"What the shell, Liza?" Don shouted at me before I could get farther than two feet into his room. Haley was leaning in his chair, chewing some gum she pulled from who knows where. She looked completely at ease to what just happened an hour and a half ago, and she was drumming the cushioned seat while nodding her head. I was annoyed that she was wearing my sweater, but I guess it was expected. The turtles didn't wear clothes, and I'm the only one close to her size. She nodded her head to me in acknowledgement and went back to drumming. I smiled at the younger seventeen-year-old, and then looked at Don.
"Yes, Donnie?" I asked, falsely sweet.
Don waved his hand at Haley quickly, and walked over to her. She lifted her arm up without looking, letting him pull the top of my sweater down to show her shoulder. She stopped drumming, looking at her nails. There was blood under them, which I could see her grimace at.
Her shoulder became visible, but I couldn't see anything past the bandage. There were flecks of red still seeping through, but Haley was no longer in pain. Don must have given her some form of antibiotics to knock out the pain and help any swelling. Don also still had blood on his fingers, which I could see vividly against the black sweater. His desk had swathes and gauze, and I could see the sticky yellow substance he used over the wound to insulate it.
"This, Liza. You had a plan, but that plan was not for Haley to get hurt." He answered, quietly angry.
The plan to break Leo. That's right. I shuffled my feet, looking at the ground. There was a dried spot of blood in the ground, and I felt some worry for the other woman. She knew what she was doing, it was her plan to get hurt. But she still bled a lot. I, of course, didn't tell the others about this part of the plan, because they had to be genuine in reactions. Only I knew she was going to get hurt.
"It was Haley's plan to get hurt. She thought it would be better if there was a consequence, and that it would break Leo easieer." I explained dully. Don grew a couple of inches as he took in a slow breath. I saw his nostrils flare, and his eyes were spitfire. Haley pulled the sweater over her shoulder, standing up slowly. Don let go of her, brushing his hand off on a cloth on the table.
"Why... is it that nearly every time you come over, someone gets hurt, or someone is hurt?" Don asked, his voice stiff. "Why do I have to deal with blood every time something big happens now? Why can't you bring a dog for Mikey? Why can't you make some large announcement on being pregnant like a normal person, or flaunt some giant ring on your ring finger?"
Haley walked closer to me, backing me up. Don looked me in the eyes, a very familiar feeling of simmering anger in his them. I shrugged, because honestly, I didn't know. I tried coming without problems, but they were stacking in the Shredder's Tower. Shredder was annoyed his Foot Soldiers couldn't find me, and was even more annoyed when he realized when I had the Mask on, I didn't distinguish a friend from a foe. I was killing off allies, Foot Soldiers and Purple Dragons alike, because criminals were criminals. Which meant his Foot Soldiers sorta didn't want to find me.
"Why do you still have so much hatred for me?" I asked. Donnie paused, his brows furrowing. "I've tried mending things with you. You nearly killed me in one of those attempts. Things got a little better after that, but then the Night Watcher business happened, so I went ahead and killed Night Watcher. But that didn't fix anything either."
"I don't trust you," Don said flatly. I sucked my cheeks in.
"And why not? Tell me what I have to do, because I don't think Raph is going to let me go anytime soon." I let out in a big whoosh. Don chuckled, a low guttural sound that showed just how angry he was.
"You can't just mend trust like that," He snapped his fingers loudly, and I jumped. "You were so willing to make me trust you that I could have killed you, but you weren't willing to stop Raph until the secret got out, and then you committed another murder for him. I think you killed Night Watcher so Shredder couldn't weasel a way to him. Because then he'd find Raph, and then we're all dead."
"I did it to protect your family," I grumbled, waving to Haley to get going. Haley stayed where she was, and I wanted to hiss at her, but I was facing an angry turtle who was trained in combat. And you were never supposed to look away from an enemy.
"I can't trust that. You should have done something long before it got on the news." Don shot back. "You should have done it before you had to kill someone for us. If Night Watcher disappeared when you learned it was Raph then his image would still be alive and not on a pike!"
"Raph is Night Watcher?" Haley butted in rather abruptly. Don and I paused in our glaring match. His nostrils flared and he turned his head to the side. I chanced it to look at Haley finally.
"Leave." I hissed her. I got a small 'No' in reply. I was tempted to push her to the door, but Haley would just push me right back. So I turned back to Donatello. "Raph said he had it handled."
"You know Raph, he isn't that well-coordinated. Leo couldn't do it." Don countered quite easily. I stared at him, annoyed, and he met me with another angry look.
"I wasn't not going to trust him. Two years he'd been doing this and he didn't have anything pinned against him." I fought back.
"I thought Night Watcher was around for five years..." Haley muttered to herself. I almost turned to look when she said that. Night Watcher was what now?
