Daredevil moaned as he awoke. The throbbing in his leg increased as he became more aware of his surroundings. Once he was lucid enough, Daredevil sat up and gingerly touched the wound on his leg.

"I cleaned and dressed it," Don said from the corner of the room where he sat. "I kinda had to destroy your pants to get to it. You only needed a few stiches. It wasn't really life threatening."

"Who are you?" Daredevil asked as he shifted his weight on the table.

"He's my brother." Raph said as he walked into the room. "His name is Don."

Raph had a towel in his hand and was drying off the last of the water from his shower.

"Me and my bros gotta go out and finish that gang off, but you can stay here with Master Splinter."

"That's alright." Daredevil said as he swung his legs over the end of the table and went to get up. He winced as soon as he stood and fell back onto the bed. "Or maybe I'll stay here for a little bit."

"Ow!" Mikey rubbed his cheek where he had just been hit. A dark scowl crossed his face. "Oh that's it! The gloves are coming off. No more Mr. Nice Turtle!"

With a shout he threw himself back into the battle. Mikey dodged a strike aimed at his head. He ducked and moved in closer to his quarry.

"I really wish I didn't stop Don from coming up here. I could really use his help about now." Mikey grunted as he got bowled over by a lucky shot.

Mike stood and stomped his foot down hard, his hands at his sides in frustration.

"Cokey!" he snapped

Cokey looked over at her adopted father and gurgled. Her fur was soaked through, plastered to her body. Her long fur covered her eyes. She tossed her large head about in an effort to regain her sight.

Mike shouted as she looked over at him again. He was dripping wet with sudsy water.

"Cokey!" He shouted even louder. "You need a bath! You stink!"

He stalked forward and once again grabbed his weapon of choice, a scrub brush. "If you want to stay in the house you got to take a bath." He lectured as he scrubbed one of her paws with the brush.

Cokey jerked her paw away and flipped over to the ground on her side. She scooted along the ground, trying to rid her coat of the itchy bubbles. Mike shouted again as his arm was caught beneath her and she dragged him along.

"That's it!" Mikey grabbed the garden hose. He aimed and fired. Cokey yelped as the cool water hit her fur. After a few more minutes of struggling Mike finally got her fur clean. As soon as Mikey let her, Cokey jumped up and rolled about on the ground in an effort to get her fur dry.

"Oh come on Coke. It wasn't that bad."

He tried to reason with her as he watched her roll about. He pulled out some cheerios and Cokey immediately forgot about her unruly fur.

From the corner of his eye Mikey caught movement near the wood line. His head snapped to the right, fully aware of the fact that he and Cokey had no cover. His hands were already on his nunchaku before he even realized that the movement had been a dog. He relaxed immediately. The dog was completely black. Even from such a distance Mike could see that the dog was half starved. The ribs showed through his thin, stringy, matted coat. Mud and burs tipped the ends of his fur. The dog just sat here, staring.

Mike made kissy noises and patted his leg.

"Come 'er," he called in a higher pitch than was his normal voice.

The dog crept forward a few feet before stopping again. His ears perked forward, listening for anything dangerous. Mike called again, but the dog stayed where it was. Mikey stepped forward toward the dog. He covered half the distance before the dog stood and backed up a few steps as if to run. Mikey tried calling the dog again, but it didn't move muscle.

"Poor pup." Mike cooed. "You're nearly starved to death."

Mikey sat staring at the dog while the dog stared back at him. He snapped his fingers and ran back into the house.

Mike stepped over the wreckage that was still all through the house. He had cleaned up most of the broken glass, but the damaged furniture was still strewn about the house.

Mike opened the fridge and found nothing. He searched through all the cupboards looking for anything that a dog could eat.

Finally he found a can of canned chicken. Grabbing it and dumping it into a bowl, he jogged back outside. The dog had moved it now sat right at the door step. Mikey could see the extent of his starvation. All the dog's bones showed through its fur which was stretched tautly over its body. His shoulder blades were little more than triangles sticking up from his back behind his ears. His ribs could be seen starting three quarters down his back and ending in a thin barreled chest. Every vertebrae on his back made a bump on his fur.

