A/N: Sorry for the delay, guys, I've been a little busy recently. I'll be posting the next chapter soon to make up for it.
Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT.
"Master, it wasn't me. I would never be so short sighted as to," Leo began.
"Really, Leonardo?" The master interrupted sharply. "What of the time when your brother walked in on one of your victims?"
Leo's gaze dropped to the floor. "I swear it wasn't me, Sensei. Someone else did it. I would never lie to you, Master."
The master's gaze narrowed. "You are a killer and not a liar?"
Leo tensed at that. Splinter shook his head. "One more transgression like this, Leonardo, and you will be banished from this family. I love you dearly, my son, but I must also protect this family. You are dismissed for now."
Leonardo bowed and rose to his feet. He turned and made for the door. He opened it silently.
"Leonardo, investigate the symbols. Do not draw attention to yourself. Be sure that there is no evidence to link the symbols to yourself or this family." Master Splinter ordered. Leo glanced back and nodded. He withdrew from the room and closed the screen door behind him.
-.-.-.-.-.-
Michelangelo sat on the couch with an Xbox controller in his hands. His tongue stuck out of his mouth while his brows were furrowed in concentration. He dodged to the right as he his character on the television screen encountered a flying arrow. Mikey grinned until a dragon landed on his character and squashed it. He blanched. "Not cool bro!" He shouted at the T.V.
Don glanced over his shoulder from his place at his computers. He had an irritated look on his features.
"Mikey, keep quiet. I'm sure you don't need to shout to play that game."
Mikey gave him a grin. "Yeah I do, Donnie. It's because I am Dovahkiin! Dragonborn!"
Don sighed. "That's no reason to shout."
"Oh Donnie, poor—poor Donnie. When will you ever understand?"
"Hey, I understand a lot of things." Don replied, turning to face him with arms crossed over his plastron. Mikey sighed dramatically and looked away. "Not enough, Donnie. Not enough."
Don sighed. "I am not getting into this with you right now. I have more important things to do." He said as he swiveled back to face his computers. Mikey was suddenly plastered to the back of Don's chair and looking over Don's work. His eyes scanned the computer screens.
"Why are you looking at that murder stuff, Donnie? It's sick." Mikey commented with a frown.
"Well, Mikey, it's a little odd. A serial killer like this is dangerous. This 'Retribution' appears to be extremely intelligent or at least crafty to have pinned all of his murders on gang violence so that no one would suspect anything else. Things were going well for him until these symbols popped up at the sites of the murders. It just doesn't make any sense to me."
"Why? I mean, maybe he wanted to be recognized for his... murdering."
Don shook his head. "No, Mikey, think about it. If he went through all the trouble to hide bodies and pin every kill on gang violence or something else, why would he want any recognition? I think something else is going on here. Something we should be worried about."
"I don't understand, why should we be worried about some human serial killer?"
Don sighed in exasperation. His brother just wasn't getting it.
"Retribution isn't the only player in the game, Mikey. Someone else is tracking this serial killer and trying to draw him out. I don't know why, but it's really dangerous, Mikey. If Retribution was killing all of these people on his own, what's going to happen when he meets with this new person?"
"Something really bad?"
"Exactly. That's the only answer I can think of. I really hope this guy doesn't meet with his tracker. I really hope he gets caught before he does anything else."
-.-.-.-.-.-
He stood outside the abandoned warehouse. The wind blew gently over his skin and his blue mask tails fluttered lightly in the breeze. Leonardo fought off a shiver as he stared at the building. None of it made sense. All of his kill sites except for this one had been marked with the odd symbol. The triangle with the circle. It was an ancient symbol for justice. It tied in all too well with his Retribution alias. Someone knew about him. Someone knew too much about him. Leo crossed his arms over his plastron as he considered the building. He shuddered angrily. Who was it?
Who was it that was playing this game with him?
Leo leaned against the tree he had taken shelter behind. He couldn't understand who would have done this to him. Was it another person like him? A killer? Leo frowned. He wasn't sure if he disliked the idea. It really should have threatened him, but he felt like it was an message that said "I know what you are and I would like to know more". Leo shook the thought out of his head. He couldn't afford to think like that. His family came before anything else. Leo returned his gaze to the warehouse. He tightened the muscles in his arms and moved out of the shadows. His gray eyes darted quickly about his surroundings.
