New York

[mnt_raph]

*Behind them is Milliways with all its hustle and bustle. In front of them, what could be any of a million nameless alley ways in the greater New York area. The air is not so much stale, as stagnant, which is a good thing considering that dumpsters and trashcans litter the street.

Raph sighs, for what has to be the umpteenth time today alone.*

After you.

*After a second or two of silence, he adds*

I'm gonna need some stuff from...well...up topside. Gimme a sec, okay?

*And with that he's gone*

Comments

[timsbooks.livejournal.com]

*Tim nods, cracking his knuckles. Then he cracks his magical knuckles, checking to make sure his sleeves are loose. Its the wizardly equivalent of cocking a shotgun. Spells move slower here, so hang a few. Have them ready. He gestures slowly, letting his hands move with the natural rthym of this world. Three spells, all purpose. Magic missile, Shield and invisbility. All good things to have waiting.*

Ready.

[mnt_raph]

Right.
This way.

*Raph leads Tim further into the deadend alley. Or at least, it appears to be a dead end, to anyone who doesn't notice the manhole cover in the pavement.

Raph easily hefts the 150 lb. cover, and drops it to the side of the manhole. Afterall, he's had years of practice.*

I'll go first.

*And with that, he drops down into the darkness.*

*and

[timsbooks.livejournal.com]

*Tim follows, muttering under his breath...and absently folding a smell blocker into his natural defense wards. Freakin sewers. He lowers himself reluctantly down, muttering again.*

Ya coulda chosen a penthouse for your home base, but noo, its gotta be the ...dank, dark creepy sewers....

[mnt_raph]

*There's a snicker from the darkness*
Preachin' to the converted, my friend.
Hey, cover your eyes.

*after a few seconds, there's two distinct snaps, and the flick of a switch.*

Kay you can open them again.

*Raph is standing on the raised edge of storm drain. He's got a small flashlight in one hand, and two glow sticks in the other. He tosses one glow stick to Tim, and suspends the other from a silver chain around his neck. A silver ankh can be seen reflecting the green light of the glow stick*

Watch out for the water.

[timsbooks.livejournal.com]

*Mutters*

Now he tells me.

*Catches the glow stick and slips it through a buttonhole.*

Lets do this thing.

[mnt_raph]

Yeah. Let's.

*There is walking. A good 15 minutes of walking. There might even be a little backtracking, and swearing as a result of this backtracking. Something about Raph changes, maybe it's nothing, but it almost appears as if his posture has shifted slightly.

Then suddenly, Raph just stops. Very slowly he runs his hand along what appears to be just a regular cinderblock wall.*

we're here.

[timsbooks.livejournal.com]

*Stomps after raph, muttering himself. Gotta work up a nightvision spell. Then almost runs into raph when he stops.*

All right... open er up....

[mnt_raph]

*He nods. His hands easily find the pullspots, and the wall slides apart.
Directly through the doorway is a large central chamber. It contains a television that looks like it's seen better days, a very familar couch, and bookshelves lining the walls. There are several other doorways that lead off this room, each with a distinct divider.

Raph pays special attention to one with a heavy blanket covering the door*

They...they're in there.

[timsbooks.livejournal.com]

*Approaches the doorway, getting ready to push the curtain aside, then looks back.*

you...ah...you want me to handle this? You can stay out here.

[mnt_raph]

*He looks down at the floor, as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. He takes a deep breath and finally finding his resolve, he looks up*

No. I made this mess.

*He walks with purpose into the sectioned off room.
As to what Tim sees, when he enters...

The room is set up as a training Dojo. Inside the following scene sits frozen.
Curled up against the far wall is Splinter. It's clear from his position that he's just landed after being thrown against the wall.

Leo is in the center of the floor. The mats underneath him are spattered with blood. His face is beaten rather badly, and there are two very distinct bruises on his shoulders. As if someone had kneeled on them, pinning him to the floor.

Mike is over by the left wall. There is a large gash bordered by bruises on the side of his head. Don is kneeling over Mike, cradeling his head on his lap.

Aside from being spattered with Mike's blood, Don appears to be unharmed.

