The Nightwatcher's sidekick

Chapter 2: Aliens and pancakes

"No… no… no…" she repeated the word as a mantra in her head, her body stiff and her eyes wide. She could feel the cold blade pressed against her throat. She tried to ignore the warm, wet tickle on her skin.

The guy trying to help her had dodged the attack and now he was out of her view. She could see the other thugs turning right and she assumed that was where the guy had gone. She felt her mind and body completely frozen, but she wasn't sure that was so because she was so terrified or because the blade had cut deep enough to reach one of her major arteries and she was bleeding out without even being aware of it.

Suddenly the grip loosened and she stumbled away without even thinking of it. She fell, but she didn't bother looking around while she crawled away.

"Where ya' goin', doll?" a rough voice rang in her ears and her blood went cold the moment her eyes landed on a large man wielding a big, rusty chain. Her mind didn't register her own scream as she used all the strength she could muster to push herself backwards, not realizing she was going right back where she came from.

Something fell next to her with a loud thud. Her eyes darted to it only for a second and this time she could hear the sound coming out of her own mouth. She tried to move away, but the sound of her protector landing in front of her drew her attention.

Her dark eyes widened as she took in the hard, brown shell and green skin of the creature standing in front of her. She could make out two long spikes protruding from its balled fists. It turned its head towards her and she instinctively cowered away. Its face looked angry.

A chain hit the side of creature's head. The sound was enough to pull the girl out of her terror induced trance and she bolted away from her attackers and from her protector. She rounded the corner, placing her hand on her neck. The first comforting thought filled her head when she realized that her wound was superficial. She tripped, almost falling off her feet. She managed to catch herself at the last moment.

"Uuuggh" the sound was of pain and surprise and the girl stopped in her tracks, knowing that it was the green creature that made that sound. She looked right in front of her, then back to the dark alley. She bit her lips. She knew the creature was outnumbered and hurt. Her feet moved, carrying her back from where she came from.

Her dark eyes quickly scanned the scene. The creature was pinned down, with four men looming over it. She heard one of them speak, but her brain didn't register his words. Instead, she grabbed the lid off a trash bin firmly, with both hands, and moved towards the four men. She could feel her whole body trembling as she positioned herself right behind a man who was preparing to strike the green creature with a bat. She bit her lip and shut her eyes tightly as she swung her "weapon" as hard as she could.

The sound of metal connecting to flesh was deafening to her. She could feel the large body tumbling to the ground. She almost fell over, because of the momentum. When her eyes opened she was met by the sight of a purple haired man, preparing to swing a chain at her. Before she could blink, a green figure tackled him, sending them both to the ground.

A big man with a pipe went after the two wrestling figures, while a thinner guy holding a switchable blade stalked towards her. She raised the metal lid in front of her, like a shield. Her eyes darted around, looking for a way out. The blade flew towards her and she struck out her "shield". The sharp "clang" that told her the knife had been blocked. Her victory was short lived, however, when something hit her legs and her body fell to the ground, like a rag doll.

Her dark, terrified eyes watched as his mouth twisted in a grin. Her throat was dry. But the man didn't get the opportunity to take another step closer to her. A powerful roundhouse kick sent him flying in some dumpsters. By the sound he made, he was probably out cold.

The girl cautiously looked up at her savior. She was still holding her shield close to her body. "He looks like… a turtle" she thought, taking a close look at the tall figure. There was a mix of anger and awe on his face. Her mouth opened and closed a few times. She wondered what she should say, or if she should say anything at all.

Suddenly she realized that her position must've looked excessively defensive and she dropped the lid. She scrambled to her feet, almost falling over twice. She noticed that he had a very strange look on his face and she gulped.

"Thank you" she said, looking him straight in the eyes. She noticed they were a golden-brown color. She also noticed that they widened slightly at her words. His large mouth opened and then closed. He seemed surprised.

"Um… you're welcome" he mumbled, avoiding her eyes. He turned to leave, but a sudden wave of dizziness hit him and he felt his body start falling.

"Be careful" her soft voice rang in his ears and he felt his body being supported by something small. She silently urged him to sit and he did not argue. His head was killing him, probably from the two strong blows he got there. Once he was on the ground, the girl moved directly in front of him, placing her small hands on each side of his head.

He made no move to stop her when she started to gently turn his head so she could get a better angle to see the injuries. Instead he studied her face. It was dirty from falling on the ground and there was a small cut on her left cheek. Almost half of her neck was stained red. Her black, messy hair and large, dark eyes gave her a rather scared appearance, even though her actions told otherwise. She looked completely concentrated on what she was doing.