Leo nodded, content that he was alone. He walked towards the warehouse, keeping his heightened senses attuned to his surroundings. He heard a soft click and twisted aside, tearing his katanas free from their sheathes as he did so. He pivoted on the balls of his feet to face where the sound had originated from. Leo held his katanas in front of him defensively, he kept his senses attuned, knowing his back was vulnerable. His eyes scanned the trees that dotted the ground before him. Silence. There was nothing but the soft breeze that sighed through the trees.
"Hello Leonardo." A familiar voice spoke smoothly. Leo tensed at the voice alone. His gaze turned to a shadowy figure standing in the shadows of the trees. Leo gritted his teeth. He knew that voice all too well. One of his most hated enemies had that disturbing voice. The man who had driven Donatello into a state of animalistic rage and had changed his form into that of a monster. The man who tried to dissect him and his brothers. The man who released a widespread epidemic upon the citizens of New York City. The man who worked his way through everything. The venomous snake who kidnapped his father and tried to create a monster from the dead limbs of a cadaver. The same man who put Leatherhead through hours of torture and experimentation. The very man who had traumatized Leatherhead to the point of attacking with bestial rage. Leonardo tightened his grip on his katanas. He hated this human. This devil.
Leonardo knew his own faults. He knew he was a monster. He knew he was the reason behind nineteen dead. He held their blood on his hands. Agent Bishop was a different type of monster altogether. He was a monster who still blamed others for his horrific acts. His crimes were shifted onto someone else as a scapegoat every time. Leo could not stand the human. Bishop was every bad thing about a human in one form. He was everything bad personified. At least Leo had some sense of decency. He had his family to thank for that. If it weren't for them, he would likely have become just like Bishop. The darkness, the need, inside of Leo demanded blood payments and Leonardo was glad that it demanded nothing more than that.
"Bishop." Leo said with a cold edge to his voice.
He could see the pull of a muscle on the human's face as Bishop smirked. Bishop emerged from the shadows. His black trench coat billowed about his lean body. He adjusted his shades before dropping his hands behind his back. He held an arrogant grin smirk upon his features as he studied Leonardo. The turtle tensed under the scrutiny but kept his gaze calm.
"Leonardo, you have been quite the rye as of late. Killing men and women and then dumping their body parts in warehouses. I had to spare one of my agents to find this serial killer who was causing such trouble for the government. You could understand my surprise when my man reported back the identity of our killer. To find out that it was you was quite the prize. I ordered him to draw you out and here you are."
Leo remained silent, listening for danger.
"I was thinking of taking you in, but I had a better idea. You see, my agent told me that you were hiding this... hobby... of yours from your family. How would you like it if we suddenly made it clear to them? All we would need to do is burn that symbol here, no?"
Leo gritted his teeth. "What do you want?" He said through his teeth. Bishop smirked again. "Surrender yourself."
Leo's gaze narrowed and his need surged deep inside of him. It surfaced and Leo smirked. "You really think I would endanger my family like that? Let them think me a killer before I give myself up to you." Leo replied before sprinting forward. Bishop readjusted his shades with an index finger, his grin vanishing.
Leo brought both katanas down in a slash. Bishop sidestepped and Leo pivoted on the balls of his feet to face the human. Leo slashed again and again. Red began to edge his vision as he slashed. Bishop dodged each slash, though he was finding it harder with each move. Leo suddenly sent a flying knee into Bishop's chest, making the human stumble back whilst clutching his chest. Leo did not relent. He continued his overhand slashes, driving Bishop back. Leo growled. Why wasn't Bishop fighting back?
Leo heard another soft click behind him. He leapt aside but something sharp buried itself into his right shoulder. Sudden searing pain raced through his veins and he fought a gasp of pain as he fell to his hands and knees. Leo muttered curses under his breath and he lifted his gaze to Bishop. The human was rubbing his sternum and held a peeved expression. Apparently he had not expected the flying knee. Of course he hadn't. He was accustomed to Leonardo fighting with ninjutsu. Leo had used a Muay Thai move. Leo was surprised the human was still standing. That move should have snapped most of the bones in Bishop's rib cage.
