The first place Raphael decided to search for Foot activity was the docks. Even if the Foot weren't there, it was usually a hotspot for troublemakers. Fortunately for him, it took less than ten minutes of careful observation to find exactly what he was looking for. Below him on the docks ten Foot soldiers appeared to be standing guard,while ten more were moving unmarked crates from one truck to another.

Raphael scaled a stack of intermodal containers as silently as he could. He crouched on the corner and looked down, his eyes counting and positioning each Foot soldier carefully as he mentally created a plan of action. Given the number of Foot, and the fact that Raph had no desire to get his head blown off, a stealth tactic seemed the best option.

The muscles in Raphael's thighs and calves rippled with tension as he readied to hurl himself down into the shadows below. He spun a sai pensively in his right hand and awaited the perfect moment. The moonlight struck the hilt, highlighting the rugged perfection of the sai's well-worn and meticulously cared-for monouchi. The matching yoku, the weapon's wing-like prongs, were silhouetted ever so softly, yet the backlight tapering slowly down towards the sharp tips spoke of deadly power.

Three, thick, green fingers wrapped tightly around the base of his weapons as the moment arrived, but before he could even push off, his movement was halted by a harsh battle cry. Rising to his full height and glaring down over the edge of the intermodal containers, Raph watched as a human leaped from the shadows and began beating the crap out of the Foot punks with a hockey stick.

Who the shell is that? Raphael thought to himself as he watched the guy fight. Humming appreciatively as the guy took out two armed Foot with one swing, Raph's eyes slowly scanned the human.

The guy was young, or at least very well built. Big, well-defined muscles could be faintly seen through his baggy jeans and tattered vest. His arms were ripped, which was increasingly obvious with every swing. Shoulder-length black hair whipped about as he turned to swat down Foot soldiers at every angle, some of it sticking to the perspiration on his thick neck. The man's face was obscured by a stark-white hockey mask.

For a brief moment during the fight, the man looked up and over to the shadows in which Raphael was concealed, as though sensing the turtle's gaze on him.

Shit! I can't let him see me! Raph thought as he drew further back from the edge.

Deciding that whatever opportunity he might have had to learn more about the Foot's plans was ruined, Raphael was about to leave the hockey-masked vigilante to fend for himself when a Foot soldier came up behind the human. Hockey Mask--as Raph had internally dubbed him--was already dealing with three Foot Soldiers on one side. He wouldn't notice this one until it was too late.

Raphael acted on pure instinct. He dropped down, taking the Foot out from above with a flip and a back kick, before melting back into the shadows.

Hockey Mask took down the three Foot in front of him and a soft scuffle behind him made him turn. He whipped around in time to see another Foot soldier, one he hadn't realized was there, fall to the ground like a sack of bricks. Blinking curiously at the unconscious Foot for few moments he caught his breath. He slowly realized that he was no longer alone and his dark eyes narrowed. "Whoever you are, come out where I can see ya!" He drawled in a thick Brooklyn.

Part of Raph told him to leave right then, but part of him, the more mischievous part, whispered that he should have a little fun with this 'vigilante.'

"You don't want to see me." Raph said, giving into his mischievous side.

The masked face turned directly towards the shadows Raph was currently concealed in. "Whatsamatta? Ya too scared?"

"No. But you might be." The turtle answered, taking a couple steps into the light.

The eyes beneath the mask widened. After taking an initial step back, the vigilante acted on adrenaline and surged forward, exchanging his hockey stick for the baseball bat from the golf bag that was slung over his shoulders.

"Whoa!" Raph yelled, grabbing the bat with one hand, stopping it mid-swing. As he examined the bat his eyes widened, "A Jose Canseco bat...Tell me ya didn't pay money for this." The vigilante snarled angrily and Raph went on, "What are these things, like twenty-five years old?"

"Asshole." Hockey Mask growled. The human took advantage of the giant turtle's distraction to pull the hockey stick out with his other hand and whack the freak over the head.

Raph pulled away. "Asshole?! Well this asshole just saved your life you ungrateful twit!"

The vigilante just charged the turtle with the baseball bat.

Raphael dodged each swing with the evasive speed only a ninja could possess. "Strike one, strike two, yur out, hotshot!" He said with a smirk as he yanked the bat from of the human's hands and threw it off to the side.

