Chapter 4: Meet Casey Jones
'I guess you could call it fate,' A man stood in front of Raphael, glaring at him through the mask while twirling a pair of baseball bats in both of his hands, ' but I've finally met somebody as angry as I am, and he was really making me mad.' The dark green turtle adorning red pulled out his pair of sai from his belt and twirled them in his hands. 'My name is Raphael, and the bozo in the hockey mask is about to find out just how angry I can be!' And with that, he charged right at the guy.
The sounds of fighting downstairs indicated sparring, or at least, this time it did. Isabella noted. At least without the sounds of arguing, it had to be sparring. The gecko's hearing picked up the sound of a grunt and boxes falling over. "Hah! Nice fall, Raphael. Just come on back if you want some more of that." Mikey taunted the dark green turtle. Now Isabella had to see this. She got up and out of her room in time to see Raphael climb out of the pile of boxes they all had been stacking at the side of the room. 'Must've been boxes from our unpacking.' The gecko figured.
Raphael stood up on his feet and pulled a box that was stuck right off his head. The stripes on his face highlight the frustrated look on his face. He pointed at the younger dark teal turtle. "You've had it, Mikey." Michelangelo looked unbothered by his words, spitting on his fist and wiping it on his chest, shining it up. " Bro or no, you got to go." Raph made a jump at him, raising a fist and bringing it down in Mikey's direction. Mikey dodged out of the way. "Good reverse punch." The red-banded turtle swipes his legs at him, but the turtle in orange ducked and backed up every time. "Nice roundhouse kick too, Raph."
He tried to send another punch at him but Mikey dodged, flipping over him and landing behind him. "Whoa. Not a bad dragon punch either, but you're just a little too," He stepped to the side when Raph tried to land a hit on him and he counted with a hand slamming his shell, "slow!" Raph stumbled, losing his balance and he found himself at the edge of the room, feeling the bricks against his plastron. "Actually, MUCH too slow."
Isabella could see the look on his face. It was one of embarrassment for stumbling around like that. 'Mikey's getting to him again.' She thought. It's one of the things Mike was good at... and it wasn't good most of the time. Raph's teeth bared and he growled, turning so abruptly and rushing at the younger. Finally, his fist connected and Mikey fell and slid backward on his shell, hitting the barrier and a breath forcing itself out upon contact with the bricks. Everyone else in the room was tense, looking over to see the dark green turtle rush at him again.
Mikey recovered in time to dodge the punches and kicks coming at him. "You think you're better than me?!" Raph yelled in anger just when Mikey got some distance by back-flipping away but Raph sought to close that distance. "Do you?!" His hands were up and out, making Mikey catch them and the two pushed against one another in a test of strength. The two let out grunting noises while they pushed and stood their ground. "No," Mikey grinned. " You're just too cocky, Raph."
He turned, loosening his hold and slapping him on his shell once more hard enough, making the older of the two fly across the room and land on a table. It broke underneath his weight. He swears he was glad for his shell otherwise he would get splinters of wood in places he never wanted them. He turned over, watching Mikey walking away and hearing his aggravating voice scrape against his ears. "Winner and still champion, Michelangelo! Hey, Isa. Did you see all that?" He boasted, walking to his other siblings and father while he was unaware of the dark green turtle picking up a metal chair leg. Raph gripped it tightly in his hand. His thoughts raced many miles per moment until it was all a white blur. He felt heated, embarrassed and so very angry. "No."
Splinter's eyes widened and he barely noticed the hand of his eldest son on his shoulder. Worried expressions were written on all of their faces. "No." Raphael stood up, his eyes seeing nothing else but the target in front of him. "You... YOU." His breaths were heavy and hisses accompanied his heavy breathing. His teeth bared and he leaped at the turtle in front. Mikey finally caught the worried expressions and he turned a little too late, feeling Raphael's feet kick him in his plastron. He was pinned on the ground by the turtle's weight. "Raph! Raph! Wait! WAIT!" Mikey called to no avail, covering his face while the dark green turtle raised the metal leg above his head, poising to strike, to hurt, or worse... His eyes narrowed while the world around him was dark.
Suddenly light came to him again when he felt an arm lock around his right forearm. He turned, the low hisses that left him stopped when he saw it was Leonardo. "Raphael, have you lost your mind?" Leo snapped at him. He caught in the corner of his eye the image of Mikey scooting backward from him, still shaken up a bit. '...no..' That was his first thought. "You okay, Mikey? What were you thinking, Raph?" Donny inquired with a bite to his tone. It wasn't often that he'd do that but it struck a chord in his dark green twin. Raphael looked ahead of him, not in any particular direction of anyone. It did hurt when he saw Isabella look at him like she had years ago when they were just little tots, when he wasn't too kind to anyone who was a stranger and he didn't know better. No, he did know better, despite being a child. He can't excuse himself for that. She had a look of disbelief with a hint of fear in her eyes. He couldn't blame her.
His breathing remained heavy but his hissing was gone. He went limp against Leo's hold and dropped the pipe just as the older Kelly green turtle in blue let go. "I ... Leo ..." He looked back, seeing him with his arms crossed. "Mikey, I ..." His head turned forward and a hand went to his face, clutching it with anguish while his eyes squeezed shut. Donny pulled Mikey away from Raph even further, not helping Raph's case any. Splinter finally walked up to him. A gentle tap of his walking stick sounded off to his left and he felt a warm hand on his shoulder, making him look up to his father. "Ah, my son, so angry. Rage is a monster that will destroy you from within. Raphael, a true warrior finds balance in all things."
