If New York could ever be quiet, I guess you would call this an okay night. In this part of the neighborhood, traffic was down to a minimum for it was all residential. Day workers were asleep at this time of night as the night owls hailed the occasional cab to head off to work. One building in particular withheld some criminal activity that was about to descend. A blonde man dressed in dark grey clothing and a black beanie on his head climbed out the window of a home. He jumped on the platform of the fire escape, holding a cardboard box of items in his hand. In the other, a small handgun angrily pointed at the terrified man inside.
"Don't let me catch you callin' the cops!" he barked. The one being stolen from whimpered with his hands up, hoping the gunman wouldn't shoot and end his life. Before he could think about leaving the scene, something grabbed him by the shoulders. The air from his lungs completely gave out as he was hoisted up towards the roof. "EY!" He yelped. As he was yanked, he dropped his box of goods on the platform on the fire escape. The terrified man peeked his head out of the window and looked up. There was nothing there. The theif and whoever took him had vanished. Nevertheless, he was ecstatic that he had his belongings again as he abruptly brought them back inside, sealing them with a locked window.
Abducted, the frightened theif did't know what to do as he was pulled up to the rooftops without any word or clue who his assailant was. The man's body ached for his body was thrown effortlessly into a door, just missing the brick wall that could have shattered him.
"Didn't I take care of you last week?" Oh no... that voice. He couldn't recognize it filly, but the tone was no less mistakable. As the other began to proceed towards the light, the shining glare from his black motorcycle helmet confirmed his fears. Underneath the sleek helmet, a pair of large shoulder pads rested on his shoulders. On his arms, more pads going down and along his forearm in the colors of black and red, adding a boxing glove into the mix. A series of four belt straps kept in his entire, hulking body. In all honesty, the man looked like trash. For starters, his longsleeve shirt was all an illusion. As he moved his arms, he could see the breaks in both sleeves, meaning his sleeves were apart of another article of clothing. Quite possibly, no sleeved shirt could keep in those hulking biceps he had. Lastly, a cotton rope was tied around his waist, keeping up a pair of long, black pants that covered his legs until his wraps hid his gigantic feet. He could do nothing, for any move could alarm the amazingly strong being. You could not imagine how hard it was not to squirm as he stepped so confidently towards his direction. The former theif could see his own scared expression in the cold glass until his large hand picked him up singlehandedly why the neck of his shirt. "I'm very disappointed in you, knucklehead." The being nearly laughed, clearly having fun with what he does (and this was the good guy, keep in mind.). His fist slowly rose up for the man to see. He flinched, anticipating the hurt. If he were more observable, he wouldn't just notice the massiveness of his hand, but the fact that he was missing a couple fingers. "Guess Nights school is in session."
There was a whistle. The meager little sound grabbed their attention as both theif and vigilante turned towards the source. Some distance away, there was movement against a dark wall. The person was leaning on it, arms crossed and watching the spectacle.
"Hope I'm not disturbing class." The voice was deep, but unmistakenly feminine. The vigilante's stance was altered as he held his victim. "Need any teaching assistance, Nightwatcher?" she asked smoothly and confidently. Wearing all black as well and with what looked like a hijab in the limited light, there was no telling who this woman was. If he could pick out anything, she was pretty tall. Catching that he had stared for too long, the Nightwatcher cleared his throat.
"I-I got this one covered sweetie." Slowly, he lowered the theif. When his feet touched the ground, he was completely confused. This was not the same guy that dealt with him last week. Soon, those assumptions were brushed off when he delievered a clear, hard elbow to his face. He fell to the ground, clutching his nose. Nope, that's him. "Thanks, but no thanks." The woman chuckled, which worried him greatly. Nightwatcher or not, any person would be wise to do such a thing. Instead of engaging, he stood there in bewilderment, wondering where this meeting was going to take him.
"You think you know these rooftops? I roam them. Thought you could use my help." She stood up from the wall. The mysterious woman walked towards him, in which Raphael withdrew a Sai in his palm just in case it was going to get ugly. He made sure he did it behind his back so he'd have the upper hand. Her toes stopped just before the light could hit her. The dark body rocked to one side with her hands on her hips. "I also think its time for me to have a cute little sidekick." she teased, but with such presence, she slightly meant it.
"Sidekick? I've never heard of you." His words of disrespect didn't phase her.
"'Cause I'm the best at what I do." How was she so confident and sure of herself? Does she know who she's really dealing with? If she she knew that she was dealing with the Nightwatcher, does she even realize who she's really dealing with behind the helmet? It kind of scared him. This woman could be more dangerous than he could have realized.
"Listen lady, I work alone." He put his sai-less hand up, trying to push her away with the air behind it. It also created a little distance between the two of them.
"Oh, really? You think you've gotten anything accomplished alone?" The tone of her voice proved cynical, irking him some. "You may have everybody else fooled but you don't fool me, Raph." her forearm folded over her bicep when her thumb jammed just under her collarbone.
