turtle tot stories | tmnt 2012

The Attack

It was a rainy afternoon in New York City. A really rainy day. Rain poured and poured nonstop from dark storm clouds in the sky to the earth, splattering on roads, sidewalks, and people's umbrellas.

And when rain falls in a city, it's bound to end up in the sewers.

Rainwater fell into the storm drains like there was no tomorrow. It flowed through the sewers, through the tunnels and creating rivers. Making the sewer way more wet than it already was.

Even the lair was beginning to flood; water lingered along the floor of the hideout, streaming into the rooms and leaving things an utter mess. Of course, Splinter's sons were very curious about the sudden appearance of water in their home, and they had frolicked in it eagerly. Now they were napping in their room, exhausted from their play.

The young Turtles were about five years old in human years, a few years after their first mutation day. Now they could talk in simple but complete sentences, and they could eat by themselves, without Splinter having to feed them by hand.

Suddenly, there was a bone-chilling shriek.

Splinter's heart skipped a beat. His eyes flew open, ruining his deep meditation. That shriek had come from his sons' room. Quick as lightning, he stood up and bolted for the room containing his sons. When he arrived, his heart stopped at what he saw.

His four sons cowered in a corner of the room, trembling in fear.

For in front of them, an enormous alligator snarled and snapped.

The heavy flooding must have attracted it. Splinter gasped. He knew the prey of an alligator. His sons would make for an satisfying meal. But if that scaly barbarian wanted them, it would have to go through him first.

With a battle cry, Splinter leaped onto the alligator's back. The beast roared and turned its head to snap at him; Splinter dodged the gleaming teeth with ease, and the two began to tussle on the floor of the bedroom, growling and grunting and roaring and snapping.

"Go, my sons!" Splinter ordered as he fought. "Leave this place! Get to safety!"

"Come on!" little Leonardo jumped into action at once, pushing and shoving his brothers. "Daddy said go!"

They all ran for the door.

All of them except for Mikey.

The youngest turtle stood there, staring at something in horror.

"Michelangelo!" Splinter snapped. "Go! Now!"

But Michelangelo did not go. He stood where he was, staring at the thing in horror. His eyes were welling with tears.

"Mikey!" Leonardo called. "Come on!"

"NO!" Mikey retorted.

"But we have to go! Or the big mean ally gator will eat us!" Donnie told him.

"But Teddy!" Michelangelo cried, pointing at something. "Teddy is hurt!"

Splinter realized his youngest son was pointing at his beloved teddy bear, the teddy bear he'd gotten for his first Mutation Day. The alligator had torn it apart; the stuffing was emerging from its head and was all over the floor. It sat only a few feet away from the raging gator.

Without a word of warning, Michelangelo ran forward toward the toy.

"Michelangelo! NO!" Splinter cried.

But it was too late.

The alligator spotted the young turtle rushing toward his precious bear. Its eyes gleamed. He snapped his head up in one swift movement, flinging Splinter off of his back. The mutant rat went flying, then hit his head with a thud on the wall and sunk to the ground, laying still.

"Daddy!" Donnie wailed.

A few feet away, Michelangelo picked up his teddy bear.

Just as the alligator charged toward him with a roar.

Mikey screamed in pure, absolute terror. His blue eyes were wide with fear, and he was crying, crying hard, crying heavily. He clutched his teddy bear to his chest.

"NO!" someone screamed.

Raphael suddenly surged forward and jumped between his brother and the alligator. The gator did not get Michelangelo.

But he did get Raphael.

The beast grabbed the young turtle's plastron in its teeth, shaking him viciously. Little Raphael struggled as hard as he could, swiping and kicking and roaring, but he could not escape the predator's jaws.

Leo and Donnie rushed forward, grabbing Michelangelo protectively.

"We have to help Raphie!" Leo said to his brothers.

"But what if the ally gator gobbles us up?" Donnie squeaked.

"I don't wanna get gobbled up!" Mikey wailed, crying harder.

"We won't get gobbled up," Leo promised. "But Raph might if we don't help. We gotta save him!"

He ran forward to help his brother, but before he could, a loud battle cry suddenly sounded. The next thing they knew, Splinter had landed on the alligator's back. He began mercilessly beating the creature with his staff, kicking and punching.

"Let my son go," he snarled.

Quick as a snake, he jumped off the gator's back, ran forward, and kicked the beast right in the side of the head.

The gator's teeth tore away from Raphael as it stumbled back with a furious roar. Raphael made a pained noise as a chip of his plastron was ripped away, flying through the air. He landed with a thud on the ground, and Leonardo rushed over to help him.

The alligator was still recovering from the kick to the head. It was breathing heavily. The scaly beast shot a glare of hatred at Splinter, who stood a few feet away, before turning and quickly retreating. Splinter watched it go until it disappeared into the sewers.

He turned back to his sons. They were all crowded around Raphael, eyes full of worry. Michelangelo clutched his teddy bear closer, burying his tear-wet face in its ripped-up cotton.

The three turtles parted to let Splinter through as he approached. He bent down to face Raphael.

"Raphael," he said. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, Daddy," Raphael whispered. His voice sounded pained.

"That was a very brave thing to do," Splinter said to his son. "Do you understand that? Do you understand what you could have lost? What you have lost?"

Raphael was quiet for a moment.

"Yes, Daddy," he said finally.

Donatello gasped suddenly. He walked over to a corner and picked something up, then walked back over and handed it to Raph.

It was the small piece of his plastron that he'd lost.

Raphael took the chip and looked at it. It was shaped like a lightning bolt. Raphael took it and-ever so gently-slid it into the missing crack in his plastron. It fit perfectly.

Michelangelo walked up to his older brother, holding his teddy bear tightly.

"Raph," he said. "Thank. Thank you."

He held out his teddy bear, a little glimmer of hope in his blue eyes.

Little Raphael stared at him for a long moment. He gently pushed the teddy bear back into Mikey's arms, then surged forward and pulled his little brother into a fierce embrace.

To this day, that lightning-shaped chip Raphael lost sits on his dresser to remind him of that afternoon. To remind him of what he'd lost, of what he could have lost. To remind him of his bravery, his brother's bravery, his father's bravery.

To remind him of how he'd saved his precious little brother.