She stood on a roof top over looking the busy streets of New York City. The cold wind blew over her glistening face as she closed her eyes to take in all the sound and music flowing beneath her. She could feel the rumble through the sole of her boots of trucks and cars roar by the building.

They never suspect her. The women to be the one to cause harm. They always think she'll run from their big broad shoulders and guns pointing in her face. She'd just smirk as her fists, boots, elbows, or forearms meet their ugly, smug faces. They never suspect the outline of her hour glass shape from the moonlight shinning behind her before she strikes. Her smirk turns into a smile remembering the earthy smell of copper as she washes the blood from her gloves afterwards. This new blood can never be shed unless it needs to be. She couldn't go back to the way she was. Wild acts of violence, getting paid a ridiculous sum of money to do those most inhumane things you could image. Having that horrible feeling in her stomach when she saw the cops come with body bags, sure these guys had reasons to be in jail, but dead? That question always ate away at her. The government never tells you these stories, the stories she played out in real life, the stories that haunt her at night. She closed the book on those stories in her life, and was back to re-open another.

She grew up in this beautiful City with one of the most pain ridden boys you'd ever meet. They both shared a neighborhood and were inseparable almost all of their young lives. Then his life became too much for even him to handle. He was always hell bent on finding members of the Purple Dragons, and of course being his best friend she'd follow him. The members of the Purple Dragons broke him, made him different. Taking a part of his life away from him so fast without even caring. The day she saw that fire burn in his eyes for them she knew he'd never be the same again. She was strong, stronger than most girls her age and always stood by his side. Until one day, she saw a gun for the first time pointed at her and her best friend. She ran, like a coward and always hated herself for being so scared. That's why she makes it so now she's the strong one left standing, laughing in the face of danger. She was pain ridden now for different reasons. Years of a messed up past followed behind her. Scars from work she wish she had never done. Faces she sees when she closes her eyes of men she had kill for people that aren't worth the sweat from her brow. Her stomach turned from her memories.

That's why she came back to her home. That's why she was back to clean up after these so called hero's that make a fool out of themselves every time they scan these streets for crime. That's why she can find everything and anything about this city beautiful. The lights, the sounds, the fighting, and the harmless violence she loved it, every minuet of it and knew this time she was making a difference. Not just herself or the government but for a whole beautiful city filled with people of all ages, sizes and colors living in peace, at least when she's finished with it.

She had heard from an old friend how it's gotten worse. The crime, the crooked cops, the City being under ruled by law and taken over by good ol' fashion bad guys.
She wanted to prepare herself, get a feel of the City again. She had been away for so long she almost forgot how to get around, but it's like riding a bike. Once you know, it just becomes a part of your DNA. New York was in her blood and no matter how far she went or how much blood she might have lost, that part of her went no where. She wanted to be ready. She wanted it, a good run in with a bad guy to break her in. It's been months since she exercised all her muscles in the way she was thinking of doing tonight. She thought of how she'd maneuver herself in positions these big muscular guys couldn't even dream of. Spin kicks, back flips, handstands, splits, high kicks. Remembering the pain she'd feel the next day from a fight that carried on longer than she'd hope. She could feel a tingle excitement run through from thinking of how her muscles were going to ache from being stretched. She was ready.

It was late, but still early in the night for a couple more hours of midnight blue skies. She crouched down in the darkness as her black pants stretched tight over her knee. Her black gloves gripped onto the side of the building as the flesh from the tops of her fingers touched the cold stone. She looked over the side, making her eyes adjust to the darkness that the street lights left behind, waiting to see anything in the streets below. Her senses were keen to hearing shuffles and unfamiliar noise from years of training. She'd always have a gun on her, but not tonight. Tonight they wouldn't have the satisfaction of getting off that easily. Shooting someone in the knee cap or shoulder was too easy, too pussyfoot. She wanted them to feel her knuckles cracking against their cheek bones. She wanted them to smell the leather of her boot before it came in contact with their faces. She wanted this, and they wouldn't get anything less.

