" Oh shit! It's my birthday!" She hissed and jumped out of bed. She ran to her dresser and grabbed her pair of black hip huggers and her new high heeled boots and quickly put them on. She went through her dresser for a shirt and found a long sleeve black one, which actually made her look like she was going to a funeral rather than it being her birthday. She went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth and then her hair. Anxious to get down stairs she looked at herself one last time and then darted down the stair case, hoping that her parents had gotten her the little motorcycle that she wanted. To her disappointment, there wasn't one. She saw her parents in the kitchen and her sister Janet was on the computer in the living room.
" Happy birthday honey!" Catherine and her dad said in union. Alana turned and smiled warmly at her parents.
" Yeah, happy birthday, Alana." She heard her sister say half heartedly. Alana huffed at her sisters lack of enthusiasm and sat at the dining room table.
" We have arranged for your cake to be delivered tonight, ok? We figured a late party would be nice. A lot of your dads friends are coming over to celebrate and since they have gifts for you to open later, you can the ones from us now." Catherine stated and Alana smiled at her father who gave her a very small box. Alana looked at it curiously and then opened to reveal a small ring made of gold. It had a Sapphire in the center shaped as a heart and surrounding it was many little white diamonds. Alana was awe-struck and she put the ring on gratefully.
" Now you and your sister have one from your sixteenth birthdays. It shows how much we love the two of you. I made sure to get you green like you like and she has the red one." Her father said. She hugged her father and then Janet walked in with a fairly large box and handed it to her.
" This is the one day out of the year that I will be nice to you." Janet said with a devious smile. Alana smirked at her sister and opened the box to reveal a whole bunch of art equipment. Janet knew how much Alana loved to draw and how much she valued her talents. Alana got up and hugged her sister.
" Thanks sis." She said. Catherine came over and put another box in front of her. Alana opened it quickly and smiled at the gift. It was a nice little kit of makeup for her to start toying with. She hugged her mom and sat back down.
" Don't sit so quickly." He dad stated and went to the door.
" This is a gift from all of us." He said and Alana could feel her heart racing as her father opened the door. There in front of her on it's kick-stand was a beautiful emerald green Honda Rebel motorcycle like she had so badly wanted. Alana nearly fainted. They had gotten her the bike and even had it colored to her liking. She got up and ran outside to admire it closely.
" Oh my God!!! Thanks you!!!" She squealed truly grateful for everything they had done for her. She jumped onto the bike and gave her family the biggest grin she could muster up. It was easy to lift and turn the front wheel, unlike her fathers bike which she could hardly lift off of the kick-stand due to it's weight. Her father walked over and handed her the keys.
" You can take if for a ride only if you promise to be careful and you cannot go deep into town. Stay on the outskirts of town and you have to be back in two hours now later. Oh and don't get caught, cause you don't have a class M licence." Her dad said.
" Ok. You can trust me. I won't do anything stupid." She said and started the engine. The sound was nothing compared to her dads motorcycle, but it was a motorcycle non the less. She smiled at her parents and put the bike into gear, remembering everything her father had taught her.
" You better be careful and not do anything stupid, cause if you do I am going to take that bike away until I think you are ready." Catherine stated sternly.
" Believe me mom, I won't do anything to get this bike taken away." She said and drove it down the road. The gates automatically opened and she left them.
" Do you think this is a good idea?" Catherine asked.
" Why not? We let her go out when she was riding my bike." Antonio pointed out and Catherine nodded in agreement.
" You're right." She said and they both went back inside the house and prepared for the party.
When the turtles had arrived home the night before, Raphael had left and hadn't come back. Leonardo paced the room and looked around. He didn't trust Raphael in the angry state that he was in. He knew Raphael was dangerous and lethal all at the same time and he was a threat to any one that tried his patience. Everyone seemed to be off in their own little worlds. Don was sitting down reading the morning paper, Mike was sitting on the couch day dreaming and Splinter wouldn't even set foot out of his room.
" We have to keep an eye on him." Leo stated suddenly. They didn't have to worry about being seen even though it was daylight, because mostly everyone was at work and Raph wouldn't go where their were too many people.
