I do not own the TMNT characters or themes.

Chapter Two; A Dark Figure and a Beautiful Woman

Broadway, 5th street, central park, east side, west side it didn't matter, the Nightwatcher couldn't shake his tail … the figurative one, not the one under his shell.

This clown had been following him for over an hour now. Every time Raph was sure he'd shaken the guy his mirrors would pick up that caped idiot again. What kind of nut job swung through the air like some kind of Spiderman wearing a huge red cape like that? Twice now he'd had to miss some possible action because he was trying to lose this guy; not to mention there was no way he could risk going home. Leo wasn't going to like Raph missing more practice.

A third time the radio in Nightwatcher's helmet picked up on some possible activity. It was close; there was no way he was going to pass it up. Hitting the breaks Raph slid into a one-eighty turn and sped in the opposite direction, Raph thought he heard some shouting as he drove right under his pursuer.

Less than half a mile later the Nightwatcher rolled up in front of a small electronics store.

The windows were busted out. Six punks inside swung bats and crowbars at anything that might break. A woman screamed. One of the punks held up a bat just a moment too long. The chains of Raph's manriki shot out and wrapped around the bat before being jerked back with enough force to snap bone, the poor sap swinging the bat was too stupid to let go and he was pulled right out the broken storefront window. He hit the ground and finally dropped the bat. He looked up and, seeing Nightwatcher on the bike, he left the bat and ran.

His sudden flight had not gone unnoticed by his buddies. They shouted meaningless banter to each other, building up their courage as four of them came out of the store, leaving one inside.

The four spread out into a half circle, they were grinning and had no intention of letting their opponent get past them. Nightwatcher never bothered to get off his bike; he revved the engine and sped right towards the gang bangers. The two in front of him weren't so stupid as the first guy. They dove to the side as the bike tore past them and through the door, snapping what was left of the door frame. Nightwatcher hit his brakes just as his front tire broke through the door, the resulting skid brought the Nightwatcher just inches from the last punk.

To his credit, the young man, no more than seventeen, didn't cower. "Sorry buddy, this store is closed." He swung a crowbar at the vigilante with the bent, sharpened end aimed at Nightwatcher's visor. The metal bar thunked solidly into Nightwatcher's waiting glove.

"I won't take long." Came the mocking voice from the helmet. The kid's eyes widened as he found himself being flung over the bike and into a pile of debris he had helped create.

The Nightwatcher turned to the woman behind the counter; she would have been a lovely Latino woman if it weren't for the pallor of fear on her face, stark terror tended to do that to people. "Are you hurt?" He asked. The woman shook her head. She was holding her skirt out in a funny way and Nightwatcher realized that she was trying to hide her kid behind the cloth. "Get the kid out of here!" He ordered as another gang banger tried to sneak up behind him. Instead of catching Nightwatcher off guard he only caught a fist in his mouth.

The woman dropped her skirt and grabbed her son, running through a back door. As Nightwatcher turned his full attention back to the guys trying to get the jump on him he missed the return of the sixth member, the one he thought had run. This guy slipped past unnoticed and followed after the woman.

The five men, boys really, advanced on Nightwatcher. The vigilante tilted his helmeted head to the side, "Five against one? Guys, that ain't hardly a fair fight!" His manriki came out again and with a quick flick of his wrist Nightwatcher set the chain spinning. "You sure you don't want to call for backup?"

"Help is here!" Announced a confident voice. Nightwatcher and the men turned towards the sound of the voice. In the window stood the figure that had been following Nightwatcher.

"Oh no." Raphael recognized the individual and felt dread flood every vein in his body.

…

Nora ran through the back room of her husband's store, clutching Peter to her chest. These men wanted to take Peter for some nefarious purposes involving her son and she wasn't about to let them have him. It didn't matter that the men were armed nor that they had destroyed every last clock and electronic device left in stock. Nothing would make Nora give up her little boy.

She kicked the door to the alley behind the store open and ran north, towards Kyle's place. Kyle had promised to take care of Nora and Peter when her husband disappeared and he would be able to protect them. All she had to do was get to his apartment.

"Eh chica!" Somebody called. Nora ran faster, she recognized the voice of one of the men that had attacked the store. "Chica no run away!" Mocked the man in a horribly fake accent. Instead of turning Nora hefted her son higher and ran for all she was worth, Peter grunted with every step. Behind her, Nora could hear heavy boot rapidly following.

Something caught her foot and Nora fell to the ground, barely shifting her weight in time for Peter to land on top of her. Peter cried out but held on. The boot steps slowed as the man came closer. Nora stood and tried to run but the man caught her dress and yanked her off her feet again. He grabbed Peter. Despite being winded from her run, Nora started screaming like a banshee for somebody, even the man in leather. She screamed in English, Spanish, Hawaiian.

The man brought a boot to her side. The force of his kick knocked even more air out of Nora and temporarily stunned her. Peter was pulled from her arms and before she could do anything more the man was gone.