- Chapter 69 -

Nobody's Fool

It was another peaceful night in Manhattan. Raph, wearing full-body clothes consisting of a black hoodie, blue jeans, sneakers, and a face mask, exited the movie theater with Kagome.

"Okay, I'll admit it," the human teen declared. "That Luck movie was pretty funny."

"Meh, still not exactly my cup of tea, but it did have its moments," Raph mused. "So... all in all, I'd say it's a pretty good first date."

He rubbed his arm nervously as Kagome looked over at him, smiling in a way that made his heart skip a beat. "Damn, I didn't think this would be so nerve-wracking…" he thought to himself.

"All we're missing is some dinner," Kagome said. "Wanna swing by Murakami's?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Raph said with a smile.

They linked arms and began walking, Raph looking down at his disguise as he did. "As much as I hate that damn virus that came through, I have to admit that normalizing face masks has made going out incognito a lot easier."

"You're telling me. Especially now that it's getting warmer and you can't logically wear a scarf everywhere."

As they went along, Kagome's eyes drifted upward and she caught a figure dressed in a black suit and cape standing on a nearby building.

"Hey…" she nudged Raph, "check it out."

Raph looked up, squinting at the sight. "Who the hell is that?"

Kagome squinted as well, making out what details she could. "Let's see… Flowing cape, mask, dark brooding presence... I'm guessing some kinda superhero. That or a Batman cosplayer."

At that moment, the figure ran down the building, a grappling hook in his hand.

"Whoa, probably the former," Raph declared. "C'mon, let's follow him."

Kagome nodded. "Guess Murakami's is gonna have to wait."

They pursued the figure, keeping to the shadows.

"Man, Mikey's gonna kick himself for missing this," Raph muttered.

"We'll miss it too if we don't hurry!" Kagome insisted. "Come on!"

They kept to the alley and watched as the figure landed and a truck passes by. The figure's eyes narrowed and he fired a wrist-mounted grappling hook, swinging after it.

"Who is this guy?" Kagome wondered aloud.

"No idea," Raph replied. "We'll ask when we catch him."

As they kept on him, the figure landed on a car behind the truck. Out of the blue, the man in the passenger seat leaned out the window, brandishing a gun and firing.

"Whoa!" Raph pulled out a shuriken. "He needs help!"

Aiming carefully, he threw the shuriken at one of the truck's tires. The throwing star struck true, and the tire blew out, sending the truck spinning out of control before stopping.

"Nice shot, Tex," Kagome congratulated him, giving him a thumbs up.

The thugs piled out, both brandishing guns.

"Who the hell are you supposed to be?" one of the thugs demanded. "That caped clown's sidekicks?"

"Not exactly," Raph replied, dropping his hood and pulling down his face mask with a smirk. The thugs stiffened.

"Holy crap, it's one of the Turtles!" the second thug exclaimed.

"Shoot them!" the first one shouted. "SHOOT THEM!"

Before he could, the caped figure suddenly swung in, landing a solid kick to the gunman's face and knocking him to the ground. He quickly whirled around and punched the other goon out. The first one pulled himself up and aimed, but Raph quickly darted in and kicked him in the face. The goon dropped, but still managed to get a shot off, hitting the figure in the side.

"Agh!" the figure grunted, dropping and clutching his side.

Kagome quickly ran over to him in concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" the figure said, his voice somewhat strained. "My body armor deflected the shot."

"Sorry about that, man," Raph told him, offering him a hand up. "Thought I got to him in time."

The figure took the offered hand, and Raph pulled him up. "One of the Turtles…" he realized before looking at Kagome. "And you're Kagome Lee."

"Yeah, that's me," Kagome replied. "And you are?"

The figure looked at them both before answering. "I'm nobody."

Kagome shrugged at that. "Okay, Nobody, what's your beef with these goons?"

"Let's just say it's personal."

"We know a thing or two about personal," Raph replied. "Let us in on the story, and we might be able to help."

"Thanks for the offer, kid, but this isn't your fight."

"If stuff's going down in our city, we make it our fight," Kagome replied. "Right, Raph?"

"Right," said Raph. "We're not just alien exterminators. We're ninjas."

After a moment, Nobody weighed his options and nodded. "If you really wanna know, talk to Detective Lewis at the NYPD. Ask her about a man named Ruffington... and a disgraced detective who pursued him."

With that, Nobody fired a grapnel and zipped off, vanishing into the night.

"Wow…" Raph let out.

"Looks like dinner will be on hold awhile longer," Kagome mused. "Let's go talk to the Detective."

Raph nodded. "I'll call the others."

Later, they met up just outside the NYPD, explaining the situation to Leo and the others.

"You met an actual superhero?!" Mikey exclaimed. "Lucky!"

"At this rate, why not?" Leo shrugged. "Anything's possible."

