Chapter 3
The Search
Donatello was searching through every file he could from ASSC 300. He had found some of the most strangest, and most dangerous things they had. Still the Black Tiger had not been seen and neither had the red haired girl who had warned them to leave. Don looked up just as Raphael grabbed his hat and trench coat. He left the house silently.
Raphael walked for awhile, trying to sort out his thoughts. He hadn't gotten much sleep because of the Black Tiger. He didn't want her to make a move on him again. He looked around, but there wasn't much to see that he hadn't already seen. It was dark out, but his eyes were well adjusted to it. He walked down the road till he came to that one place where he had always seen the red hair lady. He stopped and looked around, but didn't see her horse or her. He heaved a sigh and sat down on a bench.
Great ! I meet her and then blow it by saying she is dumb. I guess I'm the dumb one.
There was a noise behind him and he turned to see the Black Tiger. He jumped to his feet and pulled out his sais. She walked closer to him with her sais drawn also. She glared at him levelly.
He growled and came a step closer.
" I've been looking for ya, bitch !" She seemed to smile, but he couldn't be sure since she had a mask over half her face. She came closer to him and starred into his eyes and for once he could see her eyes. They were blue.
" Ya look like a demon bitch, ya know dat' ?"
" I try." She whispered. He looked down and then back up just in time to receive a punch to the face. He turned and started to punch her back. She kicked him in the stomach and then tried to punch him with her sais. He dodged the punch and kicked her in the hip, making her fall to the ground. Suddenly she felt weak and in pain. He had kicked her hard and she was sore to the point where she wasn't about to get up. She lay there and then looked up at him. He wasn't about to stop hitting her. He kicked her again in the side causing her to roll over. He stopped suddenly and looked at her.
" Ya never stopped fightin before. What the hell is wrong with ya ?"
" Well for....starters.." She paused to catch her breath and then went on.
" I am not the Black Tiger. I am the Black Lion." Raphael starred at her for a moment and the realized that her face wasn't exactly the same as the other girl.
" Ok then where is the Black Tiger ?" He asked with a growl to his voice.
" Right here." Raphael twirled around to look face to face with her. This time he knew for sure that it was her. She looked at her fallen sister and walked over to her. She ignored Raph as she passed him. She knelt down and picked up her sais.
" Sister, you know this is a great disappointment to me and the company. You did not even pose a fight. This turtle is supposed to be prey to you, not the other way around."
" I'm sorry sister." She said. She seemed to be a lot weaker than the Black Tiger and more emotional. The Black Tiger turned to face Raphael. He was starring at her with a cold stare.
" So this was a big test for her ?" He asked keeping his sais in hand.
" Yes, it was. We were testing her ability to fight. I am the only one qualified to fight out here and be sent out on missions. We needed to see if she was ready to do that same."
" Ya well, not even yer a match for me." He snickered.
" Oh really. Then why was I the one who advanced in our last fight ?" He narrowed his eyes and glared at her with raw hatred. She smiled and walked closer to him until she was nose to nose with him. He pressed the tip of his sais to her stomach giving a warning that he might strike out.
" Why do you lock your window, turtle boy ?" He looked into her eyes and for the first time could see their color. They were red. He looked at her masked face and wondered what she looked like underneath it. He didn't feel attracked to her, but for some reason she just kept getting alittle to close for comfort.
" Cause I don't want ya in it." He said finally.
" Why not ? That night that I did show up, it sure seemed like you liked what I was doing. Am I not right ?" He wasn't sure if he did or didn't to be honest. But he wasn't about to let her on to his uncertainty. He pushed her away and swung at her, but she ducked and then stood starring at him casually.
" I am not here for my lesson, I was observing my sister's." He snorted.
" Oh so are ya too afraid to fight me ?" He was taunting her into fighting him and it seemed to work. She swung a high kick at him and hit his shoulder. He then started to throw kicks and punches at her. He was fueled with energy and anger as he attacked her. She had managed to dodge and block most of his hits, but it was getting more difficult to hit him. Finally she saw her chance. She kicked at him between his legs, but he blocked it.
" Sorry bitch, but I need that." He kicked at her again. But she managed to punch his face. She tripped him quickly and got on top of him. She put her sais to his throat and held him down. He growled and tried to stab her with his, but she grabbed his hands and knocked the sais out of them. Black Lion picked them up and waited to see what she would do. Tiger gave her the signal to turn away for a moment so she did so.
" Don't you know it's not nice to hit a girl ?" He starred at her and then spit in her face again. She wiped it away and glared at him.
" You never learn do you ?" He gave a devilish smile. She started to touch his face and then she punched him.
" How many times must I tell you to not spit on me. You do not disrespect me or else something is going to happen and it might not be with just you. I might want someone in your family to pay your ransom."
" Don't you go near my fucking family ! You better not touch them you bitch !" He was furious with her and wanted to hit her so badly.
" Your lucky I'm not in the mood for blood or I would be having plenty of yours." He glared at her and pushed her off. She got up and looked at him.
" I enjoy fighting you, turtle boy, but for some reason I always end up on top of you. Practice more." She took the sais from Lion and looked at him. He looked at alittle worried about wether or not he was gonna get his sais back.
" I am not one for taking anyone's else's weapons, but I recommend that you hold on to them next time." She tossed them back to him and he caught them both with one hand. He looked at her and Lion go off into the darkness, but before he got the chance to follow them, they were gone.
" Shit !" He balled his fists like he wanted to hit something, but there was nothing to hit. He turned and left.
