“A Stroll Along the Shore”

Chapter 2: And… Action!

By Azure Turtle

Disclaimer: Azure is my own created character. Please do not use him without my permission. All TMNT characters belong to Peter Laird and Mirage Publishing.

I’m just a fan who wants to express my enthusiasm for the TMNT through fanfics. Please don’t hurt me.

I came to a sudden stop when I noticed a figure standing next to the store. He was leaning against the wall in a non-chalant manner, arms folded across his chest. I panicked, looking for a place to hide, but it was too late. The figure saw me, and gestured to me. I froze as he walked out of the shadows and into the moonlight.

“Raphael!” I exclaimed. “What’re you doing here?! You almost gave me a heart attack!”

He grinned. “What the hell’s wrong with ya, kid? You’re scared of everything.”
“Well, if someone weren’t hiding in the shadows, then I wouldn’t be in a cold sweat right now.”

“Hmph. You’re always scared. You need to toughen up.”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head in exasperation. “You don’t get it, do you?”

“No, and I don’t intend on trying. Now c’mon, you’re supposed to be home by now.”
“Aww… I didn’t know you cared.”

“I don’t, but apparently, Leo does.” I frowned as Raph gave me a playful punch on the shoulder. “Now let’s get goin’.”

He began to walk away, and I jogged to catch up to him. Behind the surf shop sat Raphael’s prized possession, sparkling in the moonlight. He spent countless hours working on that motorcycle, and he constantly cleaned it. Too bad it was surrounded by some mean looking thugs at the moment.

“The hell…?” Raph stopped walking and placed his arm in front of me, a signal meaning to keep quiet. He watched the punks eye his favorite possession in the whole wide world. Four of them, wearing torn jeans and leather jackets, encircled the motorcycle. They reeked of whiskey and were oblivious to the couple of giant turtles standing nearby.

One of the gangsters spoke up. “This sure is a nice ride. Wonder what idiot left it in the open.”

Another one, wearing a black bandana around his head, grinned like a maniac. “I guess it’s time for me to upgrade my ol’ Yamaha.”

“In yer dreams, Pike. I saw it first.” Another thug glared at his bandanna-wearing companion. “I get dibs on it because I’m the leader of the Skull Gang.” He took a flask out from his coat pocket, and took a giant swig.

Pike pouted at the leader’s words. “Why do you have to be so mean, Buzzkill?”

“Because I can do whatever I want.”

Raphael had heard enough. He drew out his sais and turned to me. “Stay here. I don’t want ya getting’ involved, awright?”

“But-” I tried to protest.

“Don’t even think about it, or I’ll make your life a living hell for the next few weeks.”

I angrily glared at him as he ran off to confront the would-be thieves. I decided to retreat to a safe vantage point behind a dumpster. I wasn’t too far away from the action, being able to see everything and hear everything.

Raph strolled up to the four men in a casual manner, a sai in each hand. “Evenin’ gents. Nice night for your asses to be kicked, ne?”

The leader of the gang coughed up his whiskey in shock. “What in the holy hell are you?!”

“Huh? ‘Holy hell’? That’s a new one. A bit contradictory, don’tcha think?” Raphael grinned menacingly. Before any of the drunken men could answer, Raph planted a stiff kick on the jaw of the nearest thug, sending him flying into a pile of smelly garbage bags.

Buzzkill threw down his flask and started barking orders. “Don’t just stand there, damn it! Get him!”

Pike took out a switchblade from his pocket, while the other gangster picked up a chain on the ground. The leader put brass knuckles on both his fists before facing his enemy. The three of them encircled Raphael like a pack of hungry lions about to tear a helpless gazelle from limb to limb.

“Yer dead, freak…” snarled Pike.

Too bad this gazelle wasn’t so helpless. Pike lunged forward, trying to stab Raphael in the chest. Raph easily deflected the blow, and using Pike’s momentum, he ducked down and flipped the gangster over his shoulder. The thug wielding a chain attacked next. He took a swing at Raph, who quickly ducked. Poor Pike was staggering behind the turtle at this time, and ended up getting a mouthful of metal. Pike fell to the ground, screaming in pain. The other thug froze upon seeing his mistake, giving Raph the perfect opportunity to stab him in the stomach with a sai. The man howled in pain and hit the pavement with a sickening “thud.” Buzzkill attacked next without hesitation. The drunken gangster threw a flurry of punches at Raph, who effortlessly dodged them.

Buzkill growled in frustration. “Stand still, ya ugly freak!”

“Looks like someone’s had too much cooking sherry,” Raphael responded gleefully. “Didn’t your mommy teach you not to drink that stuff?”

Buzzkill was infuriated with the insults and continued throwing a barrage of punches. I could tell Raphael was enjoying every minute of this confrontation. Suddenly, Raph plunged his knee into Buzzkill’s gut. The gangster fell to the ground, almost vomiting the alcohol he had consumed. Raphael loomed over him, a mean glint in his eyes.

Without warning, the gangster Raph had kicked earlier managed to escape his bed of garbage bags and charged. I tried yelling to get my brother’s attention, but he was well aware of the gangster’s presence. With a single slash of his sai, Raph made short work of the man. He collapsed onto the concrete, motionless.

Three were down. Buzzkill staggered to his feet. Only the leader was left.

