A/N: This is the longest chapter so far. Meh. It's cold now, so I've nothing better to do other than write and continue this fic. Man, this was fun to right, too! R&R? Please? :D

Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT. I probably never will.

Hiding in the shadows of an alley, Leo watched his prey carefully. The woman he had stalked was standing behind a door, waiting for her prey to arrive. Little did she know that she was not the only hunter on the prowl. The huntress would become the hunted. Leo's eyes took on a carnal glow as he considered how to best approach her. He swung his duffel bag behind him and he removed a garrote from his belt. The wire was thin but strong, much like the small wooden handles that Leo held in his hands. He moved through the shadows, trusting in them to hide him. He was behind her now, lurking in the shadows while she stood calmly underneath a hanging light. She puffed on her cigarette, releasing a plume of gray smoke.

She was a woman of maybe her late thirties with a wiry frame and a buzz cut. She wore a tight tank top despite the chill of the night and loose cargo pants. She looked ex-military, but Leo knew she far too much of a wild spirit to handle the rules of military life. He had looked into her. She was skilled. Experienced. Dangerous. She had many aliases from her killing methods. Butch. Arsonist. Slasher. Succubus. Two were more true than the others. She drew her victims to her using her wiles and her feminine curves. After her victims followed her "home", she would drug them up and tie them down before setting them on fire. She had become better at her trade over the years. Her victims were known to suffer slow deaths before being consumed by flames. Leo intended to end her killing spree.

He moved quickly, reaching over her head and wrapping the garrote wire over her neck. Her breath came out in a strangled gasp and she unsuccessfully tried to grab the wire. Leo tightened his grip on the garrote and dragged her into the shadows, her feet kicking as she struggled. Beads of blood were forming where the wire was tearing through her skin, but still she fought back. Her fingernails, sharpened to points, dug into his forearms. He ignored the pain as they sank into muscle. Leo's head whipped around just in time to see a large figure tackle him to the ground. Leo's hold on the garrote vanished and the woman leapt away, tearing the strangling item from her throat.

Large male hands wrapped tightened around Leo's throat violently. He struck the man's groin with a swift punch and tackled him as the man's grip slackened. He tuned just in time to slap a knife out of the woman's hand. She gave him a feral look and backed away. Leo rushed forward, his knee rising to strike her, only for two muscular arms to drag him down to the ground on his plastron. Leo started to twist free until something thin and sharp entered the side of his neck. His body slackened, no longer in his control as a liquid entered his bloodstream.

Leo's mind raced, but the drug was already clouding his thoughts. His eyes rolled back and he slumped unconscious, remembering nothing more.

-.-.-.-.-.-

Raphael sat on the couch, lifting a dumbbell with his right hand as he stared at the T.V. There was some sort of Batman marathon going on. The caped hero was in a club sipping orange juice and flirting with some broad. Raph rolled his eyes. No bad ass like Batman would drink orange juice in a club. He could feel the pull in his muscles as he bent and straightened his arm. He moved the dumbbell to his left hand and continued with the motions. He snorted at the sight of Batman dropping to the ground. Someone had spiked his orange juice. His mind turned to other thoughts as commercials began to hurl random slogans and "buy me!" approaches at him. He was actually feeling mixed emotions about one of his brothers.

Leonardo.

His older brother had acted distantly recently. He was becoming withdrawn and he never talked. Raph was finding it extremely weird. Leo hadn't nagged him about his drinking or his staying out with Casey. Leo actually seemed like he was avoiding everyone, spending most of his time alone. Raph hadn't seen him train in weeks and couldn't even recall the last time they'd had any family training sessions. Leo's usually strong sense of justice was diminished, nonexistent. It made Raph frustrated. Leo wasn't around very often, either. He had taken to sneaking around at night, Raph had followed him a few times but Leo had noticed. Something else was wrong with his brother. Whenever Leo saw his reflection, he had stared at it. He looked like he was afraid of something when he did that. That worried Raphael. Leo wasn't one to show fear. His older brother was definitely worrying him. Even Mikey and Don were noticing something was up with their "fearless" leader.

Raph's shellcell rang loudly, causing the turtle to drop the dumbbell on his foot. He cursed loudly and kicked it away. That only hurt more and a long stream of curses followed as it rolled away, almost taunting him with its slow roll. He reached into his belt and flipped the phone open.

"What?" He answered with an irritated tone even as he massaged his wounded foot. He frowned and straightened, forgetting his throbbing foot. "Slow down, LH. What happened with Leo?"

