A/N: Thank's for your interest everyone! I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying it. Forewarning, this is just the beginning. Things will get even more interesting (hopefully) as we continue. ;P


Striking electric blue flashed through the dark corners of the alley as this ghost of a being continued to scout the area; a hunter waiting for the presence of their prey. The hypnotic orbs peered through the dense blanket of shadow in stoic immobility and with seemingly deadly intentions. The shimmer of icily erotic azure steadily grew closer to the edge of light and his lithe silhouette became ever the more visible. Cocking his head to the side, his posture stiffened in preparation, and the hunter's eyes quickly shifted to a white film of intense concentration.

Finally. Raphael was steadily growing closer. Leonardo could smell it in the air; a heady scent of grease, metal, sweat and heat. It was the same scent he'd pulled from the agreement papers he'd scrounged together after breaking into the old office building. The knowledge that his target was this close would have been more appealing to him had it not been for the fact that certain unwanted guests were here as well.

The mere thought of them sent a shiver of irritation through him. Their presence spoke of Shredder's own interest in Raphael; all of which did not bode well for Leonardo. These were high ranking assassin and their loyalty and skills did not come cheap. The Purple-Dragon bounty hunters he had come across beforehand were playthings compared to this lethal group - Foot Elite; a rarely seen yet very powerful branch of assassin that had trained to go beyond their own limitations.

Shredder seemed to provide something of greater worth for them to remain under his command for so long. The Shredder was known to be a cruel Master, yet it seemed that he maintained a particular form of respect from and for these warriors. Perhaps it was this rare affiliation that kept them by his side, or perhaps they had been given certain wealth that could not be exceeded by any other interested party. Then again it could be the fact that any other client who'd wished to hire them would mysteriously vanish; by Shredder's instruction no doubt.

The sudden crack of a motorcycle turning into the Sperm Bank's entrance alerted him to Raphael's final presence. A streak of red and green raced past him and Leonardo immediately shrank back into the shadows as he took his first look at the target; trying to glean some insight as to why this particular Terran was coveted by such high power.

Raphael was definitely on the larger side; his shell a thick montage of cracks and well worn grooves. It was a testament to his stubborn personality and masochistic attitude. He seemed to be the kind of turtle that initiated fights due to his conceited belief that he would remain otherwise unscathed; typical adrenaline junkie. Leonardo knew the type fairly well and it was safe to say that he wasn't overly eager to deal with such a nuisance.

Leonardo grimaced to himself as he took in the full physique of this turtle. Every movement managed to elicit the flex of muscle lining his body; emphasizing the broadness of his stature and endurance of strength. It would take more than a single butt to the head to throw Raphael off his game. This turtle's robustness was one to reckon with and would make things undeniably tricky. It was easy enough to discern that Leonardo would not be able to overpower him by mere strength alone, therefore other strategies would have to come into play.

Raphael cut the engine to his bike, and silence reigned once more; properly accentuating the chaos that would ensue soon enough. The flitting waver of shadowed movements caught his eye, but he stubbornly refused to acknowledge them at the moment; he'd have to deal with them soon enough as it was. Instead Leonardo chose to lean against the opposite building, with a laziness that proved to be deceiving, before he continued his silent observation. Raphael wore nothing fancy, and the leather riding jacket he'd donned was snug enough to make him look intimidating without even really trying. Dark jeans accompanied a pair of black boots; screaming the whole bad boy persona Leonardo thought Raphael was trying to go for.

The unsuspecting turtle proceeded to take off his helmet, and Leonardo narrowed his eyes as he took a quick moment to memorize Raphael's facial features. After taking into account what he'd seen already, it was more than likely that he would have no trouble keeping note of where Raphael went. After all one should know a turtle if one is a turtle. Leonardo allowed himself a humorless smirk; mirth really wasn't in his vocabulary - if at all.

However, habit had him cataloging personal possessions and identifying marks for later retrieval. It had always come in handy when tracking down targets that tried to go into hiding; desperately trying to obscure their features enough to pass off as someone else. Little did they realize that Leonardo always found what he was looking for. He had this unerring habit of always getting what he wanted. It was this skill that had made his services coveted back before the incident occurred. A sudden weight seemed to settle over his shoulders and Leonardo angrily refused to allow those thoughts to cloud his mind. Instead, he refocused his efforts back on his current target.

Raphael was a dark hue of forest green; the color somehow adding to his intimidation factor and looming presence. His arms and plastron mimicked the theme of his shell -considering the amount of visible scars that lined their surface; proving that he was a fighter by heart. His height surpassed Leonardo's by a few inches - and by the amount of bulk lining his body - had a couple pounds on him as well.

Then Raphael finally took off his helmet, allowing Leonardo an un-obscured view of his facial features. He hadn't know what he was expecting to find really. Perhaps a hideous expression with a single lazy eye, or a severe lack of teeth. None of these things were true of course, but he was somewhat intrigued to find the terrapins features to almost be - handsome; at least handsome enough for a mutant turtle.

A red mask was fitted about the upper half of Raphael's face, yet that did nothing to hide the strength in his expression or musculature of his jaw. The mask seemed to even highlight the golden glow of his eyes. Further inspection showed that his face wasn't free from scaring either. A single stretch of marred flesh rose up from the corner of his mouth; leading to the toothpick that rolled aimlessly around Raphael's mouth.

A sudden shift in stance allowed Leonardo to make out the tail end of a tattoo curling about the edge of Raphael's Adam's apple; the dark ink flexing and flowing with each reflexive move his throat made. Raphael turned away from his bike and effectively hid the rest of the body art before Leonardo could make any sense of it.

However this movement revealed another decorative side of Raphael's appearance, and Leonardo's gaze immediately caught the sight of something shiny. A set of four silver rings interlaced with a blood red were hooked about the helix of Raphael's ear; a single metallic stud at the lobe finished off the look.

The unique style matched a heavier chain that carried a peculiar pendant along the hollow of his throat. It was a small recreation of an empty silver shell of a turtle which seemed to be used as a crude sheath for a single dagger; thin teardrop rubies creating an illusion of blood along the blade. Fingers suddenly obscured the sight of such an intricate design before they deftly worked to pop the chain safely under a muscle shirt.

The forest green Terrapin suddenly swung his gaze in the direction of Leonardo and he quickly dropped into a low squat. Leonardo held his breath at the distinct severity of those golden irises; fingers twitching as a flutter of unease swept through his gut. As soon as the other turtle's attention reverted elsewhere, Leonardo relaxed and comfortably leaned his weight against the knuckles braced against concrete.

Leonardo's gaze flickered back upwards in slight curiosity. Normally he didn't take note of his targets other than how difficult they may be to bring in, yet there was something about this Terran that was different from the others - besides the fact that he was a mutant turtle of course.

No, this 'difference' was something else all together. Another sense of unease swept through him and this time it had nothing to do with the Elite lurking nearby. In all his years of service, Leonardo had come realize that sometimes different was dangerous; unpredictable and deadly. However, this notion did nothing to deter him from his mission. Nostrils flaring, and eyes narrowed in determination, Leonardo prepared himself for the oncoming blood shed.