"It's not about you trusting him! It's about our safety. If you love him, you should have stopped him!" Don exclaimed. He pointed at Haley. "If you want to protect us then stop bringing home more problems. She should have been killed the second she saw us, no matter what she or Leo said. The one time I would have backed your murder and you let her live. Now, she's a walking liability that could get you and us killed. So let's check the scores: you didn't stop Raph from leaving the lair, you killed someone to cover your tracks, you let a Foot Soldier live just because she played nice. And I'm supposed to trust you?"
He made good points. Really good points. And I didn't know what I was supposed to say to that. I didn't really have a counter for them, because he was right. Whether or not I trusted Raph I should have said something, because if he was caught my story was out the window. The murder I wouldn't take back, the man I killed had it coming and it doubled as a good reason to stop Raph. And Haley should have been killed, whether or not the others liked it. She was a soldier under Shredder, a Foot Soldier who saw her enemies alive, and I didn't kill her because she played nice to save her life and I wanted to keep a friend in Shredder's Tower.
"You're right." I murmured, all the ire gone from me. Don froze and I watched him as he rebooted his thoughts. His arm fell to his side limply, and his brow furrowed as he thought over the two words I said.
"I'm right?" He asked for clarification. I nodded.
"I should have stopped Raph, and I should have killed Spice when she discovered you. I won't agree with the murder since it was going to happen eventually, but I understand where you're coming from with that one." I explained calmly. Don opened his mouth to say something, and then his jaw snapped shut. He shuffled back to lean against his desk, and he looked at me like I was a puzzle he couldn't solve.
"Just like that?" He asked.
"Just like that." I agreed. Don looked even more confused now.
"Come on, Sugar. You have training in thirty minutes." Haley murmured. She grabbed my wrist, tugging me towards the door. It suddenly clicked in my head that Haley had been waiting for Don to finish talking. I walked backward, away from the tall terrapin. Don kept his eyes on my face, but all his anger was gone. I could feel my chest constricting, and my throat was dry. Haley pulled the door wider open, and I felt like I should say something. But what do I say to Don?
"I do love your brother." I murmured quietly to him, finally turning into Haley. Haley stumbled away from me, her grip releasing my arm when I dragged her. I looked over at her with a raised eyebrow, and she shrugged.
"I cannot believe I got curious enough to get sucked into this drama." She muttered, grabbing my arm again to pull me down the stairs. She pulled her mask out of my pocket, letting go of me to get her hair pulled up. Slowly, kind of in a trance, I walked down the stairs and to the door. Raph was there, a curious look in his eyes.
"Problem with Don?" He asked, handing my weapons to me. I smiled at him, taking the katanas from his grip. I pulled the strap over my head, glancing back at the Foot Soldier. Her blank mask stared at me, and she nodded once to say she's good. I jut my head to the door, silently telling her to leave ahead of me. Without any question, Haley did as told, and the doors blew in cold air when they opened. I could feel my hair rush over my shoulder, and I shivered at the chill.
"Yeah. He got angry about the Spice ordeal. He can explain it to you." I told him. Raph nodded slowly, stepping closer to me. His fingers curl around my elbow, keeping me in place. I wasn't going to willingly move from him, but I did have to leave. Raph was keeping me here for as long as possible.
"I'll make sure to quiz him for ya." Raph said. I smile brightly at him, his accent alone enough to lift my spirits. Raph smiled back, and he lifted his arm up. The silver of my mask appeared in my peripheral vision, and Raph puts it over my head. I reach behind me to buckle the worn metal into place while Raph held it. Raph's green skin tinged red with the pieces of cloth over the eyes. I could still see his eyes, a sort of orange with the mask on.
"Be back soon." I murmured. Raph grabbed my hand, lifting it up to kiss the back of it.
"Can't wait." He breathed back. I circled around Raph to get to the door. He turned with me to see me off, and I looked back at him. Don was at the top of the stairs, peering down at us. He was too far to hear us, but it looked like he knew exactly what we were saying.
"Hey Raph," I started before I thought about it, and Raph looked expectantly at me. I glanced at his hand, which was still holding mine. "I know I've never said it, and I guess I assumed you knew. But I... I love you."
His expression softened, utterly heartfelt. He leaned forward to bump his forehead against mine and I felt a flutter in my stomach.
"And I you." He answered quietly. I smiled even though he couldn't see, but before I could raise my mask a hand landed on my back, and Haley pulled me through the door. I tumbled back, Raph's hand jerking out of mine. He stayed where he was, and the doors closed before we could say anything else.
"Sorry to cut into such a lovely moment, but you have twenty-five minutes, and you still have to get in your other outfit." Haley muttered, pulling me back. I turned around, walking alongside her. She let's go of my shirt once I followed, stretching her arms.
