RIGHT ACTION

The first thing I noticed when I finally came to was how scorched my nose and throat felt. I never should have started smoking. The sharp ache in my neck as I tried to turn my head reminded me just where I had been the night before, and that cigarettes weren't totally the reason every breath made me wince. I raised a hand to rub the sleep out of my eyes, but was greeted by the clink of metal on glass. Through the dark tint of my visor, I could make out the unfamiliar couch cushions I was laying on and the orange-painted walls of the room around me. I hadn't made it home last night? So what happened?

"You up?" a voice from somewhere in the room asked me.

"Sure don't feel like it." I grunted back. "Where the fuck am I?"

"Justice Force HQ." I rolled over with a groan to lock eyes with the familiar figure, wrapped in a stupid cape and hood I hadn't seen in years. How hadn't I heard Mikey was playing superhero now? "Name's Turtle Titan, by the way. I wasn't about to leave a vigilante like yourself somewhere that the cops could find you after I pulled you out of that building." Vigilante? I guessed Casey had been wrong before; not everyone could tell the Nightwatcher was just a turtle wrapped in tin foil. That meant, if I played it cool enough, Mike wouldn't know who he'd saved, and I could make it out of there with no awkward family reunion bullshit.

"Oh fuck…" I suddenly remembered hearing the ceiling creak and a whole support beam landing square on my stomach, knocking the wind out of me and damn near cracking my shell open. "That lab…"

"…Is the third one this month to have blown up. If that doesn't scream sabotage, I don't know what does. Otherwise, the Foot Clan's running some pretty shoddy penthouse meth labs as of late."

"The Foot?"

"You didn't notice these spooky logos on the wall?" he held out a slightly charred silk banner bearing the same ominous three-pronged symbol I'd seen practically a million times. "They and I, we go pretty far back. Haven't heard much from outta recently, but I can't say I'm surprised they're wrapped up in all this."

"What, you think they're blowing up their own labs?"

"Doesn't make sense, but I'm not ruling it out. I don't know just how many enemies they have, but if you ask me, it could be anyone from aliens to the FBI."

"Hmmph." I leaned forward, propping myself up on my elbows and feeling my head reel as an hour's worth of smoke inhalation caught up with me.

"The only real surprising part of last night was finding the Nightwatcher in the rubble. I've always been a huge fan." An annoying, obsessed fan, at that.

"You don't say?"

"Didn't expect to see you around these parts anymore once the news stopped talking about you. Figured you'd skipped town or something. Maybe gotten put out."

"Yeah, well, there's something to be said for staying under the radar. I should've never let the paparazzi get any footage of me in the first place." I swung my legs under me, hearing both my bones and my armor creak as I stood up. "Which is why I'd better get going, before they catch wind that I'm here."

"Got to disappear again, huh? No time for breakfast with your biggest fan? Or a quick autograph?"

"Heh, why not, kid? I guess I owe you one." I chuckled a little inside the helmet; Mike had hardly changed at all. He handed me a marker and opened a notebook. "What do you want me to write?"

"Hmm…make it out to 'my snot-nosed little brother'."

My jaw would have hit the floor if it weren't held in by the helmet. Cautiously, I looked up and was greeted by the same mischievous grin I'd seen when he'd greased Leo's katana grips or put saran wrap over the toilet seat. It made me feel at home for the first time in months.

"Mikey…" He pulled my helmet off and dropped it to the floor, wrapping me in a bear hug before I had time to object. "'M sorry."

"Stupid hot-head. There's only one dude I know who gets himself into such reckless bullshit for fun, and weighs as much as a pickup truck. You know I carried your fat ass down all those stairs to get you out?" I could feel a couple warm drops trickle down my collarbone and into my suit.

"You never saw the helmet in Splinter's room?"

"I never go in there, man. Never looked around, at least. Smells too much like incense and sewer rat."

"Well, you totally got me, bro." I leaned in to hug him back. Nose buried in his shoulder, I realized how much I missed that smell of Irish Spring and tacky body spray. "I thought you didn't know it was me."