Mikey crouched down. The dog backed up, but didn't run.

"Come 'er pup." Mikey cooed again. He offered the food and the dog's ears perked. It crept forward slowly. He stayed low, his head stretched out toward Mikey's hand. Mikey held completely still. Ever so slowly the dog drew closer and closer to Mikey's hand. The dog sniffed the food once, tasted it, then gobbled down the whole hand full of chicken. After he was done he searched the ground for any dropped pieces then proceeded to lick Mikey's hand clean of any juices. After this task was complete the dog followed its nose to Mikey's other hand where the bowl of chicken was still held. He nudged Mike's thumb with his nose, silently urging him to relinquish the remainder of the meat. mike chuckled at the dog's forwardness. He have him the bowl and entered the house again for a bowl of water.

Mike filled the bowl and turned to go back outside. The dog sat just a foot away on the kitchen floor, eyes hopeful. Mike looked outside, the dog had eaten all his food and slipped into the house behind Mike before the door had a chance to close. Mike chuckled.

"You sure eat fast don't you bud?" He pushed the screen door open and the dog followed him back outside. He set the bowl down and the dog lapped up the water as fast as he could.

"Take it easy bud. You drink that too fast and you'll end up puking it all back up."

Mikey lifted a hand to pat the dog's neck. The dog's hackles shot up on his neck. His shoulder moved away from Mikey's hand and growled. Mike snatched his hand away.

"Woah."

The dog went back to drinking his water like nothing happened.

By now Cokey had gotten her fur dry to her satisfaction. Dried grass bits and clods of dirt stuck to her fur. She lumbered over and noticed the new stranger.

"Cokey I don't think that's a good idea." Mike watched Cokey approaching the dog.

The dog growled at Cokey, but Cokey ignored the warning and stuck her nose in the dog's face. The dog's inquisitive nature took over and he sniffed back.

"Now how is that fair?" Mikey asked.

Raph crouched low in the shadows, his head bowed. He steadied his breathing as he listened to the chaos below.

The gangsters had started a fight about what to do about the intruders. The fight probably started out as simple suggestions. Then they probably started the name calling. Now they were to the heavy yelling and weapon shaking phase of the fight.

Leo tapped Raph's wrist and Raph held out his hand. Leo quickly made a few signs into Raph's palm and Raph nodded. His understanding. He sensed Leo moving off into position.

It was funny. Since Raph went blind, it was Leo who tried the hardest to understand. His stubborn brother who at first seemed like he was too busy being leader to care was always the one who guided Raph or signed to him in a fight. He was always the one to call out positions to him.

Since he went blind it seemed like Leo and Raph had become better friends.

Raph listened intently to the thugs below.

"I'm telling you. We don't got nothing to worry about!" One thug yelled. That freak was blind as a bat.

"Oh I think you better start worrying about that freak." Raph growled as he jumped down form the rafters.

He glared venomously at them, his eyes mere slits as he spun his sai about. The gang just stood staring at him. The shock only lasted a second. They shouted in rage at the intruder and charged as a group. Raph turned and knocked a guy straight in the solar plexus.

He flipped over their heads and back into the shadows behind some crates.

"So which one of you stupid idiots came up with the idea that I was blind?" Raph's voice came from behind them. The gang whipped around with a start. The turtle with the red bandana stood there. The gang gasped.

"How'd you?…" One gang member sputtered.

Raph had to stifle a chuckle from his spot behind the crates. They fell for that trick every time.

From his spot in front of the gangsters Leo tried hard to maintain the Raph look. He stood with his legs apart and his arms folded. A confident angry smirk played its way across his face. Leo could see the edges of the red bandana bound around his face. He brushed off the minor annoyance and stepped forward, grabbing the nearest gangster by the shirt collar. He heaved him up and locked eyes with him. Leo held him there for a second before he sneered and threw the thug to the side.

By now the rest of the gang had recovered and attacked again. Leo knocked a great number of them down. After most of the gang members were groaning on the ground, Leo threw a smoke bomb and disappeared.

"Where'd he go?" One of the gang members shouted.

"A bunch of geniuses we've got here." Raph crouched behind the crate and threw his voice in the other direction as Donny stepped out from behind some boxes, wearing a red mask and sporting a Raphael scowl.

