A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed! Real Life's gotten its claws into me – but this idea/muse sunk its teeth into me…and it won't let go!
Chapter 5 – Shadowed Innocence
The ninja crept closer to his prey. The monster didn't even blink as he came nearer, it knew its fate. The ninja drew his weapon and tensed his arms. To its credit, the monster just stood there – unmoving. A blur of motion later – and the creature was dead. As it slumped to the ground, the Ninja grabbed its dead flesh and gently lowered it to the ground. He couldn't afford to be seen or heard – the monsters were breeding and mutating out of control. He tucked away his modified nunchaku in his belt and leapt up to the nearest fire escape – to think, reflect and brood.
He smirked at that last thought. Brooding was always the job of his older brother – never for him. Over the years, though, he had seen things that haunted his steps. Creatures shrouded in mystery and myth – brought to the light of day by an attempted takeover plot that was doomed from the start. The first few days had been rough. He, his remaining brother and his Sensei had taken to the streets to find out what was happening topside. As if the screams of fear and pain weren't enough – he had woken up that night in a cold sweat, his mind still reeling from the images on the streets. Bodies lay everywhere – most of them still alive. The next reports told of walking statues trying to round up the monsters…and failing. It was then that their Sensei had permitted them to try to round up as many human survivors as they could – to take them to someplace safe.
That had ended in tragedy.
Most of the humans didn't trust them and were afraid of them. Of course, April and Casey had helped convince a few – but the majority had fled in fear. The real spine tingling terror had begun that night. With the fifty humans they had managed to convince hiding in their lair, his brother had switched on the monitors – their link to the outside world. The images they saw were horrible. People were trying to fight the monsters, but they were being killed. Within minutes, fire breathing Wyverns had destroyed any and all air resistance – while armoured basilisks had torn through most military units within seconds. Explosions did some damage to the creatures – so the only place that was gaining some ground against the monsters was in Iraq. Upon seeing the images, half of the people they had saved ran outside in a blind panic. They had seen them two seconds later…as victims of the Mothmen.
His brother had tried compiling a list of all the monsters – but there were just too many. Too many deaths, too much horror. Eventually, he had stopped joking around so much, stopped laughing all the time – he had lost his smile. He sighed and ran a three fingered hand over his dark blue eyes. Once upon a time, his eyes had been bright blue – but that was before the fight with the Hellhounds. Now, the irises were forever scorched. He was so engrossed in brooding, that he jumped as a figure landed next to him. He took in a deep breath and nodded to the figure – before speaking in a hoarse voice.
"Rough night, too much death and destruction everywhere. Don – he's in the lair, working on his new leg. He keeps joking that he's the Terminator – flesh, blood and metal. How're you holding up?"
The figure sighed and began signing. The Ninja nodded as he saw what was being "said". He had helped the figure in an ambush – that had cost the figure dearly. He knew who the person under the hood was – he just didn't know what was watching. As he saw the figure finish the explanation, he nodded once.
"I know, but you can't do much. You can't even talk – those Harpies ripped out your tongue. I could help you find him, but I don't know where he is. He could be anywhere."
The Ninja sighed once more, his shoulders aching. He shook his head – debating with himself. He checked his wrist for the watch he knew was there. He swore silently under his breath and looked up into the brown eyes of the figure.
"I need to go. You need to go and try to find out more. I know you don't come after us 'cause of what happened that night, but Sensei still doesn't trust you. He doesn't trust anyone who was close to The Shredder. 'specially you."
He gazed at the figure and was rewarded with a slight, resigned nod. The Ninja jumped off the fire escape and disappeared into the darkness of an alley.
There would be no more jokes for Michelangelo. Not anymore.