Don't give us none of your aggravation / We had it with your discipline

[thebadturtle]

WHO: That one turtle (thebadturtle) and YOU.
WHERE: Mean streets of New York (as well as their rooftops)
WHEN: Late night Saturday, becoming early morning Sunday.
WARNINGS: Violence, baby.
SUMMARY: Raphael works the patrols. Doin' his thing.
FORMAT: WORDS. Para to start, roll with tagger from there.



He had left the bar a few hours ago -- Tom's place was nice and quiet with the imPort bouncers about -- with so many of them openly freaky, they made sure a certain element stayed away. Sure, this meant wearing clothes (no shirt, no shoes, no service -- including the help) but Raphael was getting used to traversing the roofs with the heavy boots, jeans and wifebeater on.

Didn't mean he stayed in them long; he usually stashed them on the roof of the bar before he headed into the night to kick some butt and take some names, and this night was no different.

Leaping from roof to roof in search of trouble, Raph was pleased it wasn't hard to find. Still, after a workout with putting the hurt on a pimp who was getting rough with some of his girls, he found himself perched at the edge of a building, watching the city and wishing Casey was around.

Patrol wasn't the same without somebody equally crazy to hang with-- and give you a check to your balance.

Comments

[incywincyhero]

Spider-Man was making his own way from rooftop to rooftop, swinging where he had the clearance and jumping the rest of the time, when he saw another figure ahead in the darkness, moving in his general direction. No one he recognized, from what little he could see -- but then, these days there were more of those than the other. He picked up the pace from casual lope to ground-eating bounds, covering the distance between them in moments. One last leap and he dropped into a neat three-point landing just as the other person -- be they friend or foe -- hit the same rooftop.

"Evening, stranger," he called out. "Might I ask what brings you to this stretch of -- whoa!"

It might've been dark out, but no self-respecting nerd of Peter's generation could mistake that profile. It couldn't be -- or could it?

[[Is Raph wearing/carrying anything that would identify him specifically as Raphael to someone who's seen the movies/cartoons, or is he only recognizeable as one of the Ninja Turtle?]]

[thebadturtle]

Raph stops, perched on a water tower, before he straightens up, hands on his sai at his belt at first -- but shock soon has him stopping and staring, forgetting anything even vaguely like posturing.

Peter's not the only one who as ..well, a child of a generation. Who can say what kind, or what one. But he totlaly knows THAT funky mask anywhere. It makes his answer a little awkward.

"Uh. Just. You know. Patrol."

Cass was different; she wore a symbol he recognized -- but wasn't Batman. Same for the Batgirl that appeared the other night. Little did he know that the Batman was running around here (as two people even); meeting him would be a different story.

Spider-Man? He's a New York hero. Sure, the boys read more DC than Marvel, but that was just a preference. But if there were comics in the dump, they got taken home and given a read. Every young man needs heroes -- even if they happen to be turtle teens.

[incywincyhero]

Spidey straightened up as well, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. After meeting Captain Kirk, and seeing so many other pop culture icons of his home universe -- the Star Wars folks, the Harry Potter gang -- posting on the Network, he really should've been used to this kind of encounter by now. Or reconciled to the idea of this kind of encounter, at least. Somehow, it kept hitting fresh every time.

"Uh, listen," Spidey said after a few heartbeats' awkward silence, "this might sound a little weird and I completely apologize if it does, but ... your name's not Raphael, is it?"

[thebadturtle]

"...maybe."

He returned to where he had hunkered down, peering at Spider-Man with unabashed curiosity. "So, is my reputation already proceeding me or some shit? Cause I ain't busted anybody's chops what didn't have it comin', okay?"

He -- hadn't had a black out, lost to the rage. He'd been so good. Nothing had happened, right?

Right?

[incywincyhero]

"Whoa, whoa!" Spidey held his hands up, placating. "I'm not accusing you of anything, buddy. I only meant --"

He frowns under the mask, trying to find a way to get his point across. "Look, I'm guessing you're new to the City, or this wouldn't be news to you. How much do you know about the different universes people are imPorted from?"

[thebadturtle]

...he shouldn't yell at Spider-Man, should he? Mike would be flipping his shit right now if he knew Raph yelled at Spider-Man. There'd be a fanboy lecture complete with something like pearl-clutching and how could you, Raph, how could you!? all at once.

So he stops, listens, and nods slowly, giving a affirmative: yes, he's new. "Not... much?" Just that he's standing in front of one of their comic book stories, that's all.

If he were Don or Leo, he probably would have been able to figure it out by now. But this is Raph; he's not dumb, but he does think a little more... slowly then the others.

[incywincyhero]

"Well. Thing is ..." He motioned broadly for emphasis. "The different universes people come from are pretty much random for our purposes, except that there is a tangential connection between a few of them. They, ah..."

