September 27, 2007
I woke up numb to all forms of pain, and incapable of most movements. I could twitch my fingers, my toes, I was able to skate my arm across a rigid chest and flex my legs to see if they were still there, but felt none of the pain I was positive would come with those movements. A hand cupped my elbow and another twisted around my waist. I was shifted upwards into a more sitting position. My head was tilted up and placed on a shoulder.
"Liza?"
I opened my mouth, prepared to respond, but it felt like I was filled with cotton. I clicked my tongue to the roof of my mouth, and heaved a sigh. I attempted to open my eyes and got them to open enough to see fuze.
"Don, how much did ya give 'er?" Raph's voice filtered through.
"Enough to numb any pain she'll be in. And enough that it would seem she lost blood." Donnie's voice rang out in my head. Something green blurred my vision, and a cold finger pressed itself against my jugular.
"115. We're good. Liza, are you awake?" Donnie tipped my head up so he could see me. I squinted at the sunlight behind him, which wasn't too good of an idea because my eyes closed all the way instead. "Liza?"
I parted my lips and clicked my tongue to the roof of my mouth. It was soft, but Don could hear it. He sighed in relief, and laid my head back on Raph's shoulder.
They were out in broad daylight. Outside, in an alley, in broad daylight. And I saw the Shredder's Tower out of the corner of my eye. They were way too close for comfort. I mentally slapped myself to wake up a bit more.
"W...Wha...t... are..." I swallowed thickly to possibly get some words out. I felt Raph shift around to see my face. "Wha...t are you... do...in... Wha...t... are you... doing?"
"We're sendin' ya back ta Shredder." Raph answered.
"No...t... safe." I stuttered out. I was having trouble with the t's. It was like first grade all over again, the lisp with t's. It was annoying.
"We don' care. We're doin' what ya said. Handin' ya ta the Shredder." Raph responded, a bit more agitated. I sighed heavily and wrapped my arm tighter around Raph. I didn't know how tight because I couldn't tell, but I figured he could handle all the pressure I could give.
"So no...t...wha...t... I ... Mean...t." I grumbled. Raph chuckled and pressed his lips to the top of my head. At least, I think he did. I couldn't feel much, which was extremely disorienting. I relied on sight, hearing, and touch to fight. Those were the ones most cut out with the drugs in my system.
"Raph, we have to go." Donnie murmured as he came back over to us from somewhere. I look up at Don. His blurred face entered my vision, and the colors swam. I closed my eyes again, and moved with Raph to be placed against the wall.
"Yer not serious. We are jus' gonna leave 'er in the alleyway?" Raph asked incredulously. Don moved me back so I laid against the wall.
"Yeah Raph. We have too. If we stay any longer, we're going to be caught." Don answered. Oh yeah right. They go as far to put me out in broad daylight just a block away from Shredder's Lair, and now he says they're likely to get caught?
"S...t...upid...tur...t...le." I sounded out. I ended up clicking my tongue to the roof of my mouth to get the sound out, which had to sound dumb. Raph chuckled under his breath, and Don sighed. One of them leaned down to where I sat. I guessed it was Donnie because he situated me into a more comfortable position and checked my pulse again.
"Listen, Liza, you are to remain in bed for at least four weeks," Don whispered to me conspiratorially. I laughed at him.
"T...t-tell th..." I looked at the tops of the roofs, annoyed at my lisp. " T...that ...to...Shred...der."
Donnie stood back up and I distinctly heard shuffling. If I had to guess, they made noise to let me know they left. Left in an abandoned alley, a block away from the Shredder's Lair, with the hopes it was a Foot Ninja that found me, and not a Purple Fairy Tale. I was doped on drugs, probably bruised well beyond the color black, and had no weapons. I am so going to kill Donnie for giving me that much medication.