Raphael stood up, almost shaking on his legs, and looked at his hands with an upset expression at what he had almost done. "Master Splinter, I ... I ...uh, ..." He stammered, trying to pull his thoughts together before he blurted out, "I gotta get some air." The dark green turtle in red ran off. Mikey was going to try to follow after him, but he was stopped by Splinter's oriental pink paw on his arm. The turtle looked at him, guilty for pushing him so far, but the rat knew of their antics and he knew that Raphael wouldn't put himself into something he couldn't handle. He honestly hoped that he was right.
It was nightfall above the surface when Raph left the sewers. He hadn't stopped to pay attention. He hadn't stopped since he left the lair. Thoughts were racing so fast that he couldn't even catch up to them or see them as they passed by. He found himself running up the stairs. If there was anyone living there, then no one bothered to check on the noise of rushing feet. He saw a door ahead of him and threw it open with no regard if it'd fly off the hinges or not before finally rushing out to the rooftop and reaching the edge.
The dark green turtle panted heavily with his chest heaving. His eyes overlooked the city and the majority of the red-hot anger he felt before had dissipated into the air, but that was replenished quickly when the object of his anger changed. He really was about to hurt Mikey. He made his own brother and their little sister scared. The others were upset with him and Splinter... He knew his father tried to help him but he just couldn't hear him out. He couldn't get himself to apologize, not when he was so visibly upset with himself and not when he felt that he had no right to be so upset over what he almost did.
He growled and clenched his fists, standing stiffly and dangerously close to the edge of the building before letting out a scream of unbridled rage. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!?" His voice echoed through the streets but no one noticed with the busy city bustling down below.
Meanwhile, on another street, there was an apartment complex with the noise of a car alarm going off outside the building which awoke a small child and their cries filled the air as well. The building looked worn down but it remained sturdy and one of its windows was open if the curtains catching the breeze meant anything. Through that window, there was a man inside, watching the television with the late-night news coming on. His toned arm curled with a forty-pound dumbbell in his gloved hand.
"And in other news, more sightings of a vigilante wearing a hockey mask are being reported in connection with several brutal attacks on the notorious Purple Dragons gang, alleged to have underworld connections." The newscaster woman spoke on her latest report. The man in front of the TV narrowed at the mention of the gang. "Purple Dragon scum." He sneered, still seeing the memories of what the Purple Dragons had done in his mind's eye. He remembers the red-hot flames, the guys coming up to him, and the laughter that big guy, Hun, had.
He dropped the dumbbell to the side and got up from out of the seat. "Somebody's gotta stop those Purple Dragons." He made his way over to the coffee table in the middle of the room where his hockey mask sat. He looked at the face of the mask before turning it around and putting it on, pulling the strap over his head. "Somebody's gotta make them pay." He turned around, focusing his eyes on the golf bag full of an assortment of sports gear. Two baseball bats, a golf club, and a hockey stick all sat inside the bag. He pulled it over until the strap rested on his left shoulder while he went to a mirror. He pulled the hockey stick out of the bag and twirled it in his hand. "And they will!" He turned away from the mirror and stopped twirling the hockey stick, slapping his other hand onto it. "They'll all pay! 'Cause Casey Jones is on the job!"
It was quieter on this side of town. Quieter and darker. A woman in business apparel clutched her purse close to her side. Her heels clicked along the sidewalk. Her eyes caught the sight of a suspicious-looking man with spiky hair, dragons on his vest, and goggles sitting on his forehead. He had a toothpick pinched between his fingers and chewing on it between his teeth. The woman turned down a dark alley, not the smartest move, but she wanted to avoid any confrontation at all costs. Despite her avoidance of him, the man gave a glance around in case anyone was around to see. There was no one. He flicked the toothpick away and turned the corner, following after the woman in the alley.
Her worried expression hadn't left her face and she clutched her bag tighter, picking up her pace. Just when she was beginning to see the light at the end of the alley, two guys came out from the shadows of the neighboring buildings. One had blue face paint with pink Mohawk hair and the other wore a sideways hat. Both of them let out low chuckles while they approached her. She tried to back out of this, not wanting any trouble. When she attempted to turn around, her shoulder met the chest of the spiky-haired man she saw just moments ago. She gasped and quickly they surrounded her. "Oh no..." She was terrified and her voice showed that. "Hand over the purse, sweet thing, and we promise not to hurt you." The spiky-haired man in the vest grinned, "Too much." The other two thugs chuckled while the woman looked frantic between the three of them.
Just above them, there was a certain dark green turtle in red sitting on the railing of the fire escape and looking down at them. He was just passing through when he came upon this scene. "Man, these guys picked the wrong night to tick me off." He hissed lowly, frustrated already at these gang members thinking they had a right to terrorize anyone. His eyes went over to Spiky Hair who grabbed the strap of the woman's purse off her shoulder but she still clutched it tight in her hands, despite the obvious terror on her face. "Purple Dragons!" A man singed their gang branding and they all looked over to the other side of the alleyway where the source of the taunt came from. "Come out and play!" He smacked a trashcan lid with his hockey stick and came towards them. "It's that wacko with the hockey mask! Let's get him!" Spiky Hair pointed to him, holding the purse in hand before the trio of thugs rushed at him.
Raphael looked on with obvious interest. "Looks like this is gonna be good." The shaggy-haired man in the mask dodged a punch coming from Spiky Hair and delivered a smack right back via his hockey stick right across his face, knocking him down. No doubt he was already bruising up from how hard the smack sounded across the alley. The blue-faced thug rushed at him but the masked vigilante used the trash can lid to stop him and knock him back as well. He turned around to see the guy wearing the sideways hat and swiped his hockey stick across the guy, making him fall back and the hat lay beside his head.
