Chapter 12 – Perspective

The Ninja ran after his prey, his heart racing. Three days of hunting had boiled down to this – a strike against the Hellhounds terrorizing the camps. The Scientist was back in the lair and was tracking his movements by the satellites which still orbited the Earth. He skidded to a stop and looked around a corner, cautiously. His hands dropped to his belt and withdrew a single shuriken. He wanted payback for what had been done to his eyes, what had been done to the people – what had been done to the world. His eyes roamed around the group of monstrosities. If his count was right, there were sixteen of them and one big motherfucker of a leader. Due to their immunity to fire, explosions were right out and the Scientist couldn't exactly create liquid nitrogen from scratch. The only cheap alternative they had was to find and fling fire extinguishers. The carbon dioxide inside them would weaken the Hounds enough so that they could be easily dispatched.

Of course, on nights like tonight – stealth was preferred. He drew back his arm and prepared to throw the shuriken when a rough voice hissed in his ear.

"Mikey, are you nuts?"

Biting back a yelp of surprise, the Ninja jerked back and whirled around to face the opaque visor of the Night Watchman. He was gripping his chains and looked relaxed, but ready to spring into action. A quick check round the corner confirmed the Hounds hadn't noticed their presence. The Ninja breathed a small sigh of relief and then rounded on the Watchman, his voice low.

"Jesus Christ Raph! Gave me a heart attack there. What're you doing here anyway? Last I heard, you were on the Upper West side chasing after those worms."

The Night Watchman smirked under his helmet and ran his tongue over his teeth. The Worms had been too easy for him, but they still gave him a small challenge. Unfortunately, the heads were too damn big for him to take as a trophy so the only memoir he had of those creatures was a smoldering pile in one of the vacant lots. He had been compelled to go farther West, but something he heard on the streets had drawn him back here. As much as it pained him to think about it, he had to leave America to go…somewhere. The only problem was transport. Riding his motorcycle over the ocean wouldn't get him anywhere in a hurry and commercial airlines were out. Even if he were to sneak into one of the few remaining Air Force bases and hop into the cockpit of an F-22 Raptor, he wouldn't know what to do. He had been wondering how he was going to talk to his estranged brother when he noticed his littlest brother about to perform a suicide charge at a group of Hellhounds. His concern carried over into his voice.

"Nah, that was an easy job. What are you doing? Hellhounds are dangerous up close. Hurling a shuriken at them will just tick them off. And don't bother telling me you had a CO2 canister at the ready, I'd see it if you had one."

The Ninja dropped his head. He didn't really have a plan other than "throw the star and hunt for an extinguisher". He broke away from the corner and walked with his brother towards the latter's cycle. Upon reaching the cycle, the Ninja's eyes widened as he saw his brother's motorcycle had been modified to the point where it looked like something out of a tokusatsu show. Two machinegun barrels protruded over the front wheel while a line of tubes covered the rear. The steering and brakes had been completely revamped for a design that was both modern and futuristic at the same time. There was also a lot more armour on the frame than previously. There were also more and more battle scars, some fresh. He could also sense a change in his brother – much like the one he had sensed all those years ago.

Flashback

He ran over the rooftops, tracking his prey. His brother had told him that there was a nest of creatures a few blocks away and the scientist was never wrong. As he ran, his mind kept flashing to the events a few weeks ago – that the impulsive one had killed his brother. He had been shaken by the admission and even more shaken by the events that followed his admission. The Vigilante had torn into him, but what the Tracker had done was worse; she had ripped his heart apart. He had been stunned and had fled from the dojo, ignoring the weak apologies and cries of despair by the Exile. No, it wasn't right of him to call his brother that vile name. He was no more of an exile than they had been to the public. After that, the Sensei had made a snap decision to grieve…but then there was that light and the monsters.