Mikey paced around, piecing things together. "Okay, judging by what he told you, he sounds like a cop gone vigilante. Pursuing justice and whatnot outside the boundaries cops have to follow."

"Normally, I'd say you've been reading way too many comics," Donnie remarked, "but it does seem to fit together."

"He did mention a disgraced detective," Kagome recalled.

"Let's just talk to Detective Lewis," Vee piped up. "He did tell you guys to speak to her about it."

They entered the building, making their way to Kara's office cubicle. Leo lightly knocked on the side to alert her to their presence. Still, she jumped, putting a hand over her chest.

"I am never going to get used to you." She glanced around the group, noting how many of them there were. "Huh. I think this is the first time all of you have shown up at once. I assume this is something pretty big if all of you are here."

"We ran into a vigilante tonight," Kagome told her. "He never gave us a name so we're calling him Nobody."

"He said we should talk to you about some guy named Ruffington," Raph added. "And a, and I quote, 'disgraced detective' who pursued him."

Kara mulled it over, then sighed. "I know the guy. Derek Longer's his name."

"And Ruffington?" Leo questioned.

"A leading arms supplier to the government. Derek suspected he was also selling illegal weapons on the black market."

"I'm guessing he didn't have any proof," Vee suggested.

"He came so close to finding some, but before he could, Ruffington issued a complaint to the chief that he was being stalked and harassed by him. Rebecca had no choice but to demote Derek to archive duty." Kara sighed. "It was a damn shame. He had a good career, was a great investigator... and one complaint from Ruffington put it all on the skids."

"So his response was dressing up as a vigilante to go after Ruffington?" Donnie asked.

"I know he was bitter and angry over it and swore he'd prove to the world that Ruffington was a crook," Kara replied.

"It all adds up," Vee mused. "Ruffington ruined his life, his honor, his reputation. I'd probably do the same if I were in his shoes."

"Then we better find this guy," Leo said.

"Yeah," Raph agreed. "He wants payback, that's for sure. We better stop him before he does something he'll regret."

At that moment, Kara's walkie-talkie beeped and she picked it up. " Just got a call of suspicious activity at the Prime Fishery Warehouse near the docks. "

"I'm on it," Kara said, turning. "Sounds like we-"

But she was talking to empty air. In the time it took her to answer dispatch and turn her head, the Hamato family had vanished. Kara rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Great. I can already tell that's going to be a recurring thing."

At the docks, Nobody crept past the patrolling guards and grappled onto the roof of the warehouse. Peeking in through the skylight, he saw a well-dressed sandy blonde man with glasses and a blue sweater vest talking to Hun.

"Master Shredder's getting tired of waiting, Ruffington," Hun growled. "Where is that damn weapons shipment?!"

"Patience, Hun," Ruffington said calmly. "These weapons were tough to acquire, especially with the EPF's dogs on high alert. Besides, some freak in a cape's been messing with my operations."

Hun snorted. "Just what this city needs. More freaks."

"But relax," Ruffington assured. "The shipment should arrive within the hour."

"For your sake, I hope it does," Hun warned.

Nobody continued looking down when a new voice piped up. "Nice night for a stakeout, eh?"

He looked up to see the Hamato family and Kagome standing there.

"Hello again, Nobody," Kagome greeted.

"Or would Officer Longer be more appropriate?" Hisako asked.

"So…" Nobody remarked, "Kara told you everything."

"Pretty much, yeah," said Mikey. "And I've read enough comics to connect the dots anyway."

"What are you planning, Nobody?" Leo asked.

"All I want is to clear my name and bring Ruffington to justice," Nobody replied. "I'm not gonna kill him if that's what you're thinking."

"I'd hoped not," said Leo. "You've lost enough because of that guy. Going to prison for his death wouldn't help anyone."

Vee peeked in through the skylight. "Hun… Okay, so he is selling illegal weapons to crooks. But what?"

"He mentioned it was hard acquiring the latest shipment due to the EPF if that helps," Nobody told them.

That's when it hit them.

"Guys…" Karai realized, "he must be dealing with Krang's leftover technology."

"But how?" Kagome demanded. "The transmat should've warped all of Krang's resources back to Dimension X!"

"It should've, yeah," Donnie admitted. "But it was a rush job, and I was mostly focused on all of the Utroms themselves rather than his tech."

"Shit…" Raph muttered. "We can't let Krang's gear hit the streets."

"No arguments there," said Hisako.

"As for the proof you need to clear your name, Detective Longer," Donnie held up his T-Phone, opening the camera app, "leave that to me."

Nobody looked genuinely surprised. "Why are you helping me?"

"You're a good man, Nobody," Leo replied. "That's reason enough."

"That, and we know how dangerous Krang's weapons and tech are, and we don't want the likes of the Shredder getting his hands on them," Karai added.

"Simply put, helping you is an added benefit to doing our jobs," Raph included.

"Fine by me," Nobody said before looking nostalgic. "Y'know, when the city went to hell, I heard stories of you guys and all you've done for this city. I'm glad to see that they weren't just hearsay."