The gang was outraged. Donny knocked the few who were stupid enough to charge him down again. By now only a few of the gangsters were even able to get to their knees.

One tried to reach for a nearby gun. His hand stretched out across the floor. Don's heel came smashing down on his palm. He could hear a few bones crack as the man screamed. His pain filled eyes looked up into Don's merciless ones. Don growled as he looked down on him. Both their eyes flicked over to the gun. Don crouched down with his heals still on the man's hand and picked up the gun. In a few deft movements he popped out the magazine and removed the firing pin. The man below him was bellowing in pain. He swung at Don's leg with his free hand, but it was no use. Don took one last look at him before he pushed off the man's hand into a series of back flips. He landed out of sight behind some crates and smacked the ground twice, Raph's cue.

Raph sauntered out of the shadows and heaved the first guy he came to up by his collar. He had picked the guy out before he even made himself known again. He was breathing hard. One of his brothers must have hit him too hard in the chest.

Raph heaved him up and drew him close, whispering threatening tones into his ear.

"Next time I see you takin' things that aren't yours you're dead."

Raph let the man drop to the ground. He backed into the shadows behind him and disappeared.

Raph wasted no time in leaving the warehouse and escaping to the roof. Leo and Don appeared seconds later both laughing fit to burst.

"Oh man Leo did you see that guy's face?"

"I think you're getting better at the I don't give a crap Raph face." Leo chuckled at the memory of his shy brother pulling a Raph. "Raph, I think if you don't watch it Donny is going to steal your job of being hot head." Leo chuckled.

"I think they got the message." Raph counted his paces silently over to the air conditioning unit and pulled out his weapons. His sai slipped easily into his belt and he kept his bo in his hand. He handed Leo his katanas and tossed Don his bo. Don had to dive to catch it. Despite this Don smiled. He Hadn't said anything to Raph to tell him where he was and his aim wasn't that far off.

"Headed home?" Raph asked.

"We might as well. I want to check on Matt's leg." Don answered.

Leo gave Raph's shoulder a pat. "I'll race ya."

Raph chuckled and shook his head. "No thanks bro. You win. I've had enough racing about today."

Cobart growled as he threw the high tech binoculars into the passenger's seat. He picked up the news paper crossword and filled in a letter. In his neat block script he drew an E into one of the tiny boxes. Cobart scanned over the cross word. If someone took a closer look at it they would see no actual words. Random letters filled the small white spaces. Cobart growled. There were far too many vowels for his liking.

The neighborhood this Casey Jones lived in wasn't a friendly one. Most of the people living in apartments there kept their curtains drawn tight, making it impossible for Cobart to see who lived within. When he couldn't figure out who livid in the apartment the box on the crossword signifying their home received a vowel.

Cobart leaned back, reclining the seat in his SUV as he turned his attention to the door of the apartments complex he was watching. He would have to wait until each person came out of the apartment building. After this apartment there were half a dozen more to go just in this neighborhood. He would wait though. He would wait forever for a chance to kill the turtles. He would wait and watch. When they least expected it, he would strike.

Even in the wee hours of the morning the city of New York was alive with life. People walked in their black dresses and fancy tuxes to the entry of the Broadway theater. Others in revealing leather skirts and skimpy shirts stood on street corners. The night was just beginning for these people. Down below the streets, in the city sewer system, a certain turtle was completely oblivious to the going ons of the people topside. His hand hung over the side of the hammock as he slept on his stomach. His head was cocked to the side at an odd angle and a little drool dribbled from his open mouth.

Raph's bandanna and knee pads were dumped where he had dropped them on the corner of his night stand next to his radio. His sai had been placed more carefully on the night stand. They were laid with one hand grip in each bottom corner of the night stand for quick retrieval.

The nightlight in the far corner of the room splashed a gentle glow on Raph's face as he let out another deep snore. Soft music played barely audible from the radio.

Suddenly Raph stopped mid snore turning the sound into a sort of snort. His face twisted into a grimace, a sure sign that he was having a nightmare. It was only a few seconds before he began to twist and turn, mumbling in his sleep.

