"Do you think Casey is going to bring back any news?" Mikey asked, dangling his legs off the side of the building.

"Maybe," Donnie said, spinning his bo idly in his hand. "I mean, there's a fairly good chance it's Raphael. How many green reptilian men can there be in one city, after all?"

Leo said nothing, standing silently with his arms crossed over his chest, listening for the telltale sound of footsteps below. Casey Jones had been gone for a few hours, which hopefully meant that he had encountered Raphael — or even just a sign of where he might be.

Of course, Leonardo hated to think of what would have happened if the person they had heard of was actually Raphael. They had gotten wind of a freak show that was advertising "The Last Turtle Man of Atlantis," supposedly a creature that was half human and half turtle, and had asked Casey to investigate it. It made Leo shudder to imagine a brother of his being treated as a sideshow freak, being gawped at just to survive. If the Turtle Man was Raphael, then the sooner they brought him home, the better.

Still, he was grateful to Casey for doing this. It made searching for Raphael a lot easier to have a human friend who could casually walk into places and ask questions. If they hadn't, they would have had to break into the freak show when everyone was on display, and try to catch a glimpse of the Turtle Man then.

In fact, Leo was grateful to Casey in general, for helping them with their inquiries. Initially, he had been horrified when Mikey had introduced himself to the young man in the hockey mask, seemingly throwing all rules of secrecy and safety out the window. They had already been found out by the pizza boy Woody Dirkins, and he had kept their secret — but Leo wasn't confident that every human they encountered would be so considerate. If Mikey kept doing this, sooner or later there would be disaster.

But it had paid off, in the end. Casey had developed a rapport with the youngest turtle after that evening, finding Mikey's enthusiasm and friendliness endearing, and had been helping them search for Raphael ever since — helping three strange mutants find the brother they had never even seen, without complaint or hope of reward. Leonardo wanted to find a way to thank Casey for helping them, but he didn't know how.

No, he knew how, he thought grimly. Casey turned up with too many black eyes and bruises from his father for Leo not to know. But he also didn't know how to approach the subject.

"There he is!" Mikey yelped, scrambling back from the edge.

A dark-haired figure appeared in the alley below them, moving swiftly to the nearest fire escape. He clambered up it with a clatter of sneakers on rusty metal, and sprang up to meet an excited Mikey.

"So, was it him? Was it Raphael?" he asked eagerly.

Casey sighed, and the slump of his shoulders told Leo everything he needed to know.

"Sorry, guys. I managed to talk the manager into letting me see the Turtle Man after the show, and he looks nothing like you guys. Far as I can see, he's just a human with a weird skin condition that makes him look a little reptilian. His shell is fake."

"Well, thank you for trying," Leo said, trying not to let his disappointment seep too far into his voice.

"Don't sweat it, guys," Casey said. "We're gonna find your brother sooner or later. Somebody's gotta have seen a guy with green skin and a shell squatting somewhere in New York, or at least heard of one."

"Maybe we should put up posters," Mikey said thoughtfully. "You know, like missing person posters."

"We don't have a picture of Raphael," Donnie pointed out.

"We could use a picture of one of us. Humans don't think we look too different."

Before Leo could absolutely forbid missing person posters, something caught his eye — something in the distance, moving swiftly across the rooftops. He crouched down quickly, so that only the top half of his head could be seen above the low brick wall that ran around the top of the building.

"What are you doing?" Mikey asked.

"Get down and be quiet," Leo ordered.

The other three followed his example without question, peering out at the dark shape moving across the roofs — no, many dark shapes moving together. They were leaping from one building to another with a swiftness and agility Leo had never seen outside of himself and his brothers. His eyes widened, and for a moment he was tempted to go closer, see what a crowd of people were doing running on the roofs at night.

"Where do you think they're goin'?" Mikey said curiously.

Raphael's blood felt like it was infused with fire. He grinned at nothing in particular as he vaulted from one rooftop to the next, excitement growing inside him until he felt like it would burst out of his chest. He hadn't felt this way in months — like something he was doing for the Foot Clan would actually matter, like his strength and skills were being put to some useful purpose. He relished every moment of it — even Karai's presence couldn't dampen the pleasure of the experience.

He glanced over his shoulder at the swarms of Foot ninja following in his wake, their footsteps light and quick enough that nobody in the buildings under them would be able to hear. Then Raphael ducked his head down and t00k another flying leap to the next building, deftly avoiding an ancient wooden awning that quavered under his weight.

"The first squad will cover the rear and eliminate anyone who tries to escape," Karai barked. "The second will cover the front, and the third will enter through the roof."

Raphael smiled. He had been assigned to the third squad — presumably because he could jump down farther than anyone else there. Either that, or Karai was hoping that by sending him in first, he would be shot during the first incursion. He was fairly sure it was one of those reasons.

The moon hung low over the old industrial district as the ninja approached an old factory, silent and dark as shadows. The factory had seen its final days long ago, with red brick walls that were crumbling in places, broken windows that stared like eyeless sockets, and boarded-up doors that had been eaten away by termites. It was a ruin that looked as though it was barely holding itself up.

It also was clearly occupied, judging by the faint lights shining through the broken windows.

Karai made a sharp gesture in the direction of the high peaked roof of the factory, her face stark and cold in the moonlight. Raphael didn't need to be told a second time — he vaulted down to the ground, and darted across the shadowy ground, before leaping up to the factory's metal roof. It was rusty and fragile, and he had to step carefully to avoid having it collapse under his weight.

As the other third squad members darted up behind him, he glanced back as more ninja streamed across the weed-strewn yard around the factory. They were almost unnervingly silent as they moved — no clatter of footsteps, no whispered words. Raphael felt a chill run through him, and enjoyed the sensation. Was this what normal ninja missions were always like? If it was, he wished he had gone on one months ago.

"There's the signal," one of the other ninja whispered. "We're to attack now!"

Raphael felt a grin cross his lips, pulled the sai from his belt, and let himself fall shell-first through the nearest skylight.