October 20, 2007
"Your first step to getting back into training is to-"
"Run." I puffed out as I jumped over the ledge of a building and to another one just as high. With one hand to my ribs, I tucked in and rolled along my shoulder. I stumbled on my stand up from my side tingling with pain and I stopped at the other side of the roof. I took a deep breath to aid my lungs, and looked over the darkened ledge for something to focus on besides the physical pain. I'd finally gotten my black suit back; the skin tight, elastic pants, bulky and comfy cloak sweater, cut and shaped to fit into the pants. I had the black, military style boots again, and even got my mask back after Shredder broke into the police station to retrieve it. It was nice to be wearing such a dark color again, and the comfy sweater was easy on my ribs, unlike the suit Shredder usually had me wear.
When I looked down below me I saw five people fighting. Four against one it seemed. An unfair fight, and exactly like something I used to do. Maybe I could use it to get back into the swing of things, it wasn't like I was untrained to fight. In fact, I was probably better trained now. I inhaled deeply one more time to get my breath back, and shook out my limbs to get them up again. I walked back a few feet to get a running start, and dropped down to the alley below.
"Step one, define your opponent-"
I ducked a chain as it swung over my head, and heard someone get punched in the face with it. That man fell down from the force, and groaned as he cupped his bleeding skull.
"Step two, define their style. You don't want to defense if they defend, and you don't want to defense an offense when cornered. If you can, always go for the blow and always get them down. You're trying to save people, not do a dance -"
I looked between the two groups; the purple dragons on one side, ready for the fight with their various unethical weapons and most likely all in attack method that I was familiar with, and then at the Man in Metal, who was currently swinging the chain that almost hit me over his head. He looked dangerous, crouched, balanced, comfortable with his unorthodox weapon. He wasn't part of the Fairy Tales.
"Step three, figure out their numbers-"
"Night Terror?" The Man in Metal asked with a warped accent, his tone beyond surprised. So I knew this man. Was that a bad or good thing?
"Howdy," I greeted, since I didn't know what else to say, and turned around to catch one of the fists thrown at me. I twisted my body around their arm and used my forearm to catch his elbow. There was a pop and tearing sound as the man's elbow dislocated, and he fell to the ground screaming. I wince at the high pitched scream, only to duck again as the Man in Metal swung his chain out. The chain, somehow, wrapped around one of the fairy tales, immobilizing him from the torso up. I took the initiative, grabbing the dagger I had and swinging it across the man's neck. I flinch as the blood spurted, moving my hand up to cover my face. It was instinct, I wasn't used to killing anymore. Anything coming towards my face I covered, even if it was harmless like popcorn.
The man choked once, and the chain around him loosened and released him as he fell to the ground holding his neck. I turned my head away from the scene, and heard the last one trying to run away. I swung my arm out to catch him as he ran past me. He dragged me with him, tilted me off my axis. I spun with the motion and wrapped my arms around his chest. Using a move I learned recently from a news clip, I used the mouth of my mask as a digging tool, piercing it into his neck. There was a visor between my mouth and the mask's mouth, which was used to stop the blood from entering the mask. It was helpful because this got messy.
The man reached over his head, grabbed my hood, and swung me over his shoulder. I landed on my back, my breath catching in my throat as my ribs gave a might heave. I let the Man in Metal do the rest of the work, which was slam the man into the wall and hold him there till he bled out. I took a deep breath, assessing my ribs to make sure nothing damaged them. Happy with the results, I sat up and bounced back onto the balls of my feet. I walk over to the man with the broken elbow, looking over him for something to use to finish him. My eyes locked on a his bandana, tied around his forehead.
I crouch down and pulled the bandana from him. He looked up at me, his light brown hair falling into his green eyes as the bandana was pulled away. I felt my throat constrict at what I saw in them, and something churned in my stomach as I undid the bandana. I could see the regret in his eyes, and I could see he was scared. I realized I was likely a vision, bloody, with a mask designed to create nightmares. It scared me sometimes and I owned it.
How did I do this? How did I kill these people without remorse? Or guilt? Or regret? How was I a killer?
With a heavy stomach, I circled around him and dropped to my knees. He followed me with his eyes, and when I completely undid the bandana, he spoke up.
