Sooooo...this is awkward. I know it's been a LONG time since I've updated. Schoolwork has been grinding my ass lately and I was buried in paperwork and personal issues. But I'm back and ready to get back into the groove of things. First things first, the elephant in the room, the corona virus. Where I live, they decided to close the schools for the remainder of the year. Of course, this puts a strain on our grades, exams, etc. So I'm still going to just with navigating everything since I have two exams approaching in the following months. However, my schedule is now more flexible with how I decide to study and catch up with work. Just bear with me and soon updates will be less sporadic and there will be no hiatus.

And now that I'm done rambling and spewing word vomit, here's the new chapter. Remember to wash your hands, exclude yourself from the general population that's crawling with the virus, don't be that asshole who buys all the water or food from the store, and whatever warnings for this virus.


"Well that's not a pretty face," Karai remarks, inhaling a Hershey bar. They sit on top of an abdanoned tire factory, sharing a bag of takeout food from a Chinese joint in Dragn territory. A bag of candies sits beside Karai, who is reaching for a piece of bubble gum flavored gum.

Leonardo pokes his fork on the general tso chicken, giving a one-shouldered shrug. "It's been a rough day," he mumbled, taking a bite of the meat. It tastes like sand.

She leans back, studying him for a minute; he's hunched over in himself, his eyes are pink in the corners, and he looks like utter crap.

"Something happen?" she asks. She doesn't care. She's only asking for intel. A way to track him and the turtles, hopefully to lead to the wretched rat that took her mother's life.

She tells herself she doesn't care.

A heavy sigh leaves his body, his shoulders rigid and tense. He twirls the soy sauce covered noodles, shoving them down his throat. "Today was hell. Casey almost died like nine times, Slash is calling himself a hero, Raph's mad, Jewel's mad, and I'm single."

Karai drops her Twix. "Wait, what?"

He shrugs. "We broke up. It was really bad, Karai. She called me names, I told her stuff she didn't wanna hear, it was just..."

"A shit-show."

"Maybe worse."

Karai lets out a silent whistle, puffing her cheeks before blowing into the wind. "That sucks. What happened?"

"Karai, I really don't wanna talk about it."

"Too bad. I do." For emphasis, she shifts herself, pulling her legs from swinging off the edge and lying down on her stomach. She props herself on her elbows, resting her chin in her hands. "Talk," she demands playfully.

Leo rolls his eyes, shoulders sagging in defeat. "Well, Raph and Casey were patrolling the streets, and they were chasing down the Kraang, but Casey was lagging behind..."


Earlier That Day...

Sweat trickled down his brow, his heart pounded in his ears, and his feet were beginning to ache something fierce. Casey Jones struggled beside his friend, Raphael, as they chased down several Kraang droids disguised as humans.

He loved the thrill of the chase, loved how serious and action-packed this experience was. Who could say they were chasing down alien brains alongside their turtle best friend? Casey Jones, that's who!

Raph let out a war cry as he crouched down low before leaping up high after a Kraang droid. "Move it, Casey!" he shouted as he swung his fist at the droid disguised as a human.

Casey let out his own war cry as he sprung after Raph. "You think I'm on a midnight strooooolll!" he shouted as he foot caught on one of the bars of the fire escape. The bolts loosened before they all collapsed.

Casey hissed when he fell face down on the pavement, tiny pebbles of gravel sticking to his sweaty skin like glue. He leapt back to his feet just as Raph did when they saw the droid getting away.

"They're getting away with the Plutonium. Can't lose 'em."

Casey panted as he tripped on a rock, accidentally knocking Raph down with him." Aw, crud."

Raph shot him an incredulous look. "Are you pulling my sai? Let's go!"

A gloved hand lifted to his mouth as he sat up on his knees. "I think I lost another tooth."

He scrambled to his feet and followed after Raph, skidding to a halt when he almost passed him in an alleyway. He saw his friend staring at something, coming into the alleyway, eyebrows disappearing into his hairline. What the...?

Despite himself, he hunched over in exhaustion, fighting to catch his breath as he stared at the sight before them. There was light smoke billowing from the wreckage of droids. One of humanoid bots had their heads smashed onto the brick wall of a building, body parts of the droids scattered across the ground, the case open. Magenta sparks cracked from their broken bodies, illuminating the alleyway in a faint pink glow.

"Woah..." Casey breathed in awe. "Wicked."

"Who could've done this?" Raph asked.

"And it keeps getting worse," Casey said, lifting his mask. "They took the plutonium. What do you think they need it for?"

Raph shook his head. "I don't know. But whoever it was, packed some serious firepower."

Up ahead on the building, a figure appeared on the ledge, eyeing the two down below. Slash narrowed his eyes, letting out a soft growl before he slunk away...

When they returned to the lair, Raph's frown turned into an irritated glare when he heard the sounds of his brothers playing on the pinball machine, rolling his eyes at their enthusiasm. Coupled with the missing plutonium and Casey almost jeopardizing the mission, the 'ding!' and 'ping!" of the game didn't lessen his sour mood.

"Great use of your time," he groused, turning heads as he hopped over the turnstiles, Casey simply walking through. "While somebody else is out there busting the Kraang's brains in."

"And that somebody wasn't us," Casey interjected. "We got other vigilantes out there going after those alien blobs."

