Chapter 2: Angels and Demons
A/N: Sorry it took me so long to post this up, but I'm juggling multiple stories, so I can only focus on one at a time. Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed thus far. It means so much to me that you like the sequel so far. I hope you enjoy this chapter, too.
Disclaimer: TMNT and all related characters are property of Nickelodeon. I only own the plot to the story.
Two days later, the rain let up, and the Turtles were able to go on patrol. Raph gave them directions on where they were to go and what time they were to meet back at the starting point. He decided to have Don, Mikey, and even Miwa go solo while Leo stayed with Raph. This caused Leo to get mad.
"That's not fair, Raph!" Leo protested. "You're letting Mikey, Don, and Miwa go solo. Why do I have to have a chaperone?"
Raph leveled his brother with a stare. "Because Sensei told me to keep an eye on you," he answered. "Miwa's gonna be fine, and Splinter has faith that she'll be safe on her own. You're the one we have to worry about."
Leo sighed. "It's just not fair," he grumbled throwing his hands up in frustration.
"Hey, I'm the leader now, and it's my job to make sure you're safe," Raph reminded his brother. "So stop complainin' and just listen to me for once." He was starting to get tired of being the leader and really hoped Leo's issues would clear up soon.
Then Miwa spoke up. "How about if Leo and I patrol together instead?" she suggested. "I can keep an eye on him and make sure he's okay. I can tell that if you guys get together, you'll kill each other in a heartbeat."
Raph smirked. "And how do you know that?" he asked her.
"I can just tell by the way you're glaring daggers at each other," she noted.
The red-clad Turtle sighed. "Okay, fine, you can work together," he said.
Miwa smiled. "Looks like it's just you and me, little bro," she teased Leo.
"Very funny sis," Leo retorted. It was still hard for him to resign himself to the fact that Miwa was older than him since he had always been the oldest in the family. Btu being Splinter's daughter put her as the oldest since she was born first.
Raph laughed and said, "Okay, enough screwin' around. Miwa, keep an eye on Leo. If anything happens, call me right away."
"Got it, Chief," Miwa said, giving him a salute. Then she turned to Leo and gave him a teasing smile. "Race you!" she called and sprinted away. Leo rolled his eyes and raced after her. Raph chuckled before starting on his own patrol.
Raph was still on edge after what had happened to Leo in practice two days ago. He could tell Leo still wasn't healed from what had happened with Robyn, and he was scared for his brother. He didn't want anything to happen to Leo and he was determined to do anything he could to protect him from harm.
He was snapped out of his thoughts by a commotion coming from one of the alleys. He headed over to the source of the sound and saw the Purple Dragons cornering a girl in the alley.
"Go home, little girl," Fong said. "This ain't no place for you."
Enraged, she pulled her fist back and socked Fong in the face. "I'm not a little girl, asshole!" she snarled. "I'm sixteen years old! Now, tell me where my brother is!"
Raph had to marvel at her courage. He'd never seen anyone stand up to Fong and his thugs like that except for Murakami.
Fong clutched his cheek and growled. "Just for that, we ain't gonna tell you nothin'." He made a motion with his hand, and Sid and Tsoi cornered her.
Raph took that as his cue to intervene and leaped down off of the roof before they could do anything to her. "Geez, what is it with you guys and hasslin' the ladies? This is the third time this week I've had to run you guys off. Why don't you guys be smart and tell the young lady what she wants to know?"
"We ain't tellin' her nothin', freak, so stay out of this!" snapped Fong.
"Then if you won't help her, maybe I will," Raph said. "You guys better scram if you know what's good for ya." The Dragons did just that, not wanting to get involved in a fight with the Turtle. Then Raph turned to the girl. "What's your brother's name?"
"Xever," she answered. Seeing her closely, Raph saw that she had black hair with purple streaks in it and dark skin. Her eyes looked just like Xever's had when he was human, too. The girl looked scared of him, so he tried to give her a reassuring smile.
"I can take you to your brother," he told her. "I know where he is, but he isn't the same guy you remember."
"What do you mean?" the girl asked him.
"He got mutated by the same stuff that transformed me from a pet turtle to what I am now," Raph said and told her what Xever was now and how he was working for the Shredder. He wasn't sure she believed him but he knew she'd find out for herself soon enough. Luckily, they managed to find Fishface and some Foot Ninjas by a warehouse. Raph didn't see Dogpound anywhere and had to wonder why the dog mutant wasn't with Fishface since they normally worked together.
