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Raphael was an alligator snapping turtle and had a bite force that could break a bone in half.
But Raph didn’t bite—that was more Donnie’s thing anyway. Raph would punch, kick, tackle, headbutt, body slam, and come in with a steel chair before he’d bite. It wasn’t that he couldn’t , he just didn’t . Raph could count on one hand how many times he’d actually bit someone, on purpose, with the intent to do harm (twice, it was two times, one for each finger). The thing was, Raph had three little brothers who were all significantly smaller than him and he’d learned very quickly that his size and strength meant he could do a lot more damage than he ever meant to if he wasn’t careful.
So Raph didn’t bite.
Until he did.
They’d been gallivanting about on the rooftops—half patrolling, half training, and one hundred percent goofing off—when Leo had spotted some Foot ninjas skittering into the alleyways below. There was no question about pursuit, the Foot were always enemies and were to be dealt with accordingly. So they trailed the group for a while, following them to the docks where they appeared to be either trying to obtain a shipment of something or stowaway on a boat. They boys didn’t wait to find out. The Foot getting up to anything was bad news.
It was a fairly straight forward fight.
Without the Lieutenant, there were no paper ninjas to deal with. And no matter how much they trained, the human recruits were never as strong or as fast as the turtles. But what they lacked in strength, they made up for in numbers.
The brothers soon found themselves swarmed with a rather shocking number of Foot soldiers, battering them from all sides and trapping them in a corner of the docks. The boys were holding their own fairly well but they knew that if the Foot kept coming, they’d eventually lose their advantage. Or at least, Raph knew that. He wasn’t certain that Mikey or Leo understood just how risky the situation had become. The pair were bouncing off each other like sunbeams on a mirror, cackling and hurling insults as fast as they threw blows.
They were too spread out. Couldn’t watch each other’s backs like this. Sure, Mikey and Leo were next to each other but there was a lot of distance between them and everyone else. Donnie and Raph where hemmed off from the rest, separated by distance and Foot ninja. Raph could make out the flash and flare of Donnie’s tech-b ō and rockets several yards away, his lithe form flashing between the bodies of the ninjas surrounding him.
When the shell had the Foot recruited so many warm bodies!?
Raph roared a challenge and charged into the line of Foot ninja like a linebacker, plowing into them with his shoulder spikes and the edge of his jagged shell. Some of them managed to dodge but more of them didn’t react quickly enough and were bowled over, trampled under Raph’s considerable bulk. That was sure to break a few bones.
He planted his feet hard in the ground, using his own momentum to throw himself into a savage punch, knocking another Foot ninja into a group of their fellows. There was a flash in his periphery and Raph raised his sai in time to block the sword that had been swinging towards his arm. He snarled as he swatted his attacker away, determined to close the gap between himself and his brothers.
The number of attackers finally seemed to be thinning but Raph could feel himself starting to get tired. The heavy drag on his limbs and the raw scrape of air with each breath he sucked into his lungs. He could tell his brothers were beginning to wear out too; Mikey and Leo’s banter had dropped off and Donnie’s theatrical flashiness had dialed down. They had to end this soon or get out before they were overwhelmed.
Two more Foot ninja with swords came at him from either side and he caught their swings with his sai, trying to twist the weapons out of the ninja’s grips. But the Foo t held on, flexing with the movement, and pressing back at Raph with a determined blood lust. Raph glared at them, pushing against them with his own stubborn conviction, an animal growl frothing in his chest as his beak curled to show his jagged fangs. The Foot slid backwards a few inches but held their ground, their arms shaking as they tried to fight Raph’s immense strength.
He might have thrown them off in the next moment, were it not for a third Foot bearing down on him with another sword. This time aimed for the head.
With his hands occupied and his balance somewhat precarious, Raph did the only thing his instincts could think of.
He tilted his head, opened his jaws wide, and caught the sword in his mouth.
The steel scraped against his teeth and the edge of the blade nicked the corners of his mouth, a sharp sting that turned hot in the cool air of the docks. The Foot ninja looked absolutely gobsmacked that Raph had caught the sword with his teeth and was frozen to the spot, unsure of how to proceed. And they hadn’t let go of the sword.
Another growl shook down the blade. Raph’s muscles strained as he kept pressure on the two swordsmen caught in his sai, jaw creaking as he ground his teeth in to the sword in his mouth. The Foot tugged on the sword, trying to free it, and Raph snarled.
Then he bit down hard .
And the sword broke .
It splintered into pieces, sharp flashes of silver that erupted around his face, one or two nicking his snout, barely missing his eyes. He felt a piece stab into the roof of his mouth and his tongue was smothered in the taste of iron. Pain made his head spin and he huffed a breath out, blood gushing past his open jaw and splattering the concrete.