The three stood in front of them, Donnie and Leo exchanging worried looks. Mikey looked nonplussed, folding his arms across his chest and giving a small shrug of his shoulders. "Sounds good to me. Less work for us."

Raph narrowed his eyes into slits, his vein protruding from his forehead. "It's not good. The Kraang stole Plutonium. And whoever took 'em down stole it from them."

Donnie rested his chin in his hand, looking away in thought. "Interesting. Maybe Shredder's going after the Kraang again?"

Raph shook his head. "I don't think these were Shredder's guys."

Mikey turned his body to the side and closed his eyes, as if deep in thought. "Ha! I know exactly who's behind this."

Raph lunged forward and Mikey flinched back when his brother glared at him with murder in his eyes. "You better not say squirrels with lasers again!" he growled. Mikey whined and stared down at the ground in disappointment.

Donnie turned to Leo. "So what do we do, Leo? Hunt down whoever's hunting the Kraang?"

Leo said, "I think we better blanket the area, keep an eye out. Raph and Casey, stick to the alleyways. Donnie and Mikey, you take the rooftops. I'll cover the sewers. We'll meet back at the lair at midnight." Everyone else ran off into their respective directors, and he turned and was about to sprint out into one of the tunnels.

Until a certain someone stepped out from the shadows.

His determined look morphed into one of annoyance, immediately crossing his arms. Jewel stood a few feet away from him, slurping on a red slushie and holding a few colorful shopping bags, sporting a pair of black shaded sunglasses. They had a gold tint to them when they caught the light.

Jewel stopped slurping the treat and blinked behind the glasses. "There was a raccoon—"

"No."

"There was a dog on fire in a tree—"

"No."

"I had a heart attack because of how much I love you."

"That's not even funny," Leo said bluntly, unimpressed. "Where have you been?"

Jewel scoffed, walking down the steps, setting the bags down on the bench. "Where have I been?" she repeated with a snort. "Jesus, Leo, you sound like my dad."

"Jewel," he warned, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Oh, for God's sake..." She rolled her eyes and slipped off the sunglasses. "I was down in Milan with my modeling agent. One of the models for some new fall line got hurt on a ski trip and broke her legs. I filled in."

"Why didn't you just tell me? You couldn't have picked up your phone for at least one minute?" Leo demanded.

Jewel shrugged, her hands buried in the bags as she fished for an item. "I bought you some tea. You like Taro, right?"

"You know I hate tea that's sweet."

She shrugged one shoulder. "I'll give it to Splinter, then. I think he'll like the bubbles."

His frustration began to boil. "Jewel, you're not listening to me," he strained, suppressing the urge to grind his teeth together.

"Well what the hell do you want, then, Leo?" she asked in a clipped tone, resting her hand on her hip. "I forgot. Excuse me, but unlike the rest of you, I have a life outside of the mutant world, including a career."

"I want you to at least tell why you disappear for days on end and wait at least like a month to call us. I'm worried about you!"

"I'm alive, I'm breathing, I'm safe." Jewel gestured to herself. "You don't need to worry about me. I can take care of myself," she said as she walked past him, bumping her shoulder into his slightly. Leo whirled around and glared at her, taking on his 'Leader' voice.

"Jewel, just come with me to the sewers so we can help track down whoever stole the Kraang plutonium."

Jewel whipped around and arched a brow high up. "Are you serious?"

"I'm your leader."

Silence filled the toxic air between them. They glared darkly at one another, out of frustration and concern, neither backing down.

Jewel was the first to cave, letting a disgruntled sound, her clenched hands cracking. "Fine," she said slowly, pulling off the orange floral printed scarf William gave her and grabbing her tanto. "Lemme grab my suit."

"Thank you," Leo muttered, his frustration simmering down as he chewed the inside of his cheek.

Unbeknownst to them, a green-eyed turtle narrowed his eyes as he watched Jewel walk back out in kunoichi garb, pulling her mask over her head. Raph grabbed the Sai he had forgotten and ran off back to Casey on the surface.


Raph left the issue with his brother's relationship in the backburner, his mind focusing back on the mission as he and Casey patrolled the alleyways. "You think you can keep up this time, Jones?" he asked, unable to keep the distaste out of his tone.

Casey whipped a glare at him. "What is your problem, Raph? The whole fire escape thing?"

Raph turned and spoke with his hands. "Face it, Casey, street thugs and robo-ninjas are one thing. But alien threats from other dimensions are a whole different ball game."

Casey jabbed a gloved thumb at himself, glaring in offense. "I took on a giant space worm single handedly."

Raph rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you were single handedly eaten by it."

Casey sputtered and frowned. "Have you ever fought living intestines? I don't think so!" he growled.

"Bottom line, you're in over your head on this one, Casey."

"Trust me. I might not have ninja training, but I've achieved a level of awesome, attainable only by Casey Jones," he said, pulling out his hockey stick and waving it around with small tricks as he spoke, before leaning against it and pulling down his skull face mask. "It's mystical."

Raph didn't look reassured, but the two continued with the patrol while the others kept eyes out.

Mikey and Donnie flipped across the rooftops as they searched for a potential lead. Mikey skidded to a stop on the ledge. "Whoa, dude," he breathed, gaining Donnie's attention. He pointed down to where they saw a pile of Kraang droid parts. "Check it out."

