Raph didn't have the strength to put up a big fight right now and there was little harm in the girl staying. She pulled up a chair and sat beside him.

"Well, um, if that's settled Nico and I are going to be on our way," Will said, gently dragging Nico by the arm out the door. "Catch up with you later Annabeth."

Annabeth looked over at Donnie, April, and Casey as she pulled up a chair next to Raph's bed. Donnie had his head back at a really weird angle and was snoring softly from his chair. April was curled up in a ball on the floor, Casey propped himself up in a corner close by. Raph couldn't help but sigh and close his eyes for a moment, this was a disaster and they were all lucky to be alive. He wondered when they were going to go back to New York and what they were going to do about this mess.

"I spoke with your other brothers," Annabeth said softly.

"I figured," Raph replied. "Leo wouldn't have let you come near me if he hadn't known at least a little about you first. What'd you talk about?"

"Well I asked about your names."

"Pfft, yeah the art stuff, sometimes I forget I'm named after a painter that lived over a hundred years ago," Raph chuckled lightly.

"Your younger brother said you liked to sew," she said teasingly.

Raph's cheeks turned a deep shade of red, making Annabeth laugh. He quickly forced flush down and glowered at Annabeth.

"Ughhh," he said as he massaged the bridge of his nose with his hand that wasn't connected to the IV. "These guys are killing me."

Neither knew what to say after that so they fell into an awkward silence. Raph watched as Annabeth's eyebrows knitted up as she thought. She turned back to look at him with a very serious expression.

"Listen, I don't mean to pry," She said. "But, can I ask you about what happened to you?"

"Why do you ask?" He replied, but surprisingly not angry at Annabeth for asking.

"I-um, it's hard to explain, but uh, the kids at this camp aren't normal."

"Figured that when they didn't run away screaming when we came here," Raph said.

"Listen, some of the kids here, well most of them actually, sometimes have strange dreams. Dreams that can predict when some major event is about to happen. My boyfriend, Percy, he had a dream recently like that. He saw you and your brothers and your human friends. You'll have to ask him for the details, but from what he's told me it's not good."

"What did he say?" He asked cautiously.

"He said he saw four human like turtles-"

"Us."

"And girl with blonde hair was begging him to help a girl with red hair who was lying on the ground."

Raph tensed and looked at April. She was peacefully asleep at the moment, and Raph wondered who dare hurt one of the most vulnerable members of the family. Annabeth looked too and bit her lip.

"You can tell me more in a minute, but I think April needs to be in on this conversation," Raph said.

"I don't think we should worry her, do you?"

"April...is not a normal person. If she is starting to draw attention again, then she needs to know," Raph said gravely. Annabeth raised her eyebrows at his wording: he said again.