RIGHT CONCENTRATION

Even after the first couple weeks at Justice Force Headquarters, the crime alert sirens still shook me. I snapped out of bed in shock, sure to grab my cape and weapons on the way out of my room. Had Nano never heard of a "silent" setting for that late at night? Did superheroes not need beauty sleep too? Maybe Nobody; on late night trips to the bathroom down the hall, I'd seen Nobody's door open, with Law Abiding Citizen somehow on the TV every time I'd looked in. Maybe all the veterans around here are used to the blaring horn and flashing lights that went off anything larger than a gas station robbery went down in the city, but I was the freshest hero in the house by a good number of months. Every time, it still gave me a heart attack.

If Donnie were around, I'd ask him if being prone to heart attacks is genetic. That'd probably be followed up with asking him if we're genetically related to Splinter at all. Our dad had faced the gnarliest of foes and opened countless cans of whoop-ass for as long as we knew him, and yet, after that fateful morning about three months ago where the regular whistle of his teapot hadn't woken us up, Don told us that the greatest ninja since the passing of Hamato Yoshi was sent to meet his master again by something as small as a heart attack. After all his years protecting us, there was nothing we could do to protect him. It's still tough to accept that, but I don't think any of us took it as hard as Leo did.

"Turtle Titan, Raptarr, we've got a burning building full of people to save between Five Points and Chinatown." Silver Sentry shook me out of my reflections for a second, but I spaced back out just as quickly as he briefed us on the details. It's a really bad habit of mine, always has been, spacing out and getting caught up in my own thoughts, even as we took to the streets for a challenging mission. It's only gotten especially bad since Splinter passed away. I was the one who knocked on the thin paper door to his bedroom, and peeked in first when he didn't answer. The image of how still he was, how at peace he looked…it sticks with me.

Silver Sentry and Raptarr were in full flight, and I hit the rooftops, grappling hook in hand. Up ahead, smoke was curling off the roof of the high-rise like the sticks of nag champa Splinter used to burn almost non-stop in the lair. Truth be told, I hadn't even seen incense since The Ancient One brought some from Japan to "purify" the lair when he came to take Splinter's body. The only one of us who was really ever as into it as Splinter was Leo, and he left even before that. None of us ever felt the urge to burn any after than; it just wouldn't be the same.

Perched across the street from the burning building, I took a few seconds to examine what happened. The fire must have started in the penthouse, because it hadn't spread more than three or four floors down from the top. The fire department seemed to be getting most people out of the rest of the building, but it was up to us to make sure no one was left in the flames. This wasn't the first fire in town since I joined up with the Force, but it was the first one I was on duty for. Seeing the shrapnel of the top floors scattered in the streets, the silhouettes rushing onto the street in the flashing lights, it was a lot for a rookie like myself to take in, even having seen what I'd seen with my brothers. Any major loss of life still gives me the creeps, no matter how many times I've lived through it.

The rush of air slapped me back into focus as Silver Sentry and Raptarr flew overhead and into the open wall of the top floor. Being a superhero and fighting alongside the Justice Force was like living in a comic book, a dream come true, but the vibe of doing what I did without my brothers behind me still felt off. Sure, Silver Sentry was the public face of the Force, and Metalhead was a veteran leader, but it still felt like I was fighting alongside peers, not formed in a unit. After a lifetime of being trained to act as one part of a lean, green fighting machine, playing the part of the Turtle Titan left me feeling unsure of myself.

As my fingers traced over the rope and hook on my belt, I remembered the final rematch of the Battle Nexus, Splinter prepping me for what would be my championship win.

"I'm nervous, sensei. If I mess up once…it was all for nothing."

"There is no point in entering a battle with your body if your mind is not also present, my son." He chided me. "This is why meditation is just as important a part of your training as combat is. All you need to do to win is focus."

I drew in a deep breath through my nose, letting it linger before gently pushing it out through my mouth. The crackling of the burning building and crumbling of walls and ceilings was all my mind registered, as I whipped the grappling hook and swung myself up to the inferno. Landing gracelessly, I noticed the building wasn't laid out like a usual high-rise. This penthouse floor was a wide-open space, full of tables covered in shattered glassware and smashed computers. Underneath one of the tables, a man huddled himself into a ball, trying to filter the smoky air through the once-white fabric of his lab coat. Giving him a rough shake, he grabbed my hand, and I waved Raptarr over, who scooped the man up and darted out the window to carry him to safety.

Hunching over to get a better view of the floor, I heard a thundering crunch from behind me, and rolled forward to see a support beam had crashed through the wall only inches away from where I stood. The collapse threw a cloud of ash into the air, and I pulled my mask off my head and tied it around my nose and mouth like a bandana. Still, the smoke and heat burned my eyes, so I spotted a hole in the floor and pounced down to the next level. Here, the air was a bit clearer, and I spied a few more survivors under the lab benches and in the cabinets along the walls. Carrying one in my arm like a groom on a wedding day, I lobbed the grappling hook one floor up and tried to pull us up. The beam it wrapped around collapsed like a twig, crashing through the ceiling above us and wrecking the floor next to me. Throwing the man to a safe distance, I tucked myself into my shell like a cannonball and braced to hit the floor below me.

That floor crumbled like papier-mâché too, and when I finally came to, I dizzily looked up and saw I was four stories down from where I entered the building. Here, the fire didn't rage quite as hard yet, but I noted my unexpected entry brought a heap of burning rubble down with me. The door to the stairs was left open, telling me whoever was on the floor hopefully left when they became aware of the fire. Brushing the ash off my cape, I dashed toward the stairs and ran up, hoping to catch Raptarr or the Silver Sentry so I could make a quick escape. Not wanting to leave anyone behind, I kicked open the door to the floor I had fallen through, watching pieces of wall and ceiling crumble as the fire spread downward. A glint of metal and a faint grunt from underneath a fallen pillar caught my attention before I turned back to the stairs. Squatting underneath its free end, I pushed the massive pole up and rolled it off my shoulders.

"You okay, mister…" I turned to see my own face looking back at me on his polarized visor and shiny steel armor. "…Nightwatcher?"

Not eliciting a response, I stifled my excitement at meeting the vigilante hero and wonder as to where he had disappeared to for the past few months. No point in fangirling when a building's collapsing around you. Struggling to get an arm under his weighty metal armor, I was barely able to throw him over my shoulder and make my way to the stairs, stretching my legs out to prepare them for the twenty-five story struggle down to safety. Not too adjusted to his weight, I tripped a bit and caught my step on the second step. His mask clanged on the ground behind me and dribbled down the stairwell like a bottle cap.

Thanks for reading! Sorry about how short these last two have been, but I promise the length will vary.

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