"Do you know where you are?" she asked him, her eyes fixed on the right side of his head, where her fingers were probing a rather large bruise. He blinked at her, not knowing why she would be asking that. Her dark eyes turned to his face and she spoke again. "Can you remember where you are?"

Raph suddenly remembered Donnie asking them stupid questions like that when they hurt their heads; something about brain injury.

"Yeah… New York… Purple Dragon territory" he replied. His voice sounded very hoarse. She nodded and she dug into her bag, fishing out something that looked like a cellphone. A few alarm bells went off instantly in the turtle's head.

"I'm going to use the flashlight on this to see how your eyes respond to light, ok?" she asked. Raph eyed her for a moment. She could be very well using that thing to take a photo of him to show other people, so they won't say she's crazy when she tells them. But something in his gut told him that wasn't the case. He nodded slowly and the girl turned on the light. It was very bright and it hurt his eyes. He turned his head away. The light went out and he turned to her again.

"Is your vision blurry?" she asked.

"Now it is" he answered after blinking a few times. He felt her fingers run over one of the bruises on his head.

"You might have a concussion" she said, biting her lip. He frowned, knowing that meant he'd have to involve Donnie. He didn't want to have anything to do with his younger brother at the moment.

"You could come with me… to my place." His head snapped towards her at her words. "I could do something about it…" she said, looking directly into his eyes, "And about all the other injuries" she continued, her eyes quickly sweeping over his body.

Raphael knew what his older brother would say: "It's too dangerous. You don't know her" his mouth twitched just a little bit. To hell with Leo and what he'd think.

"Yeah, thanks" he answered and she smiled. She helped him to his feet.

"It's not far. And there's a shortcut" she smiled at him. "Oh! Wait a bit" she exclaimed and he watched her curiously as she ran to a corner of the alley, picked something up and ran back to him. She offered him the item; it was his sai.

"Thanks" he smiled at her, placing the weapon in its place. She returned the smile.

"Come on! This way" she said, leading him through the allies.

About 15 minutes later, Raphael was siting in the girl's bathroom with an icepack on his head. She was currently cleaning a particularly nasty cut on his forearm. There was an awkward silence. Both were quietly stealing glances at each other, trying to open a conversation. They were painfully aware of the fact that they didn't even know each other's names.

The brunette girl bit her lip and looked at her savior again. This time she caught his eyes on her, but he didn't look away.

"Um…. I'm… I'm sorry…" she started, looking shyly at him. Somehow, he knew that she wasn't apologizing for the stinging sensation in his arm. "For running away…" she continued. She was biting her lips. "I'm sorry, but getting attacked by armed goons is not a daily occurrence for me." She smiled a bit. "Not to mention getting rescued by an alien. Thank you, again"

"Alien?" the turtle asked, his brow raised.

"Oh, sorry! I didn't know what else to call you. That's what we call people that aren't from Earth. I didn't mean it as an offence! I'm really sorry." she was talking really fast. He raised his hand to stop the torrent of apologies coming out her mouth. She stopped talking and bit her lip.

"I'm not from outta' space" he said. She blinked her dark eyes, and he could practically read the question plastered all over her face. However, he wasn't really sure if she should know his story. "Yeah… I'm kind of a local' grown freak". He didn't know why he had said that. He hated being called a freak. So why was he calling himself one?

"You're not a freak!" she squealed, grabbing his free hand with both her hands. Her lips remained parted but she said nothing else. He thought she looked scared. Or maybe it was just her eyes being so large in comparison to the rest of her features. She bit her lip again.

"I'm Saima" she spoke, her dark eyes never leaving his. He was not expecting that.

"Raphael…" he said, not really knowing what else to say. She smiled at him.

"You have an angel's name" her smile was shy, but still present. He just stared at her. "The archangel…" she explained. He blinked a few times, not really knowing what to say. She bit her lips again. He could feel the awkward silence weighting down on him.

"I… should go…" he said, looking out the window. It was dark outside. Her bathroom window showed no light whatsoever. He could feel her fingers tighten slightly on his large hand. He looked back at her. She had a strange look in her eyes.

"Well… ok…" she said softly "… but I was going to make pancakes... and if you want some…" he identified the look as hopeful. He suddenly realized that she actually wanted him to stay. He smiled.

"Well… can't say no to pancakes" he grinned. Saima smiled at him.