Wow. So. So….I might've left this story alone a liiiiitle too long. And I do feel absolutely awful for leaving all of you at a cliffhanger. But! On the bright side, I have poured all of my energy into finally writing another chapter of this totally-not-abandoned story. It will be finished, no matter if you're convinced otherwise! Hope you can forgive me . And yes, enjoy the chapter! Let me know how you feel about it! Or rage about my terrible wait between chapters, either way.

Topside, Mikey was starting to feel anxious at how close he was in getting to the bottom of all this. He knew the truth was for his sake, for his brothers' sake…and for his friend's sake. At Mikey's encouraging nod, the vigilante continued with his story.

"I started pickin' fights with…well, anyone. Whoeva' would react," the vigilante recalled slowly. "Mostly, it was the purple dragons, but sometimes, I'd go after the common street thugs. A'course, it was dangerous—I came close ta death a few times too many. After a while though, I got good at fightin', but I didn't realize it until I saw one a' the purple dragons split after jus' seein' my face. That genuine fear I saw reminded me of the day I met the Nightwatcher. Hell, at that moment I thought I was lookin' in a mirror. Except he looked way too ugly ta be me." The vigilante gave a cheerless smile to Mikey before looking away again. "An' then it hit me. I wanted the Nightwatcher ta feel fear, the same that I—that we felt when he overpowered us. I wanted him ta pay fer Lucky's death. And that's why…I posed as the Nightwatcher, so I could lure him out from whateva' hole he had crawled into fer a year." There was a bitterness coloring his words that the vigilante couldn't hold back.

"You don't…still feel that way, do you?" Mikey asked tentatively, his blue eyes wide with concern.

To the turtle's surprise, his friend gave one of his rare warm smiles. "Not anymore, no." The man sighed, his smile fading. "But it doesn't change the fact that I was ready ta kill someone. No one should have that right," he said firmly, as if he was reproving himself. His expression diminished back into the same desolate grimace as he had before. "I never thought…I'd be like my brother. I loved him, god I did, but if I had known what I 'd become…" The vigilante closed his eyes. For a moment he didn't even breathe, then finally said, "Mikey, sometimes…bad things happen. Sometimes, bein' in the wrong place at the wrong time turns ya into a hero. An' sometimes, it destroys ya."

Mikey couldn't help but cry out, "But you are—"

The man shook his head, and Mikey went silent. "Instead a' tryin' ta stop the purple dragons, fight against gang violence an' unnecessary death, I trapped myself in this…this vicious cycle of revenge. What's worse, I planned ta take out the one guy in this city who was tryin' ta stand against crime."

A spike of fear went through Mikey when he tried to imagine what could have happened to Raph if he had met this angry, revenge-seeking version of his friend.

The vigilante glanced at Mikey, and seeing how upset the turtle looked made the man stand up suddenly. "But ya know what?" he raised his voice. "All'a that regret an' sorrow can jus' take a back seat an' shove it. I…I am done with all that stuff."

Mikey gazed up in his friends eyes, taken aback. "Really?"

"Yeah." The vigilante nodded with a big smile. "An' it's all 'cause I met you."

"Me?" The orange-banded turtle gaped. He, too, rose from the ledge, stunned.

The man lifted one of his metal-plated arms to pat Mikey on the back. "Yer jus' a kid—"

"—Am not!" Mikey cut off, his trademark smile showing.

The vigilante snorted, but played along anyway. "Are too." He smirked at Mikey's pout. "Anyway, when we firs' met I thought I'd jus' humor ya so you'd tell yer friends or somethin', spread rumors about me that way. But I never thought you'd be…well, ya know."

"Extremely good-looking?"

"Mikey…"

"Sorry."

The man cleared his throat. "When I found out ya were the brother of my enemy, for an instant, I thought of exploitin' you as his weakness. But that only lasted a second. 'Cause the second thing that went through my head was how scared ya looked, like I was gonna beat ya right then an' there. In that moment I knew I couldn't ever hurt ya. Revenge on yer brother seemed so easy, like it would fix everythin'. I didn't even realize I was in too deep 'til I saw ya for who ya truly were. An' I know now...it's not worth fixin' anything."

"That's really, really good to hear." Mikey said proudly. "But I wasn't that scared." At his friend's unconvinced look, Mikey sheepishly continued, "So what now?"