"No mercy, scum. I'm putting you punks outta business! Permanently!" The man in the hockey mask raised the stick in the air far above his head, ready to strike down. Raph recoiled at that. He had to do something before someone got hurt. "That guy's outta control." He put a hand on the railing and jumped down, landing behind the shaggy-haired guy. "Whoa!" He wrapped his arm around his forearm, pulling it down. "Hey!" The guy yelled back at him. "Easy there, cowboy. They're down! You stopped them! You did good! Take it easy." He reassured.
The words didn't reach the guy though and he just ripped his arm away from the reptile, frog, person, thing, whatever he was. "I'm outta here!" He turned his head to see the Purple Dragon thugs run off. "Come on! Let's get outta here!" Spiky Hair led them out of the alley. The vigilante didn't like that one bit. "Aw man, they're getting away!" He yelled, spinning around to face the green guy. "Stay outta my business, freak!" He pulled his arm back and let a fist fly to his face, punching him right in the face and making him fall back. The moment Raphael got up the guy in the mask chased after the goons. "You can run, Purple Dragons, but you can't hide from Casey Jones!"
'Casey Jones.' He thought, finally getting a name on the guy. The woman watched as the chaos unraveled before her and she turned to see the large reptile standing behind her. "Sorry about all this. Here's your purse, ma'am." He apologized, offering up her purse. Panic overran her thoughts and she snatched her purse. "Keep away from me, you lizard-thing! Keep away!" She yelled before running off. Raphael gave a frustrated sigh. 'Oh well, not like every human's gonna be like April.' He thought, turning around before trailing after the vigilante.
He heard the sounds of a fight, no more like the sounds of a beating, and followed after them, seeing the silhouette of the guy with sports gear smack his hockey stick down on the Purple Dragons who begged for their lives. "You've stolen your last purse, dog breath!" Casey screamed at them. "Unbelievable. This guy just won't quit." Raph muttered to himself, watching as Casey grabbed the spiky-haired thug off the ground. If he didn't stop this guy soon, he was sure he'd witness a murder or something. The dark green turtle clad in red turned a corner and rushed at him, leaping in the air and kicking Casey in the back. The guy was knocked down, letting go of Spiky Hair out of surprise.
Raph landed behind him while Casey turned over to see that green weirdo. "I told you to cool it, pal." The turtle warned him. The man got up, pulling his hockey stick from the ground. "Yeah? And I told you to stay outta my way, but since your ears don't seem to be working," He swiped his hockey stick across his front, but Raph ducked in time to avoid any more bruises on his beak. "I'm gonna have to get my point across a whole 'nother way." The two stood across from each other with the street lights illuminating their surroundings. Raph stood ready, not wanting to be caught off guard by this guy.
Isabella couldn't help the feeling of guilt. She knew Raph would never mean to hurt any of them, let alone on purpose or without reason, but she couldn't help looking so scared and not saying anything. Even after Raph scurried out of there, she still felt bad about it. So, she was doing what everyone else basically was doing, putting their minds to something else.
"See Don, we can have our very own Battle Shell." She glanced over to see Mikey showing off a picture of a vehicle that the orange turtle more than likely came up with on the fly. It's nothing compared to the more crude scribbling he had done in the past when he first showed her broken up, used crayons they scavenged when they were children. " I've even got a name for it. I call it "The Battle Shell"! I've got it all figured out. Turbo-boosters, double-action traction, cool secret thingies shooting out the back. We should be tricking out the armored car!" Mikey excitedly pointed to the drawing while Donny listened as he kept welding some pieces together.
"By "we", you mean me. And I don't have the time. There's too much to do around here," he looked over to him with the safety goggles still on over his beak. He snatched the paper from him and crumbled it up, tossing it aside. "Besides, where would we keep the thing?" Mikey knelt to the ground, grabbing the paper ball of his drawing, sounding a little hurt. "We could find a place. Just think of overhauling the wheels. Please? Please please please please?" He begged, hovering over Donny and pacing back and forth behind his shell. "Did I mention you're my favorite turtle?" He tried so hard to gain sympathy points. Donny almost cracked a smile at that.
"Ssshhh." The three mutants heard a hush and turned to see their rat mentor holding up two planks. "Leonardo and Isabella are working on perfecting their Ninjutsu skills. Perhaps something you two should consider?" He reprimanded softly, looking between his two younger sons and his gecko daughter who was off to the side, waiting her turn. 'Ever since she started training, she always did want to keep pace with her brothers,' He thought to himself before he turned back to the eldest of the reptiles. "Leonardo, leaping split-kick!" He barked. Leonardo leaped at the rat and split his legs apart, trying to break the planks. He landed in a back flip, looking to see the planks still intact, and let out a frustrated sigh. He did the move right and yet he still couldn't do it. Splinter tossed the planks aside and went to him, seeing the disappointment on his face. He placed a pink paw on his shoulder, reassuring him. "Try again, my son. It will come with practice." Isabella nodded at that. "Yeah, you got this."
Meanwhile, Michel still hovered over Donny's shoulder. Now, he was impersonating Master Splinter's voice in a hushed tone. "Donatello. Donatello. If you build it, we will ride." He waved the drawing of the turtle tank at the yellowish-olive green Cumberland slider. "In turtle-style!" He switched back to his normal voice. The turtle in purple had a soft smile and took the paper, setting it on the table. He turned to grab the Sewer Sweet Sewer sign and a hammer from the side. "Here, motor-mouth. Make yourself useful." Mikey gave a defeated moan. "Hang this up someplace nice." The younger brother took the objects and went on his way. 'He didn't say no,' Isabella noted. For all she knew, Donny was interested in the project, but still, he had other things in mind for their home. Speaking of projects, maybe there was something she could suggest to the brainiac of the group later on.