Then she heard it, a scuffle of feet on the roof top next to hers. She pounced to her feet jumping over a chimney that was at least waist high. Luckily the roof top that she heard the noise was at least eight feet down, so she would be able to over look the right time to strike. There was an unusually big stature of a person, wearing an outfit of what seemed to be metal and a helmet to cover their identity and something that looked like a backpack on them. She squinted and knew that this character must be the Nightwatcher. This was one of the reasons she came back. She watched as he held up a guy with a ski mask by the jacket. The punch must have sent the creep two to four feet away from the Nightwatcher. He stood back and watched as the scumbag backed himself against a wall trying so hard to get away. The Nightwatcher must have been amused by this. She could hear deep muffled voices and echoed but couldn't understand what they were saying. She tried to lean her body as far down as she could without being noticed. The cold concrete sent a shiver down her spine as she laid down on it, making herself as flat as possible. She felt a stone that was rolling in her palm fall out of her grasp. She tried to catch it but it was too late, it bounced off the helmet of the Nightwatcher. She bit her lip and tried to shrink herself against the lip of the roof top and concrete. She put her head down shaking it in disappointment, this was a rookie mistake not a mistake made by someone as well trained as she was. She sighed with frustration lifting her head and they caught eyes. She knew she could feel his eyes on her even though she couldn't see them through his dark lens. The lights of his helmet hit her and she had no choice but to make herself known. He brought his attention back towards the man in the ski mask that scrambled to make an escape, knowing that the Nightwatcher's attention was placed somewhere else. He threw a pair of chairs out in front of him, catching the scumbag just before he jumped to the next roof. He let out a cry as he dangled over the side of the building. The Nightwatcher yanked the chains back with one swift movement and the poor soul fell hard on the concrete roof, unconscious. The Nightwatcher then looked back towards her and another chain fell to the ground by his feet. She felt herself get aggravated but tried to calm herself with a deep breath. Her chest rose and fell and she loosened her hands that she held in tight fists. She didn't want to fight him but if she had no choice, then so be it. She realized that she must have looked like a criminal herself as she stood knowing the back drop of the dark City was behind her. It was better to confront him, than to flee. She shook her head grabbing her bearings and dropped down on the roof top in front of him. He twirled a chain in one hand moving his head to meet her gaze. They stood there, just looking at one another for some moments and she kept herself prepared for his next move. She wanted to say something, but no words came to her. She was screaming in her mind to say something, anything. She didn't want to hurt someone that was trying to help.

Then he came at her, fast and hard. The chain flew by her head and she flipped back out of its reach. She sighed and put up a hand to stop him from having this go further but he whipped the chain at her again, this time it wrapped around her forearm and he pulled her towards him. She stumbled trying to catch herself, putting her foot out but just tripped further falling onto him. She looked up into his dark helmet thought she saw a glimpse of something green. She pushed herself off him with a grunt of frustration, putting her free hand on the chain that remained on her arm yanking it toward her like she was playing tug of war. He fell forward into her as she caught his bicep holding it in between her bicep and underarm, she kicked her leg up as her knee bounced off his helmet. He fell back and shook off the surprise and came at her again. She moved gracefully into a spin kick but, he was graceful too more so than she would think. He grabbed her foot while she was in mid-air and pinned her to the ground putting his foot on her chest. She slowly bent her knee, without causing movement than what the Nightwatcher would notice and lifted her leg straight up in a strong kick. She could feel the strength of her leg muscles stretch and throb as she pushed this man that had to weigh sixty or eighty more pounds than she did. She sent the Nightwatcher off her body and kicked her legs in the air pushing with her arms and shoulders to her feet, quickly taking a stance towards him.

Her eyes turned from excitement to concentration. He wasn't better than she was, but he was a worthy opponent. The Nightwatcher was slow to get up, but didn't faultier for long. She could sense his anger and couldn't help but have a flicker of a smile come to her lips. He came at her this time letting out a cry from sight of the smile on her face. She dodged his punches, moving her body back with steps and bending her back having her arms remain up, fists clenched. Her breath started to get ragged; it had been so long since she had to actually put up a fight.

"Getting tired?" He said in a smug tone. She just smiled and jumped in the air delivering a spin kick hard across his helmet that echoed through the darkness of their roof top.

"Not even close sweetheart." She said as her New York City accent came out to play.

