Disclaimer: I do not own the Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles; I just like to use them as my puppets—and what good puppets they are.
Chapter 2— Turtle Vs. Raccoon
The returning brother's were in a stifled silence with their new comrade, Usagi, walking beside Leonardo. Each one mumbled something until Mikey, unable to endure the silence much more began spouting whatever thought happened to come to his mind. It lead to him describing in great detail to Usagi what his favorite type of pizza topping was. Usagi listened, more to humor him than actually care about cheese, pineapple, pepperoni, and whatever else Mikey mentioned.
Splinter felt the deadening silence even from the confined of his room, feeling overwhelmed stiffness of his sons enter he existed his room examining them and their friend, who's white fur stuck out rather painfully amongst the bright colors and green skin. Usagi bowed to Splinter who returned it in a greeting.
"Usagi-san, it is a pleasure to see you again. But I am concerned as to what brings you to my home?" asked Splinter casually, leaning on his staff for support.
"I have come with grave news, Splinter-san." Replied Usagi gravely, "I have heard news of those who wish to harm you son, Leonard-san."
Splinter's heart leapt and he stiffened slightly stepping off from his miniature pillar and down the steps towards the boys gathered before him. He reached out a hand for Usagi to continue his explanation, panic rising in his chest in hot agony.
"Please. Continue."
"The assassin chosen is a mockery to the Lord who hired her. A true Trickster, trained by herself to play pranks and run a muck throughout towns, and in return she steals their valuables while they are busy flustering over her." Usagi spoke harshly in description of the trickster woman, looking away from the aged Master and then back at him.
Splinter gave a soft thoughtful hum and his sons stirred finally, some leaning forward to see if Splinter would mumble something under his breath worth hearing, or to ask a question of their own worth answering.
"Do you think you know her, Master Splinter?" asked Donny warily, and Splinter shook his head in reply.
"She must be young. A young girl who knows not of what she does."
"Nor the damage she does to others." Usagi added in darkly, his fist gripping in annoyance. He had already been tricked by her once, returning the pouch to only see that the major jewel he was trying to retrieve was missing. A large diamond about the size of a quarter was taken, and ashamed Usagi had returned to the city to search for her, only to receive a couple of humiliating pranks pulled on him one right after the other. The worst being that he was well aware of the pranks being pulled, but had no recollection of any way to stop them!
"How will we find her?" asked Donny again, his voice tight with worry and concern.
"A help wanted sign?" guessed Mikey and with the glare he received from Raph he knew that was just a bad joke on his behave.
"We'll patrol the city tomorrow night and see what we find. Hopefully, she's nothing but a lot of talk." Leo snapped in a harsh tone looking to Usagi, who hoped the turtles could put up more of a fight with her than he managed.
"Get some rest." Splinter spoke, "Tomorrow we will see."
He looked to Usagi and made a gesture with his hand, "You are free to stay, should you find it fitting, Usagi-san."
Usagi bowed, placing his hands together towards Splinter.
"I thank you, Splinter-san."
Splinter turned and walked away into his room, the door shutting just in time for Mikey to give a loud and mournful yawn, stretching his arms high then lowering them, scratching his head.
"Well, since nothing else if going to happen. I'm gonna hit the hay." He declared grinning at them and gave a thumbs up turning around on his heels and walking a few steps before being shoved by Raphael. Donny snarled at Raph who simply shrugged and ventured out to his own room while the other two brothers discussed what their dinner should consist of.
Leo turned to Usagi while his brothers conversed of pancake and cheese toppings.
"You may stay in my room, if you wish." He suggested casually, "I wouldn't mind."
"I thank you, Leonardo-san."
"Pancake and pepperoni! Mikey, that's just gross!" snarled Donny interrupting Leonardo.
The shadows crept and moved along with the lone turtles that leapt from one side of the wall to the next. The four having split up while April remained back home with Splinter ready at stand-by. Donny kept communication between them with a new mini-microphone that attached to the front of their shells allowing easy communication between each of the brothers. Usagi's was attached to the front of his robes, he felt awkward with it, but it was stranger to hear another turtle's voice erupting from his chest- or a belch from Mikey.
