AngelBites15

Runnin’ The 90s (TMNT): Kindred { Beetle & Angel }

"Yeah, yeah, 'Lee. Take five", the turtle groaned, as he managed to get on one knee. Taking a moment to crack his neck, and rolling his shoulder, Raphael sat down in the grass.

Even though Charlie was nowhere near as muscular as him, it was all thanks to her newfound workout routine with Jennifer that she was able to gain some upper body strength. As humble as Jennifer was, her sister was making an improvement, beneficial to Charlie's ever-growing athleticism. These routines took hours, from an early morning, all the way to an early evening, along with a few breaks in between. Although it seemed easy, but it was a rather rough journey, but the girls were able to pull it off together, along with a bit of help.

Weapons were a whole 'nother matter. While Charlie was prepared for hand-to-hand situations, learning how to defend yourself from a certain weapons were something that didn't quite fit in with the styles that they were currently teaching her...at least, not yet. As a result, Raphael didn't, at all, use his sais in any of his sessions with her. Learning how to defend yourself from such a weapon wasn't easy to come by, it was just as hard as wielding them; anything in the Kobudo category wasn't for beginners, unlike other martial art styles.

Charlie was a fast-learner. He and the others figured that out, a long time ago. While not exactly experienced, she clearly had great tenacity, as she wanted to take in as much as she could from her sister and the brothers. So far, she proved to be a very capable student. These thoughts circled in the red turtle's mind, putting them to high regard.

JoJo’s Biz. Adventure: Mi Familia { Alternate & Angel }

By getting a look at their stalker's face sent chills down Charlotte's spine, but that fire of determination allowed her stand her ground. Of all the oddities, regarding the Speedwagon Foundation, it was the founder's insistence of keeping the blonde scientist from the dangerous hostility of any supernatural relics that were in his company's keeping, mainly because of the fact that he emotionally confided in the German woman, like another family member, and vice-versa. She wanted to poke and prod the man, who may have killed her father-figure, but before she could try to get an answer from him, Joseph beat her to it - with a tommy gun in his arsenal! Just by seeing it, made Charlotte shout in surprise.
'When did he get a gun?!', she mentally exclaimed; her jaw nearly hitting the ground, shortly before he unleashed the weapon's entire arsenal on the black-haired man, causing the blonde to take a step back, and cover her ears from the sound of gunfire. By the time the loud, impeding sound dissipated, it told Charlotte that the young man was out of ammo.
"Scheisse, Joestar!", she cursed at him, before smacking him upside the head. "A little bit of a warning would be nice!"
Gazing at the now-damaged restaurant, the young woman looked around for the vampyric man, who went toppling inside. She was careful in entering the building; the glass crunching underneath her blue, heeled, ankle-boots. The place was completely tarnished, like a tornado had just hit (minus all of the small holes, caused by His Truly!).
"He can't be dead; not like in Mister Speedwagon's story", she thought aloud.

Runnin’ The 90s (TMNT): Kindred { Beetle & Angel }

Making sure that Charlotte smiled, was something that Jennifer wanted to happen, the moment she met her; she was always better with one. From all of the challenges the two girls were forced to face in the outside world, all Jennifer did, was ensure that her sister was safe and happy. After meeting these four mutated turtles, there was a moment of realization for them to not only rely on each other, but rather those who were also like them. It was another part of "kin" they have yet to cross paths with, and were eventually adopted into. Beside from having each other, solace and acceptance were all that they really needed - and they may have found it. Living on the farm was not only a time to heal, but to also self-reflect, that they were in this together; that they had to stick together, for their own survival. They weren't only their friends, but also, come by it, family. It was an up-and-coming realization, once Raphael finally woke up from his nerve-wrecking slumber.

He was able to stand, by the time, he noticed Charlie approaching him with a range of emotions in her eyes. He wasn't good with feelings, but he could tell that she was truly relieved, like everyone else. It felt fulfilling; he mended his relationship with his brother, and was able to see that 'Lee and the others were okay. All of this returned as a relief to him. Raph was rather surprised by the close contact that the girl gave him, but he soon relented, and willingly appreciated her attempt to show him her happiness. Strangely enough, at the very same time, something rose within him, having to possibly be generated after learning that she got away, when he told her to. "It's a Kodak moment", Donatello pointed out from the doorway, as their hug seemed to get longer than it should.