" Not a day of peace ! I come out for a nice break and I get interrupted with lesson's for some ignorant girl. This is the shits !" He walked all the home complaining. He walked into the house and looked at his brothers. Don was still on that damn laptop computer and Mike was trying to make cookies. Raphael walked into the living room and looked at Donny.
" Don, where is that ASSC 3oo lab thing at ?"
" Why ?"
" Just find out." He growled.
" You ran into her again didn't you ?" Splinter asked as he came down stairs and listened to Raphael.
" No I ran into THEM." He corrected. Leonardo raised an eyebrow.
" What do you mean them ?"
" Exactly what I said." He said in a smart ass tone. " It was the Black Tiger and her sister the Black Lion. Lion attacked me first and I kicked her butt, then Miss Tiger Lady comes out and tells her that she was a disappointment to her and the company cause I defeated her. It was a test for her, at least that's what Miss Tiger Lady said. Then I pissed the bitch off and we got into a fight. She managed to take my weapons, but said that she wasn't one to take them away and keep them so she gave them back. After that her and her sister left. It was no big deal."
" What do you mean no big deal !" Leo questioned. He was surprised at Raph's lack of concern. Well almost surprised.
" Well if she wanted to kill me she would have done it. She must want something else. I mean she attacks but doesn't do much damage. And ya can tell that she is able to do more damage than she did. This girl looks like some kind of killer, but she won't kill me." Raphael crossed his arms and looked at Leo who didn't say anything about it. Raph knew he had hit the spot.
Thank God ! For the first time Leo has nothing to say.
Leo looked at his brother. He really didn't have anything to say, but in his mind.
Asshole !
Raphael knew what he was thinking and chuckled to himself. Then Don cut through with some more information.
" Well according to this, it is a military establishment and it is owned by the federal government."
" Oh ya great, as if dealing with humans isn't bad enough, now they have to go out and create monster creatures and cat women. I feel like I am in a Batman movie, but with only the cats to deal with." Mike smiled and shook his head. Raphael really didn't like humans all that much. April and Casey had been the exception, but other than that he hated everyone. He looked down on every other human. His brothers would often tell him that there are good humans out there too, but he had ignored them. He used the excuses like " even good humans would turn bad just to satisfy their greedy needs " and another that says " there are more bad humans than good so they outweigh the good and take over. Therefore the bad ones are dominant." Mike still didn't look at all humans as bad. He walked over to Don and looked at the screen.
" Well it doesn't give an exact location from these files so I would have to break into the government files, but that is a big risk to take."
" Fuck the risks and get yer ass in there !" Raph growled. Don looked at him levelly, but did so. After all, what choice does he have against Raphael ? He typed in the codes and broke in. He looked through a few files and then punched in : ASSC 300. A large file came up and gave a description of what and where it was.
" Hey guys, according to this, it is located in a secured area, up in the mountains somewhere. It is supposed to be an isolated area. It is about a day's drive away from here. We can take the old van that April gave us up there alittle ways and then walk the rest of the way. I can get a layout of where all the security areas are and where we can get in." Raph rested his foot and looked around casually.
" Well then we are we gonna go ?" Mike asked trying to bite through his black cookie. It wasn't chocolate black, it was burnt black. He couldn't chew it.
" Whenever I get the layout of the place and we form a plan." Mike nodded and threw the cookie away. Raphael turned and went to his room. He stood by the window and looked out at the dark sky. So many things had changed since they arrived there and so many things were weird.
Killer creatures, dangerous cat hybrids, and a mysteriously beautiful girl on a gray stallion. He secretly wished he could see her again. He wished he could actually be able to hold her hand. He hated to admit to himself that he had a soft side, but deep down he knew he had it. He never admitted that he wanted to love and be loved, but he did and he wished it was her. He didn't know her, but something about her was different from all the other girls. She may be human, but she was beautiful. That was another problem. She was human. A species he had come to hate. But she hadn't run from him. She hadn't screamed when she saw him. But he had made the mistake in calling her dumb when he knew very well that she wasn't. He put his head down and tried to think. What would happen if he saw her again ? What would she do ? Would she run or would she stay and allow him to apologize to her ?
He looked to the sky and for once really thought about God. Was there one ? Was he really there ? Or was he just a figment of the human imagination that gave them something to hope for ?
He heaved a sigh and whispered a prayer.
" If there really is a God, help me. I want that girl to mine." Was all he said before he went to his bed. He thought about the Tiger Lady too, but it wasn't what he wanted. He wanted an innocent and beautiful lady like the red haired one he had seen. Red eyes and a black mask was not the tough kinda girl he was looking for.
He closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Leonardo was sitting in front of the TV watching the news and found that there had been another killing, except this time, no body. They had to deal with a whole bunch of different fights and all of them were as baffling as the other. But all of them seemed to be linked to that one place that the government had built. He turned to Don and Mike.
" Do you guys ever wonder why the government makes such strange things that are so dangerous to humans and animals alike ?" Don shrugged.
" It's all a matter of greed and power. You make something unique and you get money from people who want it. The government gives you power and you get greedy with it. They want the ultimate weapon to insure THEIR protection. Without power, you can't have money, and without money; to humans you can't have anything. That's what makes greed. It is the selfishness of humans is what makes this world so dangerous. They want the best for THEMSELVES." Leo nodded and looked at the TV.
" I wish humans weren't like this. I know some are good, but not even their own government protects them and for fills their rights. What a world." He watched the TV and became disgusted at the broadcast of a child shooting his parents because they had beaten on him. It was sad indeed that world act this way.