Donnie leapt down from the platform and stepped beside him, the two leaping down the edge. He sheathed his Bo staff away, kneeling down beside a droid. He pulled up his oddly shaped goggles, gaining a closer look at the robot. He carefully picked up the smoking hand, turning it over.

"You see this carbon scorching? They were taken out by plasma weapons of some sort, tech that's just as advanced as the Kraangs. We got to warn the others." He arched a brow when Mikey waved a Kraang droid head in front of his face.

"he Kraang is getting their Kraangs handed to them, by those who are not Kraang," he mimicked their voice before it whirred and Mikey yelped, dropping it when it glowed briefly and covering himself defensively.

Donnie face-palmed himself with the droid hand.

Down in the sewers, there was the sound of water dripping from the pipes, onto the sewage water. Leo held his flashlight while Jewel followed, her expression concealed by the black mask. She had her hood pulled up, decked out in all black with armor pieces around her chest, arms and shoulders and elbows. She made a small flame in her hand, smiling when it didn't burn off the glove.

Leo eyed her with an eyebrow lifted. "How many uniforms do you have?"

"The same amount of mission we have when they keep getting destroyed," she replied, stepping into another tunnel with him.

"Looks a lot like a Foot uniform."

She rolled her eyes. "It's a traditional kunoichi garb, Lion Boy, a lot of them look similar to the Foot. The bottom of it only looks similar to the Foot."

He sighed through his snout, making a noncommittal noise, before his eyes widened. They both walked into a tunnel with scattered pieces of destroyed Kraang droids, the alien blobs themselves gone.

"Whoever did this not only destroyed them, they obliterated them," Leo whispered. Something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, turning his head. He stepped closer and knelt down, grabbing a sharp chip and turning it over, flashing the light on it. His eyes widened in horror. "Oh, no."

Jewel approached from behind and peered at it. "Spike?"


"It's Slash now, remember?" Slash corrected his former owner, giving a small nod of his head. "Good to see you again, Raphael. Miss me?"

Raph frowned. "What are you doing here, Slash?" he demanded, hands ghosting to his Sais.

"We're taking care of the Kraang." He grinned. "I got a new partner now."

There was a small tremor, then red sparks, and a large mutant leapt on top of a car, blasters pointed at the droids with their own guns.

"Destruction to the Kraang!" the Newtrilizer roared, blasting them simultaneously.

Casey ogled, his eyes sparkling. "So awesome," he breathed, before Raph yanked him away. "Who is that?"

"An alien psycho called the Newtralizer." He pinned Slash with a glare. "What are you guys doing, Slash?"

"What you Turtles couldn't: Wiping out the Kraang." He readied his mace and charged at them with murderous intent, swinging it at a droid. "Keep outta the way!"

Raph glared, watching as Newtralizer pulled off the vans door off its hinges, storming into the van and grabbing the plutonium. Not good. "I'll take Slash and Newtralizer. While you hang back and get..." disbelief twisted in his expression when Casey flipped over him and skated towards the giant mutant. "Aw, Casey!"

"Goongala!" Casey charged but the newt shoved him away with his tail, knocking several yards away.

"Look out!" Raph jumped and shoved him out of the way from a Kraang blaster.

Newtralizer grinned maliciously as he sunk in the chemical into his wrist device. "Just what I was looking for. And now the Plutonium. Slash, we have what we came for."

Slash eyed Casey briefly in disdain, before smirking down at Raph. "See you got a new partner too, Raphael. A human? You gonna betray him the way you betrayed me?" he asked, an edge to his tone.

Raph narrowed his eyes. "Still holding on to the past, huh, Spike?"

Slash snarled. "I told you, it's Slash now!" He slammed his mace at Raph, sending him flying into a wall with metal pipes. Pain radiated across his body, particularly his stomach. His arm stung and Casey appeared at his side.

His eyes widened in alarm as he stared at the wreckage and smoke coming from the van. "Ooh! I think we're in deep trouble."

They took refuge back down in the lair, all gathered together in the kitchen. Casey groaned at the pounding headache he had, rubbing the sore spot gingerly. "My head. Raph, ice me."

Raph arched a brow, opening the fridge door. He heard Ice Cream Kitty mewl and she handed him an ice pack. He tossed it over.

"You should have never got involved, Casey. Slash and Newtralizer are way too powerful," he scolded his friend.

Jewel snickered under her breath, seated at the other end of the island. Raph glared at her.

Casey waved a dismissive hand. "Those two goons are nothing. They lucked out. Won't happen again."

"Let's focus, people," Leo said loud enough for all to hear. "We got two crazy mutants running around. Blowing up the streets."

Jewel's burner phone vibrated. She grabbed it from the pocket of her uniform, flipping it open. It was an alert from another client. She muttered an 'excuse me' and quietly left the kitchen, ignoring Leo shutting his eyes in frustration.

Raph eyed her disappearing form suspiciously. "I think we should shadow the Kraang until they show up."

"Easy," Donnie cautioned. "Since Slash and the Newtralizer are using Plutonium to power their teleportation, we can look for traces of residual radiation. Mikey, would you stop eating the Kraang locations?" he snapped when he saw his younger brother playing on the computer, his tongue poking out.

