Chapter Text
“I wanna be like that one day.”
“Like what, my son?”
“Like Lou Jitsu!”
“Oh? Why him?”
“Cause he’s a hero.”
“You think so? What makes him so heroic?”
“He’s strong, and brave, and always saves everyone!”
“Hmm, that is true. But I wonder, Raphael, if that’s the only way to be a hero.”
Raphael grinned as he raced faster across the rooftops toward his target. The little thief wouldn’t get away with this. And despite his size making him slower than her, he had a way to catch up.
With a clash of his fists, the red light of his ninpo flashed to life. But rather than bothering to grow in size he simply projected it forward. A copy of himself ran in front, then another, and another, until finally one got close enough to tackle her to the ground.
“Augh!” Cassandra screeched before cutting through it. “You cheater.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Raphael slowed his run as he caught up to her. “Now give me back my cookies.”
He reached for the ziplock bag she held in her hands. She jerked it away from his grip. He made a few more swipes for it, her dodging every time, and finally he simply shoved his hand against her face.
“No!” She shouted, dramatic as always. “I will not surrender.”
“I was going to share them with you, Cass. Just give me the bag.”
She tried to shove his hand off her masked face, but to no avail. With a grunt and a groan she held up the plastic bag, waving it like a white flag.
Raphael smiled and took it. He popped it open and pulled out three of the snickerdoodles, handing them off to his partner in crime.
Cassandra snatched them, but as she lifted her hockey mask she looked delighted rather than angry. She chomped through two of the treats almost in a single bite.
Raphael laughed. “Yeesh, Cass, did you not get dinner or something.”
“I did, but I know for a fact Mikey made these.” She pointed at the ones still in the bag. “You are lucky I don’t steal the rest.”
“Don’t you dare try it.” Raphael huffed and sat down. He started chomping through them, because he was fairly sure if he didn’t that she may try to anyway.
As he snacked away, Cassandra climbed up onto his shoulders as she ate her last cookie. The pair sat in silence for a bit, not only because they ran out of conversation but mostly because they were both listening.
No sirens. No alerts. No screams for help.
Raphael sighed as he finished the last of the treats. “This is a dumb thing to complain about, but it feels way too quiet in this city lately.”
Cassandra leaned against his head. “Oh thank god, I thought I was the only one thinking that.”
“I mean, I know I shouldn’t. I know it’s a good thing that things have calmed down so much but…”
“It’s boring.”
Raphael nodded. “Yeah.”
The pair of them did more than spar together on a regular basis. They also scanned the city looking for crime, sometimes joined by Casey Jr. Things were rather sporadic after the kraang invasion. For a time as the city recovered, crime ran pretty low, or at the very least wasn’t the sort of crime that Raph would punish someone for. If people wanted to rob a store that no one was running because their family needed food, well, how could he possibly judge?
But when things started getting back to normal, the criminals came back out. And while some were basic chumps that could be easily persuaded with a fist, Raph, Cassandra and Casey managed to sniff out a few of the nastier kind. People trying to trade some salvaged kraang goop on the black market even.
But their leads on that had even died down. So many mutants were rarely cropping up either. The silverfish were properly put away. Those crab brothers must have gone deep underground. Anytime Meatsweats popped up, Mikey would take care of it. Repo kept to himself. And now Hypno and Warren were far more on the mend since Leo forced them to do time working in the bagel shop.
Did Raphael want another villain to show up and make their lives hell for a week? No, not even in the slightest. But at least someone could steal a car or something.
Cassandra shifted on his shoulders. “Bah! Sitting around is a waste of our time. Perhaps we should just go to the nearest arcade and have a death match on the DDR machine.” Her nails dug into the top of his head, but not to the point it hurt.
Raphael turned his head to grin at her. “Oh yeah? And who do you think is going to win that, huh?”
“We’ll find out after we get there.”
Right. He was on carrying duty again, huh? Not that he ever complained. Raphael crumpled up the ziplock bag and put it away to toss later. He glanced at the next roof, ready to dash toward it and make a leap.
Then an explosion blasted through the air.
It sounded muffled enough that he swore it must be far away. But as he looked toward the source, just a dozen blocks away, he saw a huge puff of smoke drift into the air. Cars screeched on the road. Someone blasted their horn.
“Cass, should we—”
She smacked the top of his head. “Why are you asking me foolish questions? Let’s go!”
Right.
Raphael took off in the direction of the smoke, Cassandra staying on his shoulders. It only took them a couple of minutes to catch up and take in the scene. An older apartment building, brick and mortar and everything, had smoke pouring out of its seams. The sight seemed unreal, in a way, because all the splits along the walls made it look like it should be falling apart. Shards of glass from the windows even hung suspended in the air, like something kept them from flying out any further.
“What is going on?” Raphael asked.
“We don’t have time to ask questions. Can’t you hear that?”
He did, over the panicked people on the street he could hear others screaming from inside the building.
As much as he wanted to assess the situation, there may not be the time for it. Raphael took a few steps back. “Brace yourself, Cass.”
He felt her grip tighten around his shell before he took off and leapt straight for the apartment building. His ninpo flashed around him as a temporary shield before he crashed through a window on the third story.
