Hey guys! I'm sorry that it has been a little while since my last update. I was at a basketball tournament almost every day last weekend, and things got crazy for a while. Good news, though! I'm back, with a brand new chapter to boot!

Hope you enjoy it.

Summary: Raph is sure he can't take Leo's almighty attitude any longer. He channels his rage through the Nightwatcher, a mask he puts on to beat down criminals of all kinds. However, when Raph (as the Nightwatcher) is captured by desperate criminals, he begins to realize how much he really needs a leader. He also might have found love in the process. RaphxOC, M/M SLASH! Don't like, don't read.

Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT or make money.

He didn't expect Jet to return so soon. Raph started when the healer entered the room, an unsettling feeling in his gut suddenly coming over him. Then he saw it-the shining yet slim glint of metal, the oddly-colored liquid. Jet was holding a needle.

Raph struggled frantically in his bonds. The last thing he needed was for a bunch of criminals to shoot him up with who knows what and...and... Do whatever they were going to do once he was all drugged up. Raph knew from experience that they couldn't have good intentions in mind.

"Hey," Jet said, friendly enough, though in Raph's eyes his terse smile seemed to curl into a menacing sneer. He couldn't let that needle get anywhere near him, he just couldn't.

"Back off!" Raph bellowed, recieving some satisfaction when Jet flinched away. That feeling didn't last long, however. Soon, Jet was coming back at him with that syringe like a cold-hearted experimenter, a gore-hardened scientist.

"Listen to me, Raph," Jet said calmly, in a way much like Donatello's 'doctor' voice. Raph squirmed all the more. "I've just got to give you some medicine real quick, okay? It'll make you a little slower, but if you take it you can be untied."

Raph didn't believe that crap for a second. He was seized with fear; something that didn't happen to him often. Metal cut into his wrists, leaving deep marks there, but it would all be worth it if he could just get OUT.

Jet crept closer, holding that ominous needle at the ready. Raph thought he was about to loose his mind. He almost wished Jet would just go ahead and stab him already, be done with it, instead of drawing it out. Perhaps, the criminal enjoyed the look of fear in the Nightwatcher's eyes... The thought alone made Raph double his efforts to get free. He was filled with disgust for this place, these people. Couldn't they just let him and his brothers be?

The criminal tried to pin the needle in a vein in Raph's arm, but Raph thrashed wildly, and Jet couldn't seem to manage to get a firm enough hold. The healer's brow furrowed, his eyes flashed with anger.

"Stay still!" Jet shouted, but Raph only smiled smugly, wiggling all the more. He still managed to slip away even after Jet placed a firm hand on his arm.

"Seriously, I need you to quit moving!"

"In your dreams!"

"Raph-"

"Na na na na na, you can't stab me.."

"That's what I'm trying to avoid! Hold still!"

"No way!"

"Yes, way!"

"What in hell's teeth is going on in here?" Jet froze in his efforts to pierce Raph with his needle as the door to Raph's prison busted open, revealing a very unkempt-looking Flame with such fury in his eyes that even Raph recoiled, though he continued to move his arm.

"Sir, I, he..." Jet stuttered, trying desperately to find an appropriate way to begin his sentence. After several more failed tries, Jet simply lapsed into silence, his shoulders slumped in defeat. Flame's eyes narrowed to slits in a way Raph found more than terrifying.

"Have you injected him yet?" That authoritative voice, again. Raph shivered.

"No, sir. I can't hold him still long enough to find the vein."

Flame raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You mean to tell me that you can not manage to inject a hung over, strapped down, mutant turtle with your fancy serum?" Raph sensed a hint of amusement mixed in with the sarcasm in his voice.

Jet gulped. "Yes, sir. That is exactly what I am saying."

Flame hid his face in his hands, sighing dramatically. Raph couldn't help but chuckle, though the laughter died in his throat at Flame's next words.

"Okay. I'll just have to do it, then. Hand me that."

