A red stone that Ancient Egyptians believed, if worn on a ring or other jewellery, could eliminate bad tempers, hatred, jealousy and anger.

☯

Raphael lands hard on his shell, his head spinning, his brain rattled. He feels blood trickle from his mouth and he groans, reaching to brush it away on the back of his hand. The black-clad female stands over him, her hair tied back in a bun and covered with a hood, the entirety of her mouth, chin, and neck covered with a mask. Her sleeveless top shows off the curling dragon tattoo on her bicep.

He grunts and pushes himself to his knees, baring his teeth, but the girl doesn't even flinch. She maintains intense eye contact.

"You're gonna pay for that, sweetheart," he threatens, gripping his sais tighter.

He lunges with a shout, but she dodges to the side and lands a forceful knifehand strike to the centre of his shell. He lands face first on the asphalt, dirt and ash mixing with the sharp iron taste in his mouth. Her eyes dance with amusement.

"Well, if I'm going to pay for something, at least I've got cash," she retorts smoothly.

The lights of emergency vehicles draw nearer and nearer, the sirens making Leonardo turn away from the battle. He knocks Hun off balance and scuttles backwards as the Asian also looks to the incoming noise.

"Everyone, retreat! Now!" Leonardo orders.

Raphael and the girl's heads move to the blue-masked turtle in sync while Hun's jaw clenches as he backs off as well. He snaps his fingers together sharply and his Dragons obey the command. The girl looks back down at Raphael as he rolls onto his back. Her eyelashes flutter with a type of laughter before she races away after her gang.

The Hamatos are already in retreat, all except the shell-shocked Raphael. Michelangelo races to his brother's side and yanks him to his feet, hauling him back to the ShellRaiser at a full sprint. Donatello and Sarina stay right on Leonardo's heels while Destiny is forced to stay behind the group, dragging Casey away kicking and screaming.

"Dude, she got you bad!" Michelangelo gasps, staring at the trickle of blood staining Raphael's lip.

"I'm fine," Raphael snaps, shoving him away as they reach the ShellRaiser. "Just caught me off guard, that's all."

They climb inside the giant vehicle, rejoining the others, and Raphael immediately flops down in his seat to wait. Within a few minutes, Destiny and Casey arrive. She still has him by the arm, a bored expression on her face.

As soon as they're inside, Casey wrenches himself from Destiny's grip, absolutely fuming. "I had that! You guys just had to interfere!" he snaps.

"You're the one who interfered with us," Leonardo retorts. "We were handling it before you came running in without a second thought."

"Bashing punks is my hobby, Leo! You're just keeping that from—"

Destiny lets out a snarl that shuts them both up before the argument can escalate. Donatello sighs and pinches between his eyes while Sarina's eyes flash.

"It was an honest mistake," Donatello says. "Casey does this, Leo. He finds the Dragons and he attempts to pummel them."

"We just so happened to cross our paths this time," Sarina adds. "It was just an unfortunate set of circumstances and now, we can go back to the lair, rest, and recuperate without letting this boil into something large and unsightly."

Michelangelo waves his hand and points at Raphael. "Raph needs recup...recoop—rest," he says.

"I'm. Fine," he repeats through his teeth.

Destiny frowns and moves closer to the turtle, who pouts and leans away from her. She grabs his bicep and holds him in place, unfazed by yet another hothead trying to struggle his way away from her. She tilts his head up and whistles at the blossoming bruise.

"Someone doesn't like you, huh?" she comments, angling his face so she can take a look at his split lip. "Ouch."

"It was just a Dragon. I could've taken her down if—"

"Her?" Leonardo asks, eyes widening.

"Psh," Michelangelo says, wagging his hand at Leonardo. "I knew from the second she showed up, bro. No dude's ever got curves like that."

Casey snorts with laughter. "So...the one girl in the PDs is the one who kicked your shell?" Another honking laugh. "Dude, that's rough!"

Leonardo lets a snicker slip past his resolve. "I wondered..."

Destiny's head snaps to the pair, emerald eyes narrowed, and Sarina's eyes flash as her lips form an "o" shape. Leonardo's mouth slams shut. Casey's smile disappears. Destiny stares right at Leonardo.

