Hey everyone! Another update in another week! Can you believe it! Thank you everyone who left feedback for me and to all of you who have shown your support by liking and following this story's progress. Also, I have more exciting news! Resilient has been nominated for a couple of awards in the 2015 TMNT Fanfiction Competition: Best Crossover/AU and Best Raphael! Go check out the ballot on Stealthy Stories and check out other amazing stories that are up for other awards! A HUGE thank you to FaithfulWhispers for the lovely cover art! You are the best hon! Thanks everyone and enjoy the chapter!

Raph leaned over iron railing that lined the top landing of the stadium to get a better look at the scene below. The room was buzzing with the excited chatter of the spectators and alight with the flashes of thousands of cameras. Fans from both sides held up poster board signs that promoted their favorite fighters and two women in very revealing bikinis, patterned with American flags, strutted around the ring in four inch heels, each holding a sign advertising sponsors of the fight.

God bless America, he thought as he pushed back from the railing.

All around him on the landing, there were stalls selling various wares: souvenir t-shirts, stadium food like soft pretzels, hot dogs, nachos and popcorn, plastic replicas of championship belts, action figures of The Fist that spouted some of his more famous catch phrases and other trinkets that spectators could take home for the cost of an arm and a leg. The air was heavy with the smells of frying oil, butter and body odor; something that reminded Raph vaguely of the old lair in the sewers.

Grabbing Donnie by the arm, Raph pulled impatiently him toward a cart that sold hot dogs and nachos. The little vendor looked nervously between the two mutants, though he scrutinized Raph much more closely.

"What'll it be?" Raph asked, slapping a twenty dollar bill on the vendor's stainless steel tray. Donnie shook his head forbiddingly.

"I have to drive home, Raph. Just a Diet Coke for me, thanks."

"Your loss."

He took the drinks and and his change and followed his brother down the concrete steps into the arena. The space was crowded with mutants and humans alike. They were mostly ignored by the people around them, though there were some suspicious glares. Raph didn't care at all. He was practically giddy with the excitement that hung in the air like an infectious miasma and that made it easier to ignore the humans around them.

"You sure that the seats will still be there?" Raph shouted over the din. Donnie nodded with assurance as he pushed through the rows toward the ring.

"They had better be! Each of those seats cost a couple hundred dollars to get!"

The seats were, of course, taken by two college age humans, but one look at Raph convinced them to go back to their original seats. One of them dropped half a bucket of popcorn on the ground in his haste to scamper away. Raph watched them go with a sardonic shake of his head. Damn kids... Raph thought sullenly as they sat down in their seats.

One of the girls walked by, still holding her sign over her head, and he watched her movements with the utmost interest. The girl caught his glance, and she gave him a meaningful wink. She must be into bad boys, Raph thought with an amused smirk. Personally, he thought that she was too skinny, but there was nothing wrong with admiring a girl in a suggestive outfit like that.

The room instantly went dark and strobing lights danced around the ceiling. A man in a tuxedo and a crimson cumberbund stepped grandly into the ring, armed with a large, wireless microphone. Both of the bikini clad girls held up the ropes of the ring to let him in and flanked him as he strode to the center of the ring. Smiling with the ease of a practiced performer, he spoke into the microphone and his rich baritone echoed loudly off the walls.

"Good evening, New York City" the announcer bawled into his loudspeaker and the crowd whooped and hollered in excitement. Raph hooted right along with them, sloshing a tablespoon of beer from his bottle in his excitement onto his blue jeans. The man waited patiently for a couple of minutes for the noise to die down a fraction before he continued his speech.

"Tonight's match up has been long anticipated between these two rivals: The established Legend and the up and coming Alien. They have been battling for dominance for years and now, they are battling it out for the ultimate championship! Are you ready to RUMBLE?!"

The crowd roared and pounded their feet against the concrete floor, making the noise echo with the rumbling beat. Raph was completely invested in the show and crowed loudly in response. Donnie looked almost bored as he fished his smartphone from his pocket and began typing away.