"Please spare me..." He pleaded. I looked at him and saw the bruise forming over his eye from before I joined the fight, and then the blood that fell from his broken elbow. He sniffled, tears welling up in his eyes, and I paused in my movements. He took my pause as the time to speak. "Please, give me a second chance. I'll change. I'll tell the police everything, I'll go to school, I'll get a job, anything you want but this... But d..."
He broke down, covering his face with his bloody hand. I parted my lips, took a shallow breath. How did I do it?
"I don't want to die." He cried out quietly.
A shiver rolled down my spine; a very slow, cold shiver. I've said that before, in the exact same cracking voice on the verge of tears. At a gas station, somewhere in South Dakota, while someone tried to rob me. The man didn't show me mercy, and I wouldn't be here had Hitoshi not stepped in. That man didn't show mercy, but that didn't mean I couldn't. I placed my hand on his shoulder and he jumped. He looked up at me with so much fear. He had a nice appearance, I could see him being a good policeman. Or maybe something small like a garbage man. A babysitter perhaps, he looked young enough.
"I... I can't." I whispered. I stood up and dropped the bandana. It was easy to kill someone in the heat of the moment, effortless even. But when you're face to face with them. When you can see the regret, the want to change... How many did I kill who looked like that? How many looked at me with the want to change after staring at death, and I still killed them?
"What?" The Man in Metal asked. I look over at him, surprised to see him here. I then look down at the last two men alive. The broken elbow kid and the head trauma man.
"You," I point to the one who was still conscious. He shook in his skin, held his elbow against his chest. The bone poked his breast bone, but I guess he didn't care. "I'll give you another chance. Get out of here, and don't let me catch you even near the same block with another Purple Dragon."
He was slow on the uptake. The realization of what I said, what I meant, what I had given him. His eyes lit up like I had just given him the best Christmas present he could have asked for, and he shuffled to his feet. He looked between the two of us, down at the body of his comrade, and then he ran. Just ran out of the alley like a bat out of hell, and he didn't look back.
"Night Terror?" The Man in Metal asked, closer than he was before. I unhooked my dagger, swung it out, and hooked it under his neck. He raised his three-fingered gloved hands, showing that he meant no harm. "Liza?"
"Ok. So you know who I am. But who are you?" I hissed. Someone other than the turtles knew me. April? Couldn't be. Casey? Too short. Someone from Shredder's crew? Absolutely not. Who did that leave? Not many people I knew. The turtles knew everyone who met me. Except one. Hitoshi. But this couldn't be him... I flickered my eyes over the man several times, looking for something familiar.
"Liza, ya know me." The man whispered, very still against my blade. His accent was what tipped me off. I knew that warped accent. It was a Brooklyn Accent. I only know one person with a Brooklyn Accent. And only one person saw me like this and stayed. He knew I wouldn't hurt him.
"Raph?" I asked, shocked. The Man in Metal, Raphael, my boyfriend, nodded, and lowered his hands as I lowered my dagger. "What the hell! What are you doing out of your home?"
"Ya don' remember?" He asked. I looked around on the ground for a camera. When I didn't find one, I pulled my mask off of my face. I tucked the metal mask into my pocket, and wiped my mouth with a sleeve.
"Obviously not," I grumbled, licking my lips for blood. I was happy I didn't taste any, but continued wiping my face with a black sleeve. "Why are you outside dressed head to toe in a suit of metal?"
"I'm... I'm Night Watcher." He answered. I paused in the process of rubbing my scarred eye to look at Raph. I blunk several times, trying to think that through. Raph was Night Watcher. The Night Watcher. I'm dating the other form of justice, which I fought often before I had amnesia. That's a whole new level of Office Romance.
"You're Night Watcher. I'm dating the Justice of Chains?" I asked, incredulous. Raph chuckled at the name I gave him. I raise my good eyebrow at him and dropped my arms. "Seriously, you're not yanking my leg?"
"No." He answered, then shrugged, looking down at the murder scene around us. "This is how we met, ya stopped me from doin' my job."
"Unbelievable. You couldn't just drop the job? You know, hideout with your family? I don't think they would care about you doing Night Watcher business every night."