"Listen, I'm trying to tell you something here, but you're really working on my last nerve." Raphael and Casey were circling each other, keeping the other at a distance. "Is that right?" The shaggy-haired vigilante swung his hockey stick at him but the turtle ducked from being smacked in the face and got away, still keeping a distance. "Look. I think you're trying to do the right thing, but you're going about it all wrong. You gotta get control of yourself." He tried to reach out to the guy, but his attempts were thrown aside by the human. "Look, freak boy, if you're protecting these Purple Dragon scum, then you're in my way, and you're going down too!" Casey yelled, the mask muffling his voice. Raph had to back up and dodge out of the way when he slammed the hockey stick down into the pavement.
"Hockey season's over." Raph jumped, spinning in the air, and kicked the hockey stick out of his hand. The stick landed some distance away from them. "Yeah?" Casey pulled out a pair of baseball bats from the golf bag on his back. "Well, baseball's in season! And so are you, you freaky freakin' weirdo! Batter up!" He spun the pair in his hands before gripping the bats by the wrapped-up handles. "Fine! Play ball!" Raph shot back at him, pulling out his pair of sais and twirling them in his hands before they settled in his grip. Raph kept him in his sight and charged right at him with a yell.
Michelangelo managed to find a good spot on the wall. Well, there was something about it that felt a little off so, he figured it just needed a sign. He put the small metal sign up by the fishing line, holding it in place while he had a nail in his mouth. He kept it steady for a moment, focused in on this task, and pulled the nail out from between his teeth, placing it just underneath the fishing line. He held the hammer and gave a confident tap on the nail, but it didn't go through. He looked dumbfounded before he hammered the nail again. He gave a frustrated whine and continued hammering.
Meanwhile, Isabella was watching the scene, trying not to break from her poise. Her snout still betrayed her by having a small tight grin on it. "What's this wall made of?" Mikey let out some frustrated grunts while he kept on hammering until the nail broke. "Huh?" He leaned in, assessing the now scrunched-up nail. The dark teal Cumberland slider turned and walked away. 'It would be a smart thing to walk away,' she thought, snickering, 'but it's Mikey. I gotta see this.' She had to grab her snout and pull it shut to keep from cackling when Mikey came back with a whole masonry nail and a sledgehammer. 'Where did we even find that gigantic thing?'
"Alright, tough guy," Mikey gave a nasal-like voice before he switched it back, "Hehehe. Let's dance!" He placed the sign on the wall with the masonry nail already in place and with a yell, he swung the sledgehammer back in one hand and struck it against the nail. Finally, the nail stuck in place and the sign was hanging beautifully on the wall. He gently tilted it to look straighter and was content with how it looked. The wall, however, had other plans.
It began to shake. "Uh oh." Mikey backed up, watching the cracks form around the nail. Most likely it was a weak foundation and he just made it worse. He got some distance away just when the wall began crumbling apart, leaving rubble behind and revealing a strange blue wall or something behind it. Everyone's attention turned to the commotion. "Uh, guys. Looky what I found." He called. The other mutants came up to him, gathered before the strange blue thing. "It's a door of some kind," Donny whispered. "Be careful." Leo gave a precaution in a hushed tone. "Why are we whispering?" Mikey whispered as well. Leo and Don looked at her a certain way but Isa answered. "Cause every time there's a false wall in media, it means something was meant to be covered up and that something usually has a fifty-fifty chance of being a good thing or not."
Donny scoffed at the notion. He was never one for anything magic or paranormal. He reached a hand out and placed it on the surface. He wasn't expecting it to open upon contact. The massive stone doors slid apart and released a foul-smelling gas. "Whew! That's some stank." He waved his hand in front. "Don't look at me, my brother. Remember, he who smelled it dealt it." Mikey chuckled. Splinter's nose wiggled and his lips curled at the foulness before he gently sneezed. The five mutants walked into a massive room just as it began lighting up. Gasps of awe left them. "Whoa." The room was completely illuminated, revealing stone surroundings and a giant crystal hanging from the ceiling. "Hey. I found a bunch of these crystals when I was cleaning up the Lair." He pointed up to the giant crystal and the lining on the wall. "They were all broken though." Isabella nodded, "Same here. They didn't look naturally made either."
Donny spun around on his feet, looking a little confused. "Where's the power source for this room?" He asked, holding his arms out before walking back to the center. "I don't see any wires or-" The stone doors behind him slid shut, trapping the five mutants inside. The room began shaking, feeling like it was lifting off the ground. "Hey, are we...moving?" Leo asked, looking up along with everyone else. "It certainly feels like it," Isabella answered, pressing herself against the wall and feeling it vibrate against her form. Nonetheless, she kept herself there while the room kept moving upwards.
With an angry yell, Casey charged right at Raphael and tried to swing a bat at him but the taper of the bat got caught between the prongs of a sai. Raph twisted his hand around and lifted the sai a bit, getting the bat stuck. "Hey, you gotta listen to me. You're angry. I can understand that, believe me, but what if you grab the wrong guy? What if you go too far and get yourself in real trouble?" He struggled against the human before the bat slid back to the taper and out from between the prongs. The bat was swung at him and Raph didn't get a moment to block again. Instead, he flew and smacked his shell against the wall.
"I got my reasons for doing what I do, and they got nothing to do with you!" The man in the hockey mask proceeded to swing the bats down at him but once more, he was blocked by the pair of sais. "Fine, all you wanna do is fight?" The turtle bared his teeth, hopping up and kicking him right in the chest. The long-haired guy flew back, landing stomach-first on the ground. "Let's fight!" Casey swung his bat at Raph, knocking him back into a trash pile. 'Second time this has happened tonight.' He thought, sitting up and narrowing his eyes at his target. Everything went dark again. All except for the vigilante in his sights. He growled.