He snapped himself out of those thoughts as he leapt over to the next building. True, the last few weeks had been as hard as Hell, but they had been worthwhile. He felt that they were beating them back…but that was a dream and a fool's dream at that. The creatures had a strong foothold on Earth and they didn't look to be giving that up anytime soon. The only place that he had heard that was actually driving the creatures back was Sydney…and he couldn't exactly ask how they were doing it. All he knew is that fire was involved in some way. He sighed and put on a burst of speed as he neared his destination. He slowed as he reached the edge of the rooftop; something was wrong. There were sounds of combat already coming from the area below him and judging from the grunts he heard, his long lost brother was there.

With only a moment's hesitation, he dived off the edge and transformed into a whirlwind of kicks, punches and blocks. His eyes barely registered the short and stocky bodies of the creatures as they fell under his elaborate strikes. Only when the alley was deathly still with only the growls of the dying did he face the figure behind him. From his stance, he knew that the figure was impressed yet wary. He decided to take the first step and tell the figure how he really felt – something he should have done weeks ago.

"I'm angry, but I understand. I think out of all of us, I understand the most – because I'm the one in your position now."

The figure's body language changed subtly to shock and bewilderment. Smiling slightly, he leaned against the blood soaked wall and sighed.

"I'm the one keeping everyone together. Sensei, he doesn't really come topside much, but he doesn't blame you. He told me about your decision to be raked over the coals. That took a lot of guts and he respects you for that. Donnie, he stays in his lab or in the dojo; he reckons he can build something to stop the breeding or stop it himself. All of us – we're drifting apart. We were drifting before but it's different now. I'm trying to keep everyone together…to keep the family together."

The figure exhaled and reached up to unlatch the helmet on its head. Sweat stained skin met cool air and a sharp intake of breath was heard. Brown eyes met blue and a resigned smile crept over the figure's beak. From the slightly upturned mouth came the rough voice of his brother – subtly stained by the barest hints of deep and raw emotion.

"Out of all the people who I thought would understand my position before…you were at the bottom of the list Mikey. But, why? Why are you telling me what's happening to the family? They don't care about me."

The figure turned to leave. He didn't want his bro to go and he shouted the answer. He knew he didn't want to know, but he had a right to! Exile or not, he was still family.

"Because they miss you!"

The armoured figure stopped in mid-step and slowly turned around. He had to press on with the information; with the revelations the figure didn't want to hear…but needed to.

"Sensei isn't the same without you there. If you had stayed, you'd be shunned and frowned upon but you'd be safe and secure. Donnie thinks he doesn't care about you, but I know he does. I catch him looking at the monitors late at night; he claims he's looking for hotspots, but he and I know he's looking for you.

Don't get me wrong – what you did…it should never have happened. We should have kicked butt and taken names and somewhere out there, it might've happened. But fate stepped in and made you do what you did. It wasn't good, it wasn't bad – it just was."

The younger one stopped speaking and looked at his brother. The elder one was looking at him with his mouth open and an incredulous look in his eyes – which shone in his voice.

"How'd you get so smart about all of this? Fate? Destiny? Mikey, what happened to you?"

"After you left, I began to read those books that Sensei has. Those ones on self help and paving your way forward; they helped me deal with my emotions. I had to reel myself in and become the straight-laced one. We protect those who would shun our appearance. To the remaining humans, we're like superheroes. We fight the good fight and all that jazz."

Raph chuckled and closed his eyes. His voice was weary and tired.

"So now what? I can't come back Mikey. Not now…maybe not for a long time; but you can't keep coming up this far. Word on the street is that a pack of Cerebri were spotted roaming round here – and you won't be able to fight them. I can. I know how to fight them and kill them."

He strode over to his younger brother and placed a hand on his shoulder. He knew his little brother would want to go with him – to help him – but he couldn't allow that. His safe house was just that and he didn't want anyone to be near it. Even family.

"I'll cut you a deal. I'll give you intel on the beasts – descriptions, areas, nests and the like. In return, you keep your nose outta trouble and watch out for the family."

End Flashback

The change he sensed on that night was still there, but it was mixed with a sense of longing. Mike decided to cut to the chase. He internally steeled himself for what he would hear after he asked the question.

"What's wrong Raph?"

The one known as Raphael closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall. He looked at his battle scarred armour and exhaled. He needed to tell his brother.

"I need to leave"