When the girl pulled away, and teased him, the rebellious teen looked down at the ground, once more - a childhood habit when attempting to hide his emotions - causing a strange uproar in his chest. It was tingly; something he had never quite felt before, aside from familial love. "Bet you'll need this tub more than me", he said, in an attempt to tease her back. Jennifer looked between them, thinking about that "spark" again. Or, was it? She could be assuming, but it was clear that Raphael's reaction said otherwise. At this rate, she knew that Charlie was in good hands, and the realization made the Asian teen smile. In the meantime, they could all celebrate with some sandwiches.

'The Turtles are four, once again, and yet, still not whole. A lingering doubt remains; an unknown which they can't bear to face their greatest fear'

More days went by, and everybody took that time to repair the broken and develop bonds. The only thing missing, was the parental figure that the brothers greatly missed. They seemed more lost, the longer they were away from the city, and Jennifer, as observant and perspective as she was, could sense their frustration - like small children trying to find the path that would lead them back home. In spite of this, they always attempted to distract themselves, by searching openings to rebuild their fighting spirits. At the same time, as Charlie seemed to be catching up on sleep, Jen proceeded to continue training her. After she managed to nail down the basics, Jennifer eventually moved her down the road in getting more physical. Of course, they got help from the brothers, who willingly gave them tips - mainly Raphael, who seemed to be finding opportunities in training Charlie further, whenever Jennifer couldn't...perhaps more often than not. Not that the Asian girl minded, since she herself took time of learning the bond between the mind and body from Leonardo.

When Charlie was able to nail down the kicks and punches, full-body maneuvers came next. It wasn't necessarily advanced, nor was it for beginners, but more like in-between. Of course, as it was normal for something so complicated, mistakes were made, but it all came down with practice, and all six teens took it with stride, while April and Casey watched from the sidelines. Aside from training alone, Jennifer also noticed that Charlie hasn't left Raph's side once, and/or perhaps vice-versa. It could just be Jen’s protective instincts alone, but then, she knew better than to observe, since the turtle always seemed to be around her sister.

Runnin’ The 90s (TMNT): Kindred { Beetle & Angel }

As much as she wanted to get Charlie to do something else, her sister stayed by Raph's side in the bathroom. At the same time, Leonardo insisted on telling her that he should be the one watching his brother; really to punish himself for the harsh words he given the rebellious turtle, before he was beaten, nearly to death.

Jennifer could tell that her sister was barely sleeping, judging by the dark circles under her eyes, while at the same time, the teenage girl barely came back to their shared bedroom to lay down. Even when found Charlie in the kitchen, one day, making what seemed to be sandwiches, the Asian girl could tell that the other was lacking proper sleep again. By the time she trailed off on her words, Jen held her hands, really to stop her from what she was doing, before bringing her into a hug. "It's okay", she said softly, after kissing her forehead, and letting her lean against her, until they heard a shout from upstairs.

"Hey! Hey, he's awake! He wants some food! Bring some food!"

It was very unexpected, and yet, at that very moment, there came hope. Was Raphael truly awake? "Come on", Jen told Charlie, leading the way upstairs. By the time, they got there, the red-bandanna turtle was standing up, and awake, just like how Leo said, making Jennifer release a breath of relief, and smiled. The elder brother was helping the other turtle get to his feet, and helping him retain his balance. With nearly blurry vision, Raph gazed at the newcomers. "Hey guys", he said, wearily.

Runnin’ The 90s (TMNT): Kindred { Beetle & Angel }

Just like April had said, there was indeed another room behind the door, and by the time they were able to reach the other side, they retreated into the human woman’s van. Carefully, and swiftly, the brothers helped Charlotte carry Raphael into the van, just as Jennifer looked around to make sure they weren't being pursued from behind. The place was going up in flames, and the cloud of smoke engulfed the air. They were lucky to have gotten out in time, and it was all because of this mysterious human man, who willingly jumped into the fray, as backup. Apparently, at this rate, extra hands were what they really needed to get out of this situation. When everybody managed to get into the vehicle, Jennifer jumped in after them, and closed the doors with a grunt.

