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Raph crouched in the shadows that warped the grand city of New York. He watched the neon lights twinkled and dance growing brighter by the minute as the last of the waning streams of light faded completely. A small smile graced his face at the sight, one that he loved. Despite the hard times he and his brothers had face the city still held a warm spot in his heart.
Breathing in the smog and the smell of fall he sighed becoming completely relaxed but not off guard.
Laughter caught his attention and he glanced down at the source: two women and two kids eating ice cream. Simply out of curiosity he followed them keeping to the shadows a he did. One of the women had striking, curly blue hair and dark mahogany skin and the other, from what he could tell, looked plain in comparison, yet oddly familiar. As for the kids, he couldn't see a thing since they were bundled up completely despite it just being a little chilly.
Raphael grumbled at the sight of a couple or men walking towards their little group and pulled out his sia's preparing for a quick fight. The women and their kids stopped at the sight of the two bulky men fast approaching. He watched the two mothers step in front of their kids protectively, but was surprised to see them both fall into a fighting stance.
He hopped to the ally below, now only feet away if he needed to jump in. The clouds moved revealing the moon and forcing him to step further into the shadows. Oddly, the women looked unbothered by the men almost as if they were slipping into an old rhythm.
His grip on his weapons tightened as one of the men made an advance to the blue haired woman, but his actions weren't needed as the other mother knocked the guy flat on his back with a punch that even made him wince and by the blood oozing from the mans nose it was obviously broken. Both children seemed frightened by what was happening.
Relaxing, he sheath his sia's and leaned against the wall. The plainer of the two women was also shorter and smaller and in no way could have landed a punch like that with so much force and not show any sign of pain. The same girl didn't even wait for the other man to advance, instead she kicked him in the jaw with a roundhouse that jarred Raph from his relaxed posture. Raphael came to the conclusion that she must've been trained in martial arts, even if it didn't explain the strength behind her attacks.
The two women relaxed with their threat gone. The smaller of the two looked into the ally and met his eyes causing the red banded turtle to stiffen even though he knew he was well hidden in the darkness. The woman smiled at him with love and warmth leaving him utterly confused.
"Don't worry Tyler, it's ok. You don't have to hide," she said.
Raph relaxed but was still confused as to why the woman thought he was Tyler.
"Mom, I'm right here," one of the children pipped up.
The woman looked over to her son shock and confusion evident on her features and that's when Raph decided to make his leave. Crouching back on the rooftop, he watched the women converse though their words were out of hearing range. Raphael followed them back to where they lived surprised to find that they lived next to April and Casey.
He then realized why they looked so familiar. The two women had been in the shop before talking with April and Casey on occasion and they also owned the sandwich shop next door that they often ordered from. But Raphael had no idea either woman had children.
He went back to the Lair content with New York's safety for the night, but the two women still plagued his mind. He knew how much force it took to knock a full-grown man off his feet like that, break his nose, and leave him unconscious. Even he had trouble landing blows like that, but that small woman had done it effortlessly. Even if she was trained in martial arts, a solely offensive attack with that amount of damage should have been impossible, and yet she'd done it.
Usually, he would have let the thought go, but since they lived next to April it only made rise to more questions. Hell, he'd seen them before, heard April have conversations with the women, had even gone into their little shop when they weren't very busy after a run to get something to eat. But never once did he see two kids. He guessed they could have just been up in the apartment, but April and Casey had a couple kids near their age and they were good friends with the two women, but he'd never heard of the kids coming over to play.
As he reached the Lair entrance, Raph couldn't help but wonder if April knew. Donnie was the one who was good at solving problems and investigating, he wasn't. It just wasn't his thing. Raph preferred a more straight forward approach and anything that left him confused or stuck he'd leave behind causing him to run head on into battle and problems, but it was just the way he was.
So, he wondered why he couldn't let this go and forget about it, as he opened the entrance and walked into his strangely quiet home. The way the woman had looked him in the eyes with motherly affection and called the name of her child had left him more confused than anything and how surprised she'd looked to find her son right behind her. None of it making any sense was starting to give Raph a headache.
Jess shed the winter coat she was wearing and hung it on the closet by the door and went to help her son out of his layers, unable to stop the memories from earlier to come flooding back again. She'd been positive that Tyler was hiding in the alley even though she'd never seen him go by her, the eyes she saw were the same as her sons; a golden amber like she'd never seen before. That is until tonight. It would explain why the eyes in the ally had looked so confused when she'd called out to them.
It was just a fluke. Someone curious about what was happening. Maybe they had come to help, but when they saw that she had it covered, decided to just watch never meaning to catch attention.
She smiled at Tyler and he grinned back seemingly having forgotten about the events from earlier. "Honey," she started carefully gaining his attention. "It's ok to be scared," her serious tone caused his playful smile to fall.
"I know mom, but you can handle anything." Giving his mother a hug the young boy went off to play with his sister.
Lila laid a hand on Jess's shoulder giving it a small squeeze, "It's been ten years. You should relax." Lila's voice held the inkling of an accent, but her native language long ago lost to her along with nearly everything else about their former lives.
"I hate to keep them cooped up so much, but. . .I can't bare the thought of those people getting their hands on them. I—"
"I know," Lila cut her off smoothly. "I know, but surely you can see that they are happy with what they have. They desire nothing more." Lila knew that Jess fretted about the lives of their children. Still so many questions left unanswered—and would probably stay unanswered—along with any new ones.
