Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Fan Fiction ❯ Bad Places III: Ruin ❯ Chapter 13

Part 14

The walk out of the submarine proved far easier than the walk in. Raphael and Donatello took the lead while April and Splinter brought up the rear, killing the occasional creature and keeping Michelangelo and Leonardo well protected in the middle. Although the lights flickered or were completely dark in some spots, smashed by the wild cannibalism of Stockman's creatures, enough light remained that Raphael managed to backtrack through the gloom.

"Do you hear that?" Donatello whispered.

"Yeah," Raphael answered.

"Hear what?" Mike asked before he heard it. Very faint but definitely there, the sound of claws on steel. He would have felt worried if he thought they were coming closer, but they always stayed on the edge of his hearing.

"Leo?" he whispered. "Can tell you tell how many are still alive?"

Leaning on his little brother's shoulder and too tired to curse his weakness, Leonardo nodded once. The farther he walked, the less intense the static became. The screamers' scratching added one more noise to the cacophony of the ship swaying on ocean waves and his family moving around him.

"Not many," he said softly. "They won't come closer."

"How can you tell?" Michelangelo asked.

Leonardo almost didn't answer. Even though Michelangelo had been in Stockman's game and had seen the nightmare he'd lived for three months, he still felt the urge to protect him. He didn't want Michelangelo to have to experience any of the horrors he accepted as normal. But as gruesome as the answer was, it relieved him to know they were safe.

"They're still eating each other."

"...oh." Mike grimaced, then paled as a thought occurred to him. His brother's teeth were right next to his throat. "Um, you're not hungry, are you?"

"Starving," Leonardo answered.

"Uh..."

His brother's nervousness almost made him smile. Maybe Michelangelo finally believed that his sibling could hurt him. Figures that he'd start believing now that the danger was passing.

"I won't bite you," Leo mumbled.

"But isn't that what the computer's telling you--?"

"Yes." Leonardo grit his teeth and forced himself to continue. "But the thought makes me sick."

"Oh. Good." Michelangelo winced at himself. "Um, I mean not good that you're feeling bad, but good that you won't hurt me, 'cause I told you that you'd never hurt me and at least you're finally listening--"

"Mike," Raphael whispered harshly. "Quit rambling and focus."

Donatello nodded. "Yeah, we're not out of the woods yet."

"Or the big spooky ship," Michelangelo said.

"There's nothing nearby," Leonardo murmured. "Should be a straight shot out."

"Maybe," Raphael said. "If Stockman didn't set traps for us, or if that static isn't drowning out the sound of those things moving around, or if Stockman didn't create a buncha new quiet monsters..."

The darkness hid Leonardo's smile. He doubted Raphael would like knowing his brother enjoyed hearing him worry out loud, but listening to him agonizing over everything that could go wrong felt like such a weight off his shoulders. Especially when he knew for sure there was nothing nearby that could hurt them.

They didn't relax until they stepped off the ship without incident, coming out into the moonlight on a empty dock. Only the waves broke the silence as they looked around, scanning for straggling monsters. All they spotted were a few floating carcasses.

"Oh no, they're in the water," April said softly. "You think they'll contaminate the sea life?"

"Maybe not," Donatello answered. "Leo's human friends weren't affected. With any luck, their genetics should just disperse into nothing."

A few feet away, Michelangelo found a clean patch of pavement to stop on, helping his brother down to rest. It seemed useless to choose a bloodless spot when they were both dripping, but he couldn't help it. He sat down by his brother's side and let him lean on his shoulder.

"How you doing?" he whispered.

"I've been better," Leonardo said. He squinted in the light coming from the city. It wasn't overwhelming, but it stung.

A few feet away, Raphael glanced at his big brother and then back at the ship. They were safely out. Now all they had to do was sink the ship and their problems were over. He sighed. Well, their Stockman problems were over anyway.

"Donnie," he said. "Any ideas how to blow this thing up?"

"No problem," Donatello said. "I've got enough torpedoes on the sub to blow it to the moon."

"The bottom of the ocean'll do," Raphael said. "Bring the sub closer, huh? April, go with him. I don't want anyone by themselves if there are any demons swimming around."

She nodded and followed Donatello back to the sub. They both kept an eye on the water's surface as they went inside, but nothing happened and after a few minutes, the submarine's engines revved up and quickly closed the distance between them and the ship. Michelangelo watched it come towards him, the waves tossed up behind it splashing the edge of the dock.

"Ready to go?" Mike asked.

Leonardo didn't answer at first. Although he didn't argue when his brother helped him back to his feet, he kept staring at a small stretch of concrete a little ways from the ship. To Michelangelo, it looked like the rest of the dock, blood splattered and covered in monster footprints, so his brother's soft laugh surprised him.

"Leo?"

"She survived," Leonardo said.

"What?"

"The woman I was fighting. Look," he pointed at a few different spots on the dock. "You can see her footprints walking away from here."

"Leo, she was in the ship when those things went nuts," Michelangelo said. "There's no way she survived. Those could be anyone's footprints."

"There's a darker streak in the middle front where her shoes split," Leonardo argued. "And they're close with a long drag to her left leg. She was probably hurt bad, but she survived."

