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Raph

Now that he wasn't feeling mad anymore, Raph didn't see the point of staying in his room any longer (he could still stay in it, regardless, but then he thought it would give the impression to his siblings that he was still mad and then make a whole lot of different assumptions). So he went to hang out in the living room, which currently housed Mikey on the couch playing a new game on his phone. Raph wasn't really up to anything at the moment, so he strolled over to Mikey hoping that he could guess what game he was playing. But apparently when he loomed over Mikey and saw his phone screen, he had no clue what he was seeing in front of him.

"Um, what's that?" Raph asked.

"Just a new game I downloaded," Mikey answered. He tapped his screen furiously. "Come on—come on!"

"Does this 'game' have a name?"

"It's called 'Color Coordinated.' And yeah, I know it sounds simple, but it's not; it's a puzzle game."

Raph raised a brow. "Since when were you into puzzles and brain fart games?"

"I overheard Donnie mention once about if you play enough puzzle games, your brain can become smarter. So that's what I'm doing!"

"You don't say."

"The purpose of the game is to match the incoming number of blocks with its correct amount and color to create a picture. But as you increase in level, the speed and intensity also do as well, and if you don't match the number of blocks or the color correctly—" Mikey yelped and frantically tapped away. "What?! No, no, no, no. . ." He brought his phone to his face, widening his eyes. Then came a big electronic whoop sound. "NO!" He cried. The words Game Over appeared on the screen. Mikey groaned and pressed a pillow against his face, screaming into it.

Watching Mikey's reaction, Raph didn't know whose reaction was more dramatic: Mikey's, or Leo's when that dorky sci-if show Space Heroes season three ended on a cliffhanger and Spaceniks (the fandom name for Space Heroes, according to Leo) had to wait two years for the next season. Raph remembered Leo compulsively checking the internet every minute for a year or so for an announcement.

After wallowing in his defeat, Mikey drew his head back. He sighed. "That happens," he said.

"Tragic," Raph said. "What level are you on, anyway?"

"I only started this game yesterday and already I'm on level fifty! I'm so addicted."

Raph smirked a little. "Did you already replace Super Robo Mecha Force Go The Game?"

Mikey frowned. "No way, dude—well. . . is it considered replacement if you spend more time on a new game than your 'favorite' one?"

"I don't know, Mikey, is it?"

"Super Robo Mecha Force Go The Game is great and all, but Color Coordinated. . . it just keeps you on your toes!" Mikey giggled and kicked his legs up like a little girl. "Say," he said as he glanced over at Raph, "you think if I play enough brain-stimulating games I can be even smarter than Donnie?"

"You having a bigger brain than Mr. SmartyPants?" Raph mused. "I'd kill to see that."

"Just one day I want to stump him so badly, he'll be calling me the next Einstein!" Mikey grinned and plopped his head against Raph's shoulder. "Speaking of Donnie, what do you think he's doing right now?"

"Probably analyzing that green powder," Raph said. He lightly tugged on one of Mikey's corkscrew curls, something that got a reaction out of Mikey and caused him to shove Raph playfully. The two horseplayed for a while until they ended up sprawled on the carpet, left breathless in between fits of laughter.

"Jesus, you've gained weight," Raph wheezed.

Mikey threw a pillow at his face. "You're one to talk, you oaf!"

"For your information, muscle weighs more than fat! That's just what it is."

"Right, and I'm Obama."

Raph rolled his eyes. He soon caught his breath and helped Mikey and himself up. The two took a moment to observe the dislodged couch cushions and the pillows scattered in different areas.

"We should clean this up before Dad or Leo sees this, huh?" Mikey suggested.

"We could. . ." Raph considered that option, but he held up a couple of video games in his hand. "Or. . . we could play Call of Duty and see who gets the most kill streaks?"

Mikey curled his fist and pounded it against his palm. "Bro, you've spoken my language."

Unfortunately, the person knocking on the front door paused their video game plans before they could even be carried out. Raph peered out the peephole and once seeing who it was, opened the door for them.

"Nee-Chan?" Raph sounded surprised. His sister normally visited the family once or twice every few months or so, but twice with a short gap in between the two visits and in the same month? That was new.

"Surprise." Miwa smiled awkwardly. She let herself in, noticing the mess in the process. "New York isn't known for tornadoes, but I think one just passed in here."

"Nothing a pair of hands won't fix." Raph shrugged. He noticed the black shades Miwa was sporting and how she hadn't taken off her boots— something his father was real strict about. "Not in the mood to show your feet?"

"Oh, it's not like I'm going to stay long, anyway," she said. She quickly looked away. "Just came to drop by."

"You chose the right day to do it. We found something that might give us a lead about Genesis and The Foot."

"And by 'we' you mean. . ."

"Me, Talia, and April. Last night. Call it 'off the books' if you like."

"Interesting. What did you find?"

"We won't know until Donnie gets his ass down here and tells us. Which will be. . ."

Everyone heard the sound of footsteps trotting down the stairs.

Raph clucked his tongue. "Right about now."

"Guys! Guys!" Donnie was going so fast that he had to catch himself before he went flying when he arrived downstairs. Raph saw his teeny-tiny ponytail threatening to escape from the rubber band tied around it. "The results are in and you are never going to guess—" he stopped midway when he noticed Miwa. Raph was surprised when Donnie didn't bother commenting on the disaster that was the living room. No one was more picky about messes than Donnie. But maybe he didn't care in the moment. "Oh, hi, Miwa. Love the Men In Black look you're digging. Anyway—" he got back to business "—where's Leo and Dad? They need to be here, too!"

"We heard, Donatello."

Their father and Leo appeared. Raph guessed they were meditating or something in the dojo. Their father nodded. "Now speak."