Suddenly with a shout his eyes snapped open as he shot up in bed. His breath came in ragged, angry gasps. His unseeing eyes darted back and forth. Finally he remembered where he was when he heard the familiar music coming from his stereo and saw the grey glow of the night light in the corner.

He let out a frustrated sigh and wiped the sweat from his face. He swung his legs over the side of his hammock and sat there for a moment, contemplating, before he finally hopped to the floor.

He flipped the face open on his Braille watch and felt the raised bumps. 3:00AM. It was too early to go back to sleep.

"Damn." He muttered to himself.

This was the second time in two days since Don told him Cobart was alive that he had had dreams.

Raph contemplated going down to the dojo to workout a big but his muscles were still sluggish with the need for sleep and he didn't feel like pushing them into working.

Raph let out a yawn as he turned off his radio. He detected the sounds of the downstairs TV playing low. Waving his hands back and forth before him as he walked, he made his way down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs he paused and cocked his head. One person, no wait, two people.

"I guess it's a party." Raph said as he made his way over to the couch.

"You can't sleep either?" Leo's voice came from the opposite end of the couch.

"No, I was sleeping just fine until lovely bloody images jumped into my head." Raph's tone remained calm.

Leo didn't respond to what he knew was Raph just venting.

Raph rubbed at the ugly purplish blue bruise that was forming along his shoulder.

Leo took in the rest of his brothers minor injuries. He chuckled.

"They really did beat the crap outta you."

"Hey they wouldn't have gotten quite so many hits in if I wasn't savin DD's butt over there." He noddedto where Daredevil was seated in Splinter's armchair.

He had decided by the breathing pattern that the person seated in the living room wasn't any of his family members. "How's the leg?"

"Last I checked it was still there and doing fine." A voice chuckled from the arm chair.

"Kevin?"

The man chuckled again.

"Yeah, I think that's my name."

Hey man, what are ya doin down here? It's like three in the morning."

"Well I just got back from my vacation a few hours ago. I went home and unpacked, but I'm still running on a different time table so I thought I'd make the most of my waking hours before jet lag set in. Besides, I know for a fact that you guys never sleep."

"Yeah, how was Hawaii?"

"It was good, a well needed rest from you guys." He joked. "I noticed there were a few more medical supplies missing from my office." Kevin accused.

"That would probably be my fault."

Daredevil came limping out of Don's lab. He leaned heavily on his cane as he alternately leaned heavily on his cane as he alternately swept it back and forth. With a wince he sat on the other end of the couch that Leo had just relinquished. "Are you as sore as I feel Raph?" He asked as he situated his injured leg on the coffee table before him.

"Yeah probably." He rubbed his bruised shoulder. "I got popped a good one in my shoulder. Kevin this is Dar-"

"Matt" Daredevil interrupted. "Matt Murdock."

"And uh… Matt… This is Kevin Broody. He's kinda out unofficial doctor."

"Hi," Kevin mumbled.

He immediately went from a regular friend to a shy mouse when Matt came into the room, typical Kevin.

"Sorry about the missing supplies. I'll gladly replace them. I didn't know."

"It's alright," Kevin mumbled.

"Kevin orders extra supplies for us sometimes," Leo explained. "Considering how accident prone Raph is." Leo couldn't help but add the jab at his brother.

"Accident prone? Really? Who was it that got themselves a concussion last week? I can't quite seem to remember, Leo" Raph played back.

"Hey that was only bec-"

"So how's the leg… Matt?" Raph interrupted Leo's explanation.

"'S alright. I can't put any weight on it, but it's okay."

"Well you're welcome to stay here until you feel like you can get around again."

"Yeah I'm really sorry about getting you into that fight. I really shouldn't have suggested we go in there when I know you wouldn't handle that many guys so good."

"Shell Raph, you're starting to sound like me. I have to admit though, when you said you were going to take on a whole gang by yourself I didn't take you seriously."

"You didn't think I was serious? I didn't think I was serious!" Raph retorted,

"Wait a second," Matt interrupted. "Who said I couldn't hold my own against a gang."

"I'm not even going to ask." Kevin threw up his hands, recognizing the start of a battle.