Ever since Leo left, both Donnie and Mikey decided to get jobs. Human jobs. Donnie worked in tech support while Mikey had his Cowabunga Carl gig. And while they wouldn't admit it, they were miserable. Sure, they made money but at the cost of their dignity and sanity. And their 2nd oldest brother (oldest if Leo was deceased), Raphael, could've followed their path and gotten a job as a bouncer or a wrestling mascot.
But Raph didn't go that route.
Instead, he would work at night as a vigilante known as the Nightwatcher, something his father banned him and his brothers from doing. But Raph didn't care. Being a hero and protecting the city he lived in was in his blood and Splinter was going to have to break both of his legs in order to stop him. Not to mention, he made a promise to honor the legacy of the previous Nightwatcher, who he met several months ago and watched die in his arms.
And sure, his public reputation was far from great, with many people saying how the Nightwatcher was just a violent vigilante who needed to step aside and let the police do their jobs. But again, Raph didn't care. He knew that when it came to REAL crime, the police were useless, and he also knew that most of the people complaining about him were cowards who wouldn't survive one day doing his job. At the very least, Raph did have some supporters who appreciated what he was doing.
Funny enough, one of those supporters was Mikey, the only person in his family who approved of the Nightwatcher. Although Raph would never admit it to anyone, he found it adorable whenever Mikey fanboyed over the Nightwatcher. It was like a little kid being excited about their favorite superhero. Splinter didn't have much of an opinion regarding the Nightwatcher, while Donnie thought he was just a violent punk. And Raph knew for sure that Leo wouldn't be a fan of his vigilantism but once again, he didn't care. Their opinions weren't going to stop him because, unlike his family, he wasn't a coward.
One of the only things that sucked about the job was getting up in the morning (or afternoon) after a long night of fighting crime. And that's exactly what he had to do now, as he got out of bed, feeling sore from head to toe.
He yawned loudly before saying, "Shit. It's like 3 in the afternoon."
After taking a quick shower, he put on his gear and entered the kitchen, fixing himself a meal. Although he couldn't compete with Mikey's cooking, he considered himself a decent enough cook, certainly better than Leo and Donnie, that's for sure.
"Wow, you're finally awake. I thought you were dead in there." Mikey said while sitting on the couch upside down, meaning the only thing Raph could see was Mikey's feet.
"Mikey, I just got up. The last thing I need to see right now is your nasty feet," said Raph.
"Dude, your attitude is nastier than my feet," said Mikey.
"I doubt it. Where's Don?" asked Raph.
"Where do you think? In his room, doing his calls," said Mikey.
"That job is so beneath him," said Raph.
"I know. But at least he has a job, unlike a certain grumpy brother that I know," said Mikey.
"Shut it. I'm too tired to argue with you." Raph said before he began to eat.
A few seconds went by until Mikey asked, "Hey, Raph, how do you feel about the Nightwatcher?"
That question almost made Raph choke on his food. Once he composed himself, he responded with, "Nightwatcher? I think he's alright."
"Well, I'm glad SOMEONE is on my side when it comes to that guy. He's so cool and badass. He's pretty much the only hero in the city right now since we're on an infinite hiatus. Leo would hate him though." said Mikey.
"He sure would hate him," Raph said before he continued to eat.
After eating, Raph spent the rest of the day in his room, unless he wanted to get a snack or use the bathroom. He mainly worked out during this time, making sure to limber up before going on his solo patrol.
Once nighttime hit, Raph silently left the lair, making sure no one was awake to see him leave because he was not ready for that conversation. He left the sewers and went topside, entering a secret garage that the original Nightwatcher left behind. He put on his outfit, got on his motorcycle, and left the garage to patrol the streets.
The next few hours weren't anything special. He checked the police scanner for crimes, beat up some criminals, checked the police scanner again, and beat up some more criminals. Rinse and repeat. Sure, his job was quite repetitive but that didn't mean he didn't enjoy it. He was the hero the city needed, even if they didn't appreciate it.
Then, he saved a woman from being mugged by 4 gang members by beating them all up. It wasn't an easy fight as they were armed with weapons and one of the gang members knocked his helmet off, but Raph eventually knocked them all out.
But he made a fatal mistake by forgetting to cover his face back up and when the woman saw him, she stared at him with wide eyes.
"What?" Raph asked before he realized he didn't have his helmet on and said, "Shit."
"I know who you are." said the woman.
"No, you don't," said Raph.
"You're one of the New York crime-fighting turtles." said the woman.
"No, I'm not. This is just a…I have a really bad skin condition." Raph said as he was panicking internally.
"There are 4 of you and you're the red one." said the woman.
"Lady, you hit your head really hard and you're seeing things," said Raph.
"I haven't hit my head once today and besides, I'm not the only one who knows who you are." said the woman.
"What…what are you talking about?" asked Raph.
"You're famous online. There are plenty of pictures of you out in the wild along with the other turtles that I'm going to assume are your brothers." said the woman.
Raph didn't know how to process this information and walked back into a wall before sliding down and sitting on the ground in disbelief.
"This…this isn't real," said Raph.
"It is real. And don't worry, I'm not going to snitch or call the police or anything like that. You and your brothers have done quite a bit of good in this hellhole." said the woman.
Raph wanted to thank her, but he was too shocked to say anything.
"I'll tell you what. Since you saved my life, how about I treat you to some food? Whatever you want, I'll get." said the woman.
Raph thought about it and said, "A burger would be nice."
"A burger. I can work with that." said the woman.
A little while later, Raph and the woman were eating burgers in an alleyway while discussing Raph's brothers.
"So, if you don't mind me asking, where are your other brothers?" asked the woman.
"Dad banned them from going on patrol," said Raph.
"But you're out here." said the woman.
"Yeah. What can I say? I'm a rule breaker." said Raph.
"Ah, the rebellious type. I like that. So, when will this ban be lifted?" said the woman.
"When my big brother gets out of South America," said Raph.
"South America? He's that far away?" asked the woman.
"Yep. Personally, I think it's fucking stupid but big bro Leo had to follow our father's orders because he can't possibly think for himself." Raph said bitterly.
"Oh. Sorry about that." said the woman.
"It's fine. It's not your problem. Well, thanks for the burger but I have to head out. Gotta be home at a certain hour before my family gets suspicious." said Raph.
"Understandable. Hope you get your family problems sorted out. And thank you again for saving my ass. I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't shown up." said the woman.
"No problem. Stay safe." Raph said before getting on his motorcycle and driving off.
When Raph drove back into the garage and took off his Nightwatcher gear, so much was going through his mind that he couldn't think straight.
"All that ninja training. All that 'staying in the shadows' shit. And now everyone knows we exist because of the fucking Internet." Raph said to himself.
Once he got back to the lair and stealthily entered his room, he collapsed on his bed and tried to sleep, even though it would be next to impossible given everything that happened last night (or early morning if you want to get technical). He just hoped he was the only one who knew about this whole thing.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know it's been 6 months since the first chapter. Real sorry about that. I had to work on A TON of stories before going back to this one. So, now Raph knows about the online fame he and his brothers now have. The next chapter will be about Mikey and Raph talking to Donnie about this situation so stay tuned. Other than that, I hope you all have a wonderful day. Bye for now and stay safe.