Raph breathed in, prepared to say something, but he was stopped by police sirens that rang out in the distance, which made both of us to look at the mouth of the alley. Raph pulled his chains back into little pockets in his arms, and I put my mask back on.
"Shell, do yer mark so we can go," Raph instructed. I looked at him weirdly and tried to remember anything that involved marking something.
"Excuse me, a mark?" I asked. Raph stopped his prancing to a wall and looked back over at me. I couldn't see his face, but I bet he looked surprised.
"Yeah. Ya had a mark ya put on walls. Went a little somethin' like this," Raph bent down and grabbed some of the blood in his hand. His shoulders shuddered, but he didn't stop. He turned to a wall and painted a symbol into it. It was a very simple mask, a mock of what I wore. It was a little sloppy, probably over criticized, but it made sense why my name was the Black Mask Terror, and why everyone knew me as it. I'm stuck staring at the wall as Raph painted away, going as far as to draw dagged teeth in the mouth.
"Now tha' that's done, let's go." Raph grumbled, grabbed my hand, and pulled me towards the opposite wall. He let go of me to scale it, and I had to follow, because the police were just a few blocks away.
"You've got to be kidding me." I murmured quietly as we walked through the sewers. Raph kept on my heels, crouched down to hide behind me should someone else be in the tunnels.
"No. I've made it two years an' none of them know I'm Night Watcher." He answered. I looked both ways at a junction, checking for anything that moved. Happy to see nothing, I jumped the distance. Raph followed suit, hot on my heels.
"Good job." I complimented. Raph chuckled as he went around me to get to the hidden door. He leaned against the wall in front of me, hand on the pipe, but he didn't pull it down. I raise my good eyebrow at him, mimicking his stance against the wall.
Raph curled his lips in, biting on them as he looks over my suit. For a moment I wondered if this was a replica of the old one, or if I had something different on that wasn't there before. And if there was, why would Raph bring it up now while we were still in the open?
"Donnie won't be happy to see you." He blurted out, and then pulled the pipe down. The sound of doors opening enters my ears, and Raph fell through, leaving me in the sewers, staring at where he was.
"Freaking turtle," I grumbled, following him in. Raph smiled toothily at me, letting me know he heard me. He fell into step with me and wrapped his arm around my waist. I looked down at his green hand, a compliment in color to my black suit. Now that was a nice contrast.
"Mikey!" Raph shouted, and I instinctively looked at the door to the kitchen, but then remembered it was nighttime. He should be asleep right now.
Mikey came out from the dojo, nunchucks on his waistband. He had beads of sweat on his forehead and was rubbing a towel along his arms. Donnie came out with him, in better shape than Mikey. Better shape as in there was no sweat on him.
Mikey's face lit up with happiness when he saw us, and he took a dive for me. Raph shouted a "Hey!" when Mikey stole me from him, and Mikey promptly picked me up in the air and spun me in circles with a confidence that wasn't there before. Donnie must have said something about my ribs because Mikey was careful not to squeeze them too hard.
"Hello, Mikey." I laughed out. I hugged him around his shoulders so I had something to hold me steady. "Lovely to see you too."
"Liza is back! Hey Don, didn't you say she had another week?" Mikey asked as he set me down on my feet. I tipped backward from being spun in so many circles, and Raph caught me around the middle, grounding me with his arms. He laced his fingers in front of my belly button, placed his arms on my hips, and placed his head on my shoulder, holding my back flush against his chest. I paused, surprised at the position, and relaxed into the coolness of Raph a second later. This was a position I could learn to love. It gave me the closeness I wanted while still being presentable to others.
Donnie came walking up, a disapproving look in his eyes. From closer up, I could see that he did get a workout, but he was already in better shape than Mikey, so he didn't sweat as much. I didn't even know turtles could sweat. I don't know a lot about them apparently. Every time I come back I learn something new.
"I did, Mikey. And judging by the blood on your mask, you got into a fight." Donnie accused. He raises one of his eye ridges, looking down at me from his freakish height of six feet.