Casey pulled out his golf club, ready to swing but Raph wasn't about to let that happen. He let out an angry yell and launched himself at him, kicking him back into a wall and leaving the guy a bit dazed. Raph's hand grabbed at the mask and he pulled it off, the strap unbuckling itself from the pull. The guy looked up at him and Raph nearly staggered on his feet, seeing a face that mirrored his expression all too well. He panted, calming down enough to finally talk.
"Wha... What am I doing? We're on the same side. We shouldn't be fighting." He shook his head and leaned down, pulling the guy up and not noticing that he grabbed the golf club by the handle off the ground beside him. "We both just need to get ahold of ourselves, take it easy, chill." The shorter turtle handed the mask back to him. Casey took his mask back, furrowing his brow. "You know, you're right. You've shown me the error of my ways," He played off before grinning. "Not! Fore!" He whacked Raph with a golf club and laughed when Raph fell onto his back. "I can't believe you fell for that!" He turned and ran away, but Raph just got up and followed after him.
The room finally stopped moving and the doors opened, revealing a messy interior of a building to the five inside. "Where the shell are we?" Mikey asked in a hushed tone, looking around just after following the others out. Donny went right for the garage door, pushing it up and looking around to see that they were now on the surface. "So the weird glowing chamber brings us up to street level?" He asked just when the others walked right up to him. "I guess it does. What do you know? We have our own personal elevator." Isabella nodded.
Splinter began sniffing around, trying to detect anything. The air was stale and dusty. It almost made him want to sneeze out the dust. His ears didn't pick up any activity outside the building, let alone on the street. "This warehouse has been abandoned for many many years." He confirmed, still walking away from the other four mutants. "Great space. But it needs something," Mikey hummed in thought and put a hand on the front of his striped beak. "Hm. Bathtub? No. Kitchenette? Nuh uh." He suddenly grinned and pointed. "I know! A souped-up Battle Shell would be perfect right here!" He then points to another space. "No, no, right here is the perfect spot to keep the souped-up Battle Shell!" He walked away from the other Cumberland sliders and leopard gecko. "No, no here!"
"I think he's trying to tell you something, Donny." Leo put his hands on his hips and Isabella nodded along. "Yeah. In fluorescent neon lights." Donny pulled the garage door shut and shook his head with a sigh. "Alright, Mikey. Let's go get that truck." Mike nearly snapped his head around and gave a big smile. "But we're working on it after the lair is fixed up," Donny added to Mikey's dismay. "Aww." Isabella shook her head at him. "Time to find out which street we're on. Someone's gonna play GPS." Mikey groaned at that. "Do I have to?" Isa just shrugged. "You want the Battle Shell, you might as well get the base of it here first." Mikey just pouted at her, but she smiled.
Raph spent a good couple of minutes trying to keep up with the guy and the last he saw was him turning the corner so that's where he went. His eyes scanned around, looking for his form out of the darkness. Nothing. Not like a turtle could see in the dark that well, anyway. "I know that big dope is around here somewhere." He said to himself, going further into the alley, and looking around again. Suddenly, a light shone on him, blinding him momentarily. He heard an engine roaring and saw the man on the motorcycle just on the other end of the alley.
Casey revved the engine and drove forward, holding the hockey stick up in the air before using it to sweep on the ground at the last moment, tripping the other guy. Raph fell flat on his back with a grunt. Casey stopped his motorcycle and turned to look at him. "I got more where that came from, freak boy! You want a rematch!? Check me out Friday night, Central Park! Adios, loser!" With that, he turned ahead and revved the engine.
Raphael just got up from being knocked down on the ground for who knows how many times tonight. He reached out and yelled, "Come back here you..!" The vigilante on the motorcycle rode away. "Ah, nuts." He sighed, resigning himself to defeat while he licked at his wounds metaphorically. He deflated and left the scene he was at, not wanting to get spotted or inadvertently get involved with something that wasn't his business. He didn't feel like going home just yet. He just needed some air to clear out the racing thoughts... and figure out how to apologize to Mikey.
What the turtle and the rider didn't see was the guy with spiky hair and goggles quickly dialing a number on the phone before putting the phone to his ear. "Yo, Dragon Face. It's that guy. The one with the hockey mask. He was fighting with some weirdo in a bug costume, and I know where he'll be on Friday night." He informed Dragon Face. Meanwhile Dragon Face, a Purple Dragon member with a tattoo on his face. The mouth of the dragon tattoo opened around his left eye with the body going down to his jawline and the rest of it spiraling around his neck. "I want that hockey mask-wearing vigilante's head on a plate. Put everybody on alert. Everybody." He ordered his subordinate. "This guy's been messing with our business for months. It's time we started messing with him."
The stone doors slid apart and the five other mutants knew they returned to their home via elevator. They all walked back in and the doors slid shut behind them automatically. "I don't know who could have built this thing, but if we're going to use it, we're going to need safety precautions and extra security up in the warehouse." Leo smiled. "Piece of pie," Donny said it like it was the easiest thing for him. "Mmmm. Piece of pizza." Mikey hummed. 'Ah yes. The natural foodie he is.' Isabella thought. Everything went silent when the hidden door of bricks Donny helped calibrate almost over a few nights opened.
Everyone turned and a dark green Cumberland slider walked right in, heading straight for them at a slow pace. "Welcome home, Raph." Mikey greeted. "Man, you look like you got the shell kicked out of you." He wasn't wrong either. He still had bruises in some places from his scuffle with that vigilante and well... there were still some things that didn't go over well. Raph sighed, "Yeah, it's a long story. But first I... I-I wanted to apologize. Mikey, I'm sorry I got so outta control earlier. Guys, I'm really sorry." He looked up, still having guilt in his eyes with a hint of exhaustion. 'What else did Raph do?' Isabella wondered.