"When you find someone I'm going to cock-block you guys just like you do," I grumbled, picking up my stride. Haley's black mask looked over at me, and I couldn't see her facial reaction. She was probably smiling at me.
"Come on Silver Foot," She murmured, taking off running ahead of me. I stare at the back of the black body, surprised to see her bouncing from foot to foot like she was skipping. I shook my head at the younger teen, then started running after her.
Raph's POV
Liza's sudden disappearance left me catching my breath. I was stuck on her last few words before Haley dragged her out the door. I felt like hugging her, I felt like running for joy. This morning quelled some of my fears, well it actually quelled most of my fears. It opened endless possibilities, and now I felt like I floated on cloud nine. There was something nagging me away from the high, and I stopped to think. There was a scuffle from Don behind me, and I got it.
"Donnie!" I called out before he could escape. I turned on my heel, the euphoric feeling disappearing like smoke. Don pulled back from tapping my shoulder, mouth open like he was about to say something.
"Yes, Raph?" He said instead.
"What did ya talk ta Liza about?" I asked. Don looked surprised, and I wondered if I'd assumed wrong. Jumping to conclusions was my thing, and Don wasn't one to yell at people. Maybe I was putting two and two together in the wrong area, and the conversation between Liza and Don and Liza telling me she loved me were two different things. And if so, this was unneeded anger.
"What did she say to you?" Don asked curiously. I furrowed my brows, staring at my tallest brother.
"That ya two had a spat about Haley," I answered. Don raised an eye ridge, looking at the door behind me. I knew my brother enough to understand what that meant. "Tha' wasn't the only thin' ya guys had a talk about."
Donnie looked back at me, his fingers tapping his forearm when he crossed his arms. He looked at the ceiling, pursing his lips. He swallowed in a way that looked like he had to force it. He answered, "No."
"What did ya guys talk about?" I asked, calmer. Don hummed, tilting his head this way and that like he was trying to figure out how to word it. That was never a good thing. "Don?"
"What did she say to you?" He asked instead. I shuffled my feet, well aware he was nervous. But I wasn't going to give him the easy way out. I wanted an answer first.
"Ya first, what did ya guys talk about tha' she didn't tell me about?" I shot back, and Don rubbed his face tiredly.
"We fought about Haley getting hurt... at first." He began, his voice as tired as he was.
"What happened after?" I murmured, stepping closer to my brother. He pursed his lips, thoughtful.
"She confronted me about why I disliked and distrusted her." He told me honestly. "I was already riled up about how Haley was used to break Leo, so it wasn't hard for her to push the right buttons."
Liza pushed the buttons needed to make Donatello, the coolest tempered of the four of us, angry? Well, pushing why he hated her would definitely do that, Don was still hurt about almost losing us, but to do it so easily. She was only up there for a few minutes, how did all of that transpire in such a short time. And when she came down she looked fine, and Don now didn't seem angry recounting it.
"And?" I pressed, feeling like there was more to the story. Don shrugged.
"I told her exactly why I disliked her and exactly why I distrusted her. Why did she wait until the love affair between Night Terror and Night Watcher was on the news to stop you, even though she knew you were supposed to be right here? Why did she let Haley live? Why was her solution to the Night Watcher problem to kill him off? She kept picking the things that put us in more danger even when she said she wanted to help us, and I wasn't ok with that." He paused for a second. "And she agreed with me."
I didn't expect that. Don probably didn't either. Not from Liza.
"That sounds bad, I should clarify. She understood why I didn't trust her, and she agreed that she should have stopped you and Haley." Don butted back in. He looked up sheepishly. "I'm not sure where we're supposed to go from there. It still doesn't fix anything, but it feels like progress. Haley pulled her away before we could talk anymore."
"She said she loved me." I blurted out. Don's eyes snapped to mine, all at once tense before he dissolved. He smiled to himself, about what I didn't know. But I could see him relax where he stood, and he inhaled slowly and deeply.
"That helped." He murmured. I raised an eye ridge, now confused, and he smiled a little brighter. "It was something else we discussed. It's not as important."
Liza's POV
As soon as I walked into the training room, I knew I was in trouble. The air zapped with electricity and I was facing the three top. Shredder stood in the center, Karai to his right, and Hun to his left. Shredder didn't acknowledge me like he usually did, and I could see his hand tighten on his chair. Karai was in uniform, her single sword perched in her lap like a reminder to me. Hun sat on his other side, leaning forwards and glaring at me venomously. After slicing his leg open and debilitating him, our relationship became strained. He no longer talked or visited me, and he became much more brutal in any possible fights between us.