As quick as they had piled in, the hockey man drove the van out from the side of the building, and into the streets. Luckily, the windows were tinted, so nobody would be able to take a peak on the inside. They have no choice but to find another hideout to, at least, recuperate from this near-death experience. With Raphael's head laying in her sister's lap, clearly out cold, Jennifer turned around to look out the back window, along with April to gaze at her burning apartment. The human woman didn't say anything, only looking upon her burning home with a sunken heart - her dad's antique store was gone, and probably beyond replenishing. Just as she was about to let tears fall, the Asian teen quickly engulfed her in a hug to console her. It wasn't fair. Who would rat them out like this?

They were on the road now, homeless; all of them, now emotionally and mentally-affected. These people - the Foot - wanted them dead. They had to go off the grid; they weren't safe anymore in the city...until April pointed out a place that they could all try to rest, and heal. It took them all night to get there but there was, at least, some isolation. It was an old farm that April used to spend her summer days at; not entirely up to date, but it will do for now. Judging by how Raphael wasn't waking up, it was sadly ruled out that he was in a coma - nobody knew when he will ever wake up. That very same day, April and this man, whose name was "Casey Jones", had their argumentative moments, and it didn't really spread light on their situation.

Jennifer and Charlie had to share a room, with April having to find them some new clothes, that were close in size, somewhere in the house. It occurred to Jen that her sister spent most of her time in the presence of Raphael, who laid in the bathtub. Even though she said that Leonardo took charge of watching over his brother, mainly out of guilt, Charlie insisted on being there. Meanwhile, April wrote down every account of their experiences in a journal, having to make a few sketches on the side.

'It's strange being back on the old farm. Even after all these years, it still feels like home. My amazing new friends have suffered their first real defeat. That's bad enough, but the turtles also lost the opportunity to find out about their mentor, and I'm sure that hurts them more than anything else. Jennifer and Charlie continued to cling onto hope that they fulfill their promise on helping them get through the very battle of conquering their greatest fears. Each of them deals with this confusion in their own way: Donatello has found someone to latch onto; Leonardo, meanwhile, has kept a constant vigil with Raphael, along with Charlotte, who seemed to continue on holding onto any hope of his recovery, with Jennifer and Michelangelo attempting to pent themselves via distraction. And then there's Casey Jones, a nine-year-old trapped in a man's body. He might almost be cute if it wasn't for that pigheadedness'.

Runnin’ The 90s (TMNT): Kindred { Beetle & Angel }

Knocking away one of their hatchets with her blade, she felt the deflation beneath her feet, giving Jennifer a pretty good idea, as to where this would be going. The destroyed floor couldn't hold all of them, and so, it collapsed right underneath them. Making a yell, she descended with everybody else, nearly hitting her head on a table, just narrowly missing it. Groaning, although she had bruises, scratches, and cuts in some places, she carefully yet slowly got to her feet, helping Charlie get up. "Are you okay?", she asked, worried for her.

"Is everybody okay?", groans and aches were heard from them. "...wipe out", Mikey piped up. Just before she could get an answer from the others, Jen caught sight of the same Japanese man she saw in the mirror; the same one who threw the knife at her, along with more of those men, standing behind him. Her question was the same as Charlie's. 'Is this guy the one pulling the strings?', she defensively put her sword in front of her; this time, standing a few inches, in front of her sister. If he could throw blades at Jen, and graze her, she didn't want to think about someone with this kind of skill to be placed in front of a beginner, like Charlie. She was lucky to have moved from the weapon's path, and avoid certain death.