After a few minutes of muffled conversation, Raph swore a colorful stream of curses. "How long were ya' gonna wait t'tell any of us this?" He snarled angrily into the phone. "Nevermind! I'll call ya' later." He snapped, ending the conversation as his phone clicked shut.

He stood up from the couch and walked over to Don's lab, where he had heard his two younger brothers shouting in excitement. Raph barged in, shoving the door open. His brothers were sitting at another one of Don's desks, a laptop sitting in front of them, having been turned off quite quickly. Their shells were to Raph and Don sat in his customary rolling chair while Mikey was perched on the armrest. Don and Mikey turned in unison, their expressions were feigning calm, Raph could tell. He wasn't in the mood to deal with any pranks from either turtle and he slammed a hand down on the desk, making it sound like gun had decided to go off right then and there. His brothers sobered quickly, sensing something serious.

"We got a problem. LH called me. He said he was using a ram thing," Raph began.

Don raised an eye ridge. "The RAMS? LH was going to show me those a few weeks ago. They were supposed to be some sort of memory retrieval system in hologram form."

Raph's glare met Don and the younger turtle clamped his mouth shut. Mikey's eyes lit up with excitement and before he could make any sort of comment, Raph gave him a threatening glare. Mikey decided to keep quiet for the moment. He would get under Raph's shell later.

"Anyways, the ram thing brought up one of Leo's memories. It was the accident."

At those words, his brothers stiffened.

"That explains his irrational behavior." Don sighed.

"And his grouchiness." Mikey added.

Don glanced at him before shaking his head. He nodded to Raphael. "We need to go get him. We don't know what those suppressed memories are doing to his subconscious. This is very dangerous. He could be in a lot of danger. You guys should split up and search for him; I'll track his shellcell and stay here just in case he comes back." Don said.

His brothers nodded.

"I can't believe we didn't do anything sooner." He sighed as they left.

-.-.-.-.-.-

Naito watched them climb up through the hole to the world of light. The surface world. He had not been there before, at least, not in a very long time. Naito considered following the turtles. He glanced about the dark tunnel and then to the stray beam of silvery light that filtered through the hole. His mouth twitched. He needed to be ready for the surface, in the unlikely case that he would need to travel up there. Naito swiftly clambered up the metal rungs and pulled himself up through the hole. Sudden blinding light mad him hiss and retreat back down into the hole. It was so bright!

He shook his head and with squinting eyes, he climbed back out and melted into the shadows behind a large metal bin of foul-smelling rotten food. Tears streamed from his sensitive right eye. How could the turtles be fine with the blinding light from that silver sphere in the ceiling of the surface world? The ceiling was dark, but the sphere was brighter than anything he had ever seen. He glanced about; his eye was slowly adjusting to the brightness. He heard shuffling in the corner of the alley and stared. His eye picked out two forms. His eyes widened. Humans.

Naito could smell blood from the humans. One of them was definitely dead. It had only just died, too, from the smell of it. Naito felt his mouth salivate at the thought of fresh meat. This time, there would be no fur to get between him and the warm flesh. Naito moved through the shadows, his eye never leaving the living human. It was a threat. Naito would wait for it to leave. The human glanced around, searching for something and gave a relieved sigh as he spotted no others. Naito watched the human stand and move off towards the end of the alley. Naito approached the dead human slowly. His hunger subsided as soon as he saw her face. Tears remained in her vacant gaze and her mouth was still open with blood gently streaming out. He wondered at his sudden lack of hunger. It was a free meal. A meal large enough to keep him sated for days. Why couldn't he eat it?

A sudden piercing cry erupted from behind him. Naito turned swiftly just as a metal pipe struck the side of his face. Naito flew with the blow and impacted against a brick wall. He tasted his own blood in his mouth. Naito rose to both feet and glared at the human who had, for some reason, returned. Naito was smaller, only about four feet tall. The human wasn't very tall, but he stood at least five and a half feet tall. Naito was, for the very first time, in direct light. A thick layer of grime covered his skin and his one working eye glowed ominously as he considered the human. He stretched out his claws and offered the human a menacing and feral glare. The human only swung the pipe at him. Naito rolled aside and the pipe hit the ground where Naito had stood only a moment ago. Naito ducked between the human's legs and slashed at his calves with sharp claws. The human gave a cry and tumbled to the ground. The human rolled on his back and suddenly knew that he could not rise to his feet. He swung the pipe around, but Naito was well out of its reach. The human began weeping.

