Judging by the snort of laughter that comes from Raphael's cage, he heard that too. Unfortunately that also blows his cover, because the men crowded at the end of the trailer doors freeze and stare over in his direction.
Oh well. Not like it was that much of an advantage, right?
After a moment a couple of the men climb up into the trailer and lower a ramp before cautiously approaching Raphael's cage first. One of them calls from the doors, "Be careful with the male. He's got a lot of scars and muscle on him; probably fights more often than the female."
"You're damn right I do," Raphael snarls. They already know he's awake, no point in staying quiet. What he doesn't expect is the hoarse shout of surprise and scrabbling sounds as the men scatter away from the cages. He pulls himself up onto his knees and presses his face to the barred window on the side, trying to catch sight of them. Are they retreating?
"Holy shit!" one of them hisses, shoving at his companion. "They talk! They fucking talk! That bitch never said anything about them talking!"
A man with a tranquilizer gun -Raph hopes it's just tranqs- jerks the end of it in their direction. "Maybe she didn't know. It doesn't matter, Jones. We're getting paid to deliver them, not chat with them. Load up the male, then get the female."
A small part of Raphael delights in it every time they call Leonardo a girl, so he doesn't bother correcting them. Besides, hey, it's strategic, right? If they think Leo's a scared little girl turtle who doesn't like to fight much, maybe they won't expect him to kick their asses. ...and also it's hilarious. "Hey, why not open this thing up and let me walk to wherever we're being 'delivered'? I promise I'll break only like five of your bones."
The men ignore Raphael for the most part -one of them mutters, "Shit, this is really creepy now."- as they fiddle with the sides of his cage. Something like wheels deploy; the cage lifts up and sways. There's no room between the bars for Raph's hand so he doesn't bother, just glaring darkly at the men as they circle around the cage. Maybe he should get out a shuriken, stab them, but then he'd still be stuck in the cage...
They start to roll him toward the ramp and it occurs to Raphael that with a hard enough knock, he might be able to jar the door loose enough to kick it out. Raphael tries to catch a look into Leo's cage before they get too far, but he can't see his brother. Probably still pretending to be out cold.
Okay.
They hit the ramp and Raphael bunches himself in one corner before launching himself at the other with a roar. The cage rocks violently and the men shout, startled, and Raph slams into the side again to send it toppling over the edge of the ramp and to the ground. The trailer is high, a lot higher than he expected; the wheels are almost as big as he is, it's more like industrial construction equipment than a big rig, and when the cage hits cold stone and grass it rattles so hard that Raph almost knocks his head again. Would have, if he hadn't tucked in to protect himself. Even so it leaves him winded, but the door takes a crack when the cage bounces and Raph coils up his legs and kicks at it one, twice and it snaps open. He's still chained to the bottom of the cage, but there's enough lead for him to crawl out at least.
He fishes for his shuriken and hurls one almost before looking. It catches one of the men rushing for him in the leg and he goes down. One of the tranq guns makes a puff sound and Raph ducks. The dart sticks into his carapace, but not far enough to hit flesh and he grins, plucking it out.
He can't get far enough from the cage to fight. Welp.
So he grabs the cage, hefts it over his head with a grunt of exertion and swings it like a bat toward the nearest man. That startles the shit out of them and they back away; another fires a dart and Raph uses the cage to block it.
"What the hell do we do?!" one of the men shouts, panicking.
Raph swings the cage again and the man scrambles away; it's more of a standoff now, because the cage is fucking heavy and Raphael can't do this forever, but the men know that one hit from that cage and they're likely dead. They glare at each other.
There's a clatter from inside the truck and one of the men emerges, dragging a seemingly unconscious Leonardo from inside the trailer and halfway down the ramp. He has a gun, a real gun, pointed to the top of Leonardo's head. "Calm the fuck down, or I'm shooting your little friend here!" he snarls at Raphael.