"Hold on, D I'm about to get the high score. Annnnnd...Ah! Aww!" he groaned. Donnie glared.

While the two bickered and Leo had to reiterate what their main focus was, Raph silently snuck away from the group. He crept around the corner, catching Jewel a few feet away, her tucked close to her ear.

She was speaking in Japanese, but he managed to pick up some information.

"Retrieving the shipment will be no problem," she said in her native tongue, unaware she had her own spy watching her from behind a pillar. Raph narrowed his eyes. "I can have it delivered to you by midnight. Yes, I will make sure to eliminate those who get in my way. I'll see you soon."

The phone flipped shut with a click, and Raph sped back to the kitchen before she could...


Present Time...

"So what were the Newtralizer and Slash doing during all this?" Karai asks, completely invested in the story. She had her feet up and swinging, her hands on her cheeks.

Leo makes a face. "What were they...? What? I don't know. How am I supposed to know that?"

"Well, for starters, if you're gonna tell me a good story, you gotta cover all the facts. Like, how did they meet?"

"I don't know. I didn't ask."

"Why not?"

"Because—" Leo sputters, and Karai smirks at how flustered and annoyed he looks. It's almost adorable.

She tells herself it's not that adorable.

"Because they're the bad guys? And also that I don't care?"

"Ooh. Sassy Leonardo," Karai raises her voice an octave higher. Leo huffs and rolls his eyes, beginning to stand.

"Wait, I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself," she says before he can leave, patting the spot he had vacated. "I wanna hear more."

He eyes her for a long minute, blue ocean eyes staring into golden ambers, distrust flitting across them. He slowly sits back down, eyeing her for another moment. And then he continues.

"So, anyways, we managed to find them at this empty warehouse. It was a bust, anyways, and Casey almost got killed...so it sorta led to a big fight..."


Earlier...

"Cool?" Raph echoed in disbelief, his eyes blazing with anger as he glared at Casey, who had almost been flattened by debris. You would've been flattened if it wasn't for me!"

Casey scowled. "I've done the same for you, Raph."

Raph lifted an eye ridge. "Oh, yeah? When was that?" he challenged.

"Like, dozens of times," Casey stammered, puffing his chest out slightly as he defensively crossed his arms.

"If you didn't slow us down, they would've never gotten away," Raph berated.

"Are you kidding me?" Casey snapped. "Why?"

Raph stepped closer, jabbing a finger at his chest. "You think this is a joke?"

Casey glared, pulling down his mask and turning around as he marched away. "You know what, Raph? Forget this. I'm outta here."

Raph folded his arms across his chest as he watched his friend storm off. "Good," he scoffed. "Just go."

"Good. I'm going!"

Leo held a hand out. "Casey, wait! Hold on."

It was too late by then. The teen boy had disappeared and all eyes turned on Raph. Leo glared at his brother, repressing a growl.

"What?" He shrugged carelessly. "If he's gonna act like a baby, I don't want his help."

Mikey shook his head. "Not cool, Raph. People have feelings, dude. Real squishy feelings."

"Well, I'm not people," Raph gritted out.

"Obviously," Jewel snorted, leaning against the ladder of the water tower, arms crossed. Raph slowly turned his head at her, eyes narrowing into slits, turning his body towards her, hands balling into fists.

"Oh?" he said as he began to storm over, ignoring Leo calling him out. "And like you're any better, Princess?"

"Raph," Leo called again.

Jewel raised a brow beneath her mask. "What are you on about, Meathead?"

He pointed an accusing finger at her chest, lip curling into a snarl. "I overheard your little conversation with your boss, Miss Merc," he bristled.

Jewel narrowed her eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she lied smoothly, smoothing her expression into a calm one.

"Don't play dumb with me," he growled, slapping Leo's hand away. "I heard you say you'll eliminate those who get in your way of the shipment. You're still taking those missions, aren't you?"

"Jewel," Leo said, brows furrowing. "What's he talking about?"

"Oh, you don't know? She's still taking those stupid missions for her little side job she said she quit," Raph said it loud enough for all to hear. "She's still a mercenary!"

Jewel blinked, nonplussed.

"Jewel," Leo said again, his eyes pleading. "He's lying, right? You're not...?"

The only sounds were the sirens wailing in the distance.

"A little bit," she admitted, ignoring Raph's triumphant 'ha!'

"I knew it," he breathed, green eyes blazing with rage. "I knew you never changed. A zebra never changes their stripes."

"What does this have to do with zebras?"

"You lied?" Leo breathed, eyes wide. "How...how could you? You promised me."

"It's called a fucking job, Raph!" Jewel snapped, teeth gritted, fists shaking, ignoring Leo. "It's not that big of a deal. I just..."

"You kill people for a living? You promised Sensei and Leo that you wouldn't anymore."

"Look, I've got bills to pay," she defended, ignoring the looks of betrayal the other three were giving her. She slapped Raph's finger away. "It's not like I enjoy it."

"Then why do you still do it, huh?" Raph demanded.

She gave him an icy glare. "I don't answer to anybody, especially you." She shoved her shoulder into his purposely, walking away.

"Dudette, where you going?" Mikey called.

"Away from him," Jewel called over her shoulder. Before she took another step, she was slammed onto the ground, Raph pulling her into a headlock.