"Okay, stay here," Raph instructed the girl. "I'll go to him and tell him you want to see him."
"Is that fish mutant my brother?" asked the girl.
"Yep, that's your brother," he replied. "Now let me do the talking." He stepped out of the shadows and called to Fishface, "Hey, Fishface, long time, no see."
Fishface whirled around, a look of disgust on his face. "Yes, it has been a long time, Raphael. And where are your brothers? The four of you usually stick together. Are there family troubles?"
"No, we just decided to split up on patrol," answered Raph. He eyed the Foot Ninjas who were poised to attack and awaiting Fishface's instructions. "What are you doin' here anyway?"
"We are searching for Karai," replied Fishface. "She has betrayed our Master and must be dealt with. You haven't seen her by any chance, have you?"
Raph shook his head. "Nope," he said. "Hey, where's Dogpound? You guys are usually tied at the hip."
"He is in another part of the city doing the same thing as we are," Fishface responded. "I do not believe you came here to exchange pleasantries with me, so what brings you here?"
"There's someone who's lookin' for you, so I brought her here to see you," replied Raph. Then he motioned to the shadows and called, "You can come out now, kid!"
The girl finally approached and seemed unsure as to what to do. The minute Fishface saw her, his eyes widened in shock.
"Angel?" he gasped. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to find you," answered Angel. "Why didn't you contact us?"
"I was busy here," responded Fishface. "Besides, none of you cared about what happened to me. You thought I was stupid for going to America. Why are you even here?"
"I'm staying with Grandma now," she said. "Our parents were killed by rival gang members, and I was forced to come here to live because she's the only relative I have now besides you. I came to find you because I don't want to live with Grandma. I would rather stay with you."
"Angel, I can't take care of you," said Fishface. "I have bigger things to do without you getting I the way. Go back to Abuela and let me be. This isn't the place for you." Then he turned to Raph. "Take her back," he commanded. "You shouldn't have brought her here."
"Hey, I did this as a favor for you after you saved my life in Stockman's maze," Raph told him. "And whether you like it or not, she's still your family, and families never turn their backs on each other."
"The Foot is my family now," Fishface retorted. "Take her back and don't bring her here again."
Raph glared at him then motioned for Angel to go with him. "C'mon, kid, he doesn't care about you anymore."
Angel turned her eyes on her brother. "Xever, please," she begged. "I need you right now."
"Sorry, Angel, but that's not my life anymore," he replied. He turned to Raph. "Take care of her for me. Make sure that she is safe from harm. That is how you can repay your debt. Be the brother to her that I cannot be anymore."
Raph nodded and left with Angel behind him. He was angry at Xever for turning Angel away, and he knew that it was up to him to protect Angel just as Xever wanted him to. He wasn't happy about it, but he knew it was the right thing to do. He decided to ask her an important question. "So, where does your grandma live?" he asked her.
Angel turned on him. "Don't bother!" she spat. "I don't want to live with her! I want to live with my brother!"
"But you heard him, Angel," Raph told her. "He doesn't want to live with you. You only have your grandma now, so you have no choice. She's taken care of you up to now anyway, so you might as well just stay there."
"I hate her!" Angel snapped. "She doesn't love me! All she does is talk about is how horrible my parents and brother were and how she doesn't want me to be the same way."
"Well, she's just lookin' out for you. You've seen what your brother's into now. You really don't need to get mixed up in that. Besides, your brother's not exactly human anymore. I don't like that he turned you away, but he has a point that he can't take care of you now. Your grandma can give you a good life and you should take it. Where else would you go?"
"I don't care!" she responded. "I'm not going back there, and you can't stop me!" And with that, she turned into one of the alleyways and disappeared from sight. Raph thought about going after her, but he really wasn't in the mood to be chasing a sixteen-year-old when she didn't want to be caught. He decided he'd keep an eye on her later and figured she was tough enough to fend for herself for now. Debt or not, he really didn't want to have the burden of looking after a teenager when he had other things to worry about. He left the alley and headed for home.
"Tough break, Raph," a voice from the shadows said.
Raph whirled around, sais drawn, to see Lynn leaning against a chimney. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.
"Just hanging out," she answered. "You really do have bad luck with the ladies, Raph."