"Texting your baby mama, Playboy?" Raph teased when he noticed that his brother wasn't even paying attention to the preliminaries. Donnie rolled his eyes and pushed his glasses further up his face.

"I've got to make sure that the schematics for the AI are being delivered to the right department."

"Couldn't that wait 'til you get home?" Raph complained with a scowl. Donnie shook his head, not taking his eyes off of his phone.

"Can't do that Raph. I have deadlines to keep, and working on the road is part of my job."

Raph didn't have time to call bullshit on him, because a drumming heavy metal song began to play and the strobe lights began flickering erratically from overhead.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" proclaimed the announcer. "Tonight's headliner has held your hearts hostage for fifteen years! He's the holder of five world championships and is now securing his sixth. Here's your favorite fighter and mine: Dorian "The Fist" Hall!"

There he Fist. Still wrestling after fifteen years, and still wearing the golden underwear that accentuated his manhood that he had won his first championship in the early nineties. His thick bronze mane was tied back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. He raised his arms to the crowd, and a roar of approval rose as he strutted down the causeway, his entourage flocking behind him like a pack of school children. The girls in the ring clapped for him and clung to both of his muscular arms in a show of deep hearted emotion, though Raph was sure that they didn't really care about him at all.

"And his opponent!" The announcer continued, "He first came onto the scene only a year ago, and has already knocked four wrestling champions flat on their asses! He's may be an alien, but he's out for blood in the wrestling ring! Here he comes: Jaime "The Lizard" Gomez!"

A large Salamandrian, huge and menacing, with thick muscles rippling under glistening black skin, paraded from beneath the iron archway. He was garbed in tight yellow shorts that hugged his thighs just above his knees with a hole cut out for his thick black tail. A chorus of boos and hisses filled the room at his approach. The Lizard held up both arms, much like his opponent had, but instead, he flashed both of his middle fingers at the crowd, turning in a three hundred and sixty-three angle so that everyone could get a good look at him.

"That guy has a brass set," Raph said, applauding approvingly as the Salamandrian climbed into the ring. The Fist flexed his muscles, much to the crowd's approval. The two fighters began trading trash talk; typical for a fight like this one. They bumped chests and growled in each other's faces, really selling their show.

Donnie yawned, stretched out his arms, and stood stiffly. He even moves like an ancient turtle, Raph reflected thoughtfully. He couldn't help but be as worried about his brother as Donnie was about him.

"I'm going to get a refill. Want one?" Donnie asked as he held up his empty plastic bottle. Raph waved him away impatiently, keeping his eyes fixed on the fight above him.

"No thanks. You go ahead."

Donnie shrugged and turned to climb the stairs toward the top landing. Raph promptly forgot about him as the referee broke up the dick measuring trash talk and set them up for their fight. The ref gave the signal, the bell clanged loudly, and the two opponents circled each other, looking for an opening up attack. The Lizard made the first move, lunging at the Fist's legs, obviously hoping to take the wrestler off of his feet.

"Well hi there!"

Raph's head whipped around to see that a young woman in a cropped New York Yankees t-shirt had dropped into Donnie's open seat and was gazing up at him, her big blue eyes searching him with keen interest. Her black hair curled in messy ringlets around her face and cascaded down her back like a ebony waterfall. He was surprised by her sudden appearance, but decided not to challenge it.

"Uh, hey," he said awkwardly. He looked past her to see if Donnie was coming back yet, but he was evidently taking his sweet time in returning from the vendors.

"First time at a fight?" she asked conversationally, her voice raised to be heard over the clanging of the bell.

"Yeah. My bro got the tickets."

She nodded and settled back into the seat. Raph couldn't help but look at her. Her shirt slipped off one shoulder, exposing a lacy lavender bra beneath. He tried to tactfully avert his eyes, but it had been so long since he'd been so close to an attractive woman that he found himself unable to do so.

