The Pulveriser – Raphael's Poisoned POV

By Tigan-Ada

"What have you got besides teeth!" he challenges.

Fishfaces curves his natural body up against the wall, his massive maw widening with a hiss – even as his intention sinks in, Raphael couldn't bring himself to react quick enough. Fishface bites down hard on his shoulder – the sheer size of his jaws almost engulfing his head!

The incision is terrible and sharp, long teeth cutting into his flesh with the very saliva searing and burning the wound. He gives a startled cry and makes himself slam the ends of his sais into calculative areas of the jaws, forcing Fishface to release him.

As he stumbles back his eyes close at a sudden rush of dizziness.

He groans at the sting, grasping his shoulder to try and suppress it. A leaden weight starts filling his afflicted arm and he drops his sai; all over it becomes increasingly harder to control and steady his own body… his thoughts start to fracture, start to forget…

They're in a fight – brothers. He needs to tell his brothers…

"Teeth – I think they're…" his knees buckle beneath him; he can't stop his descent down to the ground, feeling his head rest in the crook of his own arm, "Poison…"

Darkness settles over him. But he needs to get back up. Fight – they're in a… a… he almost forgets he's crouching up now, settling into the numbing darkness behind closed eyes – it feels good, like on the verge of a nap. Dizziness parts his thoughts – his head swims in content abstractions.

"Raph are you okay?" it's Mikey…

"Huh…" he opens his eyes; rainbows glitter off the far walls – everything is like a magically 3-D image in a picture book. He feels his brother's hands slip around his arm, distantly pulling him up; he doesn't resist, but his own weight is pulling him downwards, "Sure. Yeah I'm f-"

His body simply won't cooperate. Something somewhere goes limp and he drops, his sweet little brother keeping him from smacking his face to the hard solid ground. Mikey then lets him lie down; it feels nice not moving…

His brother works over him, moving him onto his shell and… tossing something from above. He's soon in his lovable brother's arms, being supported into a half sitting position in his lap.

He can't contain just how much adoration is seeping through unhindered towards him – a wordless sigh escapes him with the effort of levitating a hand, grateful for Mikey's meeting his halfway.

"I'm… fine," he sounds like he's dreaming; reopening his tightly shut eyes, it feels like he's dreaming. He looks at Mikey, his only baby brother in the whole world, "I love you."

"HE'S NOT FINE!" he feels his hand drop lazily to his lap as Mikey lets go with the shout.

Somewhere a resiliently familiar voice answers back, "Call Donnie, tell him we need an antidote!"

Mikey lowers him back to lie on his shell. He tries to speak, not sure of what though, as his sense of balance reacts confusingly to the small action. Even as he lies still, he feels the world pitch and yaw all around.

It slowly settles while once rigid and featureless objects on the roof bounce to life, bursting through the shower of colours and bobbing around like a zoo of cartoons. A delirious smile tugs at his lips at the sight.

"DONNIE! WE NEED HELP! RAPH'S BEEN BITTEN BY A GIANT POISONOUS ROBOTIC FISH!" there's a pause in the loud sounds and he wonders if he can turn down the volume, "Interesting, interesting. GET OVER HEERREE!"

He giggles as an array of colours move wildly around Mikey, who slips the t-phone back into his belt like a pro, "You're the smartest person I know."

Big baby blue eyes blink widely at him in silence, "Uhm…"

The colours glide over him like a smooth river, and Raphael lifts a shaky hand to poke the sashaying wave of dark and light blue mixing with bright sporadic yellow against his brother's plastron, face and arm.

He keeps prodding his finger into his brother's cheek and gums, watching with fascination as the colours move unabated while his brother speaks, "Leo, now what am I supposed to do!"

"Keep alert and k-eep!" there's an ugly thud somewhere, "…And keep calm!"

Michelangelo doesn't speak as he grabs his poking hand, looking to and fro uncomfortably before settling his attention more firmly on Raphael. Raphael notices this and his smile fades, developing a yearning for the company of his pet so he can share the joy of the sights.

His caught fingers mildly twitch in Michelangelo's grasp and he looks away in the direction of the wider room, "Like that tree wisping around with a Spike and a sewer pipe."

