Dis: Don't own TMNT
Note: Once again, thanks to all my readers for reviewing! :)

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Alice was relaxed in the harness she wore as she rappelled down through a sky window into a private high-rise that held a Japanese sword that once belonged to Takeda Shingen, a daimyo in feudal Japan in the mid 1500's. It took three trips to the place to map out the best way inside. With the sky window only having basic motion sensor security, it was cake. She was timing it well with the oscillating cameras to remain hidden for the most part. Her point of entry made it difficult so she was certain a camera would catch a glimpse of her but all it would pick up would be a shadow figure of a woman and not any distinguishing facial features. She also made sure that she went at a time there was some sort of crime being committed.

Alice had made use of her police scanner and now was a perfect opportunity because across town, far away from her, there was a police chase going down with a carjacker and she was certain the Watcher was keeping his attention on that situation.

Now, hovering three feet from the floor, she remained there as she twisted herself around to face the sword. It wasn't in a glass case but she had to Indiana Jones her way out of this one. The steel blade rested in a polished wooden scabbard, which was resting on two censored prongs. She did her research on the blade and managed to find one long enough and perhaps the same weight. She was hoping the security system wasn't too touchy or else the whole place was about to go off.

Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them, brown orbs focused as she slowly took the replacement sword that was strapped to her back and held it in her left hand. She flexed her right hand and held her breath as she, faster than she's moved before, took the Takeda Shingen blade and replaced it with a fake. It was then she quickly started her assent. Just because the alarm didn't go off right away, didn't mean it couldn't still blare at any moment.

It wasn't until she was back through the sky light that she was able to breathe normally again. Quickly gathering her equipment she put her climbing gear into a plain, black backpack and shrugged it on over her shoulders. She was to meet with the person that hired her tomorrow night so she had to hold onto the stolen sword for now. It had been a trip so instead of running back to her place from rooftop to rooftop she had to take her car which was parked a few blocks down on a side street.

Silently she moved at first rooftop to rooftop, but then to an entry level of a roof of an older apartment building. It was then she pulled down her hood, removed her nylon gloves, and let her hair down. She did her best to look normal as she entered the building and slowly started her decent down the stairs. The only person she ran into was an elderly woman who gave Alice a sweet smile before entering her own apartment.

Exiting the apartment building, she walked fast until she came upon her car, a black Camero. It was fast, and she loved it, and one of the few things she owned that she actually cared for. Tossing her pack in the passenger seat she climbed in. With the door closed and locked she turned on the overhead lights to look at her prize. The scabbard was polished wood, probably not the original but the hilt had a rough feel to it. Pulling on it, the steel made a sharp noise as it was pulled from the scabbard and her eyes traveled over the sharp blade. There was engravings along the side of the blade, perhaps Japanese, and she felt a strange pull as she ran her finger over the engravings. Brushing those feelings aside she re-sheathed the sword and put it in the back before starting up her car and taking off back to her apartment. In the back seat, she was unable to see the metal blade of the sword inside the scabbard giving off a faint, blue glow.

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Splinter woke from his deep meditative state. He had felt a strong presence that he couldn't quite place, as if something had awakened. It troubled him that he couldn't determine if it was good or evil but whatever it was it was powerful. He hoped that whoever awakened this power, or absorbed this power, would use it for the side of light and not fall and abuse the power given to them. At first Splinter feared that Shredder had awakened again, but this was… different.

"I must meditate on this further before I tell my sons," he said to himself, closing his eyes and slowing his breathing.

It was times like this he missed Leonardo. Surely his eldest son had felt this power as well. Leonardo was his only son that meditated regularly, and once you entered the celestial plane you felt all that there was to the Earth. It was how Splinter made sure his son was ok. At first Leonardo had been a bright blue, fiery beacon, willing to share his thoughts and feelings with him. Lately, Splinter felt as if there was a block and he couldn't reach his son like he used to be able to.

"My son, you are missed."

Since his departure, his other sons had busied themselves with other projects after Splinter told them they were to no longer patrol the city as a team together without Leonardo to complete the team. Michelangelo and Donatello had gotten jobs and Splinter had been reluctant to agree at first, especially with Michelangelo's, due to the fact his son was out in the day time 'pretending' to be a turtle at social events. His sons, however, were getting older, and needed to make decisions on their own. Splinter needed to learn to trust their judgment, though he still didn't support Raphael and his need to disobey by becoming the Nightwatcher.

Splinter knew from the first broadcast he'd seen on the television, that Raphael was the Nightwatcher. Raphael left at odd hours and slept during the day. His sons didn't train so the bruises and small cuts on Raphael's body when Splinter actually saw him could only be explained by one thing. His son was making sure the city stayed safe, and was a free spirit that Splinter couldn't fully control. For now, he allowed Raphael to keep his secret identity from his brothers, so long as he kept his real identity safe. Until the moment he confronted his son about this issue, the only thing he could hope, was that he would do his best to remain safe.

