Chapter Sixteen: Like That Guy On The Horse

Afternoon in the Sewer Lair found Leonardo sitting alone in the den, slumped in his seat with his gaze cast downwards at his feet. Morning training had been a nightmare, with him getting his shell handed to him by every last one of his siblings. He'd been in a salty mood all day and not even his favorite tv series seemed to lift his spirits. He squeezed his eyes shut as Raph stepped into the sunken den to sit on the couch beside him.

"Afternoon, Fearless," said Raph

Leo rolled his eyes. "You're here to rub it in some more, Raph?"

The red-banded turtle shrugged, "Well, I was just gonna watch TV...but I guess the only source of drama and cheap entertainment I need is right in front of me, huh, Leo?"

"You done?"

"You made a girl cry, Leo!" was his snappy comeback.

"I get it, Raph," Leo snapped. "Don't you think I regret it?" Sighing, he sunk deeper into his seat, his expression exhausted. "You don't know what it's like, Raph."

Raph furrowed his brow. "What?"

"I'm the leader," he replied seriously. "It falls on me to protect you guys and I gotta put it above all else…sometimes even above what I think is right. Or my own safety…I mean, you know that better than anyone else, right?"

Raph nodded. An unsavory memory resurfaced and he had to fight the urge to cringe. "Yeah. And you know that if you ever pull a stunt like back at the Technodrome again, I'll beat you like a piñata and won't stop even after all the prizes fall out."

Leo laughed. "Yeah, I know." His face fell as he remembered another thing on his To Do list. "I just wish I had a chance to apologize to her." An annoying jingle rang through the den, originating from Leo's utility belt. He picked up his T-phone and answered. "Hello?"

"...Leonardo?"

"Paige?" he stammered.

Raph's eyes widened and he'd just about spilled his soda. He looked around for another heavenly sign. "Maybe I should wish for a new drum set," he said to no in particular.

"W-What's up?" Leo continued.

"…It's Casey, he's gone missing." He could hear the anxiousness in her tone.

His brow furrowed. "Missing?" he echoed, developing his own anxiousness.

"I'm talking to you through his phone right now. He left it at my apartment, and neither his father nor sister have seen him all day. I was hoping he was with you or your family."

Leo shook his head. "He isn't."

"…I've got a bad feeling about this, Leonardo."

"Why?" Leo asked, kicking into full leader-mode. "What happened?"

The other line was quiet for a long time, and Leo could hear the racing of his heart. Then, "I'm afraid I've done something very stupid that's caused him to behave this way."

Leo straightened, his eyes hardening in determination. "Don't worry, Paige," he assured. "We'll help you find him."

"No," she said firmly. "You will not. I'll look for Casey. You stay at home with your family."

"Yeah, that's not an option, Paige…Casey's family too. If he's in trouble, we're doing something about it." There was a sense of finality in his tone, the same one he used on his brothers during missions.

The other line went quiet again and Leo thought he'd offended her for a second time. He took a breath when he finally heard her voice. "…Leonardo?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

Leo hung his head. "No," he sighed. "I'm sorry, Paige. I should've left it alone."

From the way she spoke, Leo thought he could hear Paige smile. "Leonardo, you were forgiven years ago." The turtle breathed a sigh of relief. "You know one thing I've noticed about you and your brothers?"

"What?"

"You forget that you're all still children."

Leo quieted, allowing the words to sink in. Of all the things Paige could have observed from them, it had to be that. He felt a pang of defensiveness rise in his throat but swallowed it when her remembered what happened the last time he let his pride come first. He said nothing, waiting for Paige to continue.

And continue she did. "There will be times when you needn't shoulder everything, Leonardo. There will be times when you can rely on the adults. Can you try to remember that? For me?"

Leo squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath, realizing she was right. "Ok, Paige. I will."

"Thank you, dear," Paige said warmly. "Now, has anyone else seen him?"

Karai walked into the den, a muffin in one hand and a magazine in the other. Leo cocked his head in her direction as she sat down on the opposite couch. "Karai, have you seen Casey lately?"

"Nope," she admitted before biting into the muffin. She caught a glimpse of her youngest brother in her peripherals; he was off in the kitchen, his face buried in his T-Phone and playing a game. "Mikey might have," she suggested.

"Hey," the youngest turtle declared, "whatever I have, I put it back."

Karai blinked slowly. "Idiot," she commented before opening her magazine.