" Raph could be anywhere." Mike said worriedly.
" Yeah well if I know Raph he'll go to the last place he got into a fight with those street kids. That park just outside the city. If Raph wanted to start a fight there is where he'd look without having to worry about too many people seeing him." Leo said.
" Yeah now that I think about it, I remember him saying something about them calling him a freak and that he was going to make them pay for it." Don said matter of fact.
" Alright let's go. We could use the run anyway." Leo said and picked up his katanas and sheathed them. He went to his room and got out three pairs of sweats and tossed them to his brothers. They got their trench coats, scarfs, and beany hats so that they could cover as much of their face as possible. Mike and Don grabbed their weapons and followed Leo out of the den. Mike grumbled at the fact that he had to go, but he had no choice when it came to Leo being in charge.
Alana rode her new motorcycle around small streets and houses near hers, but didn't dare go near the city. She rode to what was supposed to be a nice park, but was actually a hangout for delinquent children. She looked around carefully and didn't see anyone, so she parked the motorcycle and got off. To her left was a small pond and the rest was land behind that. But there were a few trees and bushes that grew close to the water. Alana rubbed her arms realizing how cold it really was. Surprisingly, t had only snowed in December and parts of January, but it was said to come back sometime around Valentine's day, but not very much. It was cold still and the ground had frost, but she could bear it. She put her hands in her pockets and looked around. When there wasn't idiots around to ruin the place, it was actually a nice park.
" Alana?" She heard her name and turned to see a blond headed boy with blue eyes.
" Man shit! Why is it I always have to run into you?!" She growled recognizing the Jensen boy from the other night.
" And shouldn't you be in school?" She asked coldly with a touch of agitation.
" Yeah, and?" He said in return just as rudely. Alana rolled her eyes and turned away from him.
" Nice bike. Parents still spoiling you?" He asked.
" I earn it. I'm nice, and do what I'm told, and I don't try to beat the shit out of people for no reason and get smart with my father." She sneered and noted the anger in his face. Suddenly, she realized that she was alone and there was no one to stop him now if they were to get into a fight.
" Well look little miss ballerina, you're not here with anyone to help you and I still got some payback to do for what you did to me the other day." He growled and took a step towards her.
" Don't you think it's a little cowardly to hit a girl?" She asked calmly. She crossed her arms in front of her and waited for him to answer. He just glared back, but didn't answer.
" Meowww." They looked down to see a little gray and white kitten next to them. To Alana's surprise. The boy kicked him and made the cat hiss and scamper away.
" Cory!" Alana yelled.
" What?! It's just a fucking cat!" He yelled in return.
" Yeah and I'm sure he didn't like that kick no more than you did the other night when I let you have it!" Alana yelled angrily. She was already getting tired of Cory's behavior and she was close to making her dad report him and have him sent to an institution.
" Fuck you!" Cory yelled in her face. Alana smirked and stood her ground. She wasn't about to back down from him.
The turtles jogged to the park and looked around. There was no sign of their brother or anyone else, until they heard yelling behind some bushes. They moved in and looked through the branches. It wasn't Raphael, that was for sure, but instead a boy and a girl.
" Hey! That's that same two that got into it in front of Pizza Hut the other night." Don said. They other two nodded and watched to make sure that the boy didn't attack her.
" I am not going to listen to this shit!" Alana yelled and walked to her bike. Cory came and got in her way with a devious smile on his face.
"Awe come one, you're not leaving so soon, are you?" He sneered and looked her over. He reached out a hand to touch her chest, but she slapped it away in surprise and backed up.
" Don't you dare fucking touch me!" She screamed into his face. Then he pushed her onto the ground and got on top of her. She tried to scream again, but he covered her mouth. His other hand went to the zipper of her pants. She hit him hard in the face, drawing blood from his lip, but it was no use. She began to tremble and realized that she was in a position that she couldn't get out of herself.