"God… please… please… save me!"

Naito had moved forward to strike again but froze at that. This human was begging for its life. He stared. It was afraid. Afraid of him. Naito seemed frozen for a moment and the human stopped his weeping, hope registered in his eyes and a dumb smile found its way to his face. He thought he would be spared. Naito glanced at the dead human girl and back to the still alive human. The male had killed that girl. Naito was certain of it. He was now begging for his life after taking her's. Naito had killed many rats, he would not beg for his life if they turned on him. It was fair. It was right. It was just. Naito's gaze narrowed. "You make me sick." He said to the human in a voice that rasped from little use. He rushed forward and slashed the human's throat open with his claws. Blood sprayed wildly and Naito stared down at the deathly still human as the blood began to steadily flood out of his neck.

Naito brought his claws up to his face and stared at the blood that streamed down his arm. He had never done that before. He had never killed a thinking thing. Always mindless rats or bugs. Always to cure his starvation. Never before had he killed out of hate. Disgust. Anger. Pity.

"I've lost it." He breathed.

"I know I can kill."

-.-.-.-.-.-

Leo slowly opened his eyes. His vision was dark and fuzzy, as if he had just woken from sleep. He was lying on his shell, but he wasn't in his bed. He was lying on something flat and uncomfortable. He shook his head to clear his vision and started to sit up. Pain from his wrists stopped him. He dropped his gray gaze to his body and frowned. His ankles were tied to the wooden table he was lying on with barbed wire; his wrists were tied down in a similar way. Dry blood was stuck to his wrists where the barbed wire had cut him. He glanced at his surroundings. It was an old room, lit by candles on the wooden floor. Cobwebs decked most of the room. Wherever he was, he knew it had been abandoned for a long while. He pulled at his wrists and felt the barbed wire sink into his flesh. He kept his features unreadable. This was such a familiar situation. This was such an unsettling perspective.

"Hey there, hot stuff." A woman teased.

Leo turned his head to see his former target smiling at him coyly from seat in an armchair across the room. The man stood next to her. Leo hadn't expected the man to be with her. He had underestimated her. This was where his fear was supposed to sink in… but he didn't feel it. He relaxed and let his gaze wander over the ceiling. He needed to get out of here. How could he get out? Certainly not how his victims tried. No. He needed to think differently. He glanced at her and smiled. She was a control freak, he could wrench her control from her. He just needed to think.

"You're too kind." He replied with a smooth voice. "Although, seeing as how you get around so much, it's not much of a compliment, is it? I bet you tell that to all the men you meet."

Her gaze narrowed angrily at that. Apparently she didn't like being called a whore. Her male friend rushed forward, hatred written all over his dim-witted face, and he punched Leo's snout. Leo's head whipped back and from the blow and into the table. The table rocked from the hit. The blue masked terrapin had to admit that the hit had hurt. He blinked slowly and waited for the pain to fade.

"You address her with respect, freak." The man snarled angrily.

Leo worked his jaw about and spat blood in the man's eyes. The human stumbled back, cursing as he wipe at his eyes. Leo offered the woman a cold smile. "I thought you worked alone, Katherine. Did you finally take an apprentice, or is he another one of your toys?" Leo asked. She returned his cold smile and rose from the chair, waving her male companion off even as he started forward. She strode towards him, her hips swaying seductively. She placed both hands on either side of Leo's head and her face hovered inches from his.

"You should really be quiet turtle. I've been hearing about you from those street rats. They talk about you like you're some sort of boogeyman. They've taken to calling you Retribution. I think you scared them. However, Retribution," She said his alias with a laugh. "I have a question for you. How do you expect to escape this? I'm going to kill you right here. You will burn alive here. How does that make you feel?" She asked with her green eyes fixated on his gray ones. He exhaled and met her gaze with a smirk.

"Alive."

She laughed at that. "In another life, perhaps we may have been friends."

"No. I would have killed you." He replied in that same smooth tone. Her eyes held certain mirth and she lowered her lips to his, brushing against him. She pulled away and Leo stared in a mix of surprise and cold apathy. She licked her lips and nodded to her companion who happily lit a match and dropped it on the ground where it caught on a trail of gasoline. "Die in flames, Retribution." Katherine said with a smirk. She turned on her heel and exited the room calmly, her companion grinning like a fool as he followed her out.