I walked into the room slowly, careful to keep a close eye on my dagger. It was a quick and easy weapon to use, and I had been practicing throwing it. The silver suit I wore no longer felt safe on me, and as I kneeled in front of Shredder, I wondered several different things. Where were the others I trained against? What was going to happen? What was going to be said? And the one I worried about the most was, am I getting out alive?
"Master Shredder." I murmured, falling to my knee in front of him. Shredder gave no indication of hearing me, and I kept my head ducked. Karai shuffled next to Shredder, and she stood up. I fought the urge to look at her, and I tensed my shoulders when cold steel pressed into my neck. "Master?"
"I have," Shredder started calmly. "Inside information that a little silver bird has been having night time fun."
First thought to enter my head, shit.
"Fun?" I asked. Sure, killing might be fun if you're getting a mass murderer like Thomas, or stopping a rapist in the nick of time, but usually, I didn't have fun.
"You were, what did they call it?" Shredder tapped the wood. Shredder wasn't one to forget, he remembered everything. He was trying to make me worry, and it was working. "Ah well, I can't remember. You were kissing someone."
Oh, that wasn't too bad.
"And Karai here saw you and the unknown man walk into the sewers." He ended in a voice that made it sound like he couldn't believe it. His tone suddenly got angry. "Now tell me, what were you doing in the sewers?"
"You said it yourself, I was having fun," I responded. Shredder stood up in the corner of my eye. The blade on my neck got closer, and I fought the urge to lean farther down.
"A trench-coated man who was exceptionally large. I did not take you for one of the robust waists." Karai murmured. Trench coat... That was three weeks ago. Why was he just now saying something? What if he hadn't believed Karai at first, but now there was more information against me?
"Oh, him," I said dryly. "He caught me on the roofs after he studied my patrols. To save face I took him into the sewers under the pretense of privacy to kill him."
Shredder hummed, and the blade on the back of my neck lifted. I was just about to sigh in relief, but a foot came up and hit me in the chest. I fell back, landing on my sword. It pinched my scar, and I flinched away from the blow.
"Lies are not accepted here." Shredder murmured cooly, walking down towards me. He took the weapon from Karai as he moved past her and she returned to her seat.
"I'm not lying," I said before I thought about it. I heard it before I saw it, and his sword pressed against my throat.
"Do I need to give a more permanent reminder? I was kind last time, but perhaps that was a fault on my part." Shredder damn near cooed, like I was a child. Apparently, slitting throats was now kind.
"No Master Shredder," I whispered. "What do I have to do to prove myself?"
Shredder stared down at me, his black hair pulled back to reveal his surprisingly young face. He was older than Hun from what I could tell, but he looked younger than the thirty two year old man. He would have looked handsome, but his face was taut close to a snarl.
"You will face several punishments, most of which will not be done in this room, because I like this carpet." He said, all business now. I swallowed thickly, feeling the blade dig slightly deeper. That meant pain, and that meant blood. Those were two things I tried to avoid at all costs.
"Yes, Master," I said, slowly, afraid.
"Your first punishment is hanging up the Mask. No more Black Masked Terror. She was always a problem for me, but I let it go because it was something you enjoyed before and after your wound. Now, I want you where I can always see you." He murmured, calmer. I looked up at him, surprised and confused. The snarl was gone, replaced by something almost friendly. His sword came up to run along my cheek, over the still healing cut made when I killed Thomas. "You're valuable, and you are deadly, but I know this job will kill you, and I don't want that."
I closed my eyes and bowed my head, hiding the joy I felt so he wouldn't know that was one of my greatest wishes. I didn't have to continue to kill people! I could put down my mask once more, and maybe this time I won't have to pick it up a third time. I no longer had to go out nightly-Wait. I no longer had to leave. Which meant no more visiting the turtles...
"Yes, Master," I whispered, my voice tight in my throat as I realized why this was actually a big problem. I now didn't have a solid reason to be out all hours of the night.
"Your second punishment is confinement. You are not allowed out unless I say so." He continued. I balled my hands up in my lap, biting on the need to answer with anything less than respect. I didn't have to worry about my reactions now, as far as Shredder knew -hopefully-, I was reacting because he took away my favorite hobby. He did, it just wasn't what he thought it was. "I know you were always a free bird, Elizabeth, and I don't trust you not to leave now that I've confined you. You will have guards until you regain that trust."
"Yes... Master," I answered tensely. His blade was removed from my vicinity, and my shoulders finally relaxed.
"Your third punishment begins tomorrow. Don't be late. You no longer have excuses." He muttered, walking away from me. I stood up then, and bowed respectfully.
"Of course, Master Shredder." I murmured.
A/n: Something I didn't know when I watched the 2007 movie. Night Watcher was a mantel passed to Raphael by a guy named David Merryweather. Which is probably another reason why his family never made the connection he was NW, because NW was someone who'd been around the block for a long time.