573/Monday Night's Alright For Fighting...Or Not

Monday Night's Alright For Fighting...Or Not
Date of Scene:	17 March 2020
Location:	Somewhere in New York City
Synopsis:	The Nightwatcher finds a fight he's itching to join, only for it to be taken away from him by Sally, Alopex, and someone he really doesn't want to be who he thinks it could be.
Cast of Characters:	Raphael, Sally Pride, Alopex, Leonardo

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Raphael has posed:
Late night in the big city, New York if anyone's keeping track. It's no Gotham City, and even Metropolis has its bad areas, but there's nothing quite like the streets of New York. Crime is everywhere, and there are places where it's more abundant than others.

These are the places the vigilante known as the Nightwatcher prowls.

After Leo bailed on the crew following the Shredder's defeat, the remaining brothers struggled to find their way as a group. As a result, there's been some distancing taking place. Mikey and Donnie had their own stuff going on, and that left Raph to his own devices. There was still a side of him that needed to be up topside, needed to be out there bustin' heads, but he had to do it in a more inconspicuous way. A close-fitting protective suit, a pack that helped hide the shell, a helmet to conceal that handsome, rugged turtle face, some chains so things wouldn't be obvious if he kept using the sai...

And the motorcycle. The Nightwatcher /had/ to have a kick-ass bike to tear through the streets, to chase down the bad guys when doing it on foot just didn't cut it.

Said motorcycle was currently humming as it idled in an alley, then the engine was cut. A couple blocks away, trouble. A few members of rival gangs fronting, challenging each other over where their turf ends and the other group's begins, threats made with weapons drawn.

It felt like the right kind of dance for the Nightwatcher to take, to break up in ways that might leave a few of them with broken bones by the time it was done. "Yeah, this is gonna be a good night," Raphael told himself, stepping off the bike, moving on out of the alley, that heavy chain grasped in both gloved hands. A dark visor allowed him to see out, but let nobody see in.

Sally Pride has posed:
Last night had turned into a fiasco, and other than crossing paths with a couple other free-roaming mutants Sally didn't really come back with much to show for it. Other than not being dead. And knowing Null was out looking for their 'missing' goods. Not that she had any intention of letting them shove her back in a cage.

It did mean needing to be a bit more wary so the lioness had settled in to do some recon. Maybe pick up on a delivery schedule or such. Something less likely to be a trap. Or bombs. Explosions are only cool when she can walk away from them looking like a badas--huh?

The shouting and insulting back and forth gets Sally's attention and the feline mutant slinks over to the other side of her perch to look. A couple of street gangs squaring off it seems. Not really what she's out here for... but honestly she'd rather bust a few skulls than sit up here just watching.

The lioness extends her claws as she swings herself over the ledge and onto the wall, slowly climbing her way closer to the street level below. She'll give them just long enough to get busy with each other so they don't notice her dropping in. Literally.

Alopex has posed:
    What is it with humans that make them want to fight with each other, all the time, over absolutley nothing. What makes it worth it?! She still didn't understand it. She had been sent out time after time to deal with rivals moving in on Foot territory, but still didn't understand it. Why make enemies? Why not lure them in and make allies instead? Meh. And yet here the story repeats once again. One pack of humans standing off against another. Over what? Land? To what end...??? For now, the fox is wrapped in her dark cloak, settled on a fire escape, uncertain on if she should bother or not. There's always more gangs fighting, isn't there?

Raphael has posed:
Posturing. Machismo. A need to prove one is a real man (or woman, in some cases). A desire to fit in with a group and be accepted. Peer pressure. A lack of good parenting. A lack of parents at all. The thrill that comes with all of that and more.

These are all reasons people, usually younger and lacking guidance in the big, tough world out there, fall in with the wrong crowds. The Nightwatcher is there to help make sure they don't get too far out of line. The name has been whispered on the streets, in the places most people don't dare venture into. The Nightwatcher? He does, whoever he is.

Having some tougher metal armor protecting the head, shoulder areas, arms, and legs helps when it comes to getting into scuffles with riff-raff like this, and heavy-duty shitkickers for boots bring an especially satisfying sound when he connects just so with someone's face or some other area.