"Ya see anything yet?" asked Leo anxiously jumping onto a fire escape and pausing to look around.
"I don't see anything yet." Replied Donny as he crouched on a building ledge about five blocks from where Leo stood.
"Raph?"
"Nope. Nothin'." Replied the elder turtle as he crossed over two buildings and landed looking behind him, "Maybe she ain't even here yet."
"For some reason, I seriously doubt that." Replied Leo, "If she's not here yet. We'll try again tomorrow. I wanna see what we're up against."
"How threatening could she be?" asked Raph in a shocked tone, "I mean, she can't be that bad."
"Don't always think someone's smaller by their reputation, Raph." Warned Donny, "We've been wrong before."
"Don't remind me." Whined Mikey as he flipped upside down before a dumpster, "I'm gettin' a whole lot of nothin' over here!" he chimed and swung himself back onto the fire escape.
"And I'm gettin' hungry!"
"You're always hungry!" Donny snapped angrily, Mikey giggled at the other end and Donny sighed in reply. He continued on his way, both brother leaping past one another once or twice. Each one coming in contact with even Usagi, who claimed the reason he never spoke in the microphone was because he didn't know how and preferred to be silent.
As Raph listened to Leo explain what was left to explore, he switched off his microphone now annoyed at listening to his brothers bickering and ordering about himself and others. He landed on a roof top and walked silently across it, feeling the rusted metal beneath his feet crinkle at a wrong step and the cars that drove down below. New York held a certain type of modern beauty that few understood or enjoyed. Raph found it irresistible, the loud sounds and the busy humans that ran about below the buildings edge. Always oblivious to what could possibly happen to them, and what was going on in other worlds unlike their own. God, would they spazz! How they would scream and shriek at the sight of Splinter, or at the sight of one of them coming to their unworthy rescue.
He smiled in spite of himself and looked up at the building across the street catching a glimpse of what he thought was Usagi jumping from one roof top to the next. Only problem was—Usagi didn't have a long tail. Driven by curiosity and confusion, Raph disappeared from sight to leap across the way and land roughly on the building, coming short and grabbing the edge of the building for dear life.
Hoisting himself up, he stumbled to find his footing and examined his surroundings. He didn't hear anything, and sure as hell couldn't see anything either. It was pitch black and nothing moved, nothing breathed but him and an unseen figure that was with him on the roof. Grabbing his sais he readied himself for whatever may happen.
"Show ya self, ya coward!" he snarled at the shuffling of feet and the softest twinkle of a bell.
"You don't sound so threatening with a Brooklyn accent." Came the reply of a female voice, soft and erotic coming from behind him. He spun around and felt his wrist tie together a force pulling him upwards flinging him to the ground. He groaned and pushed himself up feeling feet land hard against his shell forcing him downward again into the concrete roof top.
Not taking another chance, he leapt up and brought back his sais and felt an empty grasping in his left hand. Looking down he realized he was missing one, only holding his right one tighter and searched the dark floor feeling something wrap around his throat and pull him back, and his missing sais met his side threateningly.
"I thought you had katanas, not these little things." Teased the female voce by the side of his head.
"Let me go!" he snarled and grabbed the hand flipping the female forward and one her back before him. She flipped and kicked at his under belly, knocking the air from him sending him back. He crouched and returned his fallen sais brining it up in time to meet a katana blade.
In the dim lighting he allowed his eyes to adjust to the figure that knelt before him. A female, holding herself up on one knee and eyes narrowed beyond dark locks of hair. A long dark tail whipped behind her—wait—tail!?
"What are you?" he asked astonished.
"Pretty. What about you?" she replied and pulled back her blade with a skin crawling seething sound, bounding back onto her feet.
The girl was now in full view of the dim lighting New York provided, a female raccoon dressed in a tight yellow outfit that clung to her sides and hips. She flipped back with the blade in her hands, the tinkling of the bell heard again, her bushy stripped tail fanned with every movement Raph made.
"Well, aren't we cocky?"
"I could say the same to you, cutie-pie."
