Author's Note: This is my first upload, so be kind, I'm figuring this out as I go. This story isn't cannon compliant, not beta'd (but I tend to be my own beta reader), and I envisioned it being about the 2012 turts. However, I think it could be fitting for the '03 or even '07 ninja turtles, whatever you prefer. Enjoy!

Sometimes… things just happen… Whether by fate or luck or coincidence, things happen. You can't stop it and you don't really understand it, not in the moment, not until you sit back and consider the aftermath. Then you understand. Then you really understand.

Three shadows, low and quick, move across the rooftops of New York, traversing the concrete terrain in an effortless way cultivated by a lifetime of training. Calloused feet hitting pavement accompanied by low pants create rhythmic beats only they can hear over the noise of the city below. The air is calm, the people below sedate from the beautiful summer night atmosphere. It's a perfect night for crime.

Suddenly, the shadows halt and crouch low behind the parapet of the building they're on, eyes making quick passes of their immediate surroundings to ensure safety. Leaning against the parapet and regaining their breath, the three speak in hushed whispers.

"This it?" Raph asks, still gasping for air.

"Should be," Donnie responds just as out of breath.

"Ooooo boy! Let's shut this party down!" Mikey excitedly whispers, earning a frown from his brother in red.

Donnie ignores the interaction, reaching in his duffel bag while the others keep silent watch. When Donnie removes his hand, a well-used set of binoculars is revealed and placed against his eyes.

"Alright. This is definitely the place," Donnie says with confidence, scanning the area below. About 20 Purple Dragons are stacking boxes in the back of a van, a few standing aside to survey for intruders. Guns and knives adorn all of them, glinting in the soft moon and city lights. "There's a lot of them, but we should be able to take them out and recover the weapons." Replacing the binoculars in the duffel, Donnie turns to his brothers who give silent nods and, in Mikey's case, a big smile in response. They're ready to do this.

The brothers catapult over the side of building, ingrained agility and alertness preserving their secrecy from the targets. Silently, the three split to surround their enemies. The first few go down unnoticed and it seems to be a relatively smooth take over. However, what Don would call a slight miscalculation in equipment storage causes one of his smoke bombs to drop out of his belt. Of course, it rolls into the open, allowing a Dragon to catch a glimpse of the moving metal.

"Hey! Who's there?" A gruff voice calls, raising his gun and immediately alerting the rest of the Dragons to the disturbance.

Raph peaks across from behind a crate to see the commotion and inwardly sighs. Readying himself to attack, he positions his sai and runs into the open. Using the butt of his sai, he knocks out the closest Dragon, gaining the attention of the rest and officially getting this fight started. Smirking, Raph proceeds to take down more Dragons as Donnie and Mikey make themselves known.

"Sorry!" Donnie yells into the fray while introducing a few Dragon faces to the strength of his bo.

"Next time," Raph starts, punching another Dragon in the stomach, "at least pull the pin first!"

"Yeah Don, don't you know ninja etiquette? Sheesh, the nerve!" Mikey shouts from a few feet away while kicking a gun from his most recent assailant's hand.

The brothers steadily disarm and incapacitate the Dragons, clearly set to win this fight.

From above, however, a silent figure watches the conflict with growing displeasure and narrowing eyes. Scoffing, he makes his way to the fray. Picking out one of the brothers, he draws his twin katana and moves to strike.

Out of the corner of his eye, Raph notices the gleam of light on metal. Turning, he sees a figure approaching Mikey with deadly speed. "Mike!" he yells to get his littlest brother's attention while moving to grab a kunai from his belt.

Mikey looks up from his latest take down, eyes widening as he meets the gaze of this new enemy. Stormy blue eyes, stern and predatory lock on to his own baby blues. Time slows as he realizes he won't be able to move fast enough to defend himself.

Before the enemy can strike, however, Donnie's bo comes down on one of the blades with such force that the opponent almost drops it.