"Well played, Leonardo. But I still win."
Leo could taste blood in his mouth. He knew he was in trouble now. He was shaking from the pain if the drug in his system. Leo yanked a dart out of his shoulder with a shudder. He tossed it aside and breathed in a shaky breath. Bishop smirked and straightened.
"I think we'll have a good deal of information once we dissect you."
Leo's left hand snapped out and a handful of small black beads struck the ground. A cloud of smoke emerged once they struck the ground. Bishop raced forward and waved at the smoke. He smacked at it with his arms. Once it cleared, Bishop found that Leonardo had disappeared. He glanced at the agent stationed in a tree above. The agent dropped to the ground and saluted. Bishop returned the salute.
"Good work."
"Thank you, sir."
-.-.-.-.-.-
Leo staggered through the sewers; his hands hovered over the walls of the tunnel. His breathing came in ragged gasps and his breathing hitched when Sharp pain exploded in his right shoulder. He gasped and shuddered. His vision was blurred.
Leo muttered a curse under his breath and leaned against the wall. His shoulder throbbed painfully. The pain traveled down to his fingers and made them numb. He closed his eyes and evened his breathing. He focused on the pain in his shoulder and it slowly faded to the back of his mind. Leo opened his eyes and straightened. An uncomfortable feeling settled in his stomach. It tugged angrily. Leo sighed. His need. It wanted to get Bishop. Bishop would have been a very satisfying kill. But he hadn't killed Bishop. It was flaring angrily. Leo forced it down, taking a few moments of deep meditation to do so.
He really needed to kill something soon. The need was demanding blood. Leo wasn't in the condition to go tracking down a killer right now. Least of all to fight one. Leo groaned and started on his way home. He could feel the pain at the back of his mind and he knew it still had not subsided but it was slowly lessening. He didn't know what he had been injected with but it had seemed to be something that was supposed to incapacitate him for a few moments. Leo patted the small pouch on his belt that held his smoke pellets. The small items had probably saved his life. Had he been captured, not only would his life have been forsaken, but his family would have been endangered. They would have come after him. They would have tried to save him. They would have been captured themselves.
Leo trudged through the water and finally entered the lair. He didn't quite know what time it was, only that it was late. Leo knew it was late because of the silence of the lair. Leo made his way to the bathroom. He felt tired and worn, though it was probably the drug that made him feel like that. He closed the bathroom door behind himself and loosened his mask, dropping it so it hung loosely from his neck. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his right hand and unslung his katana sheaths and dropped them on the floor. He untied his belt and tossed it on the counter. He leaned heavily on the counter with both hands and sighed. He glanced up at the mirror and stared at the vibrant markings on his face. Bright red splashed at the corners of his eyes and yellow streaks ran down his snout. The markings were brighter. Much brighter. Leo rubbed his face tiredly.
-.-.-.-.-.-
Raphael yawned and slowly opened his eyes. He lay sprawled in his hammock, his arms and legs dangling off the sides. He glanced at his clock sleepily. It was four in the morning. He stretched his arms and sat up. Training would start in an hour, there wasn't any point in going back to sleep. He tied on his mask and belt which had rested on his nightstand atop a clutter of motorcycle magazines and a jumble of spare change. He tore his sais out of the wall and shoved them into his belt. He glanced about the room and spotted a guitar case in the corner of the room. He walked over to it and opened up the case, moving back and sitting down on his weight bench. He whistled at the sight of the guitar. It was crimson and edged in black.
He hadn't paid much attention to the guitar when Leo had gotten it for him. Of course he had thanked his brother, but he had been far more preoccupied with the new power tools that Don had gotten him. He strummed the guitar strings and nodded at the sound they made. He slid his hand down the neck of the guitar and frowned as he felt an indent in the wood. He turned the guitar over and studied the small indent. A name was carved in the neck.
"Chester Remsworth."
A/N: And the conclusion nears. We're getting close to the end, everyone! I hope you guys still remember who Chester Remsworth is, if you do, then you know what's gonna go down in the next few chapters!