Raph can't look at Tim.*

[timsbooks.livejournal.com]

*Tim doesn't look at Raph. He slides into the room, letting something else take over. He kneels beside Leo, frowning, and reaching out a hand, stroking the shell. His glasses glow pink as he watches the turtle, looking at his vitals. None right now...wait, no...there... so slow..... Tim seems to almost stop moving himself, his body growing still. His aura flares slowly into life around him, surrounding him, shading him from view. It crackles a greenish blue, letting it flow over the recumbant form of leo. The turtle lifts froms the ground, the aura illuminating him. The wounds begins to ease closed, healing over, the edges softening and moving together. Tim stays still, watching as the inside wounds knit, blood vessels repairing themselves....*

[mnt_raph]

*Raph can't watch. Instead he quietly shuffles over to the crumpled form of Splinter. As he stands over the body of his fallen master, a scene plays out in his head:

Leo asks, "Master, when will our training be completed? When will we no longer be students of Ninjitsu?" Splinter replies, "When you have bested me my son. Now stand up, all of you, and try again."


It is then that Raph's knees buckle. He falls to the ground, and begins to cry.*

[timsbooks.livejournal.com]

*Tim turns his attention to Mike. He doesn't move, he just shifts his magical attention, letting the glow flow to the other turtle. patching him as well.... Only then does Tim stand up, unfolding slowly, a movement that puts one in mind more of mountains forming then of human life. Magic flows off of him, puddlign upon the floor, an almost solid thing as he moves across the room, stepping beside Raph, hesitantly placing a hand on his older friends shoulder.*

Raph.

[mnt_raph]

*Raph turns his head away from Tim. He wipes his eyes with the back of his wrist. Sure, now's a bad time to try and save face, but it's reflex. Afterall, you can count the number of times Raph has cried on one hand.

He clears his throat*

Yeah Tim.

[timsbooks.livejournal.com]

*Tim just lets his hand rest on raphs shoulder, just being there.*

What now?

[mnt_raph]

You think...uh...you think you could help Splinter too?

[timsbooks.livejournal.com]

*Tim nods, one hand stilll on raph, reaching out his other hand. Light flares in his palm, gutters, then flares again as Tim still attempts to adjust to this worlds magic. The light lashes out, latching onto splinter, sinking into his skin. The light fades, but the skin beneath splinters fur glows slightly as the magic works its piece, up from below, the sound of ribs snapping back into place echoing the layer, the magic bonding bone to bone once more. It moves upwards again, until Splinters head glows like a jack o lantern, fixing what damage is there...and then the light dies, fading with the magic,*

[mnt_raph]

*Raph reaches out and brushes the fur on Splinter's face. He leans forward slightly, one arm going underneath his Master's neck, the other supporting his legs, and stands. Still avoiding Tim's eyes, he mutters*

I'm gonna put him in his room.

*Raph exits the room*

[timsbooks.livejournal.com]

*Tim watches raph go, letting his gaze slide around the room... until something catches his eye. "The Books of Magic." Wha-huh? He appraoches it as one would a wounded animal. Yup, thats him on the cover. With a scar. Oh, wow. Tim picks it up reluctantly, flipping through the pages. Yup. The converstion with Molly. Ypu, bringing her into his world. Wow. And... hey, theres that chick, the angels woman. io...the future? With...him as a dragon? Tim stares.*

[mnt_raph]

*Raph emerges through a beaded curtain to find Tim hovering around one of the livingroom bookcases. He doesn't mean to sneak up on Tim, it just happens.*

What'd ya find?

[timsbooks.livejournal.com]

*Tim jumps about a foot, slamming the book closed.*

Ah... it seems to be my story...uhm...before i came to milliways.

[mnt_raph]

*Amazingly Raph manages a smile at Tim's surprise.*

Huh, no kiddin'.

*he looks over Tim's shoulder and scans the titles listed there. Among the American Splendor and the Nexus there are many random and sundry issues of Batman as well as more Books of Magic.*

This is Mike's bookshelf.
I'm gonna put the guys to bed an' then clean up in there.
Stay outta trouble?

[timsbooks.livejournal.com]

*Tim nods, staring at the books.*

oh...woow.... yeh, no problem.

*Tim waits until raph is gone, then conviently slips some of the relevant books inside a dimensional pocket. Gonna need those later.*

[mnt_raph]

*As Raph passes by, he clap Tim on the shoulder*

Take a load off. The couch won't bite.

*Tim might want to ignore the high water marks on the sofa. It's for the best...really.

Raph returns to the task at hand. One by one he moves his brothers from the Dojo to their respective rooms. When that is all said and done, he sets about cleaning up the aftermath.

Raph has now been busy for a good half hour. The room is clean. His family is healed...and yet, nothing is moving. Fear begins to set in...*

[timsbooks.livejournal.com]

*Tim moves around the room, looking here and there, checking on things. He closes his eyes, feeling the magic...and checking for where the hang up is.*