As the enemy jumps back, Raph arrives, pushing them further away from his brothers.

"Who the hell're you?" Raph growls out as he parries the blades with his sai. This new person is fast and clearly skilled, but something isn't right. They're dressed in all black and have a black headband similar to Raph's own. They also seem to have an anthropomorphic build, but the lower half of their face is not human. It's glaringly obvious they're something else.

A new mutant? Raph thinks as he blocks yet another attack.

The mutant starts pushing back twice as hard, forcing Raph into strict defense to avoid the katanas.

Seeing their brother struggle, Mikey and Donnie look for opportunities to support Raph, jumping into the fight when possible.

"Who is this guy?" Mikey yells as he dodges a particularly close swipe of the blades "And why is he so good?!"

Clashing bo to katana, Donnie is shoved and kicked in the jaw. "Ah!" he yells, stumbling back. Raph steps to the front again, protecting his little brother.

"I don't know, but he must be with either the Purple Dragons or the Foot," Donnie says, rubbing his cheek and regaining his footing.

"Whoever he is, he's gonna regret getting in the way!" Raph shouts, trying and failing to find a weak spot.

The new mutant grins at this, eyes gaining a look of arrogance, and side-steps Raph's attack. With a final kick to Raph's shell, the mutant suddenly turns to run, intending to leave the brothers.

"Why you son of a-," Raph starts, pushing himself back up and getting ready to chase after the mutant.

"Raph!" Donnie yells, reaching for his eldest brother "Wait!"

"What now?" Raphs yells back, turning and aggressively knocking his brother's hand away.

"The van's gone. They got away," Donnie responds, panting.

Looking past his brothers, Raph sees that the van is, indeed, gone with all of the weapons that were stored inside. The remaining Dragons must have taken the opportunity to speed off unnoticed.

"Argh! Dammit!" Raph shouts, looking for any unlucky enemies still conscious enough to fight to no avail.

"What do we do now?" Mikey asks, holding his left arm close to his body. Noticing his obvious discomfort, Donnie rushes to grab his stashed duffle bag then moves to inspect the shallow slash on Mikey's forearm.

"We find out where they took the weapons," Raph growls out, now looking in the direction the mutant disappeared. "And then we'll deal with whoever the fuck that was," he says, pointing with his sai.

Donnie scoffs as he wraps Mikey's arm, "We already know where the weapons are going. Shredder."

"Fine. Then we'll find mister dark an' mysterious. He's gotta be tied to the foot," Raph says angrily, turning to look over his brothers and assess the damage. The left side of Donnie's jaw is bruised and slightly swelled and Mikey seems to be fine besides the cut.

Yelping as Donnie ties the bandage on his arm Mikey pulls his hand away and looks to his brothers. "Dudes, is it just me or was that like, another mutant?"

"Well, he definitely wasn't human," Donnie answers, putting his medical supplies in his duffel bag and considering the new enemy. "Actually, he kind of looked like us minus the shells."

"Well it doesn't matter what kinda mutant he is, we just gotta take him out." Raph says, emphasizing his point by shoving a fist into his open palm.

The loud growling of a stomach cuts through the tense air. "Sorry," Mikey says sheepishly, now moving his hand to his stomach. "Think we can talk about this over pizza?"

This gains a begrudged grin from his eldest brother. "Sure Mike," Raph says, patting his little brother's head as he walks by.

Leave it to Mikey to make a shit day better in the dumbest way, Raph thinks, now intent on getting his little brothers home.

Turning to look back once, Raph huffs at their poor luck, thinking about the new mutant and what it could mean for their family.

Author's Note: So, what'd you think? Questions? Comments? Concerns? You know where to drop em. Constructive criticism is greatly welcomed. Also, should this be a Leo/Raph story? Or should I just leave it as a brothers only type thing? Let me know! I originally thought Leo/Raph, but it could be interesting to see how Leo makes his way into the family without that kind of introduction.