"Okay." Donnie took a deep breath before diving into a hard-to-keep-up-with ramble: "I was looking over the chemical components of the powder and then I realized that there is a combination of alkaloids that mimic substances derived from various opium poppy plants and amphetamine and phenethylamine— both are used for stimulants. MDA, MDMA, to name a few. . . but do not confuse the two. Both have distinct chemical makeups and MDA has more psychedelic hallucinogenic and stimulant qualities than its cousin MDMA—"

Raph rubbed his brow. "I'm not hearing a result, D."

"Right, Right. Well, um, in short—" Donnie held up the white powder-sealed bag "—they're crushed pills— drugs."

"Could've told you that the moment we found them," Raph scoffed. "It literally looks like coke."

"But here's the thing, Raph. Whatever this drug is, it's not on anybody's radar. It doesn't know whether it wants to be an opioid or a stimulant or a hallucinogenic. . . the chemical makeup of this suggests that we're looking at a DIY chemist. Someone who wants to bring an entire new drug to the table."

"And I'm guessing this is where you explain the even worse news."

Donnie nodded grimly. "This drug hasn't been released on the streets yet. There are still gaps to be filled and I don't know what the side effects would be if anyone were to take this drug. . . but dumping several different chemicals into a pot and not knowing the outcome. . . who knows how disastrous this will be."

Raph frowned when he remembered the two chemists' conversation on the rooftop. "Which means there will be a possibility that a lot of people will die from this, right?"

"A very high chance, yeah. The Count and Shredder's pockets will be full when this hits the market."

Everyone remained silent after that. Was this the Shredder and 'The Count's' endgame? To recreate another opioid epidemic? To get an entire community hooked on some whodunit drug? Still, something didn't make sense in Raph's head.

"This still doesn't answer why Shredder wanted Genesis dead," Raph spoke. "He wanted something she 'stole.' If it were drugs we wouldn't have found that bag at all."

Donnie shrugged. "At least we know what The Foot's next operation will be. Maybe along the way we'll find out more details about the connection between Genesis and Shredder."

"Meanwhile, what are we going to do about the powder?" Mikey asked. "It's basically evidence."

Silence once again. Raph and his family laid their eyes on the powder with great uncertainty— some even more than others. Miwa even stepped forward and jabbed at the plastic bag with her finger. Raph only realized she hadn't even taken her shades off.

"Well, I could send this as an anonymous tip to the NYPD. . ." Donnie hesitated, "but. . ."

"You'd be giving away our only lead about The Foot's business," Leo stated, looking troubled.

"Actually, not our only lead," Raph butt in. This earned him looks. "We have Priya. We can get her to cooperate with us."

"How? By going out in uniform and showing up to her house when it's dark and coerce her to give up every last piece of information?" Leo frowned. "That's way too dangerous. If The Foot finds out— and trust me, I think they will— we showed up at her place, they'll probably think she talked to us; she's as good as dead. Not to mention they'll know we're onto them and thus make it harder for us to follow their tracks."

"Well, what do you suggest we do? Let a bunch of people OD on that crap when high dealers get their hands on it? We have to shut down Shredder and The Count's dope deal."

"But not when it involves getting innocent civilians into the crossfire."

'She wasn't that innocent if she was working with a kingpin' was what Raph wanted to say, but he didn't bother. Even if Priya had been part of the drug circle, she still didn't deserve the same fate Genesis received.

"Indeed," the siblings' heard their father say. It would be the second time he'd spoken up since several minutes ago. "The Hamato & Foot Clans have always battled in the shadows, leaving very little room for eyewitnesses. Shredder's grudge is with our family and clan alone. We cannot afford having a third party getting involved in our affairs and risk exposing ourselves. But we also cannot afford the drug to destroy people's lives when we could've done something about it."

Raph and his siblings' murmured in agreement. But privately, Raph struggled with how the hell they were going to pull more details if they couldn't get them out of Priya. What other solution could there be?

With a nod from their father's head, the meeting was adjourned. His father went back to the dojo; Mikey ran to the TV to set up the PlayStation; Miwa pulled Leo in the direction of the kitchen so they could talk. Seriously, she still had her shades on?

Raph had no idea what her deal was, but he decided not to think about it. He only wanted to have a little bit of downtime before he and his brothers had to go to the dojo for training later that evening. He also knew he had to tell Talia and April the news somehow.

As it turned out, he was stopped by Donnie, who had his hand around his arm."Wait, Raph," he said. He looked serious as ever.

Raph sighed. "If this is about stealing your car—"

"Wha—no, not really. But an apology is greatly appreciated, though."

Raph tried not to look too annoyed. No offense to Donnie, but he wanted to get out of here. "What is it, then?"

"What do you remember about the 'Ricky Yao' case?"

That question took Raph aback. He frowned. "You already know what happened. Just look up 'Historic drug bust ever to happen in NYPD history.'"

"I know, but I want to hear it from you specifically."

Raph narrowed his eyes at him. Why was he asking him this? Nonetheless. . . "He and his gang were manufacturing these drugs. The NYPD seized them during a raid before he could sell them. A sane jury found him guilty on multiple charges, and that's why's he's gonna fucking rot alone in a windowless room until the day he drops dead."

"So everything was taken care of, then? No loose ends?"

"Hun was the leader. The way I see it: no leader equals dysfunction, and dysfunction equals breakups within the group. There's nothing left of the Purple Dragons. But you already know all of this. Why ask?"

Donnie's eyes darkened, his face going still. "Thanks."

Without even offering an explanation, Donnie jogged upstairs. Raph was puzzled than ever. First it was Miwa with her shades, and now Donnie bringing up irrelevant shit from the past? What's next? Aliens invading planet earth?

Raph threw his hands in the air. Whatever. It wasn't like anyone paid him for being suspicious.