Mikey put one hand on Raph's shoulder and gave a soft punch to his arm with the other hand, making the dark green turtle flinch a bit. "Hey, don't sweat it, bro." Mikey seemed to have already forgiven him long before Raph left. "Alright. Who are you, and what have you done with our brother Raphael?" Leo playfully accused with a pointed finger. Raph eased up a bit. "Let's just say I had a chance to think about the way I've been acting. I'll fill you in over dinner." He turned to look from Leo to Mikey. "Dinner? Now you're talking my language." The younger brother's eyes lit up at that. "What language is that, Mikey? Nit-wit?" Raph slapped Mikey on his carapace while they followed after the others. "Ha ha. Listen to the funny mutant." Mikey sarcastically bit back and slapped Raph back on his shell.
It was all dark hours later. Isabella still was trying to figure out how the guys convinced her to come along, let alone how they managed to wake her up. "I don't know, Raph. We should probably tell Master Splinter." Leo uttered in a hushed voice. "And have him stop us from going topside?" Raph inquired right back. " We have to find that vigilante whack bag and stop him. For his own good. He's not a bad guy. Just a little misguided." He explained. The turtles were not aware of their rat father while Isabella managed to see a decent outline of him. Perhaps it was her advantage as a leopard gecko that she was gifted this night vision. The rat didn't have good eyesight, but he could hear his sons well enough.
Isabella would've said something if it weren't for Splinter grabbing the lever and pulling it up to turn on the lights, making the turtles halt in place and turn to see their master. "Ahem." Splinter had a hand on his hip and he looked on sternly. "Busted." Mikey vocalized. "How many times have I told you not to sneak up to the surface?" Splinter inquired with his eyes showing a slight disappointment. "This month?" Michelangelo looked over to Donny for help, pressing his fingers together. "Five hundred and twelve, actually." Donny pointed.
"It is dangerous for you to go about openly in the world above." Their rat father began his usual scolding as he walked towards them. "You cannot simply walk amongst the humans. They will not accept who and what you are. It is as the great sage and warrior Kenji Hashimura once said, "Why walk when you can ride?" His words took an extreme left turn in Raphael's mind. "Come again?" He tilted his head, confused but Splinter just smiled and led the five reptiles to the stone doors, showing them to the elevator. " Take the truck." He kept his smile while the five walked into the elevator to the warehouse where the truck was parked into earlier that night.
The elevator carried them up and opened up to the warehouse where the armored truck lay dormant. "Alright, we got until Friday night to make this bad boy turtle-and-lizard-ready," Raph announced. "Let's get to work." Donny was the first one out with the others following. They all got to business working on souping up the truck to turn into the Battle Shell. Mikey had been the most excited about it, even grabbing the spray adhesive without a safety mask or goggles. Donny had done most of the welding and the engine work while the others helped in grabbing parts.
Soon enough, the vehicle was finished and the five looked at it with pride. "Now this is a ride." Raph expressed with a smirk. The armored van was remodeled to be a bit more spacious on the inside while it was mostly camouflage green on the outside. The windshields and other windows were tinted. They could look out but no one was going to look in that easily. There were also more than a few headlights and even more surprises. Donny knew what they were. He smirked back at the dark green brother, taking off the safety goggles. "You ain't seen nothing yet. Let's roll!"
Everyone got inside the Battle Shell and buckled up. Raph was too focused on getting a move on to notice a surprise covered up in the back. Isabella sat beside it, just to be sure it didn't move too much or Raph didn't see it too soon. Donny started the ignition via switch and pressed a button to open up the garage door before he drove into the, thankfully, mostly empty street. Isabella swears he's going to run someone over one of these days whether on accident or not.
Casey Jones was riding the motorcycle around with the wind blowing into the loose bits of hair that weren't in the helmet. He made a turn, directly going to the park. As he made the turn a Purple Dragon member with spiky, messy blue hair had his phone up to his ear the moment he saw that vigilante. "I got him, Dragon Face. He's in the park." He reported. "We're on our way. He ain't getting outta that park. Not on two feet anyway." He could hear Dragon Face's grin through the phone and he grinned along with him as well, waiting for the others to arrive.
Meanwhile, the Battle Shell also arrived at the park with Donny acting as a tour guide. "...and on your left is Central Park, eight hundred and forty-three acres of landscaped beauty in the center of the city." He went on. Raph sat next to the window, looking down at his feet before glancing up and then almost doing a double take, looking out the window. "Wait! There he is!" He yelled, watching the vigilante from the night before riding past them on his motorcycle. He jumped out of his seat, getting to Donny's side. "Floor it, Don! Keep up with him!"
"You go get him, Raph," Donny told him, pointing to the back with his thumb. "I've whipped up something special for you. It's in the back." He smiled. Raph looked dumbfounded at him before turning around, seeing something covered in a tarp before snatching it right off. He was nearly frozen for a moment before he grinned in excitement at the sight of it. It was a bright red motorcycle with a matching helmet sitting on the seat, awaiting its wearer. "Like it? I call it "The Shell Cycle!" He took the helmet in hand and gave a small smile, pulling it on. "Donatello, you are the turtle!" He revved up the motorcycle already and drove right out of the Battle Shell, bursting through the back doors.