And, the voice modulator. Can't forget the voice modulator. Donnie might not remember making it, but let's not talk about that.

"Time to hit the lights," Raph says to himself, and a helmet-mounted beam shines on the group currently in each other's faces. "Yo, losers! Didn't yer mothers tell ya not t' stay out late?" He unwinds the chain, holding the slack in his left hand, waving some of the excess this way and that in his right. "Hey, didn't I see a few 'a you lowlifes last week? Do ya need another lesson? I'm thinkin' ya do."

A variety of curses and looks that range between surprise, fear, and anger turn away from each other toward the armored...whatever it is approaching.

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride pauses in climbing down the wall when lights come on from the opposite end of the street. They're approaching too slowly to be a vehicle... Someone in armor? For a moment she tenses, then realizes that's not the kind of armor the Null Group goons wear. Plus it sounds like he's actually trying to stop the gangs from going at it... Wait, maybe that's one of the rumors.. Well she can figure out who that is later, right now, there's some lost kids to set straight.

While they're gawking at the armored form Sally hops to the pavement from the wall, and strolls up behind one of the gangbangers who had a knife out trying to be intimidating with it. Which is why she grabs him by the wrist. "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with sharp objects?"

This coming from someone with ten sharp objects on the end of her fingers. But she was born with them, it's different.

Alopex has posed:
    All things that are part of human nature that Alopex isn't quite aware of yet. When all of your encounters with humans consist of Foot and Not-Foot it skews things. That will change, in time. For now, however, its spotting Sally that gets Alopex to rise instead of wanting to deal with all the gang members. "Well if she's here.." the fox trails, stretching a little before hopping down behind Sally. "We need to meet on better terms one of these days," she suggests before giving a smirk and a wave to the gang members.

    "So there's three of us, well trained, and all of you, who should be running home. We all know who's going to win, so you should-"

    Who the hell says you freaks are gonna-- "

    "No, shhh, we do."

Raphael has posed:
"What the hell?"

Multiple people have this reaction as attention is suddenly taken away from gang members about to throw down (or not; they've been doing this for the better part of fifteen minutes already), shifting toward the Nightwatcher along with both Sally and now Alopex. Strange armored up dude on one side, walking, talking lion and fox on the other.

That response includes the deeper, almost mechanized voice of the Nightwatcher, for he's seen the mutated animals as well. Questions rush through his brain: are they some of Shredder's goons? Something else? What are they doing here? The chain swings around more as he keeps up the threatening attitude. "Time for this little party t' disperse. You kids've been itching t' throw down long enough for me t' know ya ain't serious about fightin', so why don't ya all run along before I decide t' make ya. That goes for th' two 'a ya over there, too." The beam of light from the helmet shines away from the group, over toward the lioness and the floofy fox as he approaches, that chain picking up some of the light reflected off the metal.

Leonardo has posed:
There were 8 thugs, a minute ago. Now there's only 7. Where DID that last thug go? He was a little too close to a second alley, seperate from the one 'Nightwatcher's' bike was in. Nobody knows where that thug went, including his friends. It's like he just...disappeared.

Elsewhere, the thug is actually unconscious, and dragged into a seperate alley. His means of going unconscious has already vanished again.

One can almost hear Splinter's voice. "Keep to the shadow. Stray from it reluctantly, for when you do, you must strike hard...."

Sally Pride has posed:
"Hopefully this time will involve less explosions," Sally retorts to Alopex with a bit of her own smirk.
Then glances to the grumpy armored Night-whateverthenamewas. "No need to be rude. There's plenty of them to share."

Then back to the punk she's holding onto, and the chippy attitude evaporates. The frown that replaces it is just enough for the tips of her fangs to show between her lips. "Come on now. Put it down before you get someone hurt. Like yourself." She squeezes his wrist a little tighter with her claws to get him to drop the knife. "That's better."

Sally steps on the knife with one booted foot to keep it from being picked back up and shoves the ganger back towards the rest of his mates. "You might want to do what he says. That chain wouldn't look very nice around your neck."

Alopex has posed:
    "That'd be nice. For my ears. Which were still ringing when I went to sleep last night," the fox explains before looking back to the others, to the armored dude, but then she peers in one particular direction. Hmmmm... "Hey. Fellas? You're down one. You may -really- want to reconsider your current choices."