"And what does being a girl have to do with fighting ability?" she demands, her voice low.

Donatello, Sarina, and Michelangelo make little "oooo" noises, and while Raphael would join in, he's still sulking about the teasing.

"It's not because she's a girl!" Leonardo scrambles. "I'm just surprised because I thought she was the smallest fighter before I knew about her being, well...uh, a girl, and...um, she's the only girl with a lot of other guys, so—"

"Bigger and stronger guys," Casey agrees. "It's odd that she went after Raph and was...so good at it." Raphael glares at him and he holds his hands up defensively.

Destiny ponders that for a moment before nodding curtly. "Fair enough. I'll let you live another day."

She turns back to Raphael and Casey glances at Leonardo. "She doesn't..."

"Nah. We're fine."

They cast another wary glance at the wolf-raven's head.

Destiny sighs and drops her hand from Raphael's jaw. "We'll get ice on it at home," she says. "Let's just get back."

Leonardo hops into the driver's seat and starts the ShellRaiser, shifting it into gear and rumbling off down the street in smooth succession. Casey shuffles backwards and stands beside Raphael while the turtle glares at his computer screen.

"So she got you pretty good?" Casey wonders casually.

Raphael shoots him a glare and drags his hand against his lip again, making him wince. "Yeah...caught me off guard," he mutters, heat flooding his veins.

"Sucks."

"Yeah."

Sarina clears her throat as she tugs off her battle helmet, setting her short white hair free. "Now, I don't know about your thoughts on the matter, but what I don't understand is why there were so many Dragons," she says as she combs out her hair with her fingers. "The most we've ever seen is—"

"Four," Donatello finishes. "Not twenty. They must've decided that they needed beefing up once Shredder died."

"Hun's obviously been training them too," Leonardo says as he steers the vehicle down into the subway tunnels. "They're more resilient to our attacks."

"Stupid Hun," Casey mutters, punching his palm. "I'd love to smack that smug grin off his stupid face..."

"I say we discuss this further over a couple of pizzas," Michelangelo says, already pulling out his t-phone. "I'll call April and get her to grab some on her way over."

Casey sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "Oh, man, she's gonna give me an earful."

"Girlfriend troubles?" Donatello asks.

He nods. "Ah, it's not that bad. She just worries about me." He smiles a little. "It's cute that she cares, though."

Raphael rolls his eyes. "I can do without someone breathing down my neck 24/7."

"Don't worry, dude. That's what Leo and Splinter are there for!" Michelangelo laughs.

He squeaks as Raphael's fist takes an impromptu trip to the top of his head.

----------

Splinter is waiting from them when they return to the lair and his watchful gaze finds Raphael at record speed, scrutinizing his injury.

"Raphael, what happened?" he asks, leaning down to examine his son's jaw.

"Got kicked by a Purple Dragon," Leonardo answers.

"I'm. Fine," Raphael growls, wishing that everyone would just buzz off and leave him be.

Splinter backs off. "I will get you some ice," he offers, already heading for the kitchen. "You may recount your evening to me when I return."

"Hai Sensei," they reply.

The teens head for the living room, Casey gravitating to the pinball machine out of habit and starting to play while Destiny stretches her arms and wings in tandem, nearly smacking Donatello as she does so. Sarina disappears into the lab only to return with her laptop tucked beneath her arm.

Leonardo flops onto the bench and folds his hands behind his neck as he yawns. "It's weird that the PDs are our only trouble now," he muses.

"I agree. I am not used to a world without the Kraang, much less the Foot," Sarina says, opening her laptop and booting up the web browser. "Now, I need not worry about either."

Donatello sits down next to her and peeks over at the article she's pulled up, draping one arm around her shoulders as he does, and she angles the screen so that they can both read. Destiny hops down to the floor, grabbing one of the controllers and starting up a fighter game. Michelangelo joins her in a flash, calling dibs on his favourite character.

Raphael crosses his arms over his plastron, his thoughts painted with a pair of hazel eyes. He prods his chin and winces, eyes snapping shut for a moment, and he exhales heavily through his nose. He had certainly never been hit like that before.