Just then, before anything could happen, the door to the store opened, only to reveal a very fit man, donning a hockey mask, and armed with a hockey stick. Panting, Jen blinked at the newcomer, he had to, at least, be around 25 to 30 years old - around April's age. 'Just who is this guy?', she thought; her question nearly the same as Leonardo's. Mikey's comment seemed to break some of the tension, but it didn't stop the bald man from sending his men upon them. At this rate, it was utter chaos in the shop, shortly until it started to catch fire. They were drastically overwhelmed, both because the growing flames and their assailants. It was like a nightmare.

"Come on, we got to get out of here!", retreat seemed to be the only real option right now, and Leo was right. They had to leave, and find some other place to lay low. While the others played defense, April strove to find a way out. "Help me. There used to be a trapdoor here to the basement", she said, moving some things out of the way. The brothers, Jennifer, and the mystery man were pushing the men back, so to give April more time. It was strange, really. Who, in the human world, would come to their aid? No one, other than April, knew about their existence, unless...he bumped into one of the turtles, not too long ago? Did Raphael know him?

"Get away, I'll take care of these guys", the man said, by the time April was able to reveal their way out, and crawl through, before she and the mutants were able to get Raph's body through. "You coming?", Leo asked the newcomer, once the girls were able to go through their only means of escape. "I'll cover you!", the turtle nodded, before going through himself. It was only about some time that the man followed after him, after taking time to hold them off. "Bye, guys, got to run!", and the trap door was shut, leaving the bald man no choice but to pull back, by the time sirens were heard.

"Ninja, vanish!"

Runnin’ The 90s (TMNT): Kindred { Beetle & Angel }

The crash was something that Jennifer did not want to see, especially since Charlie just walked into the room to witness it. She was immediately by April's side, checking to see that Raphael's vitals were still active. In addition to Donatello's claim, she was able to find a pulse, but it was faint. Very faint. Along with being thrown through the sunroof, he must nearly have been beaten to death before then. The attackers were piling in through the windows, door, and the roof. It was clearly an ambush, set to overthrow them with numbers rather than strength alone. But how did they find them? Nobody knew where they were. If so, who?

Putting herself in the defensive, Jennifer stayed close to April, who looked over an unconscious Raphael, the moment they found themselves surrounded. "And I thought insurance salesmen were pushy", Mikey said, amusingly, shortly before one of them started swinging their single nun-chuck. "Oh, a fellow chucker, eh?", and the contest began. It was an exchange of skill to decipher who was better. Jennifer watched, silently, looking back and forth between the competitors. 'That's really impressive', she thought, having to give a small smile. It was becoming a close call, until Mikey sealed the deal by spinning his weapon on one finger. "Keep practicing", he said.

'It's over for you', she thought amusingly, the second Donnie jumped over him, and began the assault against their brothers' aggressors. There wasn't much room for them to defend themselves, but then, it was the perfect time to improvise. Giving a sucker punch, Mikey tossed one of them to Jennifer, who swiped her leg underneath to trip him into a cabinet, shortly before grab another, and launching a knee into his stomach. "Charlie, brace!", she said, before crouching down, and giving her sister a boost, by lifting Charlotte, and launching her towards another.

"One of these guys knows where they're holding Splinter, so don't knock them all out", Leo told them, before knocking out the one he put into a choke hold. "I don't think that will be a problem, Leo", they just kept coming, one by one, and it only got worse, by the time, Donnie noticed more on the roof. "Hey guys, I'm not so sure if this is, structurally speaking, such a good time for your buddies to drop in", having to be surrounded once again, they weren't aware that the extra weight caused the floor to give out, due to them having to gall to use hatchets in the assault.

Runnin’ The 90s (TMNT): Kindred { Beetle & Angel }

Her persistence was fierce, that's for sure. Raphael didn't think that, besides Splinter, the girl could try to reason with him with wisdom. It hasn't been an easy thing to swallow, if such things came from his brothers but, perhaps out of anyone he encountered, that wasn't his father, Charlotte was able to give him a message that showed genuine care behind her reasoning. He took a few deep breaths through his nose, shortly before he felt her hand on his shoulder. It was obvious that she was being careful yet gentle in her approach, and that was what caused Raphael to reluctantly relent, and slowly loosen his fists.

"Charlie, I...", he began to say, still looking down, whilst appearing to calm down, before being able to lift his head, and take another deep breath. "...thanks."