"Yeah? Well guess what sweetie," the hidden weapon made its appearance as he swung it out of its hiding place. The handle was clutched hard against his three fingered hand. "I-uh, hey. Wait a minute." his posture relaxed some; the top of his head tipped to the side, hoping it would help him see the dark woman. "Who are you?" he sought out since he was unable to see any defining feature in her covered face. She shifted some. Raphael clutched his sai harder, anticipating her movements. The woman didn't want to give too much of herself away, but she extended her hand. It creeped towards the light as the shine overlapped her green, dull clawed hand with a recognizable gym glove strapped to it. Raphael's jaw gaped open as his eyes trailed up her arm. The appendage lead up to her dark head, still anonymous, but the light glared against her eyes.
"How'd you know it was me?" His body relaxed as he stood up straight; the Sai was put back in its place. Her hand retreated back into the dark and onto the side of her hip.
"Wasn't too hard to put the pieces together. Besides, you look like a giant metal turtle." She spoke normally. Without a doubt, it was Mona Lisa. The compromised hero sighed, flipping the glass up on his helmet. She'll to the light, only some brightened his features. Those Amber eyes looked disappointed for his secret had been revealed.
"It's that obvious, huh?"
There was some rustling. Both Raphael and Mina were quick to look. The theif, both scared and tired, was trying to escape the rooftop as the two conversed. He hoped he could try escaping by jumping onto the roof of the next building. Earlier, he looked down and his confidence shortened once he saw how far up he was.
"I should've stayed in law school." He whispered to himself, crying as he held one half of his body off the building, trying to see if he could simply drag himself over instead of jumping.
"Aww! He's trying to get away! How cute!" The lizard lady cried sarcastically at the struggling man. Raphael turned to face her. Was she thinking what he was thinking. Right when he caught her face, she gave him a short nod. A nod could mean anything, but this one meant she was all in. Raphael returned the gesture and flipped the glass back down over his eyes. Now, the two large mutants made their way over to the escapee. "Looks like I got a sidekick." She bragged behind him, now bringing herself into the light. No wonder he couldn't see her. From head to toe, the girl was covered in black. Even her head covering. The Nightwatcher scoffed at her comment.
"Yeah right, you're the sidekick."
That guy didn't stand a chance. With two trained mutants on his tail, he could do nothing as they bound him. The look on the cops' faces were priceless when they came to the building after a 911 call from the man who regained his belongings. Left on the front steps, the theif had his legs bound as well as his hands tied behind his back. They reused his beanie as a gag and left a note taped to his shirt with "NW" written on it. Neither Raphael or Mona knew what the men in blue were saying, but they were, without a doubt, untying the man and replacing the rope with steel cuffs. Above, Mona Lisa sat on the edge, letting her feet dangle on the side of the building.
"Why are you out here, Raph?" She asked while removing the cover from her mouth. Raphael, with his helmet off, was pacing back and fourth behind her.
"What was I supposed to do? Wait for Leo to come back and save the day? Crime doesn't take a break, and neither do I." He stopped his pacing and went to sit by her. At his side, he removed the flatted bag attached between a space from his body and shell. The bag was given a single shake to shift it to its 3D form. His helmet was in his arm, which he moved to his hand by pushing it against his body and pulling back his arm. With care, he placed it into the bag. He stared back at his reflection in the shield of it, wanting to make something of it. "If he wants to go off after having some sort of identity crisis, that's fine with me, but leaving us behind to go on a little vacation is too far. Hope he never comes back. Do you know how much more freedom I have here on my own?" His arms opened up to the lit up city around him. Surely, without anyone knowing, who could guess how many adventures Raphael had every night since they left. Mona left it up to her imagination.
"But you suffer by being ridiculed through the day." She countered. Raphael nodded.
"I can live with that." I mean, it was annoying so far, but it felt like something he could brush off.
"And don't you think you're a little too harsh on Leonardo?"
"I don't know." He sighed. "M' probably jealous that he got to go off and see a different country while I'm stuck out here. But, if I had the chance to leave, i'd probably skip off too, but I can't do that. Leaving this place is like leaving a piece of you, and why break off more pieces of yourself." The terrapin sulked as be breathed. On his face, he was fighting an internal battle of his own. Eyes unfocused, lips speaking to themselves for no audible word escaped them as they moved slightly. A hand went over his. It was a uprising. He looked at the gentle hand. A gesture so small collected himself some as he looked up into the eyes of whom it belonged to.
"Raphael, you're not broken." She assured, giving his hand a good, firm jolt. Her brown eyes stared into his, wanting him to hear, analyze, and understand what she had just said.
"Sure feels like it."
"You're not because I was. The real type of broken. Honestly, I believe you're going through what Leonardo is."