They stood before each other both waiting for the next to attack before a smirk curled itself onto her furred lips. Sharp teeth beyond her raccoon fur, she flipped her sword and placed it away.
"Seeing as how all your gonna do is stare at me. What's the point of me having my blade out? Its gonna get all rusty and gross from me waiting on you." She stated confidently standing straight and crossing her arms.
"Who are you?!" Raph snapped holding his stance still, sais at the ready sharp eyes pinned at the girl before her.
Her tail tapped patiently in the air like a clocks second hand ticking softly away, her arms crossed and standing elegantly before him trilling her fingers on her forearms. Her arms were wrapped from her palms down below her wrists, and her feet were wrapped from the calves down and around her feet. To her side was tied a yellow whip that matched her outfit, and a katana blade with a yellow hilt and ribbons dangling from the end.
"Now why would I tell you?" she asked and her hands dropped to rest upon her hips, Raph flinched dropping lower. She looked offended, placing a feminine hand to her busty chest.
"Why are you acting so uptight, cutie?" she asked in a mock-sweet tone, "I'm only asking why I should tell you?"
" 'Cus I asked, that's why!" Raph snarled in reply, "Keep your hand where I can see them! Or my Sais goin' straight at ya!"
"Oh, scary." She wriggled her fingers at him, "Well, you sound brave enough. Maybe you'll be more exciting the bunny."
The crack of a whip was heard and Raph's face stung on contact causing him to drop his stance for a millisecond then bring back his sais, wrist caught in the whip. The other left to meet the throat of the female attacker, her eyes glimmered joyfully her face caught up in a wicked grin.
"Oh, sexy. Do that again!"
"You're a lot of talk!" Raph snarled ignoring the comment and thrusted her away from him, only to have her rise up and kick his chest sending him back to the floor. Suddenly a weight landed on him and he opened his eyes to feel a hand at his throat and seeing his sia at the side of his head. The young woman blinked, knees pressed to his chest, pinning his arms to his chest, the one remaining sia pinned to the floor with the rest of him. He shifted slightly causing her to apply more weight down upon him.
"Wait a minute… Why is your mask red?... They said it was blue…" it sounded like she was talking to herself, but kept staring at Raphael in confusion while he struggled beneath her knees trying to reach for his remaining sai and get the raccoon girl off him.
"Get off me!" he demanded and felt his head meet concert as she thrust him down.
"Shut up! Where's the other one!?" she demanded pressing the sai close to his face.
"What otha one?!" Raph snarled at her turning away from the blade.
"Don't lie to me, Kame!" she roared at him and he felt her nails dig into his throat, he bit his lips shut and refused to speak further.
"Get off of my brother, you mongrel!"
Raph opened his eyes in time to see the raccoon girl go soaring through the air as Donny landed beside him.
"Raph! Raph! You okay?!" he cried desperately pulling his brother to his feet.
"Who you callin' mongrel!" snarled the female voice and Donny's bo met the feet of the girl and Raph's face met her fist.
"How many of you are there?" she asked and winced as a blade landed beside her, she bounced away and went flying again when another form kicked her in the back. She grabbed the ledge and swung around kicking at Raph who grabbed her foot and spun her around hitting a shed located on the roof top. The shed collapsed upon her with a shuddering gasp and shriek from her, as the many brother's crowded around her as the dust settled.
Leonardo landed before her first as she shook the dust from her fur and dark hair, which was tied back in a pony tail. She looked up at him and gasped slightly, then narrowed her eyes at him.
"Damn…" she swore and looked away, "I'm dead…"
"Trickster Rona!?" snarled a harsh voice from behind the brothers, the Raccoon shivered and flinched drawing herself out of the wreckage. Raph took the chance and grabbed her bushy tail forcefully; she squeaked and kicked his jaw. Donny jumped down and grabbed her arms pulling them behind her back, she kicked up and threw him off her Mikey jumping before her, and she drew back her fist for a punch. But Leo was faster, grabbing her fist and flipping her back onto the ground flat on her back, she laid still and sighed allowing her hands to fall beside her and onto her chest.
All four brothers and Usagi looked over her with disapproving glares.
"If it means I won't get hit again—I give up."