"Raph!" Mikey and Donnie shouted in alarm.

"This is for lying to us and betraying our sensei!" Raph growled. Jewel bowed her head before slamming it into his nose. He staggered off and she unsheathed her tanto sword.

He rolled into a ready stance, his weapons unsheathed. The two glared at each other, venom in their stare off. But before they could charge at one another, Leo leapt between the two, holding his hands out.

"Alright, that's enough," he said firmly, frowning. "It doesn't matter right now. We need to get back to the Newtralizer and Slash before they interfere with our plans."

"Leo's right," Donnie said, eyeing the two warily.

Raph frowned at Jewel in disdain, bristling. "Fine," he grounded out, sheathing his weapons. "But we're not done with this."

"Whatever," Jewel muttered, putting away her own weapon.

It was silent again, tense between them all.

"Bet you're still Shredder's little guard dog—"

BANG!

Raph screamed, collapsing to his knees, hand flying to his arm, blood seeping through his fingers.

"Raph!" Mikey cried out, he and his brothers rushing to his side. A deep crimson liquid trickled down his arm, dripping onto the ground. All heads whirled and they saw Jewel frozen on the spot, smoke coming out of the gun in her hand.

Her eyes were wide with shock at what she had done. She hadn't even realized it that she pulled it out and pushed the trigger at Raph. All she heard was Shredder and guard dog and she had just lost it. The voice had told her to.

Don't let him talk to you like that. You show him just how dangerous you are when provoked too far.

"Julie?" Mikey whispered, eyes moist.

"I..."

"What's wrong with you?" he demanded, storming towards her and slapping the gun away. It clattered onto the ground. "Why?!"

For once in her life, she was at a loss of what to say. How to defend herself. She was speechless.

"Go," Leo said slowly, glaring at her with venom she had never seen in him before. "Get outta here, Jewel."

Jewel stepped back, poorly failing at keeping the hurt away from her eyes. She felt a lump in her throat, nodding slowly. She grabbed her gun and tucked it away, before leaping off the rooftop and vanishing.

Unbeknownst to her, ghostly blue eyes watched her from the shadows, leaping off and following after her.


Raph iced the bruise that formed around the gunshot would, tightening the knot. The night had gone disastrous, but there was bright side in the dark. Slash had made amends when he realized the Newtralizer planned to destroy the Kraang and everyone on Earth as a cost.

It was good to hear his pet wasn't completely brainwashed by the mutagen anymore.

"Thanks, Case," he muttered when his friend tossed the ice pack; they made their own amends when he rescued their asses in battle.

Casey took a seat on the bench, resting his head on his hands. "Gnarly, dude," be remarked.

Raph rolled his eyes. "Should've seen it before. Blood was everywhere."

"Wicked."

He chuckled in spite of himself. The experience had been painful, but the scar it would leave would look pretty badass. Though he wished it would've been the result of a Kraang blast instead of his brother's psycho girlfriend.

"So, listen, Raph," Casey began.

Raph interrupted. "You don't have to say it. I'm sorry, too. I was just...I was worried for you, man, y'know? Giant worms are one thing, but robot aliens are another. I was just worried you would get hurt too bad and it would...it would feel like that's on me."

Ever since he lost Spike, he had been lonely. Spike was his escape from the drama that was his family. He loved them all dearly, but they didn't completely understand him. Gwen did, to an extent, but even she had her breaking points with him. Casey had been a great company on patrol. Another muscle to wrestle with without worrying about asserting his entire strength.

Casey smirked. "If I didn't know any better, I think you actually care, Raphie boy," he laughed.

Raph threw a pillow at him, but couldn't resist the tug at his lips. "Ey, I just need a sparring dummy. You're a lot easier to beat."

"Ha! Fat chance you can take on the mystical , all mighty Casey Jones."

Raph rolled his eyes fondly. He caught Leo sheathing away his swords, excusing himself. He hopped over the bench and approached his brother at the turnstiles.

"Hey, Leo," he called.

Leo stopped and turned. Rubbing the back of his neck, Raph struggled for words briefly. "Look, I'm really sorry about what happened with Jewel earlier," he sighed. "I was just pissed. I didn't mean anything by the Shredder comment..."

Leo stared at him for a long time, his expression unreadable, before letting out a defeated sigh. He gave a half smile. "It's fine, Raph. I know you were just looking out for us."

"I just don't want us to get hurt because...well, I'm worried she might drag her own battles into ours." Raph shrugged.

"I know," Leo said, casting his eyes down to the ground. "I thought...I thought I could help her change. I thought..."

"It's hard to change," Raph said, averting his gaze. "I should know."

Leo smiled a little, but it disappeared as soon as it appeared. "It doesn't matter anymore. I...I need to go clear my head for a little while. Don't wait up for me."

He hopped over the turnstiles and broke out into a sprint, disappearing into the tunnel.


The sky was tinged with grey clouds, the stars polluted by the smog of the shadier parts of town. Jewel sat on the edge of a rooftop, knees tucked to her chest, arms wrapped around her legs. Her eyes were downcast, the hood down and the mask pulled up.

Tonight had been hell. Fires exploded across the surface and burned every bridge down. Her relationship with Raphael had been burned down to charred ashes, impossible to repair.