"I'm Inez," she said, holding out her hand to him. Hesitantly, he took it and was surprised how much he liked the cool, smooth feeling of her skin against his.

"Raphael."

"Oh my God; are you Italian?" She asked looking up at him with interest. "Or are you Mexican?"

Before he could answer, a loud slam and groan from the ring tore his attention drastically away from her. The Lizard had taken a massive hit from The Fist and had was now struggling to break free of his strong hold.

"You got 'im, Fist! Feed him his own tail!" Raph demanded excitedly, pumping his fist into the air. Inez threw his head back and crowed shrilly, completely oblivious to the annoyed scowl by the man at her other elbow.

"I freaking love The Fist! I've been a fan of his since I was twelve!"

She swayed slightly in her seat as she lifted a half empty bottle of Smirnoff to her lips. She was obviously drunk, or at least well on her way.

"So... Have you always been a mutant, big boy?" Inez asked, her words slurring a little.

"As long as I can remember," he answered shortly. Her eyes widened and she leaned closer to him. At this distance, he could smell the sour stench of alcohol on her breath and see the haze of intoxication behind her eyes.

"That fuckin' sucks! You must have been one of those sewer mutants, huh?"

"Uh yeah..."

"What was that like?" Inez was sitting on her knees, her face mere inches from his. Raph cleared his throat and looked over her head again, looking for Donnie. There was still no sign of him anywhere.

"It was alright. We had what we needed, so we made it through."

"But it must have stunk like shit down there," she suggested, her nose wrinkling at the thought.

"We got used to it."

Inez tapped her long manicured finger pensively against the glass bottle for a moment as she processed what he had said, then her eyes brightened, as though she had remembered something. She leaned close to his face, wrapping her arm around his shoulders, and whispered in his ear.

"I've heard that the mutagen make everything bigger. I bet it's true; isn't it?"

Her fingers brushed lightly against his lap, making him start involuntarily. Raph cleared his throat, a little uncomfortable with where this conversation was heading. She was hot, but she was also drunk and completely uninhibited. That was a hornet's nest that he didn't want to disturb. Gently, he pushed her wandering fingers away.

"You, uh, here with anyone?" Raph asked, hoping to change the subject. The woman pouted, obviously annoyed at this turn in the conversation and at the obvious refusal.

"My boyfriend, but he's being a prick, so I ditched him. He can find his own way home"

"That sucks for him."

"Yeah, well, he can kiss my tattooed ass," she crowed before tipping her bottle up and chugging the last of her beer.

Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she smiled up at him. Inez really was pretty, and had all of the curves in the places that Raph found attractive. She batted her eyes and leaned her head against his shoulder and this time, he did not push her away. Her scent was intoxicating and more arousing than he had believed possible. She must really be into him.

"It's kinda slow right now, why don't we... Go somewhere more quiet?" Inez asked suggestively, running her slender fingers up his scaly, muscular arm.

He was sorely tempted, and the way she was biting her full bottom lip made his tail begin to grow hard. His mind started to imagine all of the things that he could do to her, and he was sure that she would let him...

"What the fuck is going on here?!"

Raph looked up at the man standing over them. He was large and had a thick black mustache perched on his upper lip. He glared fiercely at the two of them, and Raph could almost see the steam rising from the man's coiffed head. Inez went instantly white to the lips and staggered clumsily to her feet.

"I- Baby, He was forcing himself on me-"

The man grabbed her by the arm and pulled her roughly toward him. His face had turned an ugly shade of violet and his mustache quivered with rage.

"You disgusting little whore!" He screamed in her face, bathing her in outraged spittal. "You'll go after anything with a dick, won't you, slut?"

He slapped her hard across the face. She cried out in pain and Raph was instantly on his feet. There were many things that made him angry, and senseless violence against women was near the top of his list.