They both stepped towards one another then stopped as they heard someone drop from a roof top onto theirs. They whipped their heads to the side quickly taking a glance over. The Nightwatcher groaned as he brought his attention back to her. She squinted at the figure walking towards them. He was slim and had a bat over his shoulder.

"I thought you told me you were going to wait up for me." The slim figure said, coming into the light now.

Her eyes lit up as she saw the hockey masked, bat holding, slim man come into plain view. The Nightwatcher let down his hands slowly as he watched her reaction. She hadn't seen him for years and this was hardly the time and place to become sentimental. Her eyes flashed back and forth between the Nightwatcher and the man holding the bat. He was the reason she was back and in the predicament with this highly trained person fighting her. He was the reason she was dressed in all back, wearing black cut off gloves over her hands and heavy combat boots on her feet. Wanting to condition herself again for long nights of fighting and trying to save a City she loves so dear. She remembered the call from him. How his voice sounded, in so much layered anger and hurt from seeing this City get torn apart. He asked for her help, which was unusual to her because he never wanted help from anyone at least not from what she remembered.

He stopped and looked at her his bat fell out of his grasp, the sound of it hitting the concrete made her wince as it roll at her feet.

"Sam?" He said slowly in a manner that he didn't believe he was saying her name or looking at her. "I can't even….What are you…How did you…" He stammered as he looked his old childhood friend up and down. "What are you doing here?"

"Hi Casey." She said letting her guard down toward the Nightwatcher.

"Raph this is Sam. The girl I was talking about. Wait…Sam does this mean?"

"Yeah Casey, you were right. Everything you said, I can't just let this City go to shit when I know there is something I can do about it."

"Wait…Sam was a girl?" Raph said putting his hand to his helmet rubbing it in question like he would his actual head.

"What was your first clue?" Sam said putting her hand on her hip.

"Why did you attack me?" Raph said gesturing with his hands moving closer to someone who not just five minuets ago almost took him down. Well, didn't take down. He didn't get taken down. She tried, but wasn't able to. But, he had to admit she was good.

"You attacked me!" She shot back. Raph tried to dispute but, she was right. He made the first move. He wasn't sure why, he knew she was a women from just the outline of her body. She had curves and just a stance that you could plainly tell was that of women's but something ran away with him when he saw her and he had to strike.

"You could of stopped me." Raph was always very stubborn when it came down to proving he was wrong.

"I tried to but you threw chains at me! I couldn't just lie down and let you beat the shit outta me, I'm not an idiot." She offered a smile.

"When did you get back?" Casey said changing the conversation.

"Yesterday." She said picking up his bat and handing it to him.

"You called her to help us?" Raph said in an aggravated tone.

"Yeah. I grew up with her, she's from my old neighborhood." Casey said in a smile towards Sam.

"Do you have a problem with a girl helping you?" Sam said raising her eyebrow towards Raph. Casey's smile faded from his lips as he looked back at Raph for his reaction.

"No." Raph said with an edge of 'tude. Sam laughed sarcastically shaking her head. "Why did you call her, we can handle this." Raph moved in closer towards vigilante friend, trying to whisper even though she could and he knew it.

"Raph, she's my best friend. I've known her all my life. She's better than both of us combined. Which I know is hard for you to admit, but it's true." Casey turned his back towards Sam knowing she could read lips. Raph let out a hiss crossing his arms over his chest.

Sam shifted her weight on another foot, throwing her arms in the air as her childhood friend turned away from her. "Unbelievable." She said to herself under her breath. She walked away from them placing her hand on the cold edge of the roof top. Wind blew over her face and she closed her eyes to its soft touch taking a deep breath in to clam herself. "You're here to help." She said to herself. She turned back towards the two men crossing her arms over her chest.

"Raph, we can trust her. I have on many occasions and I'm still here aren't I?" Casey said opening his arms in a gesture.

"Ha, yeah Casey, that's not exactly a good example." Sam said as she leaned herself against the edge of the roof top.

"Huh, maybe she's not as bad as I thought." Raph said in a laugh.