" Lets go!" Leo hissed and just as they came out, something came flying out of the bushes across from them and stuck itself in the ground. The two turned to see what looked like a huge fork. Alana took the chance and pushed Cory off of her. He went to grab her, but she landed a hard kick to his chest. He gritted his teeth and she could see the blood dripping from his lips and she backed away. Alana didn't have the look of fear, but a look of anger instead. She hated the thought of ever being touched anywhere. Cory got up and came at her, but three figures came out and attacked. Alana was surprised and backed away from the commotion. Then she felt another grab her waist and jerked her out of the way as Cory was thrown to the ground right where she had been standing. She turned to look at the figure wearing a trench coat and a beany hat on his head. A scarf was wrapped around his face so the only thing she could see was his eyes with a red mask over them. She looked back at Cory to see his face covered in blood as he tried to fight the three figures but he was no match by a long shot for the three of them. Finally, he gave up the fight and took off running down the dirt path as fast as he could. She looked at the three figures and could see an angry look in their eyes as they looked in her direction, but she knew they were looking at the one who had moved her. She looked up into his eyes to see him looking at the three and merely glance at her before returning the stare. One of the three came up and took her hand gently and led her away from him. He walked her to her motorcycle and motioned for her to get on.
" You better go." He said softly.
" Wait! I don't understand, I haven't even been able to thank your friends." She said, confused at what was going on. Then they heard yelling and both turned to see two of the figures fighting. The one that she had been so close to was aggressively pushing the other one out of his face.
" Why are they fighting? I thought you four were together." She said now recognizing them from the Pizza Hut.
" Our brother is in trouble......it's a family thing. You really shouldn't be here to watch this." He said and she reluctantly started the engine.
" I will give them your thanks" He said and walked back to the group. He was short compared to the others, she noticed, but that was the only thing she could see. The two taller ones were getting ready to seriously fight while the other two stood by and watched. The two standing turned to look at her and she looked down and put the bike into first gear and revved the engine a little before taking off. There was nothing she could do. She was however thankful for the help she received when she needed it most. Then the realization hit her of what could have happened to her if they hadn't been there and she had to stop the bike to catch her breath. She sat on it, trembling and trying to catch her breath. Anger was setting in and she was going to make sure that her dad put Cory away for a long time. She calmed herself, but jumped a little when she heard yelling. It was the two that were fighting when she left. She sighed and felt compelled to go back, but she didn't want to disobey orders. They had asked her to leave and she wasn't about to ruin their trust on the first day she met them. She put the bike back into gear and drove away as fast as she could back to the house.
Michealangelo and Donatello watched nervously as the arguments between Raphael and Leonardo began to escalate. They were pushing each other and yelling, but no serious fighting had begun, but the two by-standing brothers didn't hold their breaths cause they knew it would be coming. Both of the turtles were unclothed and starring at one another with daggered eyes. Raphael's eyes were gleaming with anger, but also with anticipation. He hadn't been able to fight with his brother for a long time due to the fact that Splinter had made that new rule about going to the punching bag whenever he was upset, but now that they were alone out here, the rules didn't apply to him. Leo watched his brothers every move and expected an attack, but to his surprise he didn't get it.
" Man Raph is pissed. We should go help Leo." Mike stated nervously, but Don held him back.
" It's not our fight. Only if Raphael starts using his weapons dangerously against Leonardo, then we interfere." Don said and resumed to watching his brothers circle each other.
Suddenly, Raph lunged at his brother unexpectedly and punched him hard in the mouth. Leo scrambled away from his brother and got up to kick him hard in the stomach. Raphael growled and put his hand on his stomach. Pain seared through him, but he wasn't about to let that get him down. He jumped onto his feet and charged at Leo. The two turtles fell to the ground and punched at each other while their other two brothers waited anxiously to see if Raphael took it too far. They watched as Leonardo kicked Raphael away from him. Raph landed hard on his rear end. Raphael's teeth were gritted and his jaw was set tightly. He was extremely angry.
