Raphael stopped by to visit May almost every night. For some reason, she always felt better when he was there, as opposed to the usual annoyance she had with anybody's company.
About a month and a half after Raphael had first returned, he disappeared again.
It was driving May crazy.
She had become so accustomed every night to coming home, doing homework (or what little homework she perceived as important), eating supper and then returning to her room to find Raphael either at the window or already in her room.
Over a week passed before that familiar red-masked hotheaded turtle reappeared at her window. May hugged him, which surprised her as much as it did Raphael.
"Where have you been?!" May demanded, distracting from the awkward moment.
Raphael sighed, and sat down on the bed, looking tired, upset, and a little sick.
"A-are you okay?" May asked, worried.
Raphael shook his head. "My... Father... He's been gone for over two months... I'm worried about him. We all are."
"What's he look like? Maybe I can help." May offered.
"A huge rat."
May rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah. That's something you never see in New York. Big rats."
Raphael glared at May for a second, but then his face softened, as though he was too tired to be mad at May.
May thought. She was sure she hadn't seen any rats like that. Any that were bigger than usual, anyway.
"I don't think I've seen anything like that..."
"I didn't expect you to." Raphael turned to leave.
"Wait, you're leaving already?" May was disappointed, more than she would admit.
"Yeah. Maybe I'll be able to find something." Raphael climbed out the window.
May watched him leave and sighed, closing the window and curtains. She looked around her dark bedroom. Her lonely jail cell. As dreary as any jail cell. It was made more so for May because she had never and could never trust her parents, and her only friend in all the world could only visit her at night, and only for a little while at a time before he had to leave again.
She flopped onto her bed.
"I'm going to go insane soon."
Raphael looked around the city, and finally, after five or maybe six hours, climbed up the Chrysler building.
"DAAAAAAD!" He shouted, and then sat in the dark, cold silence, no sound but for the echo of his cry and the usual city sounds; honking horns, police sirens, somebody's car alarm in the distance...
Raphael didn't know why, but the last two made him think of May. May Rose Jones, delinquent daughter of April and (ugh) Casey.
Raphael allowed a small smile, thinking about the girl. It was ironic. Her father was a cop, she was the kind that he hunted down and stopped, the kind Raphael would normally beat unconscious and tie up for the cops. And yet, Raphael allowed himself to admit, she was his best friend.
After an hour or so of being lost in his own thoughts, Raphael headed home, tired, hungry, and cold. It was a chilly night, and he was shivering with cold.
Raphael suddenly stopped, noticing something interesting. A break-in.
"Well, I got time." He shrugged, jumping down to the alley.
The thugs weren't hard, and Raphael barely broke a sweat. He was tying them up when he noticed a microchip in the pocket of one.
He took the chip and finished tying up the thugs, making his way home.
"Hey, Geek! I got you a present." Raphael tossed Donnie the microchip, and went off to the kitchen for some pizza, assuming Mikey hadn't eaten it all.
"Hi, Shell-brain. Got any left?" He asked, sitting next to Mikey, who was trying to shove three consecutive pieces of pizza into his mouth. Mikey pushed the pizza box toward Raphael.
As Raphael was about to bite into his second slice, Donnie started shouting, startling both Raphael and Mikey and causing them both to drop their pizza.
"Raph! Leo, Mike! Get in here, guys!"
Raphael and Mikey ran for the lab. Leonardo was already there.
"What?" Raphael growled.
"Where'd you get this chip?" Donnie asked.
"It was in the pocket of some guys that were robbing a place. Why?"
"Because this thing is full of information on a gang called... The Purple Dragons. They're hunting... May Rose Jones. Isn't that April and Casey's kid?" Donnie asked.
"Yeah..."
"They're going to try breaking into her apartment. Tonight!" Donnie gulped.
Raphael clenched his fists. "That's what they think. Come on, Donnie. Let's go."
The two turtles raced each other to the apartment complex. Raphael tapped on May's window.
No answer.
Come on! Please... Raphael thought, tapping a little louder.
Finally, the curtains and window opened.
"Tap any louder and you'll wake the whole household." May smirked.
"Yeah, well, we have bigger problems." Raphael entered the window, Donnie right behind him. May cocked her head in question when she saw the second turtle.
"Donnie, can you get that thing off?" Raphael asked.
Donnie kneeled down in front of May. She sat on the bed and lifted the ankle, making it easier for Donnie to work.
The genius turtle scrutinized the band. "Yeah, but I'll need a laptop, an empty USB, and a flat screwdriver." He nodded.
"My PC's on my desk, I have three USB sticks in the box next to it. My toolbox is in my closet on the top." May pointed out the objects.
Raphael grabbed the toolbox as May logged Donnie into her computer. Donnie started creating a program and putting it onto the USB, which he then plugged into the band around May's ankle. The stick beeped twice, meaning the program was a success. Donnie then used the flat screwdriver to pop the band open, which he then clipped around the waist of one of May's teddy bears.
"Okay, first we get you someplace safe, then we call April and Casey and explain." Donnie explained.
May nodded, following the turtles out the window. Her leg was red and sore, as she had predicted. She looked over her shoulder back at the apartment complex and smiled.
Ah... Freedom. She thought, chasing after Donatello and Raphael.