"There's nothin' goin' on between us," Raph told her. "I was just helpin' her out."
"Well, looks like you failed at that," she retorted. "I thought you guys were supposed to be the unsung heroes of the city."
"How do you even know about that?" Raph asked her.
Lynn smiled. "You'd be surprised what you can find out if you just listen."
"Look, I've been meaning to talk to you," Raph began. "Do you know the story about April O'Neil?"
"Of course I know about April," she replied.
"How do you know about her?"
She laughed. "That's for me to know and you to find out. Well, I've got to go. I'll see you around, Raph." Before he could say anything else, she disappeared over the side of the roof.
"Dammit!" Raph cursed. This just wasn't his night. Suddenly his T-phone rang, causing him to let out a frustrated sigh. He saw that Miwa was calling and picked up.
"What's up, sis?" he asked.
"Leo's hurt," she answered. "We got attacked by Foot Ninjas. We're on our way to the Lair now."
"Okay, I'll meet you there," Raph said and hung up. He was furious at Leo for engaging the Foot like that. Why didn't he use the smoke bombs like Raph had told him to do? One thing was for sure: He was going to get a good lecture when Raph got to him.
When he arrived at the Lair, he found all of them in the infirmary as Don stitched up Leo's wound.
"What happened?" Raph demanded.
"We were just racing each other when the Foot came out of nowhere," Miwa answered. "Leo was going to use a smoke bomb, but they attacked before he could get to it. He got stabbed saving me from getting struck with a katana."
"The wound's not deep, so he should be fine," Don added.
"You could have still used a smoke bomb," Raph chastised his brother. "You shouldn't have retaliated like that."
"I had no choice, Raph!" Leo replied. "They were on the lookout for us, and they attacked before we could do anything. If I hadn't retaliated, Miwa would be dead right now."
"You didn't have to jump in and try to be the hero!" Raph told him. "You could have just gotten away."
"Yes, I did!" Leo retorted. "Just because you're the leader now doesn't mean you have to yell at me for doing the right thing!"
"Well, if you would just stop actin' crazy and do your job, I wouldn't have to!" snarled Raph.
"Raphael! That is enough!" chastised Splinter. "Leonardo's intentions were good, and at least he got away safely!"
Leo's eyes went wide then narrowed as he clenched his fists. Raph thought Leo was going to attack him, but he turned and went to his room. Raph was so angry at himself. How could things have gone so horribly wrong? He'd intended to tell everyone about Angel and his confrontation with Lynn, but instead he'd blown up at Leo. He had to get things back on track so he turned to Don and Mikey.
"What happened to you two?" he asked them.
"Nothing happened," Don said stiffly. "We patrolled and there was no activity." He glared at his brother and left the infirmary. Splinter had left to go after Leo, and Miwa had followed him, so only Mikey was still with Raph.
"Don and I didn't see Lynn, but we saw some Foot Ninjas patrolling," Mikey told him. "They didn't see us though, so we just decided to keep on going. What happened to you, Raph?"
Raph told Mikey about his run in with Lynn and about Angel and Xever. Mikey seemed intrigued by the story but waited until Raph was finished before he spoke up.
"Maybe Angel needs a friend," he suggested. "She's all alone now and has no one to turn to."
"I don't think she wants that, Mikey," Raph said firmly. "I think she just wants to be with her brother."
"Well I'm still gonna try and talk to her," Mikey declared.
Raph rolled his green eyes. "Good luck with that, bro," he said. He doubted Mikey would get anywhere with Angel, but he knew he wouldn't be able to stop Mikey from befriending the girl. With a wave to his younger brother, Raph went to his room, resolving to patch things up with Leo in the morning. He didn't want things to be tense between them. In the meantime, the mystery concerning Lynn was what bothered him now. He wanted to get to the bottom of it as soon as possible. She definitely knew more than she was letting on, and Raph couldn't help but think that Robyn was alive and was trying to find a way to get rid of them for good.
A/N: And that's the end of another chapter. It's weird to see Leo and Raph in a role reversal, but that's what's happening here, and I'm having so much fun with it. More mystery surrounding Lynn, and I was happy to add Angel to the mix, too. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, but I'll do my best to have it up as soon as I can. I'm kind of juggling quite a few stories here plus I have personal family issues to deal with. If I don't write for a while then that's the reason why I'm putting things on hold. Feel free to leave a review, and have a shelltastic day.