" Man FUCK!!!" He yelled in frustration and came at Leo with everything he had. It was obvious that Raphael was a little rusty on his fighting skills. He hadn't practiced much sparring for a while and Leo had so it gave his brother the disadvantage. Raphael punched Leo in the chest and starting punching him as he would the punching bag. Leo blocked as much as he could, but there was a lot of anger that Raphael was letting out and Leo knew that this was getting into something more serious than he had wanted. Suddenly, Raphael drew his one sai and came at Leo who wasn't fast enough at taking out his katanas. Luckily, the sai had only grazed his shoulder, but he kicked Raph in the gut and sent him flying back wards again. He got up, but didn't want to un-sheath his swords at his brother. Splinter had taught him that he needed to remain calm around his hot-headed brother and not use weapons because it would make matters worse. Raphael got up and charged at Leo with his sai, but before he could get to him he felt a sharp pain to the front of his thighs and his weapon fell with a clang to the ground. He felt tears of pain fill his eyes and he sucked in ragged breaths as the pain seared through his legs like flames of fire. He looked up at his brother Donatello who was holding his bo in hand and waiting for Raph to try something else. Mike was standing next to Leo looking at Raph sympathetically. He knew that the blow he got from Don had to hurt and he was going to hate them for quite a while.
" Sorry bro, but you're taking this just a little too far." Don said angrily. He was tired of his brother acting the way he did and although he normally stayed out of the fights he wasn't about to have Raphael seriously injure one of his brothers. Raph got up slowly and limped to the fallen sai. He backed away and looked evilly at his brothers.
" You just wait Donny! You're gonna fucking pay for that!" He yelled and turned away. He limped over to the sai he had thrown earlier and picked it up and put them both in his belt. He gave one last glare and picked up his clothes and limped to the bushes and disappeared.
" Gosh, he's limping pretty bad." Mike observed after his brother had gone out of sight.
" Good, that means we an relax until he heals up and comes at us again." Don stated and looked at Leo's arm. Leo brushed off he sweats that he was wearing and picked up his coat and scarf as well and then walked with his brothers back the way they came.
" Well we found him." Mike stated and smiled, getting a level look from both his brothers.
Alana parked her motorcycle in the garage next to her fathers and then walked inside the house. Her parents were sitting at the table and her sister must have been up stairs cause she didn't see her anywhere.
" Dad, can I talk to you?" Alana asked. Her parents looked at her and noticed that she had dirt all over her clothes.
" Oh God, did you fall off your motorcycle?" Catherine cried and started to look Alana over.
" No, no. It's not the bike that's the problem." She said. She looked at her dad and he motioned for her to sit down. Catherine sat down as well and waited to hear what had happened.
" Ok honey, what's wrong?" He asked. Alana looked down and took a deep breath before answering.
" Ok, you remember the other night when Cory got into a fight with me?" She asked. She watched her parents expressions turn dark with a look of concern and anger. Obviously, they knew that something bad was coming.
" I stopped at that park about four miles from here to take a break from riding and look at the pond. Well, Cory was there. He came out and started it with me and I told him that I didn't want to hear it so I went to get back on the bike........" She choked on the last few words and felt the tears fill her eyes. Catherine's jaw tightened and Antonio balled his fists like he wanted to hit someone.
" Then....." She started to sob and Catherine rubbed her back to comfort her.
" Tell us what happened." Her father said gently, but she could hear the anger in his voice.
" Then....he blocked me from getting on and he tried to touch me." She said through her sobs. She jumped when she heard father bang his fists into the table in anger.
" I pushed him away and then he pushed me on the ground and tried to get my zipper down, but then something happened. Somebody threw this weapon and it stuck in the ground and distracted him. It looked like a giant fork or something, but I managed to kick him and move away. When he tried to come after me again, three guys in coats and hats came out and started to attack him. A fourth one moved me out of the way." She said and her father nodded and looked at his daughter.
" What happened next?" He asked.
" Cory ran. I would have too. These guys were doing karate moves or something. They kicked his butt. One of them was really nice and walked me back to the bike, but two of them were fighting with each other. He said they were brothers and it was a family thing and that I should get home." She finished wiping the tears from her eyes, feeling much better that she had told someone instead of hide the whole thing.
" If I see that boy I'll him....." Antonio said and then took a deep breath and calmed himself for the sake of his wife and daughter.
" Do you recognize the four guys?" He asked softly.
" Yeah....I mean.....well not really. They all had trench coats and scarfs covering them. It was those same guys who were standing outside of pizza hut that night I got my drivers licence. I couldn't see their faces, but then again I don't think they want anyone to see them." She said quietly. Her parents gave her an odd look.