He too was unaware of themselves being watched, even when the group of men in black jumpsuits started to approach to duo with complete silence. He heard Charlotte shout his name; the next thing he knew, they were getting thrown around, in an ambush. It was only a matter of time, before he could get back to his feet. "'Lee, get out of here!", he told her, as he started putting a number on the impeding group of ninjas. As long as their attention was on the rebellious turtle, Charlie would have a bigger chance of getting away, and telling the others.

Meanwhile, April was showing her new friends the antique show below the apartment, which only seemed to induce wonder and curiosity in the turtle brothers, while Jennifer thought about the prolonged absence of their brother and Charlie. But, at the same time, the back of her mind says, that there was some sort of spark going on between her "sister" and the red-bandannaed turtle. Not that she was worried about it, but it became quite...endearing. Her thoughts were cut off, once Mikey decided to play a prank on Leo, having to startle him with some cymbals he found laying around. Luckily, Jen and April were able to cover their ears, in time.

The ninjas were pouring in, and Raphael was starting to find himself overwhelmed. He was able to fend off a good few, but it was starting to become very hard. However, his tenacity didn't fade, despite his impeding exhaustion. "You must be studying the abridged book of ninja fighting. I mean, come on, how do you guys expect to beat me?", more and more started pouring in, making Raphael realize that numbers were on their side. "Good answer. Good answer".

"Haven't they been gone a long time?", April asked, as they were going back up to the apartment, after giving them a brief tour of some of her most-prized possessions. "Raph does this, all the time; he likes it", Donnie reassured, as if it was no big deal. Jennifer frowned, sensing something wrong, shortly before she felt something sharp get thrown at her, grazing her cheek.

"Are you sure?"

Seeing a throwing ninja knife piercing the wall, Jennifer caught a glimpse of a bald Japanese man in a robe, in one of the mirrors. "We're being watched...", she realized, whispering to herself, before wiping the cut on her face.

"...he'll probably be back any minute", before anybody could react, a shatter from above caught everyone off guard, as the body of Raphael came crashing through. "Raph!"

Runnin’ The 90s (TMNT): Kindred { Beetle & Angel }

Punches and kicks to the air seem to be the right way of releasing the anger he was harboring. Splinter's very absence was taking its toll, and the longer they sit around, the bigger the chances were that their master may be gone permanently. Doesn't Leo understand this? They can't stay stationary. Giving grunts and groans of frustration, Raphael sighed, shortly before he heard the voice of Charlotte, a short ways behind him. What was she doing here?

Looking over the side of the building, and over at the streets below, he didn't answer her, but rather, gave a sniff; whether out of sadness or anger, the rebel shook his head, trying to force these troubled feelings to just disappear. Her words were launching towards him, and he didn't look at her. "He's out there; I know it", he said, seemingly ignoring what she was telling him.

Runnin’ The 90s (TMNT): Kindred { Beetle & Angel }

By the time Charlotte slammed the door, everyone was silent - Mikey and Donatello were left speechless, as they sat quietly in the kitchen.

"Pork rind?"
"Pork rind."

Jennifer sighed sadly, before turning to the eldest turtle in the room.
"Words can pierce your opponents like bullets; it can graze them yet harm them. Raphael is hurting, Leonardo; not to mention, heartbroken. I'm not saying you don't seem the same, but both of you are dealing with it differently. I can see that you are a calm, clear-headed individual, but that doesn't mean you can shut Raphael out, by not acknowledging for how he is feeling, and because of that, he feels that no one understands. Why do you think Charlie left?"

The blue swordsman looked at her, having to be surprised to be given a wise lecture from one of their new friends. There was something about Jennifer that left quite an impression on the three brothers; an older sister, someone who can give the best advice possible. Her words circled around in his head, shortly before he looked at the floor, almost ashamed. The Asian girl walked towards him, and gently grasped his hand. They didn't say anything, but let her touch alone comfort him.

Meanwhile, on the roof, Raphael was doing everything he can to let his anger go.
He wasn't aware of being pursued by Charlie, who followed him.