Great. Get to meet a previously fictitious childhood idol, feel morally obligated to make him think you're crazy. Just a night in the life for Spider-Man.

"A lot of our universes exist in other people's universes... as fiction."

[owninvention.livejournal.com]

Despite how completely different everything was, Flynn couldn't resist that itch to get outside. Dropping down from a balcony, he caught the edge of a window with his fingertips, and dangled for a moment before dropping the twelve or so feet to the ground, rolling as he landed. Rapunzel had mentioned this place giving people powers and she'd be right, his left hand already showing a remarkable talent for crushing things, though he'd been unable to do much with the right.

Still, it was a skill he could use to his advantage when the time was right.

The sidewalk was empty at this time of night, but he acted nonchalant, strolling easily past a few rougher looking individuals with more interest in their own conversation than him. When he reached another fire escape, he grabbed the bottom-most rung and started to haul himself lithely up toward the roof, expecting there would be anyone up on them.

[thebadturtle]

Once Flynn's at the top fo the roof, it seems pretty much like any other roof. Except for it's gargoyle.

That... isn't a gargoyle. It sure looks like one at first; very till, crouched, reptilian, so forth. But... Gargoyle eyes don't reflect the light like that, and they're usually not looking over the roof, they're looking over the street.

Hey also don't normally speak.

"Hey."

[owninvention.livejournal.com]

He's used to gargoyles, having seen his share of them on buildings in one place or another - and the design for the things seemed to have stuck in this century - but the speaking part gets him. Letting out a short scream, his hand tightens instinctively on the ladder, the left crushing the metal until it breaks under his hand.

Luck and instinct kick in at the last second and he catches him, swinging slightly before pulling up and slumping over the edge of the roof. A second passes before he pushes himself up, expression changing to one of annoyance, covering up any remaining surprise at the sight of a giant turtle.

"This place gets more surprising every day. Do you always do that to people you don't know?"

[thebadturtle]

"...not on purpose," Raph replies, arching one brow ridge. "You got some serious Kung Fu grip going on there in the left."

Too bad the joke will be lost on Flynn there.

"Anyway, the rooftops are pretty much the hero's highway, or whatever you want to call it. You're gonna find people up here." He straightens, and then steps over to offer a hand.

"Right hand, buddy. Right hand."

[owninvention.livejournal.com]

"It's a gift," he grumbles, not quite pleased at his lack of grace, but he takes the offered hand after a second of hesitation, still not really sure what to make of the other guy.

"Thanks for the tip. Still trying to get a feel for this place. Name's Flynn Rider."

Somehow, he always managed to make introductions when it was necessary. This world had the advantage since he wasn't a wanted criminal and he was trying to take it in strides. Even when presented with giant turtle people.

[thebadturtle]

"Raphael," says the turtle who is -- much shorter then Flynn, once he's upright. It's a thing. "You're new, huh? Well, bad guys run up here too, so be careful. There's no way to tell us apart until they do something... bad."

And thus, that was the hard part: you couldn't tell a book by it's cover. After all, this was a turtle man with pointy weapons in his belt, right?

[bedeviledspider.livejournal.com]

Darkdevil was also making his way from rooftop to rooftop, not in a manner unlike the arachnid Raph had spotted earlier, not that the second Man Without Fear was aware of it.

Teleporting may be faster but there were things you tended to miss when you just disappeared from place to place. And, all right, if he must admit it -- he'd missed this while he was out soaking up the sun. So he was savoring every minute spent in the dark doing what he did best.

Until one final leap caused him to stop in tracks. Looking up, still halfway between a spider-like crouch and an upright stance, his yellow eyes glowed faintly with recognition. Although he wasn't sure if the Turtle would recognize him like this. Hopefully not. "Hmph," his inhuman voice echoed through the night. "Haven't you around here before."

[thebadturtle]

Ninja are trained to recognize a lot of things. Body movement, language, vocal patterns. Raph has never been as good at it as his brothers, but he's still a head above the average joe.

However, the stretch between Nerd Reilly and Darkdevil is a big one; the body movement is -- familiar. But the voice is wrong. It creates a dissonance between the two that doesn't allow the turtle to connect it yet.

Frowning at the hostility he's presented with, he says, "Could say the same to you, chump. Rooftops are pretty much a public utility for the vigilante crowd, though."

[bedeviledspider.livejournal.com]

Inside, Reilly's relieved at the lack of recognition. Outside, however, he doesn't let it show. Instead he stands up and begins walking out of the shadows, arms crossed and perhaps with a slight swagger, doing everything he can to let Raph know he's not intimidated.

If he were Reilly it would look ridiculous. But a costume and a complete change in appearance (and species) could do wonders for a young man's tough, vigilante image.

Whereas the turtle frowned he chose to smirk. "Chump, eh? How rude. We haven't even been properly introduced. Still, you have a point, I'm not going to get in one of those stupid misunderstanding battles over a rooftop or something like that."