Leo rolled his eyes at his brother before tossing the phone to him. "Catch!"

Without ever looking away from his game, Mikey expertly caught the phone thrown to him. He clipped the phone between his head and shoulder. "Yo, Paige," Mikey began, not looking up from his game. "…No, sorry, haven't seen him...Yeah, I can ask Donnie..."

"You have absolutely no idea what he might be doing now?" Paige prodded.

Mikey stuck out his tongue in thought. "Well," he began, "its nearly dark, so he could be out lookin' for some butts to kick, or whatever vigilantes do in their spare time."

"What?" Paige asked tersely.

Raph spun round in his seat at the mention of the v-word, his eyes wide in panic. That idiot! he shouted in his head.

"Yeah," Mikey continued. "You know, his whole Lonely Hero, Protector of the Night thing."

Raph looked around frantically for anything he could use to defuse the situation. The nearest thing was the half-eaten muffin in Karai's hand. Before the kunoichi could take another bite, Raphael snatched the muffin from her and threw it at the phone in Mikey's hand. The device sailed through the air and landed spinning on the sunken floor of the den. Immediately, Raphael scrambled toward it.

After tripping a few times, Raphael managed to grab hold of the phone, but did so flat on his belly. He pressed the phone to his ear. "Paige?" Raph asked, out of breath.

"Good bye, Raphael," she said coldly before hanging up.

Raph looked down at the phone in his hand. "Oh boy."

"What's up?" Leo asked, now fully intent.

Karai was still looking at her now-empty hand, plotting all the things she would do to Raph once this was all over. That had been the last blueberry muffin..

"We gotta find Casey," Raph said hurriedly. "Tell him the British are coming!"

Casey Jones had designated himself a job: protect this city. He'd designated himself a duty: protect his friends and family. He knew his destiny: to save this world. And if doing so meant finding and stopping William Bishop alone, he would happily do it.

He didn't bother waiting for Paige to wake up before leaving the apartment; he'd already made up his mind and the last thing he needed was someone trying to talk him out of it. He didn't bother with school either that day; some things were more important than figuring out the difference between prophase and metaphase or whatever they called it. His day had been spent planning, organizing his weapons, and working out.

Now it was evening, and it was time to take action. He sailed over the rooftops of the city he vowed to protect. The wheels of his skates seemed to roar beneath his feet as they drove him to his destination. The sound was fuel for his determination. Finally, the buildings dissolved into ragged and rusty fences, the streetlights gave way to a few dilapidated light fixtures, and the roads and cars turned into salt water and giant container vans. He'd finally arrived, under cover of night, at the docks.

He didn't know how long he'd waited there, or where to even begin his search, but simply being there gave him a sense of accomplishment, of purpose. While keeping himself hidden amongst the crates and container vans, she stood tall and proud, like a lion stalking its prey. Eventually, he decided on his hiding place: behind one particularly large container van that overlooked the harbor and beyond it, the Atlantic.

Barely an hour had passed before he felt someone approach. He drew his hockey stick, his hand tightening around it and shaking from the exertion. Finally, he thought as he spun round to defend himself. But instead of an enemy's blow, he blocked a pair of sai.

His eyes went wide. "Raph?"

The red-banded turtle holstered his weapons as Casey did the same. "You expecting Santa?" he spat. "Well, you're a few months too early. We've been looking all over for you. What are you even doing here?"

Casey considered turning away; he didn't need to explain himself. But for reasons he did not understand, he answered, "I'm getting ready to take down that scumbag, Bishop."

Raphael blinked once and then twice, and then his expression relaxed. "Ah well, I guess that explains it." He slapped the back of his friend's head, hoping to slap some sense into it at the same time. "Are you outta your teenage mind?!"

The boy propped up his mask so as to speak clearly. "This doesn't concern you, Raph!" he grunted, rubbing his head.

The turtle cocked his head. "Oh, but it concerns you?"

"You don't know what you're talkin' about, Raph!"

Raph stepped forward, deciding to be the level-headed one. He looked his friend in the eyes. "Then let me know," he said seriously.

Casey considered. Paige would kill him for sharing something so personal with Raph, but sometimes a vigilante's gotta do what a vigilante's gotta do. Neither friend knew how much time had passed after Casey began his re-telling of Paige's story, but it ended with both Casey and Raph feeling emotionally exhausted. "...and that's why I'm here," Casey finished.