"I'm lettin' go." The vigilante felt himself able to stare straight into the kid's eyes now, so he didn't let his gaze waver. "Dad had always said I was useless, that I was never gonna be anythin'. But at the time, I had Lucky ta look after, an' that was all that mattered. So when I lost him, I…I lost myself. But then this noisy, bouncy, kid came along." The man couldn't help but let a small smile show. "An' I couldn't understand how ya just...cared 'bout people, 'bout me. Lucky may have died, but I was still livin' under his shadow, like I had done since I was young. What I needed was ta find somethin' else ta live for. I found you."

Mikey didn't know what to say. "Me? I…I never did…"

Shaking his head the vigilante insisted, "Ya changed me, Mikey. And I like the kinda guy I am now, so thank ya. Thanks fer bein' the hero."

The turtle could feel his face heat up and felt tears gather at the corner of his eyes. This was…far beyond the nicest thing ever said to him. Ever. And he could almost feel the urge to convince himself that he was unworthy of such praise. Because he didn't do that much. All he did was make a friend—okay, maybe an extremely unusual friend in a very unusual place (i.e. a rooftop), but he didn't swoop in and save the day like Leo. Or beat any bench-pressing records like Raph. Or create a shell-saving gizmo like Don.

"Don' cry, kid."

Mikey looked up, sniffling, "I-I'm not!"

"Whatever ya say." The vigilante gave one of his most heartwarming smiles, the kind that Mikey always liked to store away in memory. Suddenly, Mikey was just a blur in front of him. "Whoa!" He cried out in shock as the turtle pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. The man didn't really know what to do in response, but after an awkward moment, he lightly wrapped one of his arms around a green shoulder.

"I'm sorry about your brother."

The vigilante startled at the soft voice that called out from below him, but just as sincerely answered, "It's okay. It's in the past now."

"So…" Mikey finally let go, bouncing a little in eagerness. "We're still friends, right? And the best crime-fighting duo this city has seen?"

The vigilante chuckled. "A'course."

"Then I think it's time for you to meet my brothers. Like, formally." Mikey put his hands together. "Please say yes."

"Well I…I don' know." The vigilante furrowed his brows in thought.

"Pleasepleaseplease? It might not sound like the best idea—"

"—it's not."

"But I made a promise to them. And I'm sure they'll love you! Once they get to know you," Mikey added. "We'll be able to beat the thugs off the streets of New York for good if we can work together." Mikey gazed imploringly into his friend's eyes, ready to say more. He'd do anything to make this right.

The man heaved a sigh. And there were those teary, blue eyes, the very ones that could make him cave in no matter what. He wondered if the hyperactive turtle's brothers were just as affected. He hoped so, for the sake of meeting them on good terms. "Alright, alright."

"Woo hoo! Score one for—"

Mikey cut off when completely out of the blue, his shell-cell's tinny theme music resounded from his belt's back pocket. The turtle gawped in stunned panic at his friend, knowing full well the only ones who had his number. His brothers.

"Looks like that's my cue," the vigilante said, watching Mikey's flustered state. "But I can stay if you want," he offered.

Mikey shook his head, dismissing his metal-plated friend with a grateful look. The man nodded back understandingly in response, and with another small smile, quietly put on his helmet and made his way to the rooftop's fire escape. Then Mikey suddenly remembered something. He extended his hand out, crying, "Wait!" His friend turned around. "Dude! Your name! You've never told me!"

With a bright grin, the vigilante called in return, "It's Jack!" And without another word, he left.

Now alone, Mikey gave a happy shout at the revelation. Jack. His best friend was named Jack. Then suddenly he remembered—his phone! He answered it on the tenth ring.

"Mikey! You actually picked up, thank god—"

"WHERE ARE YOU?!" was suddenly yelled so loudly in Mikey's ear he almost dropped the phone.

"Do you have any idea how worried we were?!"

"Leo, Raph, Donnie…um…hi?"

"HI?! YOU DISSAPEAR ON US AN' ALL YA CAN SAY IS—"

"Raph, stop yelling!" interrupted Leo as he took his phone back. "Mikey, please tell me you're not in any trouble."

Mikey rubbed his chin. "Well, with Raph shouting like that, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be in a lot of trouble soon."

Leo sighed, feeling completely relieved and exasperated at the same time. "We can discuss the terms of your punishment later. Just…tell me where you are."