No one in here, but he could hear the panic footsteps coming from the hallway just outside the entrance to this apartment.
“Casey, head down.” Raphael said. “Clear out the lower floors. I’ll head up and use my clones to jump people safely out of the windows if they’re stuck.” He stopped and listened for a second. He could hear the wood in the floors and the ceiling creaking. The faint groan of metal. Then he noted the smell in the air, like burning gas. Did a leak cause all of this?
He’d ask that question later. Cassandra and him shared a glance before he took off for the door first. He punched it off it’s hinges and left her to scour the floor for anyone who needed help. In the meantime he went straight for the stairs.
The building held together, as if the walls weren’t splitting apart in multiple places, but every passing second he could see the entire building shift. Like the whole thing was trapped under pressure and any minute it’d get to be too much.
His first encounter with a citizen led to even more screaming on their end, but after insisting he was there to help, she allowed one of his clones to pick up her and her children. The energy construct burst down the hall and out of the window at the end.
He checked every apartment and every room in case anyone was huddled away. After he knew each floor was cleared he moved up to the next one. Thankfully some people lended a hand with the search before Raphael helped them escape.
But just when he got to the second to last floor, one elderly lady he tried to help refused to leave.
“It’s my neighbor.” She shouted. “I know she and her child are home, but no matter how much I knock she won’t answer me.”
Raphael narrowed his eyes, determined. “Which apartment? I’ll get her out.”
The older woman pointed to the apartment three doors down. Raphael summoned another clone to take the older woman outside as he sprinted for the door.
He slammed his fist into it, expecting it to give way like the rest, and was shocked when it didn’t budge.
“Huh?” Raphael tried again, and again, but still nothing. “Uh, hey? Anyone in there?”
“Who are you?” A female voice responded, but strange, it sounded so much closer than it should.
“Uh, Raph.” He answered.
The floor suddenly lurched underneath him. Raphael struggled to regain his balance, watching the split in the wood grow and grow.
“Who are you?” The question came again.
Maybe she didn’t hear him? He shouted back this time. “Raph. I’m here to help you get out of here. Is your door blocked?”
He tried to push it, still nothing. Alright, whatever furniture was blocking this door had to go. Raphael reeled back his fist and lit it up, slamming into the door as hard as he possibly could.
The door shattered rather than bust off its hinges. Raphael rushed inside, noting the immense pressure inside the room. It felt hard to breathe.
Finally, he saw her, standing near the door to the kitchen. The woman couldn’t be over forty. Her face was soft, round, framed by shoulder length black hair.
It’d be very normal if her arms weren’t raised up and her eyes, open as wide as possible, weren’t glowing impossibly bright.
Raphael skidded to a halt at the sight of it. “Wh… Who are you?”
Somehow he felt her gaze fix on him rather than seeing it.
“I asked that of you first.” She said, but once again her voice sounded incredibly close. As if she were standing next to him.
Then Raphael almost swore the light from her eyes rushed toward him. Suddenly the yellow haze flooded his vision. Blurry images rushed past. He almost recognized the feeling, but struggled to pin it down.
Then just as fast as it started, it ended. He took a moment to adjust himself back to the apartment, wherein there were even more cracks in the wall. A bright light glowed in the kitchen. Some of the furniture floated off the floor.
The woman gave him a small smile. “So that is who you are, Hamato.”
Raphael flinched, because he definitely did not tell her his last name.
“You do not need to.” Suddenly her appearance shifted. Ribbons of light surrounded her before they vanished.
Raphael probably should have guessed she was a yōkai, but he was still taken aback by her appearance. A mushroom would have been his last guess. Her skin was white, but the mushroom top on her head was a deep brown, spots on it glowing just like her eyes.
“Apologies for the shock, but there is not a lot of time to explain. My name is Kitake, my child and I have been living secretly as humans their entire life.”
Right! The neighbor mentioned a child. Raphael glanced around for them only to see the kid tucked behind Kitake’s legs. They still looked like a child, a little girl, longer black hair with a beret on their head.
“I mean, that’s no worries.” Raphael tried a smile. “I’m obviously not human either. I can get you two out of here and—”
“No.” Kitake interrupted. “I cannot leave.”
His blood went cold. “Huh?”
“An explosion stemmed from this building. My powers are the only thing keeping it from erupting entirely.” She tilted her head up, then down. “I am trying to hold it long enough for everyone to escape, but I feared my child would be trapped here with me.” Her smile this time was much wider. “Thankfully, you showed up.”
Raphael pointed at his chest. “Me?”
“Indeed. I looked into your mind. I see what sort of person you are, Raphael. I know that we just met, but I must ask you. I must beg you. Please get Comet out of here and find somewhere safe for them to stay.”
“Wh…” Raphael stared at her, now seeing how much her arms were shaking. “N-no. I can’t just leave you here. I’ll get Comet out and come back to—”
“No.” She insisted. “The moment I move from here the moment it explodes. You would die.”