The Foot ninja who’d just lost their sword dropped the broken weapon and fled with a scream of terror.
Raph didn’t give the other two a chance to recover. He shifted his weight and dragged his sai up and out, shoving the swords to the side, and then roundhouse kicked the Foot into each other and across the battle field. He felt bones crack and ribs cave in beneath his foot but he found it difficult to muster up any sympathy for them at the moment. They’d made their choice.
He retreated towards the shadows, panting heavily, wincing as every movement felt like it jarred the pain anew, each ragged breath through his nose searing the back of his throat . The inside of his mouth was on fire, a throbbing pain that was starting to crawl its way up behind his eyes. Tentatively, Raph started to ease his jaw shut, but his tongue brushed something sharp and jostling it made starbursts pop in his vision so he let his mouth fall open again with a distressed whine. Blood was dripping steadily down his chin, the taste of it flooded his mouth, the stench clinging to his nose. The saliva pooling in his mouth made it flow faster; he couldn’t swallow, just had to have his mouth hang open like an idiot as he breathed through the throbbing pain.
He wouldn’t be able to fight like this. Wouldn’t be able to protect his brothers like this.
Lucky for him the Foot were starting to scatter, collecting their wounded and withdrawing to lick their wounds. The turtles let them go, calling insults and jabs after them. Raph slunk out of his hiding spot, glaring at any Foot ninja who was fool enough to pause with the consideration of fighting him. They took one look at the blood smeared all over him and scrambled to get away.
Leo and Mikey were already celebrating their victory, slapping their hands together and laughing. Donnie was retreating into his phone, thumbs rapidly tapping across the glowing screen as he ignored the other two. Raph huffed out a strangled whine as he approached, relieved that they were okay but letting them know he was in poor condition and they needed to leave immediately, that he was isn’t in a position to protect them.
The sound had all three of his brothers snapping their heads up in his direction.
They swarmed him in seconds.
“Ohmigosh, Raphie! This blood—what happened!?”
“Mikey, step back, I gotta take a look. Don, gimme a light.”
“On it.”
Raph held still, only moving to put an arm around Mikey so the youngest could tuck himself out of the way against Raph’s side. He lowered himself down a bit so Leo could look at the damage, the light from Donnie’s battle shell making him squint. Donnie hissed through his teeth and looked away with a grimace.
Leo let out a low whistle, “Okay, big guy, I dunno how you managed to get a piece of a sword jabbed into your mouth but that’s gotta come out pronto. Shoot, looks like it’s really jammed in there.” Leo shifted back a few steps and sliced the air with his katana, spilling blue light across the docks, “Aight, everybody in the portal. This is an emergency!”
Mikey stuck by Raph’s side as the four of them stepped through and back into the lair. Or rather, directly into the med bay. Raph stiffened immediately, hissing through his open mouth. Mikey hushed him, patting his shell reassuringly, and helped him over to the nearest bed so he could sit down. It was only then that Raph realized he still had a steely grip on his sai. His fingers loosened under Mikey’s gentle touch and eventually unfurled so Mikey could take the heavy weapons and set them aside.
“Okay, guys, I need all hands on deck,” Leo had sheathed his katana and shed most of his gear, already bent over the sink and scrubbing his arms up to the elbows, “Mikey, you stay here with Raph and try to keep him calm. Donnie, I need you to go get Dad and get him back here as fast as possible.” Donnie nodded and was out the door in a blur of purple and green. Leo turned to Raph as he dried his hands with a towel, an apologetic look on his face,
“You’re gonna hate this, Raphie, but I need you to trust me. All right?”
I do trust you. Raph wanted to say. But he couldn’t speak, so he only inclined his head and made a throaty churring sound, wet and awkward when he had to hold his mouth open. But Leo seemed to understand because he smiled and went about gather what he needed from the drawers nearby.
Mikey squeezed Raph’s hand, “I bet you’re gonna have a really cool story to tell after this!” He said brightly. He leaned over and snatched a towel from a cart nearby, reaching up to try and wipe away some of the drool and blood still oozing down Raph’s face, “It’ll be something we laugh about later, just you watch!”
Raph grunted doubtfully.
Splinter suddenly burst into the med bay with Donnie hot on his heels. The old rat was agitated and only grew more so when he saw Raphael covered in blood. Leo swooped in before Splinter could start losing his mind.
“Dad, go wash up, I’m gonna need your help. Donnie, can you disinfect some of the arms on your spider shell?” Leo was all business, blocking Splinter’s view of Raph and ushering him towards the sink, his movements never stopping, his stride and voice steady despite the worry in his eyes. He put on a warm smile when he settled at Raph’s side, setting up his tools on a cart (Raph tried very hard not to look),
“Thanks for helping clean him up, Mikey. You okay? No injuries?”