“Drunk punks that don’t even use guns… You guys aren’t fun any more.” Raphael laughed, sending chills down Buzzkill’s spine. Raph turned to him, fire in his eyes. “What’s wrong, junior? You tired of playing with the ‘freak,’ huh?”

The leader blinked a few times. Sweat poured down his face. “Fine, fine. I know when I’m beat. I’m outta here. You won’t be hearing from Buzzkill anytime soon.” He turned around and ran, leaving his three wounded comrades behind.

Raphael placed his sais back on his belt and rubbed his hands together. “That was too easy.” He glanced around, and called out “hey kid, where you at?”

I popped out of my hiding place and quickly walked towards him.

“Ah, there ya are. Scared again, huh? Geez. You should know that nothin’ bad happens when I’m around.”

I folded my arms and glared at him. “That’s an understatement if I’ve ever heard one.”

“Whatever. Now let’s go. I’m gettin’ hungry.”

The two of us approached his motorcycle. Raphael gave it a thorough inspection to make sure that the punks didn’t tamper with it. Once he was satisfied, he hopped on and turned to me. “Well?”

I bit my lip nervously. “Are you sure it’s safe for the two of us to ride it?”

Raphael sighed and gave me a look of disbelief. “Of course it’s safe! Now hurry up, will ya? The police are gonna be here any minute. Damn… Next time I’m gonna make Leo pick you up.”

I wrapped my cloak around me as tightly as I could. I figured it was going to be cold while riding that loud machine, but Raphael didn’t seem worried. He wore his traditional ninja gear, not even bothering to come with his trench coat.

Scowling, Raphael waited for me to get on his motorcycle. “Why couldn’t I just go home by taking the usual sewer route?” I muttered.

“Because that would’ve taken too long. And you’ve already got Leo’s feathers ruffled for stayin’ out so late,” Raphael grunted in reply. “Now hold on tight.”

I regretted staying on the beach for a couple of extra hours. I had never ridden a motorcycle before, so I took Raph’s words seriously. Wrapping my arms around his waist in a death grip, I waited for the roar of the engine. Instead, I ended up hearing a different kind of roaring.

“You’re killin’ me, kid! Ease up on the grip, will ya?! I can’t breathe!” Raphael angrily griped.

Mumbling a quick apology, I did as he demanded. Suddenly, the quiet alleyway was flooded by the rage that Raph’s motorcycle produced. With little warning, the wheels screeched as the smell of burnt rubber invaded my senses. My face wrinkled in disgust, but before I could complain, we were flying down the alleyway. Buildings became blurs as we went faster and faster.

“Raph, please slow down!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.

“And what? Get runned over by Buzzkill?” Raphael yelled back in response.

Wondering what he meant by that remark, I glanced over my shoulder. Sure enough, Buzzkill was right behind us, riding his own motorcycle and swinging a chain in the air. He certainly looked like he wanted to kill us. I began to panic again. I wasn’t used to being chased by a madman on a motorcycle.

“Hey kid! Now’s a good time to hold on tight!”

I didn’t argue with Raphael’s advice, so I held on to him with all my might. We zoomed down various alleyways, taking sharp turns every so often. My heart was racing and my stomach was trying its best to catch up. Raph did everything he could to shake Buzzkill off our tail, but the man kept his pursuit. He now came dangerously close to our right side. So close, that I could see the anger in his eyes. I let out a scream as he attempted to hit us with his chain. Raph swerved to the left, and the chain missed us by inches.

“You freaks are dead! D’ya hear me? No one, and I mean NO ONE gets away with insulting Buzzkill!” the crazed lunatic yelled out.

“I wish people like you would shut the hell up!” Raph snapped in response. He clutched the handles of his motorcycle in concentration. His body tensed up, and I could sense that he was about to do something crazy. “Hey Buzz-butt, think you can keep up with me?”

Suddenly, we came bursting out of the alleyway and into one of the main streets. The lights of the city flooded my pupils with a brilliant flash, and the colors of various cars came swirling past me. Raph cut through traffic, almost hitting a taxicab. Unfortunately for Buzzkill, he decided to take Raphael’s dare and ended up crashing into the taxi we had just passed. He went flying off his motorcycle. I was screaming at the top of my lungs the entire time and closed my eyes once I saw Buzzkill take flight. He landed somewhere on the sidewalk, but I couldn’t bear to look in that direction.

By the time I had mustered enough courage to open my eyes again, I noticed that we were cruising through alleyways once more. My mouth was dry from all of my screaming, and my nerves were shot. I felt trickles of sweat run down my forehead.

“You okay, kid?” Raphael yelled over the noise of his motorcycle.

“I… I think so,” I tried yelling back, but my throat was sore.

“Good. You’re a bit bluer than usual. Anyway, looks like Buzzkill was right. We won’t be hearin’ from him anytime soon.” I saw his reflection grinning in one of the rear view mirrors.

“I can’t believe you did that,” I said angrily. “We could’ve died!”

“But we didn’t. Told ya nothin’ bad happens when I’m around.”

If I didn’t fear falling off the speeding motorcycle, I would’ve hit him.

“Heh heh… Did anyone ever tell you that you sound like a girl when you scream?” Raphael broke out into laughter.

“SHUT UP!” I yelled back. I couldn’t wait to go home. This was already proving to be one of the longest nights of my life.