Nalong - Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT. Also I don't get paid for this. Please don't sue.

A/N: OK, just a word of warning. Part of this is somewhat based on a dream that started weird and just got weirder. Michelangelo had a cameo in the dream so I turtle-ized the whole thing. Then came up with this whole complicated story for what will probably be one little chapter to fit into. Alright, Pacphys is trying a new genre. She has moved the boys out of the lair and into what can be a vicious world. And with the "ol' turtle luck working true to form" it will be. ON TO THE STORY!!!!

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Leonardo tried to recall how they had gotten themselves into this fix. Thinking back he could not come up with just when it had all started. He did know that a few months ago Raphael had come across some strange cult of mutant hunters. He had witnessed them attacking and subduing what he had thought was a human and we went to put a stop to it. The victim wasn't as human as he had originally thought and when he gave her the opportunity she had lashed out at her attackers with strange claws. She muttered a curt thanks to her now confused protector and disappeared into the night. Which, looking back on it, was what Raphael should have done. However hindsight is always 20/20 and that really wasn't Raph's style. He knocked out the attackers and tied them up, leaving them for the police to handle before slipping into the shadows and heading home. The evening had been too weird, and he was ready to call it a night.

He did the right thing. Leo reminded himself. It wasn't the first time he had reminded himself of that, and he was sure that it wouldn't be the last either. They had spent the last two months running from and fighting the cult. It was comprised of a group of humans who had discovered various mutants living among them. Turns out the turtles weren't as alone as they had thought. On the other hand maybe they were. Most of the 'mutants' were what the turtles would call human. They looked human, they responded to situations like a human, and they lived in the world of the humans, something that the turtles could never do. These 'mutants' merely had something different about them. Some had strange eyes and others a sixth finger, which as Don had pointed out was actually, oddly enough, a dominant gene. But for most of them you couldn't tell what made them a 'mutant' in this cult's mind. However there were a handful of other beings the turtles had run across that even they considered being mutants like themselves. The creature Raphael had helped that night had been a cat, tail and all. She was certainly a mutant, and of course they already knew Leatherhead.

Leonardo pulled his mind back to the present and the battle at hand. His brothers were holding their own for now, but with the weapons these people held he had a feeling that wouldn't last long. He had already taken a dart in his leg and he could feel the effects of the powerful sedative. It was certainly contributing to his drifting concentration, as well as the fact that he was sitting on the rooftop leaning up against an exhaust shaft while a fight raged around him. Another cult member aimed at Donatello.

"Donnie! Watch out!" Leo slurred. Donatello heard and spun intercepting the small dart with one end of his bo staff. Leo sighed in relief knowing that for now, he had saved one of his brothers.

It wasn't long before another dart found its mark, this time into Michelangelo's arm. Raphael saw and with a growl threw a sai at the gunman. His aim was true and another cult member went down. Raph's attack only fueled the initially unfounded rage of the strange cult.

"Donnie, we got to get them out of here." Raphael soon shouted to his only, still standing brother.

"I know Raph. But just how do suggest we do that?" Donnie replied rather casually given that he was busy knocking out the nearest gunman while trying to catch stray darts from the others. He covered the short distance separating him and his brother and they stood shell to shell.

"Oh no, once Leo's out, you're idea turtle. You know that." Raphael half-joked to the brainy turtle he thought of as one of his little brothers. Not really knowing who was oldest, and they were probably so close that it didn't matter anyway, they had each accepted a role based on personality, Leo as the oldest, then Raph, Donnie and finally Mikey.

"Well Raph," there was no joking around in Don's tone. "I am fresh out of ideas. We're outnumbered and two turtles down." He then called out to the two sedated turtles. "Leo, Mikey, can either of you two move?"

No response. Leo had blacked out a short while ago and Mikey was almost there.

"Mikey," Raph yelled. It worked, regaining his brother's attention. "We need you to move."

Mikey nodded and tried. Raphael was shocked when he heard Donatello's shout and saw him leap toward him out of the corner of his eye. By the time he turned around Don had another dart in his bo staff.

"Thank bro."

"Raph, I've got a plan. You get them out of here and I'll cover you."

"That's your plan?" Raphael asked skeptically, as he worked to get Mikey up and away from the confrontation.

"That's all we've got."

A short while later Mikey had been moved out of the fighting area, but that was all. Donnie and Raph turned their attentions to Leo who was still unconscious.

"Donnie, why don't you move him this time? I'll cover." There were too many darts in Don's bo. Even though the points were buried in the wood the tails of the darts probably had the same drug on them.

"And just how are you going to do that Raph? These are darts remember?" he called back as another dart was added to the growing collection on his staff. He wished he could take Raph up on the offer, as catching the stupid darts was more tiring than one would expect, but Raph's sais would be sadly ineffective against them. "Just move him quickly." Don added.

Raph did so and pulled a second brother from the scene of the fight.

A brief thought flashed across Don's mind and in that moment he knew that it was only a matter of time before he missed one of the darts. He banished the rogue thought to the back of his mind, and reasserted a confidence in his abilities that would be catching the things all day. Too bad the lapse might have been just enough to get them killed. He realized too late that there were too many of the darts on the bo, and sooner or later he was going to hit one of them. He cut his hand on one of the darts, then another one, and another, but his concentration was on the enemies firing at them and the need to get out of there.

Raphael pulled Leo to safety and together Don and Raph carried their unconscious brothers down the fire escape. They were just about away when Donatello heard it again. He whipped around and pulled his bo from its harness. Normally he would have caught the two darts he saw flying toward them, but between the normal exhaustion of the fight and the sedative he had already been exposed to his reactions were dulled and the darts found their marks, one embedded itself in Donatello's thigh and the other hit Raphael in the side. If it had landed two inches in either direction the red-clad turtle would have been spared by his shell or plastron, but it hit the unprotected area between the two. Still the two standing turtles fought valiantly to get away from the crazy cult, but it was to no avail. Donatello passed out first. He tried to focus on Raphael's shouts to stay awake, but he couldn't. A short while later blackness claimed Raphael as well. Raph would later swear he had heard maniacal laughing from the dart-gun-toting cult.

A/N: he he. That's all you get for now. I have more, I promise. I don't have the whole story and I am a little worried about that. But I'll certainly try to complete this. I do know where I want to go with it. It'll just take me a while to get there.