“I’m good to go! Just lemme know what you need me to do!”
“You’re doing fantastic right where you are,” Leo responded, tearing open a plastic package with a syringe inside, “Just keep talking to Raph, being there for him, all that little brother stuff you’re so good at!” When he pulled the cap off the needle, Raph tore his gaze away to stare at the wall, a tremor running through him. Was it the fear or the blood loss that was making him feel lightheaded?
“Blue, we are ready, tell us what you need us to do,” Splinter had reappeared, hands clean and brow furrowed. Donnie stepped up beside him, a medical mask over his snout and gloves on his hands, giving his robotic arms one last rub down with an alcohol wipe.
“Okay, um. This is gonna be a bit tricky,” Leo was clearly trying to quell his nerves, bouncing his foot on the cold floor, “I’m gonna try to numb Raph’s mouth—he’s got a piece of a sword stuck in there. Donnie, I need you to use your spider arms to...to keep his jaws open.” Donnie blanched and Leo sent him an apologetic wince, “It’s just a precaution! Because Dad’s the fastest out of all of us, so I need him to pull that piece out and he can do it before Raph bites him.”
Raph made an indignant and hurt noise, a scratchy whine that pushed a fresh gush of blood out of his mouth.
Mikey tutted, grabbing a new towel to clean things up again. He shot Leo a scowl, “Raph would never bite us!”
“Maybe not on purpose,” Leo said seriously, “But he might snap his mouth shut at the pain when Dad pulls the sword piece out. I know you wouldn’t mean it, buddy,” He gave Raph a small smile, “I just know you wouldn’t be able to live with yourself if you hurt someone.”
“No, hang on, wait,” Donnie frowned, making a T with his hands, “We have sedatives. Why can’t we just knock Raphie out for this? Wouldn’t that be easier on everyone?”
Leo hesitated and the silence ticked in the air, a pendulum blade swinging between them all. Leo’s gaze darted from Raph to Donnie, to Splinter, and back to Raph. His expression scrunched into a tangled weave of indecision and apology, regret tugging at the corner of his mouth as he chewed his lip.
“We...could…” He said slowly and all of them felt the guillotine hanging above them before it dropped, “But we don’t have a lot of it and it’s not easy for us to get a hold of. I’m gonna be real—this isn’t that serious of an injury. It just looks bad. But...Raph, if you would rather be unconscious, we can use some of the sedative. I don’t...want to hurt you…” Leo looked so conflicted and Raph could see how much it had cost Leo to make that kind of decision. It was very forward thinking and mature of him and Raph felt a swell of pride for his little brother.
And since he couldn’t say it, he simply shook his head. No sedatives. Save it for the future, when things might be worse. This was nothing. He could handle this. He would handle this.
Leo’s expression hardened with resolve, the edges tempered with kindness and reassurance and relief, “Okay big brother, Leon’s got this. Just nod when you feel ready to go.”
Raph took a deep breath through his nose, filling his chest with the scents of his brothers. Then he nodded. He felt Mikey’s hand in his and gave it a squeeze.
“Lean back a bit...there you go,” Leo helped ease him back on the exam table, propped up enough that his blood wasn’t pouring down his throat, but low enough that they could get a good light on the problem, “Okay, Don, in position. Just—yeah, right there. How you doin’ Raph? You all right?”
The pressure of the metal clamps pressing against his upper and lower jaws had made him flinch, but Raph grunted in reply to Leo’s question. It needed to be done. He tried to keep his breathing steady but he was shaking with nerves and desperately wanted to slam his mouth shut so no one could touch the part that was aching and throbbing and burning.
“All right, here comes the needle, just gonna be a quick pinch, buddy, deep breaths…”
Raph jerked his eyes away when he saw Leo enter his line of sight, looking up to see Donnie leaning over him. Donnie tried to smile but it was a crinkled grimace that didn’t sit right on his face. Raph appreciated the gesture anyway. This was probably as uncomfortable for Donnie as it was for Raph, more so if Raph knew anything about Donnie. He’d have to doing something extra special to thank Donnie when this was over.
Chasing that train of thought helped distract him from what was coming, but he still whimpered when he felt the pressured bite of the needle as it slid into the roof of his mouth. His jaw quivered against the spider arms, making them shudder as they pushed back against his natural instinct to bite the thing that was causing him distress. Mikey squeezed his hand again, rubbing over the familiar bumps of Raph’s calloused knuckles and purring quietly at him.