"A midlife crisis?" He mumbled. Mona an removed her hand and sat up straight.
"You're sixteen." She clarified, quite puzzled that he would suggest something so far fetched.
"At the rate I'm going, I'll probably die at 32." That earned a little laugh from the both of them. Mona was the first to stop her torso from jolting.
"You're trying to find out who you are. This is a normal teenage thing and it's hard," her legs began to swing, hitting her heels against the brick. "especially someone who is abnormal."
"You sound so wise," he looked back up at her; his eyes wanted to see if there was any more words of wisdom she could give. "and just about right." He admitted.
"I did go through this once before." The lizard lady chuckled between her teeth.
"How do you find yourself? Are there signs? Directions maybe?"
"You have to figure that one out for yourself."
"That's not much help." he replied cheekily. The turtle was smiling and laughing, but the lizard lady knew enough about him that he was using humor to try to cope with his situation.
"I can't explain it. It's like this" she brought her hands up, pretending there was something on each of her palms and brought her fingers down with a squeeze. "gut feeling that gives you a sense of belonging." In the midst of her uplifting sermon, her vibe was killed when her listener let out a long yawn. "I heard that." The tone of her voice warned him. Raphael could only shrug at his action.
"Little tired." He explained as one of his arms swiped across both of his eyes. A toothy grin crept onto the lizard lady's face. For someone who sleeps all day, just a little party and a beat down got him groggy. The terrapin scooted over when he saw her grip the she of the building and lifted herself up.
"Lets say we head back now and you get back on track with your sleeping patterns?" She asked behind her. He heard him chuckle, then there was the sound of somebody getting up. Leather creaked as well as unpopped bones as Raphael brought himself to his feet.
"We'll see." Before he could follow behind her, Mona stuck her hand out at him. The hand pushed into his chest when he ran into it. Unable to see it coming, he was pushed back somewhat to to the contact.
"Oh, no. No sarcasm. If I don't see you in your room with eyes closed and unconscious, best to find those Sais in an unreachable place." Her finger pointed down to the weapons at his side and back up to his head. The end of her scarf flew when she turned back around, trying to head home. Mona felt the loose end and grabbed it to stuff it back into place. "I don't know why you're laughing 'cause I mean it." She warned when she heard such a low noise following her. The way she answered was bouncy and full of attitude. Warning or not, he still smiled as he followed.
With the police investigating the apartment below, they had to go down another building. With a little running start, the ninjas were able to easily clear the jump that the theif couldn't. They used that momentum to get across the building faster so they could clear out of the area. Coming to the end of the building, the stairs of the fire escape began. She looked down below, looking for any lights that could mean either awake people and/or open windows. Thankfully, it looked like the neighbors left the commotion to the cops as they ignored the flashing lights and echo of sirens. Mona began down the stairs. Raphael stopped on the first step as she was almost to the second set.
"Does anybody else know about this?" He asked concerned. Mona stopped and looked up. His head was cocked to the side and appeared sad, like a guilty little puppy. She shook her head and responded quietly.
"No, but your biggest fan will be disappointed." That gave him a cocky grin. He forgot. Mikey was his biggest fan, and he didn't even know the half of it.
"Thanks for not saying anything."
"I hope you'll tell them at some point." She advised with a stern eye. If Raphael hated anything more, it was admitting he had been doing something he knew the family would disapprove. The turtle had a lot at that, and only a select few knew about at least one of the secrets. Leonardo knew about his Grand Theft Auto games. Michelangelo kept quiet about him watching his inappropriate, yet hilarious show "Blue Mountain State". Normally Mikey would use such information as blackmail, but he knew Raphael was a huge Alan Ritchson fan. He couldn't cut him off from seeing such a good-looking yet hilarious actor. And now, Mona Lisa knew about his Nightwatcher gig. As much as he would like to keep it between the two of them, this was a little too big of a secret that would only worsen when it takes longer to admit.
"Yeah." He sighed, knowing very well of the consequences. Leonardo and Splinter would seriously chew him out for doing such a reckless act. In his mind, he was already rehearsing any honor-value quotes they'll throw at him. Donnie and Venus would be mainly concerned, Mikey, oh boy. That turtle will be embarrassed. First he'll get embarrassed, then he'd realize that he should have brought him along to live out his dreams as...who was he trying to be? Turtle Titan, right.
"And I didn't come to nag at you." The lizard lady went about going down the next flight of stairs as she spoke. She took care to whisper by the windows in fear someonewould open them and see. In black or not, both were strange shapes in the moonlight. "I came for you and your well being." her confession kept Raphael still on the first flight. The statement stayed, replayed in his head. Nobody's ever cared enough like that before, or at least said something remotely close like that. It just proved how much the mutant girl actually cared. Having someone that truly cares... it felt good. On the way home, the reason he kept a smile was not because he was trying to smile away the pain, but rather just smile to smile.