Raphael has posed:
"Yeah, I'm thinkin' it'd make a damn good necklace if ya know what I mean," the Nightwatcher retorts, Sally and Alopex suddenly getting more of his attention. They are different, and they look like they could actually be worth focusing on. However, he's still itching for a fight.

Once one of the gangers realizes his buddy is missing, he blurts "Yo yo yo..homies! Mack's gone! Where'd he go?"

Suddenly, the chain strikes, but not upside the head of one of the wannabe thugs. It sounds against the street and that beam from the Nightwatcher's helmet points away from the rest, toward the alley. Something's made him freeze, his fingers gripping the lengths of chain much too tightly.

Leonardo has posed:
Raph's looking in the right direction, for where Leo was. But Leo, playing his own game of 'keepaway' mostly against 'Nightwatcher', has already moved to a different alley...

A dude in the other group of 4 just...abruptly goes missing. Once again, the only clue will be his unconscious body, this time in an abandoned building through an open window, if anybody seriously goes searching for him. Of course, it was the dude who was in back...and kinda looked like he was ready to run away anyway. But he never got that chance, as he's vanished into air, evidently.

Say, when DID that window open anyway? Wasn't it closed?

Sally Pride has posed:
It's not hard to tell Sally was trained as some manner of soldier. She crouchs down to pick up the knife but her eyes never leave the kids even as something else gets the attention of a few others. "Maybe he's the smart one and actually ran." She stands, regarding the knife for a moment. "Where'd you get this cheap thing, rob a pawn shop? It'd barely be worth cutting butter with."

Then she starts walking, in that way that looks casual but it's hard to miss that she's tensed and ready for a brawl, towards the gang punks again. "So then." The knife is tucked in the band of her pants, and then she cracks one set of knuckles against the opposite palm. "You boys gonna break it up, or do I gotta go through with breaking -you- up?" This time she's grinning again, somewhere between feral and thrillseeker, with fangs in full display.

Two of them have already disappeared, run off, whatever. Now if the rest of them would just get the hint.

Alopex has posed:
    Well, the armored one is spooked, and then there's another one missing a few moments later. Truth be told, the fox is actually impressed by what is going on here. Someone is -well trained- and is helping, she just hasn't managed to spot who it is. "I told you, earlier, who was going to win. This is proof of it. So..." a kama is tugged free, twirled, then matched in her other hand. "Last chance, kids."

Raphael has posed:
One per side has now disappeared. Another is dealt with thanks to Sally. The ones left behind are starting to freak out, openly. "Fuck, man! What the fuck! Run! Let's bounce, bro!"

As they decide maybe being safely within their bedsheets back home is the smart play, the bright light from the Nightwatcher's helmet has found the open window. He /knows/ it wasn't open a few seconds ago, and it's way too close to where the kid had just been. Inside the helmet, a wide mouth works silently open and closed, then a low whisper follows. "Damn it." There's something about this that tugs at the back of his head, something way too familiar.

Instead of trying to reason things through or get with the other two 'creatures' to figure out what's really going on here, the one inside the suit turns to what usually gets him into and out of problems: anger. "Okay, whoever you are! I know you're out there, so show yourself before I come over and give ya a few bruises t' remember me by! I'll spell out 'Nightwatcher' for ya if you ain't bright enough!" He smacks a fist into a palm, thinking he's got this all under control as he begins to advance, only telling the others who had been ready to fight the gang, "You wanna go chase after the stragglers, be my guest."

Leonardo has posed:
As the thugs begin to run away...one screams as he disappears down a manhole cover. That was covered a minute ago, wasn't it? If anyone looks down the manhole, they'll see yet another now unconscious kid down at the bottom of the hole. With enough sewer grime on his clothes that he'll have to shower for a week and burn everything he was wearing when he finally wakes up.

But the perpetrator is once more nowhere to be found.

Nightwatcher's attempt to call him out meet only with further eerie silence. Whoever that was, he wasn't about to be baited like that.

