Disclaimer: TMNT does not belong to me...still. Which is good, 'cuz this is the kinda stuff I do.

A/N: This one is for RadicalCriminal who wanted to see a horror story. Which I promised to start posting in September. So, before any more of this month sneaks away, here's the beginning! Prologue is in 1st Person/Present, the rest will be 3rd Person/Past Tense. Just wanted to try something different to introduce our baddie.

Warnings: Eventual blood, disturbing imagery, and general ugliness to follow. Rating is T but it may go up.

Prologue

They're just not going to get it, are they?

I, the accused, sit surrounded by my judge and jury in a semi-circle of chairs. Chairs which are carefully arranged beyond my strike range, I might add. Can't say as I blame them. They all bear the marks of my handiwork. And their sibling now bears the marks of theirs.

Oh, I did not escape completely unscathed from the conflict myself. I can feel the pressure of a swelling cheek against teeth. I sense the tender tug of bruising forming on skin. And I can taste the blood congealing upon his lip. His family may not believe it, but I'm more distraught about his blood being spilled than they are.

I have more invested in it, you might say.

Speaking of which, I squeeze a fresh dose of paralytic from my venom sacs into the turtle's system. He is no threat at this point, but it allows a few sweet drops to be drawn into my jaws as I relax against his neck. I swear it's liquid gold. If I were capable, I believe I would have purred. My body contracts and writhes along his skin, savoring the flavor as if I'll never taste it again.

Good things, I think, should be appreciated to the fullest.

Pulling myself from my indulgence, I realize the quiet one is staring at me. Blatantly, not in the sly way he has been. His brow is furrowed and an unmasked look of revulsion pulls at his lip. That's odd, he's been virtually expressionless until now. What has...ahh, there's his problem.

The enjoyment of my vessel's blood has crept into the nervous system, thus hanging my smile upon his face. Probably a tad unsettling to behold. I am tempted to keep it in place, though, seeing as I've finally gotten under the quiet one's skin. His constant, withdrawn analysis has been irritating me since we met. His focus shifts towards the vessel's empty eyes and he looks away, sharply, rubbing at the back of his own neck. I wipe the smile off.

I glance to the right. Mr. Tall-Dark-And-Brooding is being just that. He's the only one standing behind his chair. His arms are tucked tight to his chest and all I can see of his eyes are thin lines of gold. The knuckles resting in the crook of his elbow are interchanging between dark green to a paler color bordering white. My guess is he's running through their options of how to deal with me. I can confidantly predict that none of the scenarios end with my good health.

That's all right. I have scenarios of my own.

I wonder if it's dawned on him yet. The fact that his brother was never intended to suffer this fate. After all, it was Raphael who crossed my path three nights ago. It was his heart which attracted my Lady's attention. He was the one I was sent to obtain. Had he come alone to save his friend, none of us would be here right now.

But Leonardo was the one who fell, so Raphael remains free.

I wish I could validate the knowledge for him. But every time I open my vessel's mouth, I'm told to shut it.

They may consider my nature evil, but at least I'm not rude.

The final brother is sitting almost directly across from me, hovering at his father's shoulder. This one is fun. He is incapable of hiding his thoughts like the other two. I can see that I frighten him, unnerve him, but his brother's appearance may have something to do with that. I suppose I should have cleaned him up a bit before coming to face his family. But serving the Lady takes time, and the blood splashed across Leonardo's face and chest had dried by the time I finished. I hadn't even noticed it on my way here.

Apparently, Michelangelo isn't accustomed to seeing his brother saturated in such a manner. I'll keep that in mind for next time. Still, his resolve to stay and face me is kind of sweet. I like this kid.

He's leaning forward, pressing his palms together as he stares, resolutely, at the floor. The only time I can rouse even a furtive glance from him is when I shift his brother's weight. I do so now, stretching out these wonderfully powerful legs in order to ease the tingling in the rearside. We've been sitting like this for far too long. My vessel's hands are completely numb.

They kind of crudely lashed me down to this chair after they overpowered me. Four against one, nothing to celebrate. Besides, I wasn't the one who started this meeting out by fighting. I had come to talk. Now, I find myself getting the evil eye not only for my position on their precious leader's neck, but also for leaving their home in shambles. I may not have Leonardo's skill, but I think I managed quite well against his motley little relations, all things considered.

I heave a sigh, which gains everyone's attention. More importantly, it sharpens the look coming from the rat. He's the one we're really waiting on. He has sat here in silence with all his focus bent upon his little boy's face. Searching for a sign, a hint of an internal struggle, a flicker of his son's fighting spirit, hoorah. Trying so hard to pierce the blank discs which once shone with his eldest's soul.

For the life of me, I can't figure out how to fill those eyes up with myself. It's a hard concept for someone like me who's never had eyes to express themselves with. It's all trial and error right now, though, I suppose I'll manage it eventually.

It's nice that Leonardo has a family that is so desperate to find him. But that is the fatal error that they don't yet get. They think that because they've got me here, they've got him too. They have hope that with his body in sight, the rest of him is within reach of redemption. All they have to do is remove me.

Good luck with that, first of all.

But even if they succeed in expelling me, they'll have wasted their efforts and time. Time Leonardo does not have. He currently has the pleasure of entertaining my Lady while I'm away. But he's only sixteen, there is not much of a harvest in him. He'll do for now, and She seemed pleased when She cracked into his heart, but he's little more than an appetizer. And the city above us is a buffet of prime candidates to sustain Her.

Speaking of time, I've graced these four with plenty of my own. I have duties to attend, tasks which She needs fulfilled before the true harvest begins. I don't have the luxury of waiting for some old rat to realize he may as well be staring into an empty car to find his boy. Places to go and all that...

My proboscis, the slightest, fiber-like thread it is, tightens around the vessel's spinal cord. I manuever his eyes to meet the rat's stare, head-on. Pushing the corner of his mouth up into a confidant grin, I look over the four of them once more.

"Well, gentlemen. I believe this is known as a stalemate, is it not?"

* Doing the final push on Colorblind, hopefully will get the ending chapters posted next week. Then I'll be back with the rest of this story going into October, which is kind of fitting, right? *Thumbs up* Are you guys liking this teaser so far? Let me know!

** Radical, do I get happy face?