Chapter Text
New York was as quiet as ever.
Since the Kraang had been successfully vanquished, and Shredder was no longer a worry, the excitement in the lives of the four mutants and their allies had died down, and things had relatively become just as they'd been five years ago.
However, this didn't mean patrols were suddenly no longer needed. The Purple Dragons still remained at large, the turtles still found themselves in their nocturnal schedule, and Casey was always itching for a fight. When April alerted him of an unfamiliar presence, he jumped at the chance.
The two peeked down into the alleyway from the rooftop, catching sight of the dark figure Casey had seen. Their gray hoodie covering their head, dark pants, and shoes made it difficult to make out their silhouette against the poorly lit sidewalk, but they could be seen rummaging behind a trash bin. The glint of metal at their feet hinted toward them being armed.
"Who is this guy?" Casey asked, looking to April.
"I don't know, but whoever he is, they're really protective over it."
Casey frowned. "The Hell does that mean?"
April turned to look at Casey, frustration apparent through her knitted brows and annoyed glare. "I can't get in his head. It's like he's got some kind of barrier, or like he's holding the door to his brain shut."
"Isn't there anything you can do?"
"No," April turned back, eyes widening when she noticed the figure was now missing. "Wait, where'd he go?"
A mental tug pulled her toward Casey, where someone stood behind him, identifiable as the figure due to their gray hoodie. With this better view, April could see the white hockey mask the person wore, with green dots for eyes.
The figure held up - what looked to be - a scythe, their trajectory unclear as they brought it above their head. "Casey, look out!" April shouted, grabbing her friend's wrist to pull him away from the strike.
Casey stumbled back, hardly getting a chance to recollect himself before the figure attacked again. He jumped out of the way, but tripped over his own leg, falling on his ass.
The masked person directed their attention to April, who had pulled out her tessen and went on defense. They wasted no time, lunging at April, away from her blade, but April's telekinesis forced them backward.
"Let me go, you fiend!" They cried, voice distorted from the mask, struggling under April's grasp. With the better view, April identified his 'scythe' as a bent naginata.
"Who are you?" April demanded.
"None of your goddamn business."
"What are you trying to do, here?"
"Release me, fool."
"No," April tightened her grip, helping Casey up with her free hand, "not until you tell us who you are and what you want."
"Try me, bitch."
Casey rolled up his sleeves. "Oh, that's it," he pulled out a hockey stick, but before he could attack, April pulled him back.
"We get stuff out of him, then you can hit him, okay?" April hissed.
Casey lowered his hockey stick, disappointed, but obliged anyway, pushing the stick back into its sheath and crossing his arms. "Let's try this again. Who are you?"
"Why should I tell you that?" The person's green eyes narrowed ever slightly.
"'Cause we need something to call you, if you're gonna be runnin' around New York causing trouble."
The person hummed. "Fine. Call me Jones."
April raised a brow, looking at Casey, who raised his hands in defense. "It's a common name!"
"Yeah, sure."
"What? It is! Just ask Donnie!"
The masked person perked up at that name, but hid the motion as quickly as they could. April filed that note away for later. "Anyways, you still haven't told us why you're here."
"Classified," they replied.
April huffed, pushing to try and get into the person's mind, but to no avail. "We're gonna have to let him go, Casey."
"What? Why?" Casey paused, thinking. "Can I hit him now?"
"...Sure."
April released the person, who made a mad dash away - holy shit they were fast - and Casey tried to catch up, but they'd already made their way to the next block before Casey was even halfway there. He was pouting when he returned to April.
"We should bring this back to the guys," April mentioned, making her way to the building's fire exit, "I bet Raph'll be excited for a new fight."
"I was, too, y'know," Casey grumbled, hopping over the railings to the landings below. When the two found their way down, they located the nearest manhole, shoving the cover off, dropping down the tube, and pulling the cover back over with ease and grace.
Upon April and Casey's arrival, they found Leo pacing the floors, with Raph, Donnie, and Mikey resting in the pit. Casey flopped down beside Raph. "Met someone new today."
"We did, too," Leo remarked.
Donnie narrowed his eyes. "Leo, you're gonna wear a hole into the ground one of these days." Leo hummed, his pacing not ceasing. Donnie huffed. "We found the Dragons trying to break into some place, but before we could get down, some kid showed up and beat the crap out of them."
"Don't forget the 'booyahkasha'," Mikey reminded.
"Yeah, that's the weirdest part," Raph sunk, crossing his arms, "he used Mikey's catchphrase. Never mind the weirdly futuristic staff that glowed purple, or the fact that he took down all four Purple Dragons and won."
"Either way, he's cemented himself as a possible threat," Leo finally stopped pacing, taking up a spot in the pit, "so we can't be taking too many risks with him. Who did you two meet?" He asked, looking at April and Casey.
"Some guy with a hockey mask who called himself 'Jones,'" April supplied, "Casey claims he doesn't know him."
"I don't! You know I'm telling the truth!" Casey accused. April snorted.
"Anyway, he was abnormally fast, really good with his weapon, too. Snuck up on us and sent Casey to the floor, and when I caught him, he was pretty stubborn. Wouldn't tell us anything except his name. Though," she looked at Donnie, "his attitude changed when Casey mentioned you. I tried to figure out why, but he wouldn't let me into his mind to find out. We had to let him go afterwards."
Donnie frowned. "Really? I can't recall ever meeting this guy. What do you mean by, 'he wouldn't let you into his mind', though? There's very few who've ever been able to keep you out."
April shrugged.
Donnie leaned forward, elbow on his knee and chin in his hand. "I'm stumped. Maybe there's some kind of connection between these two," his leg bounced, up and down, "but what, exactly?"
"We'll have to keep an eye out for them," Leo said, pulling the attention back to himself, "they're both skilled fighters and could pose a big threat to us, especially if they're allied. Best course of action is to get on their good side before we end up on the other."
While the others nodded their agreements, April sunk into herself. She couldn't help but feel this was going to turn out a bigger deal than the others were bargaining for.