But this was her life. She got knocked down, kicked around, and when things looked up, boom, she was kicked down again. It was a vicious cycle, one she couldn't seem to fall out of. She ruined her own bridges of friendships with people she cared deeply about. She berated Karai and burned down their entire friendship out of rage. She always jeopardized her relationship with Gwen. Always pushed her away.

And the turtles...

She became more distant with them. She disconnected herself from their inner circle and returned to old habits. Her and Raph had managed to become tolerant of one another, until tonight. Because she couldn't keep away from that life. The life of a born killer.

She cast her eyes down to the palm of her hand. She curled her fingers, brows pinched for a short second, before a flame produced from her palm, illuminating her in bright orange.

She smiled.

Maybe it was for the best. She wasn't the turtles. She wasn't April or Casey. She didn't have the same thrill they did when stopping the Kraang. There was a certain thrill about slicing head and watching blood splatter on the ground. It was the hilarity of listening to their pleas.

It was actually kind of funny. Watching a grown man beg a seemingly innocent fifteen-year-old to spare their life.

She was trained for this life.

The frigid wind blew her bangs away from her forehead. Goosebumps suddenly prickled across her skin. Her eyes narrowed slightly. She stood, pulling her mask down and her hood up, her hand resting on the hilt of her blade.

She eyed the rooftop, crouched in a ready stance.

"Who's there?" she demanded, loud enough for the mysterious figure to hear from their hiding spot. "Show yourself."

She heard a cynical chuckle from afar, snapping her head up when she saw a figure standing on the roof of the water tower.

In the blink of an eye, she unsheathed her Tanto sword and pointed at the girl.

Icy blue eyes stared down at her deep eyes, lip curving into a sly smirk. "You always did like changing uniforms," she said, a hand on her hip. "You were infamous for your taste."

Her milky skin shoned in the flickering streetlights, a stark contrast to her red velvet hair that cascaded down her back, blue at the tips. She adjusted her black jacket, pulled on a pair of fingerless gloves, stesugtening her jeans. The girl was mysteriously beautiful.

Jewel eyed her warily, refusing to lower her weapon. "Who the fuck are you?" she asked bluntly.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Relax, I'm not your enemy. Put the sword down." She raised her hand, separating two fingers from the other two. "I come in peace."

Jewel saw a pair of gold bracelets gleaming under the light, making a small clinging sound when she lowered her hand. Her brows pinched together when she saw a silver necklace, a name engraved in the pendant.

Rowan.

"Rowan?" she said aloud, face scrunching up.

The girl threw her head back and laughed; shrill and sarcastic. Her eyes narrowed. The girl grinned, amusement dancing in her icy eyes. "You don't remember me, do you, Julie?" she taunted.

Jewel eyed her skeptically, but slid her weapon back into the sash. She attained a casual stance, folding her arms across her chest. "How do you know my name?" she asked, adopting a bored persona. The striking red hair was familiar, but she couldn't place the girl's name or face.

The girl—Rowan—snorted. "Classic Jewel. Silent as the night, sharp as a knife, but has the memory opposite to an elephants," she said snidely. "But amongst the top ranking mercenaries."

Behind her mask, her brows rose to her hairline, momentarily stricken into surprise. It was impossible that another mercenary would recognize her. She had the code name and the mask; she had never taken it off during missions. So how did this girl know who she was?

Clara was the only mercenary who knew who she was.

Her eyes narrowed, glaring darkly at the girl with a murderous fire behind her dark eyes. She drew out her gun and pointed it at the girl. "Oh, I know who you are," she sneered. "You're one of Shredder's little puppets, aren't you?"

To her surprise, the girl shook her head, unfazed by the gun drawn towards her. "On the contrary. I told you; I come in peace."

"Then who the hell are you?" Jewel demanded. "And how the hell do you know me?"

Rowan chuckled, the sound almost sinister. "Rowan," she replied with ease. "Rowan Fox."

"Rowan Fox?" Jewel repeated, unimpressed. "Rowan Fox? What the hell kind of name is that?"

Her smug expression contorted into an unamused glare. Her lips twitched upward.

The glare was gone and replaced by a blank expression. "You really don't remember me, eh?"

"Nope," Jewel popped 'p'. "Doesn't ring a bell. I would've remembered a name as stupid as Rowan Fox." She grinned maliciously behind the mask. "Ey, I though foxes were supposed to have a busy tail. What happened to yours? Was it sliced off like Tiger Claw's?" she antagonized.

Rowan's brows pinched together. "What?" she barked in confusion. "Who...Who's Tiger Claw?"

"Never mind," Jewel said, tucking the gun away. "I'm outta here."

"Wait!"

Jewel stopped, turning her head, lifting an eyebrow. "You have my attention," she said, a quiet purr in her tone.

"Look, I understand you're wary," Rowan said, hopping off the water tower and landing on her feet. Like a cat, Jewel thought wrly. "I'm sorry I interrupted your evening or whatever the hell you were doing. I just needed to make sure it was you. The girl I fought down in the alien base."

Jewel tilted her head in thought. She tried to remember the alien base from a little over four months ago, before her relationships deteriorated. Her eyes widened in realization when she remember a red haired girl swinging her fist at her. Her eyes narrowed and she glared at the girl. "You're the dipshit that almost dislocated my shoulder," she spat, hand flying to the hilt of her blade. "Which reminds me of something." She charged with murderous intent, slamming her knee into the girl's chin.