Alopex has posed:
    Three down. Plus one from Sally, and now the others are beating feet. "Well, that was easy," she figures as her weapons are tucked away. She gives the lioness a tap on the shoulder, "There's a fourth here, and I think our angry friend figured it out too," she informs before looking to armored dude thusly known as Nightwatcher? Meh. "Hey. Whoever that is? They are trained in the same thing I am. They aren't going to just show themselves, and they certainly aren't going to respond to you. The gangs are gone. Head out. There's no one to fight, now. We were all just helping out."

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride watchs the would-be fighters scatter.. and one fall down a manhole. After the first two 'disappearances' there is no way that's a coincidence. Huh.

But the point is that they're running. "I don't think they'll be giving anyone trouble for a few days." Maybe some of them will wise up and stop squandering their youth.

Sally turns back to watch Nightwatcher yell at the shadows, and nods a bit at the remark from the fox. "Yeah, I noticed. Was just making sure the rest of them got the hint to scoot." Alopex is right though, whoever it is probably isn't that easily taunted into the open.

Raphael has posed:
The one behind the helmet is beginning to see red, and as one falls down the manhole cover before his eyes, or at least out of the corner of one just enough to see the last part of him disappearing, Raph comes to a realization: the one behind this has to be someone he's familiar with and that sends a chill down his body.

It manifests with the Nightwatcher turning his anger toward Alopex. "Yeah, ya think I haven't already figured that out? And what are you supposed t' be, anyway? A reject from the freakshow? An' you, Miss Wannabe Lion King over there. Ain't you got some rings t' jump through, or do th' two 'a you do that trick where she sticks her head inside your mouth?"

He isn't handling things very well at the moment. Not only did he not get to throw down with the gang - and let's face it, it wouldn't have been much of a challenge - someone took out three people without any of them seeing who it was, and the floofy white fox and the biker lion have the nerve to remind him of that!

"You know what? Screw this. I ain't hangin' around here. Forget it." The beam sweeps side to side as he starts to take backward steps, keeping them in his sight.

Alopex has posed:
    The fox gives up a resigned sigh and shrug, "I've heard worse, chrome dome. I'll keep your bad attitude in mind the next time your in a spot," she points out. She's sure with that armor, the weapon, and everything else he'd be fine, but he had his one shot, and now it's wasted. Too bad. "C'mon, Sally. We can catch a bite before heading our seperate ways. Not the one I gave you an IOU for, but meh, I need to wash out this jerk's sour with something nice."

Leonardo has posed:
Other than unconscious bodies, there are no traces left behind. Which, of couse, is exactly the way it's supposed to be, if Splinter were here and watching, he would certainly approve of what happened.

Further down the street, maybe about a block away, the thugs are scattering in every direction. And now there's a 4th guy who's going to wake up unconscious on the cold streets of New York in March, in the back of an alleyway. Not the best place for a nap. These kids are likely to need therapy to get over their fear of windows, manhole covers, and alleyways.

Sally Pride has posed:
Pierced ears twitch a bit as Nightwatcher goes off on his angry diatribes. The modulator may disguise his voice but it doesn't disguise the frustration in it. Something about what happened really has him spooked, he's trying to hide it, that much she can tell ... Because honestly it's weirded her out a little too. But 'weird' is kind of what she was trained to deal with. But Sally doesn't have enough pieces to put together why he's so steamed under the armored collar, nor really in the mood to think too hard about it.

Instead she scratchs the side of her head. "Was that an insult? It sounded like an insult, but I don't get the frame of reference." Then shrugs. "Whatever. Good night to you too." Then turns back to the fox. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

Raphael has posed:
The Nightwatcher has nothing more to say, not outwardly. It isn't until he's back out of sight, hopping on the bike and roaring out of the area on it, that a string of obscenities escape his mouth, the helmet still in place. No fight, interrupted by not just lion and snow fox mutants, but also someone /who has all the training he does/ and wasn't hesitating to put it to use.

That means it could have been one of his brothers, and neither Mikey nor Donnie know about the Nightwatcher. Mikey couldn't have done this, because he wouldn't stay quiet long enough not to give something away. Donnie was holed up in his lab, inventing some thing or another. That left only one possibility, and it was not one Raph was ready to face.

Leo might be back.

"DAMN IT!!!!" he shouts into the night, pushing the motorcycle to its limits to get back to the Lair first. If this is who he's suspecting, he has to get there first.