[thebadturtle]

"Well, at least we're square. You got a need for this rooftop in particular, tall dark and gruesome, or you just comin' over to make friends?" Something might suggest that he was not, in fact, managing to make friends with the still terrapin, who might not believe Darkdevil's good intentions.

Swagger; Raph reads impression, flash. Nothing but flair. Arms folded-- defensive, guarding himself. Hrmph. Maybe this guy wasn't as confident as all that.

[bedeviledspider.livejournal.com]

"Sorry to shatter your hopes and dreams, but I don't make friends." His eyes could be spotted rolling beneath the cowl. "I just don't like involving myself in unnecessary battles. That's all."

He traded the swagger for a stroll in the opposite direction, more than ready to get back to business instead of wasting his time with chest-puffing and small talk.

[thebadturtle]

"Oh. So you're a dick. Got ya." Raph gives the guy a thumbs up. "See ya, stubs."

The stroll -- that's a little more familiar, but the voice, the rest, it still bothers him. Then he realizes why: Those eyes. He's seen them roll before... in a drunk teen boy's head, when he was being a little too touchy-feely for Raph's taste.

It's all wrong, though, leaving Raph questioning his senses; he doesn't like that much-- but coupled with the attitude, and the strange thing Reilly had become... it fits the gimmick...

"Guess you got a law class to cram for, huh? Ain't it a school night?"

...it was a guess. A reach. Raph wasn't the fast one, but he wasn't stupid. He remembered that book, wondered what somebody would want to do homework about lawyer crap on a beach, with all that water and sun and sand...

...but it could be wrong.

Couldn't it?

Balance checks unlikely. Bro-time? Yes please.

[hellionated]

Julian had been scouting the City out from the air, which is a fairly usual activity for him when he's not spending time around people. He still finds it kind of weird, doing the hero business by himself. But he's starting to get used to it, and tonight he hasn't had a lot of time to think about that anyway. He's been running into petty idiot after petty idiot. Ophelia and her dead guys had cleared out a lot of the regular lawbreakers, leaving room for amateurs to step up in their place.

Julian was mainly just glad to be fighting something that didn't explode with rat slime when he hit it.

He wasn't so much expecting to see anyone else out and about, but from this distance a green turtle on a rooftop tends to stand out. He waits a second to be sure, then floats down to land beside Raph.

"Hey man. Didn't get your fill of fighting with the rat guys?"

[thebadturtle]

"Hey, some of us never really quit," Raph says, as he shifts to sit a the edge of the roof, instead of perch. "What about you, flyboy? You just coming from some hot piece's apartment, or you on the job?"

Either could work; Julian seemed like the type of guy to be popular with the ladies, as far as Raph could grasp it. Little did he know about the whole story...

[hellionated]

“On the job,” Julian said, with a smirk that said the other possibility wasn’t unfamiliar territory. Not that he’d played that game while he’d been here. Things had actually been way too complicated for that, which was a slightly bemusing thought. God Raph, if only you knew the whole story…

“Girls have this way of making me want to drink lately. A straight fight’s easier sometimes. When they’re actually around, anyway. Streets’ve been kinda quiet since that mess with Ophelia.”

[thebadturtle]

Raph wouldn't even know what to do with the whole story. The strangeness with Reilly and Cass makes him nervous, and the idea that it'd totally possible seems to boggle him on more then one occasion. After all, he's a turtle. Nobody else is that isn't one of his brothers. It makes for a lot of weirdness.

"Yeah. Some people are trying to get back to work, though." What with a lot of the working girls going missing, the pimps are riding the existing ones that much harder for their trade. "Donnie would say something about nature and vacuums or some shit."

[hellionated]

Julian doesn’t even know about the strangeness between Reilly and Cass. One love square, or whatever the hell it is, is enough for any man. He’s busy looking to get out of the one he’s got. Raph’s removal from that kind of problem doesn’t really occur to him. The main difference between Raph and his other friends is appearance, and Julian’s had friends who look a lot more ‘unusual’ than Raph. God, Martha doesn’t even have a body.

“Donnie sounds like a wise man. You’ve gotta admire New York’s resilience, huh? Even a crowd of undead monsters won’t keep the underworld down. They’re like cockroaches, survive anything.”

[thebadturtle]

Raph didn't get it, really. Reilly was worried, Cass didn't seem interested, and -- well, he'd be lying if he didn't say Cass fit the 'type' he was interested in, but... she was taken. He was a turtle. It was like, not even a question of contest.

Right?

Whatever. Humans and their mating habits were bizarre, and Raph didn't want to deal with it.

"He's one of my brothers," says Raph. "He's not really-- wise, though. Smart, but in that totally nerdtastic way. But New York is New York, even if this city is all wrong: remove some of the scum, and the rest floats to the top."