Rowan grunted and staggered back, eyes widening in shock. Her eyes narrowed and she balled her hands into fists, green energy wrapped around them. Jewel jumped sideways from a green ball.

"The fuck?" she muttered, shooting the girl a dubious look.

Rowan smirked. "You didn't think you were the only one with powers, did you?" she purred, a dark undertone in her voice.

Fire bloomed from her hands and she threw fireballs like they were playing softball. The fireballs passed through the girl as if she were made of air, becoming intangible. She was unsurprised, but continued firing them off.

Rowan backflipped away whilst throw ice daggers towards her. She caught them easily and melted them with her hot hands.

"It was a cute trick," Jewel smirked wickedly, "but fire melts ice."

Rowan seemed unfazed and she turned into a blur all of a sudden, slamming her knee into Jewel's stomach. Air was knocked out of her for a brief moment as she was knocked down on her ass, an arm wrapped around her stomach. She glared weakly. "Nice," she hissed, voice strained from the lack of air. A hand wrapped around her neck and lifted her off the ground. Black-blue locked into icy blue. Within a second, she was thrown away and she was slammed down into the ledge of the rooftop.

Click.

She snapped her head, a headache beginning to bloom across her skull, her vision blurry. But she saw the .22 gun pressed against her temple. When her vision clearwd, she saw Rowan's eyes glowed a dangerous shade of red, ready to shoot.

"Great, another foe," she muttered under her breath, sardonic.

"JEWEL!"

A flash of silver, and the weight of the gun disappeared. Leonardo leapt in front of her, acting as a wall between the two girls.

The red haired girl laughed, a sound so sinister and sarcastic it confused the young turtle. "I can put a bullet in your head, too, little turtle. I'm not afraid," she taunted twirling the gun around her finger.

"Don't even think you can lay a hand on her," Leo threatened darkly. Jewel rolled her eyes in irritation. His hands tightened around niten ryu, the light catching onto the blade. Rowan laughed again and he charged. She tossed the gin away and flipped above him, landing power blow on his shell.

Jewel tensed in surprise when she saw Lion Boy getting his ass handed to him. Concern jumped into her eyes and they narrowed in determination. She utilized her enhanced speed and slammed the heel of her palm into her chest. She sent the other girl into a wall. She slid down, blood trickling out of her nose and head lolled to the side, passed out. Jewel smirked and turned to Leo. "You okay?" she asked, helping him up gently.

"Yeah," he grunted, gingerly rubbing his bruised arm. "Let's go back to the lair." He leapt down to an alley. Jewel glanced back at the red haired girl and flipped away, the Rowan girl already forgotten

Blue eyes opened and she shot where Jewel had once stood a death glare. A dark threat quietly left her lips.

"Oh, don't worry Julie. You haven't seen the last of me."


The silence was thick with awkwardness from earlier, where Jewel had shot Raph out of impulsive rage and Leo had practically demanded she leave. They walked around the sewer tunnels, the dripping sound from earlier returning full force.

It sounded louder than before.

"Are you still mad?" Jewel asked, a good five feet behind him.

He didn't respond at first, he hedged forward and seemed determined to brood a minute longer. He sighed and shrugged. "Yeah," he said truthfully.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to, Jewel."

"Raph also attacked me."

"He didn't shoot a gun at you!" He whirled around, arms spread out.

"What do you want me to say?" Jewel snapped, glaring at him.

"You promised you would stop with all these crazy missions," Leo said, voice edging onto desperation now, concern heavy in his deep blue eyes. "You looked me right in the eye and you promised."

Jewel's hood and mask were off, her expression blank. "Well sometimes I have to break my promises," she said quietly, but it was loud enough for Leo to hear.

He closed his eyes, feeling the hot emotion of frustration rise within him. It was an anger that rarely exploded out of him. It was as if he felt his core burning into it burst into full on flames that would burn down everything in his path. "You looked me right in the eye," he whispered, opening his eyes.

"I'm sorry I broke my promise," Jewel said, "but this is who I am, Leo. I lie and I take down assholes for a living. You and the guys do the same thing, too!"

"We fight with honor!" Leo shouted, veins bulging from his neck. "We do it because it keeps others safe, not for the glory."

Jewel stepped back in surprise, her eyes hardening. "You think I do this for glory?" she asked, her voice lowering dangerously.

"You do it for the gold," Leo said, frowning deeply. "You don't care about honor. All you care about is the money. That's not...that's not the girl I fell for."

"Except it is," Jewel corrected, sneering. "I'm exactly the girl you fell for. You fell for a rebellious mercenary who enjoys the thrill of the hunt. You fell for the heir of the Foot Clan. Leo, you fall for girls who kill and are reimbursed for it. You didn't fall for a good-doer princess who hands out gold to the poor."

"I liked you because I thought you were fun!" Leo defended, eyes shiny with tears. "You brought out a different side of me. Before I met you, I thought the most fun I had was binge watching the first season of Space Heroes, a show I thought you also liked."

"I liked the irony of Space Heroes," Jewel corrected coldly. "Captain Ryan vaporizes those he deems weak. He reminded me of a comic version of Shredder."