Raph sighed and sat down heavily on a crate. Everything made sense then; the room, the secrets, the feelings that Paige had been hiding something. Apart from the utter sympathy, Raph also felt empathy; this story was close to home for him. "Casey," he began seriously, "believe me, I know what you're going through. I know what you want to do for Paige…" His friend shared with him, he felt that he would be amiss not to do the same. "When Splinter first told me about what the Shredder did to his family back in Japan, I wanted to knock some heads, too. Heck, I wanted to do more than that! I was angry for a really really long time."

The teenage boy stood from the crate he'd been sitting on. "Then you know why I gotta do this," he breathed.

Raph nodded in agreement. "Yes, but this isn't the way to do it. We gotta strategize. My brothers and I are after Bishop anyways, we can figure out a plan. You're not alone in this. Most of all, we gotta stick together. "

Casey scoffed. "You guys are just gonna slow me down!" he spat.

Raph raised an eyebrow. "How are you gonna go after Bishop? You don't even know where to start!"

"I know he's been here," Casey defended. "These scumbags always meet at the docs for whatever gob-forsaken reason."

Raph rolled his eyes. He stood up to stand in front of his friend. "You can't possibly believe that that's enough to go on."

"Yeah," agreed a voice, making Casey flinch. The teenager spun round to be face-to-face with Donnie and Mikey. Each turtle was standing on their own wooden crate. "I applaud your logic," Donnie said sarcastically.

"Yeah," Mikey agreed. "Feels awesome not to be the dumb one for once."

"What the heck are all of you doing here?" Casey snapped.

"Stoping you from doing something stupid," said a familiar leaderly voice. Casey spun round, rolling his eyes. Leo now stood beside Raph, and Casey had to remind himself that his friends were, in fact, a family of ninjas. "We need a plan, Casey."

Karai nodded in agreement. "You're coming home," she said plainly. "Deal with it."

Casey shook his head. "You guys don't know what you're doing." He stomped towards the entrance of the dock, his friends stalking after him. "If you guys aren't gonna help me," he pointed one gloved hand towards the city's skyline, "go back home!"

Karai cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah, not gonna happen."

"Really, Karai?" he scoffed. "You of all people, you're gonna try and stop me? I know you wanna go after Shredder-"

"Yeah, but I'm not stupid enough to do it alone," she spat.

"Oh, now I'm stupid."

Karai crossed her arms over her chest and her brothers watched in stunned silence as their little verbal sparring match continued. "Well, you sure as heck ain't smart!"

"Hey!" Casey snapped, "not in front of the T. U. R. T. T. E. L. S."

Karai pursed her lips. "You never could spell to save your life," she said indignantly. "You can't be bothered to put the cap back on the toothpaste either, and how many time do I have to tell you to roll the tube! Don't squeeze it in the middle! What, were you raised in a barn?"

Casey sighed. "Woman, get off my back!" He turned and made for the edge of the docks.

Karai glared daggers at him. "Don't you walk away from me when I'm talking to you!"

Their argument was thankfully cut short by a blinding beam of light. It was coming from the open gate, accompanying it was the familiar sound of a motor vehicle.

Headlights.

Casey kept his forearm over his eyes, his hockey stick at the ready in his other hand. He tried his hardest to squint passed the light but was only rewarded with burning eyes. "Is it Bishop? The Shredder?"

The Hamato children could see no better, but kept their weapons handy. "I don't know," Leo admitted. Squinting, he drew both katanas from his back.

They heard the telltale sound of a vehicle coming closer to them. Then they heard the engine die and the lights go off, facilitating their vision.

Karai was the first to see the newcomer. As she did, she felt the blood drain from her face. "Guys, it's worse," she breathed. "It's the Nanny."

From the driver's side of the vehicle emerged a very, very angry Paige Higgins. She slammed the door closed, the sound echoing throughout the whole area. Glaring daggers at each and every one of them, she spoke through clenched teeth, "What. Do. You. Think. You're. Doing?"

Mikey blinked. "We're in trouble."

Author's Note:

Dun dun dun! The title is a reference to Paul Revere. You know? The guy who was famous for yelling "The British are coming!".

Thumbs up to Mikey for the understatement of the year!

Mega-ultra thanks to my beta-reader and Soul Mama, the wonderful and supercalifragesexy Illusionna. I 3 U, gurl.

Today's teaser:

"Get movin', old man!"