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Raphael grunted as his shell was tossed into a brick wall, his body falling to the dirty alley floor as a seven foot giant closed in on him. It was the same punk he'd been chasing all night. He'd ditched the truck he'd tried to steal and managed to escape the cops. The man cracked his beefy knuckles and sneered, his heavy biker boots clomping on the pavement.

Hun wasn't even as big as this guy and Raphael was grateful for the extra armor he wore otherwise this last hit might've knocked him out. The cocoa skinned thug didn't have any tats but there wasn't a place on his face that wasn't metal. He had a skull trim and his muscles bulged from the tight red t-shirt he wore.

"I'm gunna kill ya, Nighwatcher, and tell my boys I finally got rid of ya."

"Oh yeah?" Raphael flicked his wrist fast as lightning, a length of chain with a heavy ball at the end shooting out toward the thug, wrapping around his thick neck. The ball swung around faster and faster until finally smashing into the man's face. Raphael stood and pulled and like Goliath, the man went down with a crash. Raphael walked forward and looked down at the dazed man. He pulled up on the chain and those beefy hands were trying to pull the chain away from his throat. "See, your problem is that you talk too much."

Raphael brought his fist back and then smashed it into the thugs face once, twice, then three times until he finally fell still on the alley floor. Sighing, Raphael unwrapped the chain, and then started dragging the heavy lug toward a busy street where he would leave him chained securely to a telephone pole then call it in for the cops to pick the criminal up. As he just finished the quick call in, the scanner inside his helmet started buzzing about a break in across town, and to be on a look out for a female suspect. It sounded a lot like the one that got away, and he had a feeling that she'd planned on waiting to make that heist until she was certain he was nowhere around.

"Smart," he said out loud, straddling his bike. "Don't mean I won't find you though."

The Nightwatcher revved the engine of his bike, and with a squeal of his tires, took off toward where the robbery had taken place in hopes of finding a trace of the mischievous little thief.

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A freshly showered Alice sat on a chair in her silk pajama shorts and cotton tank top, staring at the sword that rested on top if her coffee table. Ever since touching the damn thing she's felt a pull to it, as if she HAD to touch it again. It was scaring her and a small part of her resisted the temptation to touch it. Never has she felt a feeling such as this with anything else she's stolen. Her brown eyes were curious but wary as they traveled over the covered blade.

"This is ridiculous," she muttered as she stood, now pacing on the area rug, eyes drifting to the sword until finally she couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed it, took it out of the sheath, and instantly felt a heat travel up her arm. She wanted to let go, willed her hand to let go, especially when the damn thing started to glow.

"What the hell!" she exclaimed as the engravings came to life on the blade. The black markings traveled down the blade, around the hilt, and finally to her hand. What had been etched into the steel was now on her skin, black ink twisting up her arm like a snake.

She fell to her knees, still holding the sword, as her body started to vibrate with an alien-feeling…power. It was as if something within her was coming alive and the black markings were now finding homes. One was at her left wrist, another on her right. One stopped at the back of her neck and the last managed to make it down to her right ankle and as they sealed themselves to her body, she started to take on the same glow the sword had. A sonic BOOM shook her apartment, setting car alarms off, and waking up half of those in New York that had been sleeping. The other half had been awake and gave shouts of fright and confusion as the ground shook beneath their feet for a brief second.

As slight panic erupted around her Alice fell the rest of the way to the floor, now unconscious, the sword still in her hand. Unbeknownst to her, many within the city, even around the world, felt this new power- and wanted to know more about it.

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Raphael looked up as his whole world shook, literally. He'd been kneeling over where the thief had managed to get into the high rise, when his balance had been thrown off. He knew from experience that if the Earth shook, especially in New York where earthquakes weren't a common occurrence, something fishy was up.

"Just what the hell is goin' on?"

For some reason, he just KNEW she was involved, and so now he was going to try something his father's been trying to get him to master for years. There, on the rooftop, Raphael closed his eyes and lost himself into deep meditation. It wasn't like he couldn't do it, he just didn't want to, but now he was getting focused in a way even Leo would've been proud. He felt it… a constant pulse, and it was like a damned beacon. If all else, whoever had this power, would soon be visited by others. Others wanting to take advantage of them to their own benefit, and it was up to Raphael to find them first. If all else, it would be a powerful new ally. He had time before the sun rose, and so he opened his newly focused amber eyes, and set out to find the mystery person.

Meanwhile, the person that had hired Alice to obtain the sword frowned. They felt that power, and knew that the sword had chosen its new owner. The sword only chose a new holder every 100 years, if the beholder is worthy enough to withstand their trials. So now, in order to use the sword in the way this person wanted to, they had to get to Alice before anyone else. They pressed a button on their desk, a red glow emitting from it as they spoke.

"Gather the men; we have an urgent matter that needs to be taken care of."

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TBC...