The moment he left Isabella looked over to Donny. "You gonna tell him that it was my idea?" She asked. Donny just rolled his eyes and gave a playful huff. "Relax. Raph's a rash hothead. He's not dumb. He'll figure it out.. eventually." She crossed her arms and watched Leo shake his head with a smile on his beak, pulling the back doors shut. "You two gave Raph a new toy and not me?" Mikey feigned hurt. "Do you think it's possible we'll trust you to drive something like that without crashing?" Donny shot back which just made Mikey huff in his seat, not so seriously. "Yeah, and I'm not so sure I trust you behind the wheel of this thing." Mikey snapped back at him with a chuckle which made Donny just gently press on the brakes, making the seat belt on Mikey tighten around him and leaving the younger turtle gasping dramatically. "Come on, let's go catch up to Raph before he starts something he can't finish himself." Isabella reiterated. "Right on it." Donny nodded and continued driving.
Raph rode out of the Battle Shell and sped right past it with his siblings still inside. He curved the Shell Cycle into Central Park, speeding up to catch the hockey mask-wearing vigilante. The guy must've noticed him cause he sped up further. The dark green turtle was still determined to catch up to him. The trees and buildings around them were all a blur when Raph finally caught up to him, getting past him. "Hey, Hotshot! Slow it down!" Casey didn't hear him or didn't care. He just sped past him with Raph racing after him. He made two turns, but Raph kept up easily with the Shell Cycle. Casey looked back to see him still hot on his tail, riding up to his right, and he had to admit that he was a little impressed with him keeping up.
"Pull over!" The turtle barked over the noise. Now he knows the guy definitely heard him cause he just sped up. Raph sneered underneath the helmet and caught up to his left. "I said pull over!" Raph reached his hand over, forcefully applying the brakes on his bike causing him to crash. The bike fell to the ground and Casey wasn't too far from it. Raph stops his bike in a turn with the wheels leaving behind trails of smoke along with his foot on the ground. 'The Akira Slide.' He thought. He always wanted to do that. It doesn't do his foot justice though. He got his eyes back on the guy who was getting up.
"Time for a little shell-shock." He turned the Shell Cycle right in his direction and sped it right to him. He got his feet right on the seat and kept his hands on the handlebars right before he let go, leaping off the seat of the bike and launching himself right at the guy the moment he stood up. The wind got knocked right out of Casey as he fell back to the ground with the other on top. His helmet rolled away and his golf bag was left alone a few feet away from him. Raph rolled off and watched the Shell Cycle power down before it fell to its side.
The human groaned. "Ugh, I can't believe I just got my butt kicked by some giant frog." He rubbed his head, feeling a knot form. Yeah, that was gonna sting later. He looked over to see the green guy pull his helmet off. "Turtle." Raph corrected. "Whatever." Casey rolled his eyes and sat up on his elbows. "Look, I'm no fan of the Purple Dragons either. I'll help you take them down, but we gotta exercise just a little restraint." Raph held the helmet to his side, extending a hand. Casey took it. "Save it. You don't know what you're talking about." He stood up with the giant turtle's help. "Try me." Raph insisted upon it.
Casey pulled his mask up, moving the bangs behind it while he began explaining. "Well, a long time ago when I was a kid. Some young punks were shaking my dad down for protection money. They were Purple Dragons. When he didn't pay, they torched our store." He had to have been around eight or ten at the time when he saw the building set ablaze with five thugs standing before it. All of them towered over his small form. One of them was the biggest and somehow one of the younger members at the time. The older teen must've had one hell of a growth spurt or something. He still remembered how he grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him off the ground, pointing at his chest. "You tell your old man, punk, next time pay up or else." His words still rang in his head and he was dropped to the ground. He hadn't ever forgotten that name the older teen had. 'Hun..'
He had walked past the turtle, grabbed his golf bag, and slid the strap over his shoulder. The flames still burned bright in his memories and what happened after that still made him so upset and full of sorrow and anger. He could feel tears trying to breach and one slipped but he wiped them away before any more fell. He turned to look back at the dark green turtle adorned in red. "So don't tell me how to deal with Purple Dragons!" There wasn't any anger leaving the turtle like it had before. Instead, he stepped closer, poking at him in his chest. "Just be careful. Your anger could take you down. Make you act just like them." He took his hand away and looked down to the ground, still feeling a sense of shame wash over him for what he did. "My father once told me a true warrior finds balance in all things." He looked back up to Casey who crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows, his expression easing a bit. "Balance, huh?"
"Well, you know, as much balance as a couple of hot-headed whack-bags like us can manage." Raph dropped the helmet off and crossed his arms over his chest. "Me? You're the only whack-bag around here, Doc." He smiled, uncrossing his arms. "Hey, I'm not half as crazy as you." The turtle punched him in the arm. "Sorry, but for a little green dude, you are totally nuts." Casey punched him right back on his arm. "Yeah, well I'm not the one running around in a hockey mask." The two bantered back and forth, almost so easily bouncing off of each other like they knew each other for many lifetimes. Sheesh he better not say that out loud or Don, Mike, and Isa will get him involved with the multiverse theory again. "I gotta protect my good looks. I'm saving this face for Hollywood." Casey stood straight up, his hand on his hip and the other pointing at his face.
"Well, isn't this romantic." A voice interrupted their banter and the two finally looked over, seeing a bunch of Purple Dragon members approach them, armed and ready with various weapons like metal pipes and chains clinking in their wielder's hands. Raph looked behind them and more Purple Dragon thugs surrounded them all over. "So, when you said I'd go too far, get myself into trouble, you meant something like this?" Casey inquired with furrowed brows. Raph nodded, "Something like it." The two stood back to back, ready to take on all of them themselves if they had to. But they didn't.
