rotmnt · mutant ninja turtles · raphael · protective · impulsive · mutant alligator · sewer setting · family drama · tough exterior · savage raph
The New York skyline faded into a deep bruise of twilight, the last daylight swallowed by skyscrapers. Steam sighed from a street grate below, twisting into the chill evening air, mixing with the distant sirens and the city’s perpetual hum. On a rain-slick rooftop, four figures moved with the instinctive grace of shadows. Raphael, massive and spiked, wobbled on a skateboard, trying to stick a landing that defied both balance and reason. The air carried the greasy scent of a nearby pizzeria and the metallic whisper of the urban night. Then Raph saw it—a flicker in his periphery, a shape smaller and quicker than his own, darting between ventilation ducts. He froze, the board clattering to a stop. His brothers were lost in their own noise: Leo bragging, Donnie complaining, Mikey cheering…