"Ya know, I get that a lot." Sam said pushing herself off of the edge walking back over to the two men. "So, is this what you two ladies do all night? Just sit here and gossip about life and paint each other's nails or do you actually fight and stop this insipid violence in this City. Because Casey, I gotta tell ya me coming back wasn't the easiest thing I had to do. I had to change my name back to my maiden name. I had to get a decent apartment. I mean that right there is a task in a half…"

"Hey, we do I lot for this City! More than you can say!" Raph said stepping closer to Sam. She didn't move, just narrowed her eyes looking into his helmet.

"I saved you ass more than you even know." She said with a smoky voice. Raph glared at her, even though she couldn't see it. He tightened his fingers into a fist at his side as his breathing became deeper. He could feel himself getting worked up but after all of Master Splinter's training he was able to take a breath and a step back from her.

"How do you figure that?"

"You didn't tell him did you Case?" Sam said, her eyes locked on those dark lens.

"Well, he never asked." Casey said shrugging his shoulders.

"Tell me what?" Raph said looking towards Casey, relaxing his body language towards Sam.

"Man Casey, see! This is why I was hesitant to come back. Do you even know what you're getting yourselves into? If anyone ever finds me we're all in a whole mess of trouble. I don't have the government hiding me places or giving me different names every week anymore. I'm on my own now." Sam said pushing Casey and turning her back towards him and Raph.

"What is she talkin' about the government?" Raph said walking over to Casey. Casey parted his lips to tell him but Sam turned towards them with a glared at Casey. He closed his mouth pressing his lips tight. She let out a soft sigh adjusting her clothing that bunched up to her stomach.

"I used to be someone that worked for the government in a field that isn't usually talked about. We have rules and regulations that withhold us from talking about our profession, which includes things we've seen, done or said." She felt like she was rattling off these words from a book of codes. They just fell out of her mouth and couldn't stop herself from extracting them from it. She rolled her eyes and took another deep breath. "Listen, Raph is it? I'm just someone that wants to help and I can be unseen by doing so. I've had training and I know my stuff."

"So are you gonna give me a straight answer here or another complete run around of who you really are?" Raph said moving his hand in a circle.

"You're one to talk! You're wearing a complete disguise to hide who you are." Sam snapped back.

"Yeah, I have a reason. Believe me, you don't wanna see what's under this."
Sam glared at him, not in anger but just curiosity. She looked at him as though she was trying to see through his helmet, though his disguise. Raph stepped back and shot a look over at Casey. Sam stopped and put her hands on her hips.

"If we all want to trust one another, then we should be honest." She said looking back and fourth between Raph and Casey.

"Ladies first." Raph said crossing his arms. Sam looked back at Raph in a glare, this time in anger and he knew it. There was something about her that made him want to push her buttons. Test her until she was almost ready to snap, see how far he could go before she actually did. He couldn't help but smile as her body language told him she was irritated.

She ran her hand through her short choppy dark hair as the wind blew through it trying to buy time to gather all her words. She's never spoke this before, who she was who she really was. She was Samantha Raine. She was a girl that grew up in the City, 5'6" and hated her smile. This is all of who she was. But, who she really was she just took it as a job, until now.

"I was a secret agent for the government." She finally said in a long sigh. "I was trained to use guns, knifes, swords, and myself as a weapon. When you hear that phrase 'best of the best', they're talking about me. I killed the world's biggest criminals. Guys that have been on the run for years, hiding out and causing more harm to the places and people around them, I found them and killed them. I've been everywhere and seen everything. So I'm sure whatever you're hiding under that helmet isn't anything close to what I've seen." Sam said shifting her weight on another leg. Raph looked back over at Casey as he placed his bat over his shoulders, sliding his arms on each side to hold it in place.

"It is your turn man." Casey said. Raph put his hands to his helmet slowly, hesitating at first. The only people that have seen him had been April and Casey and that was by accident. He let out a long frustrated sigh and lifted the helmet off his head. His red bandana flowed behind him as the wind lifted it from his neck. Sam's eyes widened in something Raphael couldn't place. It wasn't shock, or fright. Her eyes were just wide, and slowly faded back to a normal glance. She tilted her head sideways and moved closer to him. He didn't know how to react so he stayed still.

"You're a…"

"Turtle." He interrupted.

"Yeah. That's amazing." She said with a smile. "Well, now the backpack makes sense." She said circling Raph, taking him all in.