"Didn't until last night. Can't believe my shell-for-brains brother was my idol this whole time, and you didn't think to tell me. Where do you get off, Raph?"

"It was a…personal thing. Just a way to blow off some steam. You know me."

"I do." He sniffled a bit, and I pushed a gloved finger up under his chin, my baby brother looking up at me through those watery blue eyes like he hadn't seen me in ages.

Our little scene was broken up by a familiar hunk of metal walking into the room, emotionless golden mask staring in at us.

"Turtle Titan, I've analyzed the data and…" The crystal blue eyes turned away, with some robotic recognition of awkwardness. Mike set me free from the strangle of his too-long hug.

"Nano, you remember my brother Raph? One-time Green Mantle, part-time vigilante…"

"…And full-time hell-raiser." I grinned smugly, extending my arm to the shake our former foe's cold metallic hand.

"More like a full-time tail-raiser." Mikey laughed boorishly at his own joke before wincing, deserving the punch in the arm I gave him.

"Ignore him. You can call me Nightwatcher."

"Well, Nightwatcher, I've just calculated the pattern corresponding to these laboratory explosions. Whoever's behind these is moving southward, or south-east along the city grid, sabotaging one location every eight days."

"Cool. So do we know where they're attacking next?" Mikey asked.

"I'm not certain, but the locations already sabotaged consumed quite a bit of energy compared to their residential surroundings, and there's only two similar power consumption sites south of this last one."

"So what's the plan?" I wondered. "Are you gonna knock on doors around Two Bridges, asking if the Foot Clan needs any help not having their labs blown up?"

"With a bit more discretion than simply knocking, but yes." My sarcasm was lost on the robot. "Though the Foot are certainly not our allies, the potential loss of life from another explosion in such a dense area is reason enough to prevent it. The map with our sites to investigate is up on the large screen in the common room."

"I'll check it out in a sec, Nano. Thanks." Nano whirred down the hall, leaving us alone again.

"Thanks for saving my shell last night, Mike." I smiled warmly at him. "I promise I'll stick to catching muggers and gang bangers, leave the big stuff to the superheroes."

"You don't have to leave, Raph. I want you on this mission with me." He looked down coyly, dragging his toe across the carpet in a circle. "Being on the Force is cool and all, but I'm only one dude. I don't have wings or telekinetic powers, or anything other than a shield and a rope. The other guys are totally radical, but I guess I miss…"

"…Being part of a team." His gaze met mine again. "I get it, bro. Running around the streets solo looking for trouble is getting less fun by the day. I want things to be like the way they were before. That's why I'm gonna do this mission with you. Been too long since I've busted some Foot skulls with my baby bro. But, you sure the rest of the Justice Force is cool with me tagging along?"

"Fuck 'em if they aren't." He crushed me in another hug, and I squeezed him back just as hard. "You really need to shower first, dude. Shouldn't have let you sleep with that suit on. Do you ever even wash the thing?"

"Not gonna dignify that with a response. Where's the showers in this joint?"


Hope you guys appreciate the frequent updates! No better way to spend a rainy lazy summer day than writing.

Still only one review though! Can't make you like the story more if you don't tell me what you like!

Also, it's time for my first official MIDPOINT PLOT EXPLANATION UPDATE! For the literarily obsessed:

-The "right speech" referred to in the 1st chapter is Raph's withholding his outbursts and letting Casey talk

-The "right concentration" in the 2nd chapter is Mikey's ability to tune out his mourning and distractions to do what he needs to do in the burning building

-The "right livelihood" in the 3rd is Don's change of heart about working for Karai and starting to sabotage her work

-The "right intention" in the 4th is Leo's devision to better himself for his brothers and not run away for good

-The "right action" in this chapter is Raph's staying with Mikey instead of sneaking off to do Raph things

And, for those of you schooled in the actual Eightfold Path, that leaves:

-Right Effort (Mikey)

-Right Mindfulness (Don)

-and Right View (Leo)

...though I've been pretty indecisive (because the plot I'd had in mind doesn't 100% match the theme from here on out) so that pattern might change order.

Again, thanks for reading!