"New game, meatball." Hockey Mask said with a growl, pulling the cricket bat out of his pack. "Cricket."

Before Raphael could react, the human managed to get in a good hit that flung him back a couple of feet, which, when you're a six-foot, heavy-weight, talking turtle, is really saying something. He grinned.

"Not bad for a human. But sadly, you've yet to learn a couple important lessons." Raphael dodged the vigilante's next swing and landed a good, solid kick to the chest, sending the human flying straight back into the wall.

To Raph's amazement, the guy stood up.

He was impressed. That kick would have left most humans with the wind completely knocked out of them.

Hockey Mask looked up at the giant turtle and wheezed, "Such as?"

Raphael smirked. He hadn't met many humans. Well, three in total, including this guy. Wait, make that five counting Sacs and Saki. But this dude was his favorite so far.

This little man had guts.

Not that he was that little, the guy was at least six feet tall. Slowly, after careful deliberation, Raph decided he should at least give the would-be vigilante an E for effort and answer the question.

"Such as: Never mess with a ninja, dumbass."

The guy sneered, "So what's that make you? A Ninja Turtle?"

Raph's eyes narrowed and he raised a sai. The dim moonlight bounced eerily off the blade, reminding the human he was dealing with someone armed and dangerous.

"Shell, yeah. Ya got a problem with that, punk?" Raph growled.

"Nah, not really."

That answer made Raph do a double take. That wasn't at all what he had expected.

The human glanced around at the knocked out, possibly severely injured, Foot soldiers and turned slowly back to the turtle. "So what did these guys do to you?"

"Tried to kill me. You?" Raph replied tersely, quickly steering the conversation away from himself and back to the human.

Whatever Hockey Mask's reasons were for pursuing this conversation, Raphael wasn't about to let his guard down. Humans were crafty and sly, and should this vigilante move against him, Raph was going to make certain that the man gained nothing by it. He wouldn't allow himself to be cajoled into thinking this was just a run-of-the-mill casual conversation.

Hockey Mask shrugged, ignoring the defensive edge in Raphael's voice. "Anyone who brings pain to others should be taught a lesson."

Raph crossed his arms over his plastron and frowned. "Not that way, and not by you."

The vigilante growled. Obviously he didn't like being told what to do. "What, so you can go stabbing 'em with those...forks of yours, and I ain't supposed to do nothin'?"

Raph's green eyes narrowed, he held a sai up in the human's face and shook it. "Sais, they're a ninja weapon." He said, patronizingly.

The mask turned away and Raph got the distinct impression the human was rolling his eyes. "Whatever you say, Jolly Green Giant."

"Arrgh. Meat sack!" The turtle retorted, taking a step forward and looking down at the human's face.

Oddly enough, the vigilante didn't seem to be intimidated, in fact, Hockey Mask was just as angry as Raph was. "Shell-for-brains!"

"Gak-face!"

"Mutant Freak!"

"Oh, I'll get you for that, ya long-haired jerkwad!" Raph yelled as he leaped at the human. They wrestled for a few moments, but Raphael's mutant strength and endurance surpassed that of the vigilante and the human soon found himself pinned by a giant green hunk of turtle.

"Not bad, hosebrain." The human stated. He reached up and offered his hand to the turtle, "Casey Jones."

Raphael stood and eyed the hand warily. "Raphael." He stated, deciding it was safe enough to allow an introduction.

Raph took Casey's hand and yanked the human to his feet so fast it left Casey feeling lightheaded. He shook his head side to side to dispel the dizziness and grinned at the turtle. "Nice. Got a last name to go with that, Raphael?"

Raph crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. "Nope."

There was an awkward silence before Casey said, "Cool."

Raphael judged that to the be the end of the conversation and began to head for the rooftop via the fire escape, but, to his surprise, the human followed him. He glared over his shoulder. "Why're ya following me, Jones?"

"You do this sort of thing all the time?" Casey asked curiously.

Raph raised an eye-ridge in confusion. "Do what?"

"Beat up punks."

"...Yeah." Raph reluctantly admitted, shifting uncomfortably for a brief moment. Slowly, he fell behind a mask of impenetrability and stared stoically at the human. "Not much else for a giant mutant turtle to do. By the way, if I find out you told anyone about this..." He held out his sai threateningly and growled, "Get the picture?"