"Wait a minuet. You're not freaked out?" Raph said turning towards Sam as she stood behind him.

"Why would I be freaked out?" She said leaning in towards him letting her hand glide down his arm. He pulled it away fast and she looked up at him and took a step back.

"Well...I'm..."

"A turtle?" She said crossing her arms and raising her eyebrow. Sam's head turned hearing police sirens in the distance. They all stood still for a minuet before they saw lights.

"Time to go!" Casey said taking off to another roof top. Raph followed and called back to Sam before he jumped to the next roof.

"You comin'?" He asked looking over his shoulder. She chuckled and ran over to him and jumped gracefully to the next roof. They ran side by side before Raph grabbed her by the arm and pulled her on to a fire escape. She stumbled but he held on to her tight. "Easy lady, tryin' to get us both killed?" She ignored his crude-ness and began to follow Casey as she noticed the flashing lights of the passing police car hit a limo down a small alleyway. She squinted as she saw a familiar symbol on the hood of the limo. Her eyes turned into a furious stare as she backed up from Raphael and jumped to the next roof. The leap was bigger than the one's she was just making, but she made it. She knocked her shin on the edge but that was all. She crouched down and examined the limo. Raph's body landed next to her as Casey made his way up from the fire escape. "Listen lady, I'm sure you're not used to all this running from the cops thing but…" She held up her hand and placed it on Raph's mouth.

"Do you know how to shut up?" She said in a husky whisper. Raph glared at her.

"What are you doing anyways?" Casey asked crouching down next to her.

"See that limo." She said pointing down towards it. "That symbol, there's something familiar about it." She said looking over her shoulder towards Casey and Raph. "I can't explain it." She stood up with a sigh. "I'm gonna go check it out." She said about to drop from the roof, but Raph grabbed her by the arm before her body fell. She stumbled back as he pulled her body into his.

"You crazy? You don't know who that is and you could get yourself killed." He said grasping her biceps in his strong hands. She just smiled a little.

"Raph, really. You don't have to worry. I've done this before. I can handle it." Her smile was soft as the moonlight hit her face. He shook his head and let her go.

"Fine. But don't come cryin' to me if you get yourself hurt." She turned her back away from him and Casey before falling soundlessly onto the cement below. She raised her body against the brick wall staying in the darkness that the street lights didn't reach. She looked up the fire escape at worried faces staring back at her. She rolled her eyes.

"This is why I don't have sidekicks." She mumbled to herself looking both ways down the alleyway before running to the back of the limo. She stretched out her legs and moved around the side. She couldn't hear anything coming from inside and frowned making an unsatisfied sigh. Then she heard the soft buzzing noise of the automatic window coming down. Smoke billowed out of the window as a hand fell next to her face. Raph's eyes got wide and he was about to drop but Casey stopped him.

"Raph, she'll be fine." Raph pulled away and walked away from the edge of the roof top.

"Fine then. I'm goin' home." Casey sighed and followed him.

She moved her head at out of the way like she was dodging a punch. She pressed her lips tight, holding her breath. She slid down the side of the car and pushed herself away from his hand before it started tapping or he reached for the door handle. Not to mention this un-Godly wind that was making her hair go every which way. Something on the hand caught her eye, a scar on the front, above his knuckles. It ran almost the whole length of the top his hand and she almost reached out and touched it to turn it over self-consciously and put her hand back to the gravel that was digging into it. There was a ring as well, on his index finger. A huge massive thing, something no guy would ever wear unless he was a pimp or extremely rich. His shirt sleeve was folded up his forearm and he moved to flick his cigar and the fabric moved up about another quarter of an inch and she saw the beginnings or a tattoo. She glared at it before her eyes went wide, realizing how she remembered the symbol. She looked up at the roof where Casey and Raph were, but weren't anymore. She frowned and then heard footsteps coming from the other side of the limo. She bent and looked underneath and saw black feet and legs scrambling. She somersaulted into the darkness, praying her movement wasn't seen. She ran into a nearby alleyway that was completely dark beside from the lights flowing in from the other streets on either side. She put her back against the bricks and tried to get her heartbeat to settle. That was close. She's come closer, but she should really do more training before she goes all Mrs. Smith again. The back of her leg hurt and she didn't know why. She went to reach down but fell back from a kick to the face by a pointed black foot. She looked up and saw a black figure walking towards her as they multiplied. She glared at where she thought their faces were and got to her feet taking a stance. The figure in front pointed their sword in Sam's face. Damnit . She had nothing on her and now wished she put her katanas on. Oh but you won't need it, idiot. Sam backed herself as the figure walked towards her. She slammed her head against the brick and clenched her teeth. She looked up hoping to see Raphael, but all she got was dark skies and smog clouds. Ok, you've been in worse situations than this. Look at your surroundings. Nothing. Ok, not a problem. She pushed herself off the wall and grabbed the black figures blade. She pressed it into her palm that was covered by a glove. The figure stepped away trying to get her dominances back and this made Sam smile. She turned her body pulling the sword under her arm and kicking at the figure. Their blade was left in the grasp of Sam's hand as she flipped it catching the handle in her palm. She felt warm liquid run down her wrist and knew she was bleeding. She took a stance at the five figures looking back at her and they all decided to strike at once. She blocked their hits with the sword. Then the owner came