The emphasis of his name caused Leo to take a step back, eyes widening in horror. His eyes narrowed. "He's nothing like the Shredder," he hissed.

Jewel laughed coldly, glaring icily. "We had an asthmatic in the lower ranks. Shredder had me take care of him just like the little sidekick," she growled.

Leo glared hotly, shutting his eyes and pressing his hand against his head, feeling a headache bloom. "What're we doing?" he whispered. "This is ridiculous. We like each other. Why are we fighting like this?"

"Are you sure about that?" Jewel challenged with a lift of her chin. "What do you like about me, Leo? Look at me right now and tell me what you like."

Leo opened his mouth several times, as if struggling to spit out an answer. "I-I," he stuttered. "I don't know."

"Then you shouldn't throw out the word 'like' out so thoughtlessly, or out of habit," Jewel spat, folding her arms across her chest.

Leo stared at her, stared at those dark eyes he had once been so entranced by. Blue eyes that almost looked black. They shimmered from blue to black in the moonlight. A sly grin, soft lips...

He had fallen for the girl harder than when he had fallen off TCRI months ago. He felt weightless when he had grown comfortable around her presence.

But, like the TCRI building, the high had lifted and he was plagued with stress and terror.

He backed away from her, averting his eyes. "I can't do this anymore, Jewel," he blurted.

The glare faltered, the space between her brows creased. "What?"

"We've been fighting," he said, "a lot."

"Well, yeah, all couple's fight, Lion—"

"We've been fighting more," he cut her off, closing his eyes, like it hurt. "Sometimes that's all we do. We fight, neither of us apologizes, and then it starts all over again. Sometimes we fight for no reason."

"I..." Jewel was at a loss for words. Surely he couldn't mean that. They were fighting more, yeah, but that didn't mean they didn't care about one another. She cared about him and he cared about her.

Right?

"I'm done," he said with finality, calmly opening his eyes. The sterness of it had her startled; how serious he sounded. The muscles in his neck twitched. "I can't play your little games anymore, Julie. It's always a game with you. It's always uncertain. Sometimes I even forget we're dating. Don't I mean anything to you?"

"Of course you do," she insisted, panic stricken. "You mean a lot to me, Lion Boy."

"Then why are you pushing me away?"

The question froze her tongue to the roof of her mouth. She stared, blinking, lips slightly parted, her back straightening in surprise. She was pushing them all away, she knew, but she had thought she had known why.

It was different when the question was presented out loud by those who cared.

He seemed to realize she didn't have an answer for him; he shook his head, his eyes weary with disappointment. "Jewel," he said, the exhaustion palpable. "You can't play out these games forever. I have a family I swore I would protect, and that includes you. But being your boyfriend is completely different. I can't wait three months and go out to Murakamis rooftop and eat gyozas with you when you decide when to come back. I can't worry that you might lure in someone from your missions into the lair. I...I can't risk that. I can't put more stress on my mental health."

"Leo!"

"You can't play out these games forever, Jewel," he said, worrying her with how serious he was being. "I can't do that anymore. I'm sorry." He headed further into the tunnel without another look.

Jewel panicked.

She had to fix this, and fast. It couldn't end like this.

"Leo!" she cried again, striding after him and grabbing his arm, yanking him around to face her. "Will you just listen to me?!"

"I can't listen to your excuses anymore."

"I'm a kunoichi. This is what I do," she stressed, tucking her hair behind her ear. "We're masters at manipulations."

"Yeah, well," his eyes grew cold, "I never thought you would be manipulative with me."

She went rigid, her grip on his arm slackened. He pulled away and turned, marching away. She watched him leave, becoming smaller and smaller until he was a green speck.

She opened her mouth, as if to call his name, but the green speck vanished into the darkness of the tunnel.

Blinking back warm tears, she backed away, turning around and running into the opposite direction.

It was silent. She immersed herself into it.


Present Time...

"Wow," Karai says, eyes wide. "You really broke up with her?" she asks for clarity. Only because he was unclear and she just needs to make sure.

Only because she needs to know which loved ones to hunt down, obviously.

No other reason.

Leo nods, downcast. "Yeah," he croaks. "I had to."

"That's rough," Karai says, internally wincing at how blunt she sounds. "I mean, look on the bright side."

"What?"

"You get to be the one to say you dumped a bikini swimsuit model."

He shoots her glare, though it was weak. "Gee," he says flatly, "thanks."

Karai cheekily smiles. "You're welcome, Blue."

"Blue?"

"Would you prefer Blue Eyes?"

"Wait, are you referring to my mask or eyes?"

Karai didn't even realize they were the same color. She was always drawn to the eyes deep as the sea. Because he was her assignment, of course. "Your mask," she lies smoothly.

Leo eyes her, disbelieving, but lets it go as he looks away. "So today sucked," he concludes.

"You're talking to me. Does that count for something?"

He pauses, before, slowly, he grins with mischief in sea-colored eyes and looks at her. "Are you trying to comfort me?" he teases.

Her brows raise, and she promptly flips off the building.

She flips him off over her shoulder when she hears him cackle.

She was not comforting him.

She wasn't.


Woo! You have no idea how long I've been planning for this! I hope you guys liked it. Also, when I have free time, I'm going to be editing chapters because punctuation and grammatical errors. Stay healthy, fellow nerds!