Jet gave the syringe over to Flame, eyes wide. Raph wondered if Flame even knew how to use a needle. It didn't seem likely. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, and Raph began to thrash violently. In stark contrast, Flame was the picture of collected as he demanded quietly that Jet leave the room.

Raph didn't stop squirming as Flame sat in the chair right next to Raph's bed, didn't pause when Flame placed a steadying hand on his plastron, his other poised with the needle.

Flame didn't say a word at first. He just sat there, waiting patiently, and Raph again found himself comparing the human to Leonardo. The idea made his muscles quiver all the more, no longer from fear of experimentation, but from rage.

After several minutes, when it became apparent Raph wasn't going to tire out anytime soon, Flame began to speak to him. His tone was soft and soothing, though it still carried that ever-present, dominating note.

"I think I understand you, Raphael," Flame murmured, startling Raph with the sudden sound. Raph froze for just a moment, but quickly resumed his thrashing when he saw Flame's fingers twitch around the needle. Instead of plunging the biting metal into his arm, Flame moved his other hand instead, rubbing slow, deliberate circles into Raph's plastron.

"You may not believe me," Flame continued after a short span, "But I know what it is like to be hunted down like an animal, confined like one. It was never my intention to make you feel this way."

The human took a breath, his strange yellow eyes trained on his circling hands' movements, though he seemed to be studying something much farther away, something Raph couldn't see. It made Raph uneasy.

"I would have preferred it if I hadn't been forced to do this to you, but for some reason you don't want to cooperate with Jet. I wonder why. Are you wilder than I first thought, more animalistic? Or, is it a need to govern your own decisions that drives you?"

Flame fell silent for a moment, an expression of sincere contemplation coming over his features. Raph wished he could slap it off the guy's face, but he couldn't lift his arms. Flame's manner was just so Leo. It sickened Raph to watch, but he soon found he couldn't bring himself to look away.

"I'm willing to bet it is the second one," Flame decided with a quick nod of his head, as if that were that. His levelled his gaze with Raph's, giving the red-banded turtle a bright smile that disappeared quickly. Raph snarled back, defiant if he couldn't be anything else. However, Flame didn't react with anger, as was to be expected. No; instead, he stood up and placed the syringe in the far medicine cabinet, returning with his hands in the air to show he held nothing.

Raph was floored. He blinked, then ceased his struggling, though he continued to pant. Thrashing around for that long had been quite a workout. Raph tilted his head quizzically to get a better view of Flame. He wondered what the human was up to now.

He stiffened when Flame's hand returned to his plastron, tracing in that same circular motion. Flame's eyes twinkled, though he let his other hand drop to clutch the side of the bed.

"Relax, Raph. I won't hurt you."

Raph tried to make himself believe that. It took concentrated effort, but he slowly allowed his body to relax, become fluid once more. Surprisingly, the strange way Flame was touching him helped a little. Raph took a deep breath, fixing Flame in a curious glare.

"I have a proposition for you," Flame said smoothly, once he was certain Raph was at least somewhat at ease. He returned Raph's glare with a confident grin.

Raph quirked an eyeridge. "And what's that?"

"If I release you from these confines," Flame indicated the metal bonds, "Will you take the medicine of your own free will?"

Raph thought about this, but only for a few seconds. If he tricked Flame into releasing him, he could make his escape. It wasn't much of a decision, anyways. Raph would've done about anything to get off of that bed.

"Sure, I'll do it," Raph rasped, just barely audible. Flame's expression softened even more.

"You don't know how glad I am to hear you say that."

Flame punched a button on a nearby remote, and one by one, all of the metal clasps that held Raph down popped back into their rightful place as part of the bed. Raph sat up slowly, making sure he was truly free.

Then he lunged.

Well, crap. Flame is about to get attacked by a seriously dangerous mutant ninja. I mean, 'mutant' is bad enough, and 'ninja' is bad enough, but 'mutant' and 'ninja' mixed together? Yikes.

Please, R&R! Next chapter won't be too long!

-DauntlessAdrenaline