"I told you before you left me in an alley to be found by the Foot or the Purple Dragons, Tell Shredder that I need at least five weeks of rest. He made sure I was catered to for three weeks, and now that my bruises are turning yellow," I raised my sweater, which brought Raph's hands up with it. Raph tilted around my shoulder to look at my stomach with the other two. "He thought he should gently push me back into training. I was on a run across the roofs, and happened to see Raph in an alley, fighting."
I dropped my sweater back into place, and Raph adjusted his arms to their original position. "I got mad at him for being out and made sure none of the Purple Dragons got out alive for seeing him. And we walked here."
Don didn't look too pleased with my words, but he had to get used to it. With Shredder, there was almost never breaks. You fought while in pain and you fought while sick, bed rest was for the dangerous bits in between. It was brutal, but honestly, I could see it helping in the long run. I just hated it.
"On that note, what the fuck is wrong with you?" I shouted, changing topics. Donnie tipped backward, and Mikey jumped at my sudden outburst. Even Raph flinched against my shoulder. "I told you why I got the wounds, because of Hun. I was able to leave Shredder's Lair because I cut Hun's hamstring. And I can guarantee that he isn't happy that I've immobilized him for several weeks, and he has the Purple Dragons out for my ass. I was lucky I was found by Spice and not the Fairy Tales while doped on that much morphine."
"Spice?" All three of them asked, focusing on the name rather than what I'd meant. I looked at the ground at my slip up and blew my cheeks out. Now how to explain this.
"Yeah. She's an accident really, we weren't supposed to be in such long exposure with each other. She's a young Foot Ninja, just came in two months ago. Back before I rose in rank, I was stuck teaching the just fresh Foot Ninjas... And um, she called me Sugar instead of Sensei or Master during her first lesson. Instead of reprimanding her I called her Spice. Then when I raised in rank I got her in my class again, and the names stuck. So we call each other Sugar and Spice." I explained. It was one of my childish moments, where I felt like I was a thirteen year old again, and the idea of pet names between a comrade had been too nice to give up. While Spice was a comrade by force, she stuck around by choice. That was easy to tell because she asked about my well being sometimes.
"Sugar?" Mikey and Raph asked. Mikey looked at me incredulously, like he couldn't put my image and sugar into the same picture. I shrugged.
"She's from Texas if it helps. She moved up here with her dad and sister after her mom died." I answered. Another no no in the Shredder Tower that I'd broken because I wanted a friend. I'd gotten to know Spice, Haley, a little. I didn't just know she was from Texas, I also knew she was a year younger than me, and joined Shredder to help her dad out.
"You never told me that the Purple Dragons were out for you," Donnie said, putting us back on track.
"I didn't think I had too. I mean, it's simple math. Me plus you four equal enemies with the Purple Dragons and Shredder. Even though I now work for the latter, the Purple Dragons remember that I used to kill them, a lot, and they aren't exactly a forgiving gang. Every chance they get, they beat on me. Which is why I need constant consciousness when, say, abandoned in an alley." I explained. Donnie had the nerve to look embarrassed, and Raph vibrated behind me.
"You okay Raph?" I asked curiously. Raph stopped his vibrating, and put his chin at the juncture of my shoulder and neck.
"Yeah. It's not often Donnie is outsmarted. It's funny." He murmured.
"I didn't outsmart your brother. I just gave him some facts he didn't know." I answered.
"Yeah, that's just it. Donnie knows everything." Mikey backed Raph. Don looked between the two, and then at me. He sighed and shook his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"How are your wounds?" He asked, still pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Yellowed. As you can see, my eye is better, but you don't live with a scar over your eye every day, so you can't tell where the bruises are. My ribs still ache when I move too fast or put pressure on them, but I'm doing well. I was right, Shredder practically murdered Hun, but because Hun is his only way to the Purple Dragons, he let him live. Shredder made sure I was comfortable, had all the medication I needed, all the food I wanted. Just like when I first had amnesia." I answered.
"Good. Not good about Shredder, but good that he took care of you." Don sighed. He glanced at the grip Raph had on me and frowned for a moment. It was gone as soon as it was there, but even a month away didn't make me dull. Don still didn't like me. I don't even know if it's me he doesn't like or the situations involving me, but he didn't want me near his family. It was something I hoped to fix after all of this was over, when we actually had time to talk and sort things out.