His hand is released and he holds it steady, tracing the movements of the walking tank fish with emoticons on its buttocks as a distant Leonardo swishes blue intricate patterns into the colours. He titters at the vertiginous splendour.

"And you are really the smartest guy eveerr," he releases the easy compliment again, his fingers now randomly twitching on their own; it felt nice and funny.

At the corner of his eye Michelangelo still seems sad, looking down at him with real worry.

"Looook Spiiike, colloouurrrssss…" he moves his finger, causing the pretty colours to swirl and undulate.

He watches the lovely motions, smiling wide at the all-consuming entertainment. The actions of the animated objects all around him don't stop their tomfoolery amidst it, eliciting a weak laugh as he watches in distraction.

"He keeps telling me I'm the smartest guy he knows."

His forearm flops back to his side; it's too heavy, too weak, to stay up. He continues gazing around, twitching a little, feeling his left knee shift, and soon spotting two humans moving through the sparkling waterfalls of euphoric colours behind Michelangelo.

"Green man, and I mean waaay more than usual-" Mikey abruptly turns towards the men and jumps them.

It's disorientating; the scene is a mess of action in sheens of colours. His stomach stirs…

As his body retches he distantly overhears a voice, "Nah he doesn't have any-"

He chucks up. It feels awful.

"No check that! Aaoow what the – I knew you ate my pizza! You liar!"

Feeling much better he relaxes into Mikey's grip, whom is moving him from the smelly yuck, and closes his eyes. The darkness is warm, sleepy. His chest area is feeling a touch constricted… but he's busy falling asleep.

"Donnie, get here noooow!" out of nowhere hands press to his plastron protectively, "Don't you dare! Stay away!"

"Make me," hisses an unimportant voice.

There's a whirr and a smack, then silence…

Something jolts him from his near sleep – a shattering rush of smashing bricks and screeching tires. It was huge.

It made him snap his eyes open, blinking at the roof; the once lively emoticon cartoons are fading from life with every tight and dizzy breath. He tries to move his arms, but he couldn't. He wriggles his toes, twitching his fingers – it confuses him; three toes, three fingers. Three toes. Three fingers. Three… three… three fingertoes?

Someone rushes by him – light green blue Leo – and he hears the matching voice call for Mikey, who got blown into the colours… it's nice to know someone is looking out for his blown away baby brother again.

"Raph, you still with us buddy?" hands touch his arm, making the accompanying voice much easier to distil from the world around him.

He manages to prop himself a touch onto his elbows, "Donnie…?"

"Yeah Raph?"

"Why are there…" hard to breathe, hard to speak – he feels lightheaded, "Fingers on my feet?"

He turns his unbalanced head to Donnie, expecting an answer; unable to comprehend his vulnerable reliance as his brother looks to his feet, then back to him with the sweetest reassuring smile.

"Don't worry buddy, you'll be okay," he has such a good voice.

He pulls out a gun-shaped needle from his belt, piercing his skin a second later.

The sharp jab stuns him – such stark pain, as quick as it was, is so displaced from everything else. He feels a strangeness move through him, the world he's in fading, readjusting, calming… his chest loosens from whatever had been crushing it with increasing immobility.

He blinks, feeling strangely… better. In a way that made his head thud with dull ache, made the colours vanish, made him aware of the cool air on his skin. It's a freshening release…

He smiles, looking at his brother's face with slightly fevered gratitude, "Thanks, magical unicorn…"

His head swims with solidifying mental blocks – it's getting harder recalling the few seconds ago, all of it waning like a dream, leaving him knowing only for sure that he was out of his wits poisoned and lying on the ground.

Leonardo and Michelangelo are standing nearby attentively, leaning on each other from fight wounds. Donatello helps lift him up – he feels woozy, weak and sick, but he's able to stay standing on his own. His afflicted shoulder feels a little stiff and sore, sweaty even…

He stands there a bit, breathing deeply, and glad he's not so much the centre of attention; he looks to his side where Donatello is having a go at the Pulveriser guy, trying not to seem confused or catching his breath too much as he stays silent at the exchange.

He just hopes no one brings it up at any future point in time, just ominously knowing he's embarrassed himself…

THE END