"Nice to meet a fan," Leo remarked.

"Okay, first things first." Donnie held up his T-Phone, taking multiple pictures of Hun and Ruffington talking. "Everyone knows Hun leads the Purple Dragons. Ruffington meeting with him will be the first nail in the coffin."

"It's a start," Nobody remarked. "But we need actual evidence of the weapons."

Karai popped her neck. "Then let's go get some."

They crept around to another window, finding multiple crates inside marked with the red logo of an "R".

"Ruffington's logo," Nobody explained.

Donnie snapped another photo, and they opened one of the crates to reveal a slew of Utrom blasters.

"Jackpot!" Kagome cheered.

Donnie took a few more pictures as Nobody picked up one of the blasters to get a closer look. "He's selling these things on the streets? How difficult is it to operate?"

"Easy," Mikey replied. "You just-" He pressed a button on the blaster, and it immediately powered up.

" MIKEY! " his siblings and Kagome all screamed in annoyed unison.

"...Oops." was all Mikey had to say before the blaster fired, blowing a hole in the wall to reveal Ruffington and Hun on the other side. Karai facepalmed, and Hisako glared at Mikey.

"Mikey, remind me to kick your ass when this is over," the psychic hissed.

"I… I don't actually have to remind her, do I?" Mikey gulped.

"Well, what do we have here?" Hun asked, smirking at the Hamato family.

"Hun," Karai greeted. "Just as big and dumb as ever, I see."

"Get them!" Ruffington shouted, his goons immediately running in to do so.

The Hamato siblings and Kagome ran forward as well and began taking them out. Nobody saw Ruffington beginning to escape and looked between him and the Turtles' fight, conflicted on what to do.

"Nobody!" Kagome shouted as she kicked one goon back. "Go get him! We can handle these clowns!"

Nobody nodded and chased after Ruffington. "Ruffington! You won't escape me! Not this time!"

He fired his grapnel, darting ahead and landing in front of him. Ruffington backed up in fear.

"Get away from me, you cape-wearing freak!" Ruffington yelled, pulling a gun.

He fired frantically, but Nobody quickly dodged every shot before slapping the gun out of his hand and laying into Ruffington, beating him senseless.

"You've escaped justice long enough!" he declared before knocking the crook down.

"What do you want?!" Ruffington demanded. "Who are you?!"

"Somebody." Nobody then flipped Ruffington over, cuffing his hands behind his back. Afterward, he dragged the arms dealer back into the main room of the warehouse, where the Hamato family stood amongst the beaten, unconscious goons.

"Hun gave us the slip, but oh well," Leo remarked flippantly.

With that, Hisako picked up a rather large blaster, powering it on and aiming it at the rest of the crates.

"What are you doing?!" Ruffington demanded. "That's my merchandise! It cost me a fortune!"

"Put it on my tab," Hisako shot back before pulling the trigger and blasting all of the stolen Krang technology to dust. Afterward, she focused her power on the blaster in her hand, tearing it in half before dropping it in Ruffington's lap. Donnie held up his T-Phone, grinning.

"Say 'conviction'!" he declared before snapping the photo.

Later, Ruffington was brought in by the police. Kara met with the Hamato family and Nobody on the NYPD rooftop, where Donnie showed her the photos.

"Think this'll be enough?" he asked her.

"I think so," Kara replied before turning to Nobody. "Derek... I'm sorry for what happened to you."

"Don't be," Nobody told her. "Wasn't your fault."

"Well, your name is cleared, and Ruffington is behind bars," Kara told him. "You'll always have a place on the force."

"Thanks. It means a lot.," Nobody replied. "Though I'll admit Nobody's grown on me."

Kara nodded in understanding. "Whatever you choose, your secret's safe with me."

"You always were one of the good ones, Kara. Don't ever change." As he turned to go, he stopped to talk to the Hamato family. "Thanks for the help. I'm sure we'll meet again."

With that, he jumped off of the building, grappling away.

"That guy… is so cool," Mikey said in awe.

"C'mon, ninjas," Leo declared. "Let's go home."

"You guys go ahead," Raph replied. "I owe Kagome dinner."

"Fair enough," said Vee. "See you at home!"

They departed, and Raph turned to Kagome.

"Murakami's?" he offered.

"Yep," Kagome replied.

They walked off, holding hands. As they went, Kagome looked over her shoulder, giving Kara the peace sign and a wink. Kara chuckled to herself, shaking her head.

"Kids."

Author's Note:

Now we have Nobody thrown into the mix. How could I not include him?

His surname of Longer is from the Mirage comics, and his first name of Derek was suggested by Author of the Insane.

Next chapter, we have the reveal of the Silver Sentry! Woot!

Voice cast for this chapter:

* Nobody - Kevin Conroy (rest in peace...)

Please R&R. Until next time!