Leo turned to regard the growing flames. He could already feel their heat. He pulled at his hands and bit his lip as the barbed wire tore through flesh. He rocked his body back and forth desperately. His survival instincts were pushing at him. Escape! Escape!

He was rocking the table. Back and forth. Back and forth. Swaying unsteadily. It dipped to one side, where the flames were snaking angrily. Slowly it tipped to that side, Leo shoved all of his weight in that direction...

Thunk! Crack!

The table hit the ground on its side, smashing Leo's right hand as it fell with the combined weight of him and a solid oak table. He uttered a gasp of pain but managed to wriggle his broken hand free of the barbed wire. He tore at his restraints with his now free hand even as the flames danced dangerously close to his face. The heat was making beads of sweat run down his body. His hand was bloody and torn with small cuts but he managed to free his left hand. Leo freed both of his legs easily and leapt free from the flames as they devoured the table. He felt them lick at his heels, but they did no more than that.

He raced free from the room and into a dark hallway. He caught sight of Katherine walking alongside the huge man, slowly advancing down a stairway at the end of the hall. Leo could see that she had his katanas in her hands and his duffel bag over her shoulder. Leo reached into his belt as he sprinted forward, holding several shuriken in his left hand. His broken hand was held tightly to his chest and out of commission. He hurled the shuriken at their legs and leapt on the hulking man's back. He gripped both sides of the man's head with left hand and his right forearm and twisted the man's head until there was an audible snap.

He leapt off the dead man and landed in a crouch. Katherine was on the ground, tugging a bloody shuriken out of her thigh. She gave him a look, no fear, no hatred, just cold understanding. He glared at her and stood. He approached and she smirked.

"Are you going to kill me now?"

Leo stared at her for a moment, ignoring the flames that were traveling down the hall towards them.

"No."

She grinned.

"I'm going to kill you on my own terms."

Her expression quickly transformed into a shocked one as Leo pressed a pressure point on her neck. She slumped unconscious. Leo glanced back at the flames and swore quietly. Using his left hand, he sheathed both of his katanas on his shell and donned his duffel bag before lifting her over his left shoulder. He ran down the stairs, racing against the flames that threatened to devour him. He could hear the sirens of a fire engine fast approaching. He kicked it, forcing his legs to move faster. He could feel sweat pour down his body and Katherine's weight pressing down on him. Leo forced himself to keep running. He turned a corner and caught sight of a window. He sprinted towards it. He tucked his head into his shoulder and covered his face with his right forearm. He leapt and there was a moment of utter silence. Complete silence.

The glass shattered and shards embedded themselves into his arms and legs. He felt as if he were floating over the ground then. He had leapt from the third story of an apartment complex. His gaze locked onto a weathervane below and he reached out for it with his broken hand, biting his lip as he knew how much it would hurt to grab onto it. His hand caught on the weathervane and he nearly shouted his pain. Blood streamed from where he had bitten his lip. It streamed down his chin and neck gently as he hung there. Leo inhaled deeply and pulled himself up, muscles screaming in protest. He got one foot up on the roof and was able to roll on it. He took deep ragged breaths before rising to his feet. He shifted Katherine on his shoulder and sprinted away from the burning apartment. He wasn't nearly in the clear yet.

He leapt and on another rooftop shakily. He released a deep breath and continued his run. After a few minutes of this, he fell to his knees and dropped Katherine on the ground. He panted heavily. He searched his duffel bag and found a case filled with hypodermic needles. He stares at it. It wasn't his. He glanced at Katherine. It was hers. This must have been how she had knocked him out. Leo removed one from the case and turned to Katherine. He inserted the needle into her neck and injected the contents into her bloodstream to keep her knocked out. He tossed the used needle away and placed the case back in his bag and stood. He lifted Katherine over his left shoulder again and dropped onto the fire escape on the side of the building. He then dropped into an alley on top of a car. He picked the locks on the car and stashed Katherine in the trunk. He hot-wired the car and turned onto an empty back street, heading towards his kill site.

-.-.-.-.-.-

Months had passed. They were now eight years old and extremely rambunctious. Splinter had given them their weapons, though they were wooden. They had loved the gifts but jealously had arisen, especially between Raphael and Leo. So, the two remained as far apart from each other as possible. That was why Leo had decided to leave the lair with Donatello, while Naito followed silently from the shadows. They were both rambling on about a toy car they had made together. Naito found their talk nauseating.

