The Nightwatcher's sidekick
Chapter 1: Late run
Raphael growled at nothing in particular and took a swing at the old punching bag hanging in a corner of the family dojo. The bag took it like any other abuse the red wearing turtle would normally throw its way. Two more strong punches and the chain rattled. The aggressor paid it no mind and continued his assault. He grunted and delivered a roundhouse kick, making the heavily patched bag swing. He punched it again and it went higher.
A soft noise echoed in the dimly lit space and he instantly spun around, ready to attack whatever was trying to sneak behind him.
"Easy Raph. It's just me" an olive green, humanoid turtle spoke, his hands raised in defense.
"What do ya' want, brainiac?" the older turtle growled, scowling at his brother. Donatello gulped a little, lowering his hands and taking a few steps forward. Raphael snorted at his brother's shy approach. Normally he wouldn't condemn Donnie for acting like that; it was just his nature to be shy. But now, with Don being the new leader of the gang, even though he was younger and not as skilled a fighter as himself, Raph was not as willing to cut him some slack.
"I just wanted to talk" Don said in his soft voice. The red turtle snorted again turning back to his punching bag, refusing to acknowledge the tiredness in his brother's eyes.
"What's there ta' talk about" he spat, punching the old bag. He did not want to look at Donnie. He didn't usually get this mad at his younger brother. This was usually reserved for his elder, Leonardo. But good old Leo had decided to take a vacation down South and leave the family on its own. He had thought it a stupid idea in the first place, but what really ticked him off was that he had been overlooked when it came to choosing a replacement for his older brother's position.
"Raph…" he heard Don's voice calling him, but he just growled, not turning around.
"It's not fair" he angrily thought, while kicking the sack. "I'm older…" he struck the old bag "…faster…" a series of rapid punches "… and stronger" a powerful roundhouse kick made the chain rattle and the bag swing violently.
"Raph, please..." his tone was a bit harsher and Raphael growled, realizing that his brother was trying to emulate Leonardo's tone. He spun around, his anger boiling.
"What!?" he barked. If he hadn't been so angry, he would've given Donnie credit for not flinching at his outburst. Instead the younger turtle opened his mouth to continue talking. But the red warrior decided that he had had enough of his purple clad brother.
"It's been two months, Donnie! Two freakin' months!" he shouted in his brother's face. "I'm sick of this! I can't stay cooped up in here 'till old Fearless decides he's had enough vacationing and drags his shell back home!"
"Raph, Leo's training…" Don started but his older brother would have none of it.
"He's training, my shell!" he barked. "He was training just fine, right here. But nooo, it wasn't fancy enough for mighty Leo" he made a face and he could clearly see Don's disapproving look. That only made him angrier. "Well I for one don't need no Leo to lead me around" he growled, walking past his brother, towards the door.
"Raph!" he heard Don call behind him. "Where are you going?"
"Where d'you think I'm goin'?" the red turtle spat, not bothering to look behind him.
"Wait, Raph!" he heard his brother moving towards him. "You can't go topside! Master Splinter…" but the purple turtle didn't get the chance to finish his sentence.
"Tryin' ta' fill Leo's shell, Don?" he bitterly laughed, throwing his temporary leader a nasty look. He almost smirked, seeing his little brother uncomfortable. Donnie didn't like being leader any more than Raph liked being led. But the red turtle was in no mood for sympathy and he stormed out of the room.
He made a bee-line towards the exit of the lair, sparing just a few seconds to throw his youngest brother a dirty look when he asked where he was going. He slammed the door behind him and headed for the nearest manhole.
The sun had almost completely set in the bustling city. But even at night, New York was alive as ever and as ignorant as ever to what lurked in the shadows. It was unusually cold for the late summer date.
The dark figure sighed, allowing itself to relax on the roof of a well-lit building. It was a popular hotel; a familiar place. It was usually the finish point for the old ninja hide-and-seek games he used to play with his brothers.
He had run on the rooftops of New York, finally stretching his muscles in the open air. He had been terribly mad when he left the lair. He was still a bit irked at his brother's feeble attempt at bossing him around. But the anger had subsided in the cold breeze, as he concentrated on his exercises. He had scared off a few kids trying to set fire to some garbage, but otherwise things had been quiet.
The cool wind made the ends of his mask swish gently, caressing his hard shell. He was not worried that the red color would draw anybody's attention. People tented to look straight ahead; not sideways, not back and not up. It was a useful habit for him and his brothers. It made sneaking around the "City that never sleeps" much easier. Not that they needed it: they were all very good at stealth; maybe with the exception of Mikey and his big mouth.
He stared at some of the people down on the street. There were many cars stopping right in front of the hotel. The owners would get out and some hotel employee would take the car to the parking lot. There must've been some kind of party going on. He fixed his gaze on a man that was just getting out of his car. He was a tall, well-built fellow, dressed in a black suit. The turtle noticed that some of the women seemed to immediately gravitate towards him. He watched him confidently stride past the women until he passed through the main entrance.
His brown eyes then moved to a couple walking hand in hand. The woman, a red-head, was slightly leaning on the man. She was laughing, probably at something he had said. He scowled, a bitter feeling swelling within him. He remembered just how much he hated watching normal people: they were so care-free, so ignorant, so… normal. But they were also scared and hostile towards whoever wasn't just like them, even a little bit.
A low growl escaped his large mouth. They were the whole reason why his brothers and he had to constantly hide beneath the city. And he hated it. He loathed the look of pure terror that the humans had in the few occasions when they caught a glimpse of them. He was sick of their screams. Even after he would save their sorry asses from some other humans, he was still the monster.