"Yeah." Casey nodded, then he shrugged and went on, "Well, since you and I both beat up punks, why don't we work together? That way we can prove who the better of us really is."

The mutant tensed, his composure fell, and his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why?"

What possible interest could this human have in a deal like that? How could it possibly benefit him? More importantly, could Raphael really risk trusting him?

A grimy hand came up to the mask, flicking it upward to reveal the human's face. Raphael suddenly found himself staring at a man who was probably in his early thirties, but judging by the amount of emotion in Jones' deep, brown eyes it looked like he had already bourn the weight of the world on his shoulders. Under it all, Raph perceived an adrenaline junky.

"Well, because I want more, not just the petty thieves I'm used to pounding every day. You've got in on the real excitement. I want a piece of that action."

Yup, definitely an adrenaline junky. Looking at Casey Jones gave Raph an odd sense of déjà vu. He felt as though he were looking in at a twisted reflection. Raphael thought the offer over quietly for a moment.

"Fine, I'm a little shorthanded, I could use some back up and you're a pretty decent fighter. But if you get in my way—"

"Deal." Jones offered his hand.

Raph glared at the hand before slowly taking it, squeezing roughly as he made eye-contact. "I find out you told anyone about this, and I'll kill you."

The mutant carefully withdrew his hand and disappeared into the shadows.

"Nice guy." Casey muttered. He bound the Foot soldiers together with some thick rope from his bag and left them there for the police to find in the morning. After double-checking he'd gotten them all, he left and made his way across the city to his apartment. Unbeknownst to him, he was being followed by a giant turtle.

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Raphael trailed the human to a quaint little apartment with access to a street and an alley. One glance in the window, and he knew he was in the right place. The room was filled with sport and workout equipment, including wrestling posters, baseball caps, and even some cricket trophies. Seriously, this dude owned some really hard-to-find sports items. Shit, he even had a collection of autographed baseballs from some of Raph's favorite teams!

Casey entered the room, took off his mask, and threw it on the bed. When he looked up, he saw a giant mutant turtle standing at the window, seemingly distracted by something in the room. Jones went over and glared at the mutant. He grabbed the handle and opened pushed it open, almost knocking the Raphael off the fire escape in the process. Luckily, Raph's instincts kicked in and he moved just in time.

"What the hell are you-" Casey began, but the turtle cut him off.

"I was making sure you were keeping your promise. When you look like me you can't be too careful." Raph said with a glare, daring the human come up with an objection.

Sensing that Raph was getting overly defensive, Casey decided to let go of his frustration. Not only that, but given the circumstances, he couldn't really blame the turtle. Raph's reasons were pretty sound. So he just shrugged. "I'll take your word for it, Greenie."

They stood there awkwardly until Raph muttered, slightly embarrassed. "Awesome collection by the way. Some of my favorite teams."

"You're a sports fan?" Jones asked, though the answer was already obvious. After another short silence, Casey looked over at Raph and said, "Meet me on the roof." Then Casey disappeared into the apartment.

Raphael paused. He really should be getting home before his brothers or father discovered he was gone. For all he knew, Casey Jones could have some kind of trap on the roof, but his gut was telling him that Casey Jones' offer was genuine and so, in the end, he went with his gut.

About five minutes later, Jones emerged on the roof with two cold bottles of beer. He handed one to Raph and murmured, "Peace offering," before opening his own and chugging it down.

Raphael contemplated the beer for a long time before pushing it away. At Casey's curious stare he admitted, "Underage."

Casey was taken aback. "How old are you?" He asked.

"Seventeen." Raph answered, looking away.

Casey spit beer all over the place, including on Raphael, who growled.

"Shit!" Jones exclaimed, wiping up as best he could. "You do not look seventeen! No way!"

Raph smirked. "Oh yeah? Well how old are you, forty-three?"

Casey punched him in the arm. Raphael smiled a little. He'd seen what some of Jones' punches had done to those Foot soldiers. The human was definitely pulling his punches. What was odd was that Raphael somehow knew Casey wouldn't betray his secret. Strange as it seemed, he sensed this was the beginning of a very wild and fun-filled friendship.