"Oh man." Raphael lowers the cage, breathless from holding it aloft. "Wow, that is...a really stupid idea."
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Oh well. Not like it was that much of an advantage, right?
After a moment a couple of the men climb up into the trailer and lower a ramp before cautiously approaching Raphael's cage first. One of them calls from the doors, "Be careful with the male. He's got a lot of scars and muscle on him; probably fights more often than the female."
"You're damn right I do," Raphael snarls. They already know he's awake, no point in staying quiet. What he doesn't expect is the hoarse shout of surprise and scrabbling sounds as the men scatter away from the cages. He pulls himself up onto his knees and presses his face to the barred window on the side, trying to catch sight of them. Are they retreating?
"Holy shit!" one of them hisses, shoving at his companion. "They talk! They fucking talk! That bitch never said anything about them talking!"
A man with a tranquilizer gun -Raph hopes it's just tranqs- jerks the end of it in their direction. "Maybe she didn't know. It doesn't matter, Jones. We're getting paid to deliver them, not chat with them. Load up the male, then get the female."
A small part of Raphael delights in it every time they call Leonardo a girl, so he doesn't bother correcting them. Besides, hey, it's strategic, right? If they think Leo's a scared little girl turtle who doesn't like to fight much, maybe they won't expect him to kick their asses. ...and also it's hilarious. "Hey, why not open this thing up and let me walk to wherever we're being 'delivered'? I promise I'll break only like five of your bones."
The men ignore Raphael for the most part -one of them mutters, "Shit, this is really creepy now."- as they fiddle with the sides of his cage. Something like wheels deploy; the cage lifts up and sways. There's no room between the bars for Raph's hand so he doesn't bother, just glaring darkly at the men as they circle around the cage. Maybe he should get out a shuriken, stab them, but then he'd still be stuck in the cage...
They start to roll him toward the ramp and it occurs to Raphael that with a hard enough knock, he might be able to jar the door loose enough to kick it out. Raphael tries to catch a look into Leo's cage before they get too far, but he can't see his brother. Probably still pretending to be out cold.
Okay.
They hit the ramp and Raphael bunches himself in one corner before launching himself at the other with a roar. The cage rocks violently and the men shout, startled, and Raph slams into the side again to send it toppling over the edge of the ramp and to the ground. The trailer is high, a lot higher than he expected; the wheels are almost as big as he is, it's more like industrial construction equipment than a big rig, and when the cage hits cold stone and grass it rattles so hard that Raph almost knocks his head again. Would have, if he hadn't tucked in to protect himself. Even so it leaves him winded, but the door takes a crack when the cage bounces and Raph coils up his legs and kicks at it one, twice and it snaps open. He's still chained to the bottom of the cage, but there's enough lead for him to crawl out at least.
He fishes for his shuriken and hurls one almost before looking. It catches one of the men rushing for him in the leg and he goes down. One of the tranq guns makes a puff sound and Raph ducks. The dart sticks into his carapace, but not far enough to hit flesh and he grins, plucking it out.
He can't get far enough from the cage to fight. Welp.
So he grabs the cage, hefts it over his head with a grunt of exertion and swings it like a bat toward the nearest man. That startles the shit out of them and they back away; another fires a dart and Raph uses the cage to block it.
"What the hell do we do?!" one of the men shouts, panicking.
Raph swings the cage again and the man scrambles away; it's more of a standoff now, because the cage is fucking heavy and Raphael can't do this forever, but the men know that one hit from that cage and they're likely dead. They glare at each other.
There's a clatter from inside the truck and one of the men emerges, dragging a seemingly unconscious Leonardo from inside the trailer and halfway down the ramp. He has a gun, a real gun, pointed to the top of Leonardo's head. "Calm the fuck down, or I'm shooting your little friend here!" he snarls at Raphael.
"Oh man." Raphael lowers the cage, breathless from holding it aloft. "Wow, that is...a really stupid idea."