" What do you mean?" Catherine asked softly.
" Well I think they were deformed. All of them. Their whole bodies are covered and when that one moved me out of the way and the other led me to the bike, both of them only had three big fingers on each hand and I think the other two were the same way. They had practically the same body shape and even looked like they had a hump on their backs. They covered their entire body." She said. Antonio seemed to be lost in his own little world, but he nodded and looked at his daughter.
" Well deformed or not, I wish I knew them so I could thank them." He said.
" As for Cory, I am going to talk to his dad and have him dealt with. There is no way that he is going to get away with any of this. I am going to have him put in an institution!" He growled and went to the phone. Catherine got up and followed. Alana listened to the angry voices of her parents in the kitchen.
" You have that boy put in a phyco home or something. If I ever see him I will beat the shit out of him myself!" Catherine hissed angrily. Antonio told he to calm down while he spoke to Cory's father. Alana was relieved to be home and decided that she wanted to stay there for a while. She got her gifts that she had gotten earlier off the table and headed up the stairs to her room. She sat at her desk and opened the box of art equipment and took out a piece of paper. She set it down and took out her pencils and began sketching what ever came into her mind. At first it looked like only shapes and then she smiled when she realized that she was drawing the person she had moved her out of harms way. Most of the page was dark with shadowing, but she drew the eyes and the mask he wore. Which it finally struck her as strange that he would be wearing a mask in the first place. Then she heard her sister walk in.
" I heard what happened." She said softly and looked at her sister and then the drawing.
" You don't waste any time do you? Who's that? A modern day Zorro?" She asked.
" Very funny." Alana said and then looked at her sister.
" It's one of those guys that had helped me. I couldn't see any of them cause they were covered, but I think they were deformed or something. They had humps on their backs and three fingers on each hand only." She said. Janet raised her brows and nodded that long winded "ok" look. Then Janet stood up and looked around the room and shook her head.
" You are really not organized." She said as she looked at the magazines scattered in one corner of her room and drawings loosely sitting on top of an oak chest her mom had bought her when she was thirteen.
" You know? Mom got you that chest so you can put your stuff in it, not on it." Janet stated. Alana looked at her sister, but for once didn't say anything. She just looked at the drawing she did. Hardly a face to see in the shadows, but she had seen his eyes. They looked angry, maybe not at her, but they looked like they held some kind of hatefulness. She hadn't cared very much when she was there with him, but now she wondered what was going through his mind.
Leonardo sat on the couch while Splinter patched up the wound he had on his arm. Leo patted his arm and flexed it.
" Thanks Master." He said. Splinter looked at his son.
" Where is Raphael now?" He asked with the slightest hint of anger in his voice.
" I don't know. He just walked off and we didn't feel like going after him. Donny gave him a hard blow so we didn't want to take the chance of him getting angrier and fighting with us again." Leo said.
" That was wise." Splinter said wearily. He didn't know what else to do about Raphael's anger. It was beginning to be too much for him. Disciplining him was not doing the job. Mike looked at Don who was sitting quietly on the couch next to Leo.
" That girl thanked us. I didn't give her a chance to say it to you all personally because of Raphael, but she was grateful." Mike stated after a moment of silence.
" Were you seen?" Splinter asked in concern. Mike shook his head.
" Na aw. I told her to get on her bike and go home before they got into a fight because she didn't need to see it for one and I didn't want her to see what we were." Mike said. Splinter nodded and stood up. He walked slowly back to his room and then shut the door. Don looked at Leo and then Mike curiously.
" Is it just me or does Master Splinter look a little worn down and weak?" Don asked. Leo didn't want to believe that anything was wrong so he shook his head.
" He's probably just had enough of Raphael. It's probably wearing him out a bit." He said and Mike nodded his agreement. Don however, wasn't so quick to put the blame on Raphael's behavior. Leonardo remained quiet and knew there was more to it. Something was wrong and he didn't know what and Splinter was with holding all the answers to his questions. He had told him not to mind it and Leo never wanted to go against Splinters wishes, but something just didn't feel right.