T he numbing feeling bloomed across Raph’s mouth rather quickly and he grumbled in discomfort. The pain had turned into a distant pressure throbbing in his sinuses and he huffed out a wet sounding breath, glancing up at Leo who was watching him attentively. Their eyes met and a flash of understanding passed between them—not a mind meld, just brothers knowing each other and the mannerisms between them. Leo nodded once, patting Raph’s shoulder, and gave him a small smile before turning away,
“Okay, Daddy-o, you’re up. Make it fast. Donnie, brace for it.”
Splinter hopped up onto Raph’s chest, claws tickling Raph’s plastron, and leaned over to peer into Raph’s mouth. Raph’s heart was pounding so loudly against his ribs he was sure that Pops would feel it. Splinter brushed a hand over Raph’s cheek and Raph whined, gurgling a little on the blood and drool pooled over his tongue.
“Sshhh, little Red, everything is all right, my son,” Splinter murmured, soft and reassuring, the sweet and gentle tone he’d used on them as children, “Close your eyes, it will be over soon. Ready? One...two…”
There was tug and bolt of something that tried to be pain against the numbness in his mouth. Raph spasmed slightly, jaw shivering as it tried to snap shut on the discomfort. He heard Donnie grunt and shift his weight, a creak coming from his robotic arms as they fought against the strong pressure of a snapper’s bite force. Mikey had two hands around Raph’s one, squeezing to distract and ground, doing what he could to help.
“Easy, big brother,” Leo’s voice, the taste of fabric, and then hands in Raph’s mouth, “Just gonna stitch this up. Only need a couple. You’re doing great, by the way. Actually, can we just talk for a second about why you had a piece of a sword in your mouth? Did you bite it?” There was a pause and a light tug on the roof of Raph’s mouth,
“Raph did you bite a sword?”
Raph cracked one watery eye open and saw Leo looking down at him with an unreadable expression. The corners of Raph’s mouth twitched into a smile and Leo’s eyes widened,
“You bit a sword and broke it with your mouth?! That’s so badass! OW!” Leo flinched when Splinter’s tail cracked him on the back of the head.
“Language!” Splinter barked from somewhere beyond Raph’s eyesight. Raph huffed out a small laugh and heard Mikey giggling from nearby.
“Okay, if you’re done laughing at my expense, you should be all set now,” Leo stepped back and Donnie’s spider arms retracted, letting Raph work his jaw loose and sit up again. Leo was putting his tools in a tray to be cleaned and peeling off his gloves, “Liquid diet for a while, no hard foods, no biting anything or anyone, do not play with those stitches, and be really careful about brushing your teeth. Actually, it might be best if you try and keep speaking to a minimum too. I’ll do some reading on mouth wounds but you should be okay. It was a small cut, just deep.”
Raph gingerly closed his mouth, feeling the slight twinge in his jaw from having it open for so long. He swallowed, felt his tongue brush against the stitches on the roof of his mouth, tasted chemicals and blood. He couldn’t stop the grimace from crossing his face.
Leo chuckled lightly, “Yeah, I know, I’m sorry, man.”
“Pray tell, dear brother,” Donnie swept into view, already shed of his medical garb and inspecting Raph with a curious eye, “Did you actually bite a sword or did some wayward Foot actually manage to get a shot off at you?”
Raph peeled his beak back in a feral grin that showed off his jagged fangs,
“He was swingin’ at my head,” His voice was a little slurred as he tried to keep from agitating his stitches, “So I caught it in my mouth. And broke it.”
“Duuuuuudddee!” Mikey gushed, still holding onto Raph’s hand, looking up at his big brother with stars in his eyes, “Oh man, I wish I’d seen that!”
“Let us not make a habit out of it, hm?” Splinter was inspecting the piece of sword he had pulled free with a frown. It was smaller than Raph expected—it had felt so big in his mouth.
“Yeah, no more biting swords in half,” Leo grinned, clapping Raph on the shoulder, “Come on, big guy, let’s get you some water and something to eat. Then we can all pile in front of the TV and watch Jupiter Jim until we pass out. Sound like a plan?”
Raphael just smiled and let out a pleased little hum.
He knew that later, when the numbness wore off, he would be miserable and grumpy. He knew that healing would take a while and he would quickly grow tired of water and applesauce and other soft foods. He knew he’d be benched from missions while he healed and he knew the restlessness would drive him and everyone else absolutely insane.
But, as the family all piled into the living room and Raph got premium seating among the pillows and beanbags, he also knew that he wouldn’t be alone. So maybe he’d be all right.
(Not twenty-four hours later, Michelangelo went Dr. Delicate Touch on Raph when he caught the snapper trying to sneak a bite from the cookie jar.)