He grabbed the man by the shoulder, spun him around, and punched him hard across the jaw. The man flipped over four occupied seats and fell heavily into a puddle of soda on the floor. With a snort of derision, Raph stepped into the aisle and bent down toward Inez, who was holding her cheek protectively.

"You okay?" he asked. She nodded shakily, then gasped as large arms circled around his neck and denim covered legs hooked around the back of his shell. With a grunt, Raph grabbed the arms and threw his assailant over his head on top of the first guy. He wasn't surprised to see it was a different guy than before: a burly black man with lightning bolts shaved into the hair on the sides of his head.

People were shouting at him and retreating away from the brawl, but Raph didn't pay them any attention. The guy rebounded well enough, only having a fresh cut on his forehead from where he made contact with the plastic seats. He and two more men stood and closed in on Raph, the shorter of the two cracking his knuckles menacingly.

"Boy, you done fucked up this time," the black man said with a malicious snarl on his lips. He aimed a punch at the side of Raph's head, which he ducked easily. Raph grabbed his forearm, swung him around and he knocked him into the short man, while kicking the other in the sternum. All three men went tumbling to the ground in a heap. The one whom he had kicked stayed down, but the other two clamored to their feet and charged him again.

"Stop it!" Inez was screaming behind him and very faintly, Raph could hear Donnie bellowing at him too, demanding that he back off and that he was throwing his life away all over again. But he was in full battle mode. These guys were leaving either in an ambulance or in a hearse.

The mustached man was back on his feet and he bellowed when he charged at Raph, his first raised. He deflected the punch, brought his knee up into his stomach, then kicked him in the face, breaking his nose. The man screamed as he went down and the other two attacked together. Raph ducked and threw the short man over his shoulder, before sweeping the other's feet out from under him.

Something heavy slammed against the back of his head and shattered on impact. It hurt like a son of a bitch, and Raph roared like a wounded lion. He whirled on the punk kid who had hit him with a beer bottle and kicked him so hard in the knee that he could swear he heard the bone shatter. The kid screamed in agony and went down hard, holding his crooked leg.

"Security! Break it up!" Strong hands grappled his arms and Raph instantly gave up the fight. Raising his hands in the air, he allowed himself to be surrounded by four security officers, one of them a mutant. They began roughly pushing him away from the ring and back toward the entrance, probably to a holding area for drunk and disorderly trouble makers.

Raph saw Donnie as he was being led out hoping to catch his eye, but he was too busy shouting into his cellphone. Either Leo or his lawyer, he supposed.

Oh shit, Raph thought, belatedly remembering that this was going to get him in some serious legal trouble all over again. He'd broken the kid's leg, probably given each of the others a concussion, and God knew what other injuries they had sustained. He could plead that he had been provoked and that he was protecting that girl, but he was sure that that wasn't going to help.

They shoved him into grey room with a bench affixed to the farther wall and a window, no bigger than a breadbox, positioned a few inches from the ceiling. Even if he wanted to run, there would be no way from here.

"The authorities will be here soon to deal with you," growled one of the guards impatiently. Raph had enough sense not to say anything in response. That would be asking for even more trouble.

One of the security officers, a mutant with the face of a Schnauzer stayed in the door for a moment longer than the others. His muzzle was grey while the rest of him was dark black. His dark brown eyes looked undecided for a moment before stepping further in toward Raph.

"Listen to me, turtle. They're going to find a way to pin this all on you."

"I know."

"Stick to your story." The dog said, ignoring Raph's comment. "They attacked you. Maybe they'll slap you on the wrist for it and let you go."

A voice whistled from the hallway and a chorus of laughter followed close behind.

"Barkley! Here boy!"

The security officer bristled at the blatant insult, but instead of being baited, he turned back to Raph.

"Don't let them tear you down, turtle. Soon enough, they will get what they deserve."

Long after the dog left the room and locked the room after him, Raph couldn't help but wonder what he meant by that.