When Shadows Rise | I

Ch. 42 | Incognito Pt. 2

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Talia had never seen such a mismatched group before in her life. They certainly didn't look like your typical killing machines on the hunt, but that didn't make the situation any less scarier. The trio wore cold and hardened expressions, ready to exterminate Talia and her friends like lowly insects.

"Now this is a fabulous surprise," the blonde-haired assassin mused. He probably was around her age— he and his friends probably were— but she couldn't say for sure with the height he stood at. Talia felt like his blue eyes were stabbing her with daggers when his gaze landed on her. "Two of Master Shredder's most wanted have landed in a web with no way out."

"I don't remember you and your Jesus posse receiving an invitation for today." Raph frowned, stepping forward.

The blonde-haired assassin smiled. "But this is North America, isn't it? If it's true that here is a 'free country', then that means I don't necessarily need anyone's permission to go anywhere I want."

"Sorry, dude. I think you and your guys have the wrong school." Mikey chuckled. "You sure you went to the right one on orientation day?"

"It means get lost, Blondie," Raph snapped.

The blonde-haired assassin was unfazed. He calmly said, "No doubt there is a fascinating story behind how a little rich girl landed in the clutches of my Master's enemy clan for protection and went on to discover one of Master Shredder's greatest operations. Perhaps one of you shall live long enough to tell it."

Raph got into his fighting stance. "Fight us first, and then we'll see."

The blonde-haired assassin shrugged. He raised his index and middle fingers and brought them behind his ear, tapping the area twice before his face seemed to glitch and crackle like a hologram. He then proceeded to rip his 'face' off, which Talia had to admit freaked her out a little, only to realize that underneath his face was. . . a face. A completely new appearance. Talia and her friends watched in shock as they were left gawking at a handsomely-defined pale face with attractive features like a straight nose bridge and high cheekbones. His dark hair was slicked back to perfection, with not a single hair out of place.

His friends copied his movements and within seconds, their former 'masks' were nothing more than thin, mesh veils in their hands. Talia stared at the scene before her in horror. What kind of technology could do something like that? How did they manage to get their hands on it? She had never heard of such a thing.

"My code name is 'The Reaper,'" the ex-blonde-haired assassin said, narrowing his cat-like eyes at Talia and her friends, "and I want you to look at this face closely, because it will be one of the last things you'll ever see."

And as if things couldn't get any crazier, The Reaper then used his hands to execute a complicated pattern, which was able to conjure a wall of runny shadows that invaded the little square feet of area he occupied. Then, as if he somehow managed to bend the shadows to his will, all that 'energy' moved to his hand, which curled as if he was holding something that the darkness seemed to craft and forge for him— a blurry outline that Talia could only liken it to a very large toothpick. Once the shadows vanquished themselves, Talia and everyone else then saw that what The Reaper held was, in no way, a toothpick but a sword that mimicked Leo's katana in terms of shape and size.

Whether it was The Reaper's personal weapon or something that was just one of his many weapons he (probably) had stashed in his shadow 'closet', she couldn't say, but the blade itself was stainless and pointy enough that Talia shivered just looking at it. Perhaps its owner saw the sword as its own pet— taking good care of it by giving it enough polishing and sharpening rituals.