Bright headlights shone right from a distance and Raph grinned at the sight of the Battle Shell. The massive vehicle drove right up to their side, making the Purple Dragons disperse, distancing themselves from it and them. It stopped and the back doors burst open again, only this time his siblings, older and younger came out with three other turtles and one little gecko. "Friends of yours?" Casey asked, watching them get to Raph's side. "Brothers, actually, and our little lizard sister." He corrected him once more. The four of them pulled out their weapons, brandishing them. Casey looked between all of them. "I can see the family resemblance." Mikey turned to look up at him, "I'm the pretty one and this is our youngest one." He smiled, motioning to the gecko mutant between him and Donny. Isa huffed at him. "Uh-huh, sure you are."
The Purple Dragons started in a walk, coming right at them. Raph pulled out his pair of sai and twirled them in his hands, standing beside his siblings while Casey pulled down his mask and got in front of them, pulling out the hockey stick from the golf bag on his back and letting the blade of it hit the ground. The Purple Dragons rushed at the group. A crowbar swung in Mikey's direction and he ducked, blocking it with one of his nunchaku and hitting his opponent with the other. Someone tried to hit Donny but they got blocked too and knocked back alongside his friend. Casey and Raph had a thug jump at both of them while the two were back to back to each other but they both knocked their opponents back as well.
A chain tried to be swung at Isabella but she used her chain on the kusarigama right back, getting them twined and tangled together and she pulled the guy forward before kicking him backward, knocking the air out of him and watching him fly back until he hit the ground, wheezing a bit. Leo happened to be the most surrounded with five guys circling him. Two got closer and Leo put his swords away quickly, jumping up and performing a split kick on them, knocking them back. He grinned and looked over to Raph and Casey. "Guys, check it out! I got my split kick right!" He yelled with pride in his voice. "I missed it!" Raph called back. Someone tried to nail a punch on him but he dodged and landed a kick on him. "Let me see it again!"
The other two thugs came at Leo and he performed a split kick again on them. He smiled and spread his arms looking so proud of himself. However, Raph was caught up in fighting another goon before he turned to Leo after he knocked that one out. "One more time!" He finally watched as Leo huffed softly. Two thugs came from either side of him and he hopped up, kicking them apart and letting the Purple Dragons fly. "Haha! Saw that one!" Raph twirled his sai and put them away on his belt, holding up his hands. "I give you a ten!" Casey held up all ten of his fingers. "Hey, Raph, only a six?" Leo teased, elbowing the last of his attackers in the stomach and the guy fell to the ground. "Bro, it's all I got!" Raph replied, turning to catch a punch that was coming at him and kicking them.
Mikey's nunchucks swirled and knocked any other guys back while Casey used his hockey stick on any other gang members. Isabella spun and used her tail to smack another guy aside. Leo was facing off against a guy with the dragon tattoo on his face and his hair and goatee were dyed a neon green that stuck out sorely. He swung his pipe at the turtle in blue who countered him with his twin katana blades. They crossed over, holding the pipe in place before he pulled back, swinging at him but the turtle was fast with his blades. The pipe in his hands split into sections and he was left with a makeshift handle. "Uh oh." Dragon Face looked at it before looking up, seeing his shelled opponent jump at him and his face met the foot. He was kicked back and knocked out on the ground with the rest of his gang.
The one street light illuminated the mess of people on the ground while the five mutants and a masked vigilante stood away from it. Raphael stood beside Casey with his hands on his hips. "I know I'm gonna regret saying this, but I'm glad I met you, crazy man." He looked up just as Casey took off his mask, looking over to him. "Me too, freako, and you know something? I'm starting to see what you're all about." He puts his hand on his shoulder. "Oh, you mean about balance? Self-control?" He raised an eye ridge.
"No, I mean that you're a green mutant freak." He laughed and punched Raph in the arm, "But I like you." Raphael smiled and laughed, punching him back on his arm. The two began exchanging blows with Casey tackling Raph to the ground and the two rolled around while the others watched. Donny had his arms crossed and he looked ready to shake his head at them. "He's your brother." Leo looked over to Mikey with a grin, pointing at Raph. "No no, he's YOUR brother." Mikey tried to push it back on Leo but also pointed at Donny as well who raised an eye ridge at him. "Absolutely, YOUR brother." Leo just kept a smile on his beak.
"Well, at least Raph's got a new playmate. You don't have to be subjected to the play-fighting with him anymore, Mikey." Isabella remarked to Mikey. Raph was still so absorbed in punching Casey back, trying to one-up him before the night was over. 'This will take a while.' The gecko thought to herself. "Hopefully they'll be over with it before the other guys come to," Donny mentioned. "Yeah, good luck with that," Isa replied, watching the two continue with their roughhousing.
Author's Note: Here I am again with yet another chapter being released so soon. I don't know what's up with my writing mood lately but I'm going to keep chasing after it.
By the way, I know there are more interesting fics on to read and they probably, no, definitely deserve the reviews more than anyone. For a bit, I felt selfish for even asking for comments or anything like that. Now though, I just feel like I got a pity party going on.
I know now that it's my own fault though. I put this fic on to the more massive "Ninja Turtles" category on so of course it was going to get lost in the midst of it all.
While I thought I wanted a large audience and I'd find it in that bigger category, I now realize that is not the case. Despite the bigger category, it actually feels incredibly intimidating and lonely there. So now, from this chapter to the end of the TMNG series, I'm moving back to the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" category where it is much more familiar and hopefully, this fic finds the target audience that I intended this for.
Now that we have the feels aside, I'm back! I didn't mean to make it seem like I disappeared. I just got caught up in my own head and all. I do apologize for that, but I am so glad to be back and see you all again.
Aside from all that, I hope you enjoyed the fic so far. I'll take a bit to figure out Isabella's episode in the next chapter because as you've noticed by now and like I said before, it's different. Isabella's chapter is going to be very different from the one she had on "Sister's Story" and I hope you guys will like it as much as I do.