Jess huffed, throwing herself into the worn leather sofa that mismatched the ancient floral print of the love seat next to it. "You think we'll ever be able to save up enough to move to the country?" she screwed her eyes shut desperately trying to remember the open pastures and rolling hill and endless forests that she and Lila traveled through on their way to New York.
There the children could be outside anytime they wanted and wouldn't have to hide. Why did they have to hide anyway, Jess wondered. Sure, they had never seen anyone who looked like Tyler or Chloe but that didn't necessarily mean they didn't exist. Knowing it was foolish to hope for such a thing she brushed the thought from her mind.
Jess opened her eyes after a moment, deep in thought. "Those eyes were just like Tyler's," she smiled wondering if it had been a trick of her mind.
"I did feel like someone was watching us the whole time. Not just during the fight, but before and after." Lila tapped her chin in thought not sure what to make of the situation, but also knowing there wasn't much they could do about it. The stranger was long gone now and would probably never return and if they did. . . Well, Lila didn't want to think about that. It had been ten years since they escaped and the thought of being found again sent a chill down her spine.
Worrying about it, though, would only cause Jess to fret more and that was something she didn't want.
"How about a movie?" she offered, trying to get her sister's mind off the topic.
Jess smiled and nodded glad for the change.
April stood outside her shop signing off on a new artifact that had just been delivered for a client. As the delivery men drove off, April kicked the dolly back slowly, knowing the artifact was both heavy and fragile. Heavy meaning it weight several hundred pounds and really she should have had some help moving it into the shop, but Casey was at work and it wasn't like the boys could just come out and help her.
Which meant April was left to do the job herself and it was going fine till she went to go over the ledge caused by the door frame where the box began to fall forward. She knew it would hit the ground and break the fragile artifact inside it completely destroying it.
But it never hit the ground. For a moment, it leaned precariously before it was pushed back gently and without much effort.
April stood there shocked wondering what magnificent force had saved her artifact from certain doom.
From behind the box a familiar head peaked around and smiled, "Hey April, where's Casey when you need him?"
April's face fell into shock at seeing the young woman behind the heavy box. She knew Jess and Lila and had never suspected anything of them, but after her conversation with Raphael and now with Jess catching the box that most certainly should've crushed her, she couldn't help but wonder if the kind, smiling woman was hiding something.
Realizing she had been quiet far too long April answered, "Casey's at work so I'm by myself." She spoke just a little louder than really necessary so that the boy's upstairs would hear her.
Together the two women easily moved the large packaged into the shop where April could unload it and contact the client.
"Thank you, Jess. You really saved me back there."
"Oh, no problem. Always happy to help," the younger woman grinned before leaving.
April watched the young woman disappear into her shop next door wondering what it was the woman was hiding. April thought for a moment knowing the seemingly normal women were hiding the fact they had two children, for whatever reason, but that was the only thing she knew for certain.
"See what I mean?" Raphael asked as he stepped out of the dark shadows of several boxes in the corner.
April jumped slightly not realizing he was there, but nodded all the same. "I was having a heck of a time with that box and she just. . .caught it! Like it was nothing," April huff, more that a little miffed by the woman. Then she realized the youngest of the four was missing. Leo and Donnie weren't around at the moment having 'things to do first' but Raph and Mickey had come by to help her move some of her things around. "Where's Mickey?"
"On the roof. Said he wanted some fresh air," he waved his three-fingered hand not really caring what his brother did till he came barreling down the stairs, phone extended in his right hand.
April stepped defensively in front of the artifact as Mickey came running at them, not wanting to test fate for a second time today. The orange banded turtle skidding to a stop in front of his brother and their best friend shoving the photo on his phone into their faced.
Raph was about to smack his brother's hand away then he saw the picture and instead snatched the phone for himself. "No fucking way," he breathed in disbelief. He assumed these were the kids he's saw yesterday, well not that he had really seen them since they were bundled to the t, but now he understood why.
"Oh my God," April stammered as she looked at the photo of the two children playing on the rooftop of their home. "I can't believe this." The older woman rested against the shop counter and tried to wrap her head around what she'd just seen.
"What should we do?" Mikey asked, gently taking his phone from his older brother. Seeing his brother frown he elaborated, "We can't just leave it. They're mutant's too."
Raph supposed Mikey was right for once. This wasn't something they could let go easily.
"Maybe we should talk to Leo first," April offered, not wanting the brothers to run into this delicate situation.
"Good idea April, he should be here soon actually."
"Who will be here soon, Mikey?"
"Leo!" Mikey jumped and sent a glance to Raph before talking. "Look at this," Mikey said before tossing the phone to his older brother watching his expression carefully. It was just what he expected: utter shock. Which led him to retell his story about seeing the two children and for Raph to tell his encounter with the two women.
With all the evidence laid out on the table and Donnie arriving and being filled in they waited on Leonardo to make a decision.
Leonardo thought long and hard unable to pull his eyes for the picture of the two children chasing each other on the roof next door.
"For now," he started carefully, making eye contact with each of his brothers, "we do nothing. Not till we know more." He was surprised to find that none of his brothers opposed.
The girl in the photo with bright blond hair and a cheerful smile caught his eye and he couldn't help but wonder how it was possible.
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