The two turtles had come to a place where the sewer water ran swift. The sewers had been flooding recently, and it was becoming dangerous. It made Naito wary. He had been dragged and tossed around by strong currents before; it had not been a fun experience. The two turtles were playing with the toy, making it move using a remote. Donatello was using it at the moment but Leo had yet to play with it. A bored Naito watched Leo's frustration rise. Finally, Leo shoved Donatello and attempted to take the remote away.

"Hey! Quit it, Leo! It's not your turn yet!" The younger turtle shouted. Leo only fought harder. Naito watched the toy spin out of control and veer straight into the rushing water. Donatello sighed and raced after the car, shoving the remote into Leo's hands. "I'll get it." Don said. He scooped up a stick and reached with it over the water to retrieve the car. Naito's stomach tightened, he knew something bad was going to happen. A large pile of floating trash smacked into the stick and upset Donatello's balance. The turtle fell screaming into the water. Naito turned his gaze to Leo, but the little turtle was frozen in shock. Naito gave a cry of frustration and broke free of the shadows. He sprinted, shoving Leo aside, but not into the water.

"Leo! My leg is stuck! Leo!" Donatello's voice echoed.

Naito ran, following the current and dived into a deep pool filled with debris. His eye was accustomed to the murky water and he soon spotted the dazed and drowning turtle. He swam and found a beam of wood that had trapped the turtle's leg. Naito grabbed onto the beam and pulled, his air escaped in bubbles as he pulled with as much strength as he could muster. He felt something tear in his hand but the beam was now floating off of Donatello's leg. Naito grabbed the young turtle and lifted him to the surface. He inhaled deeply upon contact with the air and clambered up a set of rungs while holding the dazed Donatello with his non-clawed hand. He climbed and dumped Donatello onto the wet ground. Naito breathed in short bursts and glanced back to spot Leo racing up to their spot. Naito glanced at Donatello and saw that the turtle was breathing and okay. He then ran, disappearing into the shadows. Once far away, Naito clutched his hand, the one that had felt town, and released an ear-splitting scream of pain. Blood dripped from where his claws had been torn out of his hand.

Leo fell to his knees next to his brother. He looked him over and glanced in the direction he had seen the shadowy figure flee. He felt his pulse racing and his heart pounding. He knew that shape. He looked down at his clenched fist and opened it, revealing a sharp claw. He knew what it came from. He knew who it came from. Leo swallowed painfully. Naito was alive.

His brother stirred. Leo glanced down to see Donatello breathing in gasps.

"You didn't get the car?"

-.-.-.-.-.-

Katherine's eyes fluttered open. She blinked sleepily and yawned. She moved to sit up from her lying position but she was trapped. Her wrists and ankles were taped down to a metal table. She glanced around. Where she was, it was dark, only lit by a few candles. She tugged at her bonds, but they wouldn't budge.

"I was in such a position not too long ago."

She turned to at the sound of the voice to spot Leo leaning against a wall; his right hand had been wrapped in white tape. His mask tails were singed and dried blood stained his lips.

"Is Retribution upset?"

Leo glared and remained silent. He was not in the mood for games. He approached the table, a knife in his left hand.

"You know your crimes." Leo said, sounding calmer than he felt. She smirked at him.

"Do you know yours?"

He ignored her question.

"Do you really think that you're better than the rest of us? Better than me?"

She laughed at his silence and unchanging expression.

"Just because you parade around under some notion that you're the good guy? Just because you kill murderers doesn't mean you're not one of us. So, one more time. Do you think you're better than me?"

"I underestimated you, I'll you that. Am I better than you? No. Not one bit. I saw the look you gave me when I was at your mercy. I've had that look before. No, I'm not better than you. I just wish I was." He answered before plunging the knife into her chest, the blade punctured her heart and she gave a soundless gasp. Blood quickly spread over her shirt. Her eyes went vacant. Emotionless. Dead. Leo sighed in relief and let himself relax. He allowed the sating of his need to flow through him. Fill him. He closed his eyes and reveled. Then he heard it. A gasp, barely louder than a whisper. It echoed.

The relief that had flooded into Leonardo quickly dissipated. He turned, slowly, hesitantly. All warmth leaving his body as his eyes confirmed his suspicions.

Raphael stood at the door of the warehouse, staring at him with a shocked expression.

"Leo, what the hell did you do?"

A/N: Yeah, LEO, what is your problem, huh?