“You can’t ask me to just leave you. I’ll—” He looked at the window. “I’ll get some help and—”
Kitake chuckled. “I appreciate that you wish so much to save me, but it won’t happen.” She glanced down to her child.
Comet looked up, eyes wide and bright blue. They dropped their cloaking as well, a much smaller reflection of their mother. The blue spots on their head didn’t glow, but their eyes did as they stared up.
Kitake nodded a few times at them.
Comet shook their head, clinging even tighter to her leg. Were they communicating?
Then the kid drifted into the air. They struggled against whatever invisible force was causing it, but they couldn’t break free before they were simply flung towards Raphael.
He gasped and reached out his arms to catch them. They were so much lighter than they looked, but they still had the strength to try and jump out of his grip. Raphael tightened his arms around them.
Then suddenly a new voice rang through his head, so loud it felt like his skull was splitting open.
“No! No! Mommy no!” Comet reached a hand out toward their mother.
Kitake kept smiling. “You are in safe hands, starlight, I know you are.” Her head turned to Raphael. “I know it is a lot to ask, but please keep them safe.”
Raphael’s heart clenched in his chest. Comet’s voice still bounced around in his brain, and for whatever reason tears appeared in the corner of his eyes. “No. I can get you both out of here. There has to be a way. Just hang on and—”
“You are a kind and thoughtful hero, Raphael.” She closed her eyes. “But I’m sure you know deep down that you cannot save everyone.”
He didn’t get to protest again. The gravity around him vanished. He only got a half second to realize he drifted away from the floor before a force suddenly shoved him back. Hard enough that his shell smashed through the wall and he kept on going.
Raphael hugged Comet even closer and lit up his ninpo to soften the impact with the next door, and then the window. Comet’s screams got even louder, making his head hurt to the point his projection almost fell apart.
But he held fast because he knew it was just a matter of moments before they both hit the street.
Raphael landed shell first against the asphalt. He felt the impact to his projection rattle through his soul, but he’d had worse.
Comet struggled in his grip. Raphael sat up and looked at the apartment building. The walls had drifted farther than when he and Cassandra first saw it.
Cassandra! Where was she?
“Raph.” His partner in crime sprinted over. She grabbed his shoulder and tried to shove him up. “Is that everyone? We need to move away from here. I already instructed the other citizens to—”
“No, it’s not everyone.” Comet may have stopped screaming in his head, but tears kept blurring his vision. His chest hurt. His legs wouldn’t stop shaking. “Someone’s still in there.” He was about to hand the kid off to Cassandra and rush back in.
Then he heard stone crack. He felt the shift in pressure. Raphael didn’t think any further as he grabbed Cassandra and jumped behind a nearby car. Between that and his shell, he just had to pray it would be enough.
The explosion erupted behind them. So loud his ears rang. The heat rushed through the air. The ground shook. He felt something big slam into the car at his back, but thankfully it didn’t go all the way through. He kept Cassandra and Comet close. Fear surged through him and only now did he realize that only half of it came from him.
The moment the shaking stopped, something gripped his chest so tight he could barely breath. Comet stopped moving in his grip.
“Mom?” They called out, though their voice still just echoed in his head. “Where mom? Can’t hear. Can’t hear!”
The pressure in his chest got worse. He couldn’t move. His mom just died. She was dead, she was— no. That wasn’t his mom. Why did he think it was?
Only now did he finally place the familiar feeling, from that time he mind melded with Leo. If these mushroom yōkai were psychic, Comet must be projecting their thoughts onto him.
“Raph.” Cassandra shouted next to him. “Raph, can you hear me?”
He managed a weak nod, but not much else. Comet once again tried to wiggle out of his arms and it took everything he had to hold fast. He had to snap out of this.
“Raph, I can hear sirens. We have to get out of here.”
He nodded again, but even trying to take one step away from the apartment wreckage had his brain screaming. No. No. They couldn’t leave her. They had to find her. They had to—
Raphael gritted his teeth. “Casey, punch me.”
Cassandra blinked at him. “Huh?”
“Just do it.”
She thankfully only needed to be told twice. Her fist slammed into his jaw. Comet flinched in his grip.
But finally his head was clear. At least for the time being. Raphael got to his feet and gestured Cassandra onto his shoulder.
“Go for my apartment.” She instructed. “It’s closer.”
She didn’t question the mushroom child. No time for questions, after all. Raphael was sure he’d get dozens later.
As if he didn’t have plenty of his own.
He heard voices shouting from nearby and took off. “Cass, can you hold them so I can run? You may want to hold on tight.”
Cassandra leaned around his shoulder to gently pluck Comet out of his arms.
“No!” They suddenly shouted. “Not safe. Not safe. Raph is safe!”
Well, they at least weren’t frightened of him for sure. “It’s okay.” Raphael insisted and jumped toward the nearest building that hadn’t been torn up from the explosion. His claws dug into the side and he climbed up. “It’s okay. Casey is a friend.”
He could still feel the fear coming off Comet in waves, but they no longer shouted. Raphael tried to focus on climbing. Tried to focus on running. He needed to focus on that and not the fact that he now had a child in his care. Because he failed to save their mother.
She’d been right there and Raphael failed to do anything.