through the crowd of black and roundhouse kicked Sam's face. The sword fell from Sam's grasp and she shook off the attack, but was welcomed again by fast fists swinging fiercely at her. Another high kick made her head slam hard against the wall behind her. She was starting to get dizzy and felt the back of her thigh throbbing. The grunts and breaths coming from her attacker weren't rough and harsh, but soft and… It was a woman. Damnit. This is just sad. Sam grabbed the women by the hand and brought her body into the bricks Sam's body was slammed against. Sam flipped out of the way punching the women in the across the face, then jumping into a spin kick. She'd be damned if she was defeated by a woman, especially a thin little thing like her. Her breathing was steady as the woman before her was being to tire. Finally. The women whipped blood from her lip and noticed her sword at her feet. She kicked it up into her hands coming at Sam again letting out a growl and crashed her sword down. Sam was able to move out of the way from one strike but the women was too fast and crashed the blade against Sam's shoulder. Sam hissed in pain, but ignored it pushing the blade away moving her body around pushing the blade away with her boot. She got to her feet and the women came at her again and kicked Sam in the chest. Sam fell as her harsh coughs made her chest burn. She was slow to get to her feet as her legs shook from the pressure of her body weight on them as they weakened.

The woman's sword crashed down making sparks against the bricks. Sam flipped out of the way, catching the edge of her blade against her thigh. Sam fell hard against the cement and held her thigh as blood seeped from between her fingers. This wasn't just a scratch. Sharp, sharp blade. She pressed her hand tighter against her thigh as more dark crimson started to pulse out, being absorbed by the fabric around it. The women held up her hand. As the four black figures she was with grabbed Sam in a tight hold slamming her body on the wall as they picked her up. The women picked up her sword and put it to Sam's throat lifting it up above her head, crashing it down with a strong movement. Sam's eyes clenched tight and felt her stomach drop. She was welcomed by the sound of a loud grunt and metal hitting against metal. She could have kissed him. Raph pushed the women away from Sam as the Foot released their grasp on Sam backing up behind their leader. Casey's shadow came into view as his bat hit his palm making the sound echo through the small alleyway.

"You can handle this huh?" Raph said glaring at the women before him but aiming his comment towards Sam.

"Raphael. You have no part in this. We just want the girl." Karai said lifting her sword away from Raph putting it towards Sam.

"She's with me." Raph said stepping in front of Sam. She kind of felt helpless and hated that. Casey stood next to Raph now swinging his bat over his shoulder.

"Remember. You brought yourself into this." Karai said as she smirked. Smoke filled the alleyway as Raphael looked around for Casey and Sam. He could hear Casey's coughing and leaned down to where Sam was putting his hand to her head. Her eyes weren't focusing on him, something was wrong. The dust settled and Raph scooped Sam into his arms as she went limp against his body. He looked around and took off down the alleyway.

"What's wrong with her?" Casey said running along side him.

"I don't know, but I'm sure Donnie will." Raph handed Sam to Casey as he opened a manhole and dropped inside.