"Hey Don, as much as it pains me to say it, we still need to run me through a few exercises," Mikey said, cutting the air into something nicer. Raph turned his face against my shoulder when Mikey talked, and the moment felt planned.
Don looked at Mikey, grimaced with the same distaste for exercise, then waved at his brother to follow. Mikey skittered by with a grin at me, and the two disappeared into the dojo once more. I turned around in Raph's arms now that we were free to be ourselves. He loosened his grip on my waist, and looked at me when I turned.
Raph was incredibly close in this hug. To keep my arms from being awkward at my side, I reached my hands up and curled my arms around his shoulders, between his skin and shell. Raph balled his fists in the small of my back, and looked down at me with bright hazel eyes. I took the moment to really look at him, in the short time I had before I had to leave. He had a thin green scar under his bandana, it trailed alongside it as eyeliner would. I reached up to move his mask out of the way so I could see it better, and all I wanted in that moment was to kiss it.
Raph did a shuffle with his feet as he looked over my face with equal curiosity. That's right, he hasn't been this close to me in a few weeks. He probably wondered what new nicks I could had, because I wondered the same about him. He'd discovered pebble scars and dots across my face from picking at acne back when I was thirteen and fourteen, and scratch scars from sleeping on pine cone covered ground and the side of the road, the last time we'd taken the time to just be together, but that was over a month ago.
I criticized my face often. As I was sure every other teen experienced, there was something I didn't like about my appearance: my scars. And I tried to hide them often. Most were easy, but the one over my eye, even though it was years old, was my biggest problem. So this scrutiny wasn't wanted by someone like Raph. I felt the urge to hide my face in his shoulder or my hair. Instead, I focused on his features as well, and let him have his fill. Heaven knows when he'll be seeing me again.
"So, will ya be leaving soon?" Raph asked. I started to consider it before I decided I didn't want to plan the future out, I wanted the look at the moments leading up to it. I was constantly planning for the future and never the moment. When would I see Raph again? Not soon enough for me to consider it.
I leaned up to so I was at my highest, and tilted Raph's head down so he could meet me the rest of the way. His mouth slid against mine, effectively silencing both of us. Raph's eyes widened slightly at the suddenness, but his response was immediate. He wrapped his large arms tighter around my waist and moved with me. I lowered one of my hands from around his shoulders to his chin to tug him even closer, so I didn't have to stretch as much to kiss him. In response, Raph lifted me in the air and held me against him. My ribs twinged at the position, but if I was going to choose between a little ache over this kiss then I needed to sort out my priorities.
"I'm good here for a while." I got out around the kiss. Raph chuckled in his throat, a spray of alto and bass that vibrated in his chest.
"Good, cause now I ain't lettin' ya go." He answered. I tried not to smile because it could tip the balance of this delicate and unmessy kiss into a complete mess. It didn't work out too well, but I wasn't the only one who ended up smiling. Raph also smiled, and I had to tilt my head back so we could get the euphoric giggles out without an accident.
Raph stared up at me. His eyes shined with a smile that matched his mouth, and I stared back, safe and happy in that moment. Raph unwrapped one of his arms from around my waist. I expected to be lowered, but Raph had a lot of strength. He brought his arm around and brushed my cheek, over the puckered skin of my scar. His green finger invaded my vision as he brushed over the worse part of the scar on my eyebrow. He reached up to press a kiss over my cheek, where the skin stuck out. It wasn't an act I expected out of the hot-headed turtle, and the kiss was as surprising as the intimacy behind it.
He pulled back to look at my reaction. I smiled softly, and leaned down to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth, where a scar was. It wasn't his most prominent by far, but it was close to his mouth, which I pressed a soft kiss to immediately after. Raph returned with equal softness, thumb still pressed to the bottom of my scar as he held my jaw.
"Uh, guys?" Mikey asked. My shoulders fell in resignation. Damn Mikey. "Is it safe for me to come out yet? I wanna eat."