Michelangelo stared at the spot again, not seeing anything besides a meaningless mess. But he didn't want to argue, even though that woman had tried to kill his brother. He shrugged and helped lead his brother towards the sub.

"If you say so."

Although Donatello pulled the sub as close as possible to the edge of the dock, Michelangelo had to help his brother cross the small gap and move steadily across the wet metal surface of the boat without slipping. As they came to the circular hatch, he felt Leonardo tense and take a deep breath, gathering his strength. Cold chills ran through his body and he tightened his grip on Leonardo's arm so much that his brother yelped.

"If you even think about jumping--" Michelangelo started.

"I'm not gonna run," Leonardo said. "But I'm not getting carried inside, either."

Even so, Michelangelo made sure to position himself on the side of the sub facing the ocean, letting go of his brother just long enough for Leonardo to jump down. He followed right behind, ready to stop his brother if he tried to surprise him and dash back out. Instead he found him curling up in one of the back seats, doing his best to disappear into the darkness.

Michelangelo tilted his head. His brother lay with his eyes closed, his injured leg not curling as much as the other and with his head tilted toward the deep wound in his shoulder. His breath came in short, labored gasps. He looked uncomfortable but too tired to try to change position. They'd all been injured at some point in their lives, but Michelangelo thought that this was the first time he'd seen his Leonardo so exhausted.

He sat down behind him and pulled his brother against himself, holding him close. Leonardo's skin felt cold and he wondered how much blood he'd lost.

"Guess it'll be awhile before I can go out again," Leonardo whispered.

Not bothering to argue, Michelangelo smiled and held him tighter. His brother was trapped in the sub and couldn't get away, and when they got home, he'd be safe under several watchful guards who wouldn't let him hurt himself. But Leonardo had been through other dark times and this temporary imprisonment would likely be just that, temporary.

"Sooner than you think," Mike promised. "And if you need to get out for awhile even sooner, then I'll go with you. Make sure you stay out of trouble."

Leonardo laughed once and didn't say anything else, but he put his hand on Michelangelo's, holding him close. He kept his eyes shut when Splinter came in and sat near the front, but he did glance up when Raphael came in. He had to make sure everyone was safe inside, then he could relax, but looking meant meeting his brother's eyes.

Restrained anger. His brother looked ready to yell at him right there, but first they had to destroy the ship and get back home. Probably get their big brother bandaged up and dosed with painkillers, too. Then he could let loose some of the anger visible in his face. Leonardo knew that glare well from many nights bringing one of them home hurt from some stupid stunt.

He flinched and turned away.

Raphael's order to destroy the ship, the muted sound of torpedoes launching before the painfully loud explosion and the groan of steel drifting under the waves, all happened in a few seconds. The rest of the ride went by in agonizing stillness. The sub blocked out even the comforting sound of the currents flowing across its surface so that he only heard several heartbeats and soft breathing like a suffocating blanket. By the time they reached home, the deafening clang of the hatch opening and breaking the silence was almost a relief.

Raphael stood up and ushered everyone out, suggesting that April go make sure Casey was all right and that Donatello go get the sick room ready once again. Although Splinter waited a moment to make sure Leonardo could climb out, the looks he received from both Raphael and Michelangelo wordlessly told him that he wasn't needed. Once he left, Michelangelo turned his attention back to his big brother.

"Think you can climb out on your own?" Michelangelo asked softly.

Leonardo glanced at the open hatch. "Yeah...but not much after."

"The sooner you're out of here," Raphael said, "the sooner you can go to sleep."

The gentleness in his brother's voice surprised him but he nodded once and leaned on Michelangelo, watching him go up first and then following. When he came out, his whole body trembled from the effort and he let Mike set his arm around his shoulders, supporting him as they stood.

"Forgot to ask," Michelangelo said as they cross the lair. "Is that static gone now?"

"It went away a couple minutes after the ship went down. Still doesn't feel right, though." He sighed and lowered his head. He didn't need to see to find his way to the damn sick room. "That last burst he gave me, still feel it in the back of my head."

"Like the signal's still there?" Raphael asked. He would've helped him walk but Leonardo couldn't move his right arm without flexing the wound at the base of his throat.

"No," Leonardo said. "Like--like the bad part of a hangover."

Raphael glanced at him, surprised by the admission. "And when did you find out what that feels like?"

"Th' time you took off for three days without even calling."

"Just that once?" Raphael asked. "Never thought you'd drink while one of us was missing."

"He didn't," Michelangelo argued. "Heck, he didn't really go to sleep until after you came home."

"Couldn' sleep," Leonardo said. "Too on edge. The drink helped, but I'd never tried it before. The next morning really hurt."

They reached the room. Not responding, Raphael held open the door and waited for them to go in. He wished he'd heard about that another time. It would be funnier hearing about his brother getting drunk and suffering a hangover if Leonardo wasn't so beaten down right now. He could clearly imagine Leonardo sitting in his bedroom watching everything turn fuzzy, losing the ability to stand without wobbling, watching the lights go out and trying to relax now that his younger brother was finally home safe in one piece even if he was afraid it was wishful thinking, that it was just a nice dream and in a moment he'd wake up with Raphael still missing...

Raphael followed them in. It'd probably be a lot funnier if he didn't know exactly how hopelessness felt.

TBC...