"Bastards…" his gruff voice muttered as his eyes tore away from the laughing couple. His ears suddenly picked up a familiar sound: sirens. A police car sped up the street and he smirked, hoping that there'd be some thugs left for him. In a few seconds he was at the other edge of the rooftop and he leaped forward, smoothly landing on the neighboring building.
He tailed the police car, relishing in the feeling of the wind against his rough, green skin. He only spared a moment to feel sorry for his younger brothers, still cooped up in the lair and another to curse his elder for leaving and thus enforcing the stupid restriction on them. His thoughts quickly refocused when he saw the police car stopping in front of a jewelry store.
He leaped on a nearby building to get a good view of the scene. Two men in uniforms quickly got out of the vehicle as two other cars stopped in front to the store. The operation seemed to be going smoothly as the cops got four men out of the building. He watched as they started to cuff the thugs, but just as the smaller cop was reaching out for one of the men, the guy made his move, slamming his elbow into the officer's nose and grabbing his weapon in one fluid motion. Raph's body shot up, his hands moving to his sais.
The guy grabbed the slender cop and pointed the gun at his head, shouting something to the other cops, who already had their weapons pointed at him. Raphael used the fire-escape on the side of the building he was on to get to ground level as fast as possible. He strained his ears to hear what was going on. The thug with the gun was demanding that the others be released.
The turtle's feet hit the ground with a soft thud and he wasted no time getting to the corner of the building. "Ah… shell" he muttered, seeing the cops start to give in to the crook's demands. Two of them were already lowering their weapons. Rushing there was not an option; he didn't fancy being shot at by the people he was trying to save. Two more lowered their guns, taking a few steps back.
"Stupid" he growled as he grabbed a rock, aiming for the thug's head. He took a quick look at the last man who hadn't given in. There was both fear and determination on his face. Raphael wasted no more time and threw the rock with all his might. The projectile nailed the thug right in the head, knocking him out. The skinny cop bolted before the man's body touched the ground.
The situation seemed to naturally fix itself as the other officers quickly grabbed the men that were still conscious, shoving them in the cars. Two of them grabbed the one that Raph had knocked out. The one that had not lowered his gun was looking around, curious about who had helped them. He had seen the rock and was trying to figure out where it came from.
Raphael had to hide, to avoid being seen. He punched the wall in frustration. He hated sneaky attacks. He was a direct fighter. He also hated having to hide from the people he just saved. It just wasn't right.
He heard footsteps coming his way. He rushed to the fire escape, disappearing before the officer could reach the corner of the building. Once on the rooftop, he grabbed one of his sais, and embedded it in the concrete with a furious cry.
"Idiots" he growled, kicking the air. He tore out the sai and took off. He didn't want to be there anymore.
He wasn't really thinking where he was going. He was mad, really mad… as if Leo had just hyped up his 'leader routine'. He did a somersault and smoothly landed on top of an old building. His brain barely registered that he was getting close to Purple Dragon territory. His legs moved, almost on their own, but stopped as his ears picked out something out of place.
"No…" it was a soft voice. He frowned, trying to identify to source. He picked up a coarse laugh. "Oh yes, doll". That was all he needed to hear and his anger quickly redirected. In less than 5 seconds he was looking down at a small, brunette girl cowering from five guys that looked like they were Purple Dragons.
A large guy with purple dyed hair moved towards the girl, grabbing her small arm, yanking her to him. Her scream covered the sound of Raphael's landing. She managed to kick the purple haired man in the shin, which made him loosen his grip enough for her to pull away. Her victory was short lived, however, when a bald guy grabbed her from behind. She screamed and thrashed in his arms, trying hard to hit him anywhere.
"Let me go!" the girl yelled as the purple haired man approached her. But the guy never made it to her, because a large, green figure crashed into him, sending him flying in a bunch dumpsters. Weapons suddenly appeared in all hands. The girl screamed as a blade was pressed against her neck while the bald guy's grip tightened. She watched as the new figure grabbed his attacker's chain and yanked it from his hands.
"Watch out!" she yelled, seeing a man with a bat approach him from behind. "Aaaa!" she screamed when her captor pressed the blade harder to her neck, drawing blood.
Raphael jumped out of the way, quickly evading the other thugs, to get behind the one holding the girl. Before he had time to react, the turtle delivered a powerful blow to his back, knocking him out. He held the guys body just enough so the girl could escape. She crawled away, shaking violently.
"Where ya' goin, doll?" a rough voice said and she screamed as a man wielding a chain stalked towards her. She pulled herself backwards, her small hands searching the ground for anything that could help her. The body of the guy who had held her fell right beside her. She sobbed, terrified.
Raphael jumped in front of her, his sais ready. But the faint light and the proximity made his figure clear to the girl and she screamed, her eyes wide with fear. He turned his head to her and felt anger swelling up in his chest. That fear again.
Suddenly, pain exploded in his head and he lost balance. He thought, for a moment, that his body would give in to the force of the blow. His brain vaguely registered the guy holding the chain that hit him. He dodged a baseball bat that was coming his way, but he couldn't see the chain lashing out at him again.
The chain connected to his legs, making him yell in surprise and pain. He lost his footing and felt a hard, metal object connecting to his head again. This time he fell, barely registering his own scream. He had dropped one of his sais.
His brown eyes searched his surroundings. His vision was blurred, probably from the two hard blows his head took. He could see four large figures advancing his way. He could make out the one with the chain. There was no sign of the girl.
"Let's teach Mr. Freakshow here a lesson, boys!" a rough voice spoke. It was quickly followed by approving laughter. Raphael growled, knowing that he'd have some nasty bruises in the morning.