Tales of Dani

Chapter 8: Return of the Nightwatcher

The thief ran as fast as he could, putting distance between himself and the police officers that were chasing him. Realizing that they were never going to nab him, they gave up. "Heh, heh, suckers," the thief says to himself while crossing the street. 

He glances back to see the officers dodge out of the way when a motorcycle flies over them. The thief then sees that it was heading directly toward him. He tries to sprint forward, but it was too late. The motorcycle was moving so fast and caught up with him in seconds.

The motorcycle rider was fully dressed in black leather gear and a black helmet. With one hand, he grabs the thief and lifts him off the ground. "You!" he yells. "You're him! Uh, listen, man! I won't tell anyone that I saw you, okay? Just please let me go!"

But the rider didn't. He plowed the thief's head into a trash can before tossing him into a dark alley. Getting up, he sees the rider get off his motorcycle and make his way toward him. "Man, I am so gonna sue you!" the thief snaps. "You have no idea who I am!" The rider says nothing in response and continues to step toward him. The thief starts to panic when he gets closer.

(Moments later)  

The two police officers arrive at the alley and see the thief chained upside down with a woman's purse on him. "The Nightwatcher," one says, shaking his head. "He's been doing our job for us again."

(Meanwhile)

"Police officials are baffled at a crime of retribution that can only be attributed to the vigilante known as Nightwatcher," a reporter says. "This is the latest in a string of acts that have been plaguing the city for the past month. Although the victims were criminals, the Nightwatcher's actions have been described as overly violent."

(In the Turtles' lair)

"Raph!" "Wasn't me," the red masked turtle responds before looking back at his magazine. Leonardo looks at him in disbelief. "It's not him, Leo," Michelangelo tells him. "The original Nightwatcher is back!" "Original?" the blue masked turtle repeats. "This should explain most of it," Raphael says, pulling out a scrapbook and tossing it to his brother. "The legacy of the city's superhero," he adds. "Courtesy of fanboy Mikey."

Leonardo flips through the pages of the scrapbook. "This guy could bring heat on all of us if he keeps this up," he says grimly. "Someone needs to talk to this guy."

(Meanwhile, inside the Mutanimals' lair)

Leatherhead watched the tortoise and girl spar against each other as part of their training session. Ever since hearing about Shredder's mutation, Slash decided to increase Dani's training so she can be prepared to face him when he attacks. Rockwell continues to look over the monitors, watching for any intruders. And Mondo Gecko skates on the ramps.

 As the two continued to fight, Slash noticed something different about Dani. The girl didn't seem focused, as if she was thinking about something. She reacted too late when Slash kicks her. After landing on the floor, Dani turns to see Slash holding a hand out for her. "You okay, Danielle?" he asked. Dani grabs his hand and the tortoise pulls her up. "Yeah, I'm okay, Slash," she answers. "It's just that I've been thinking about things lately." "Like what?" Dani hesitates. "You know you can always talk to me about anything," Slash continued. She really wanted to tell him something, but she didn't know how to word it. And she was worried about how her friend would feel about it. But maybe it wouldn't hurt to go ahead and try. "Well, okay," she says. "I mean, it's kind of crazy, but I..."

 But suddenly the voice of a news reporter is heard on the radio. "The vigilante known as Nightwatcher strikes again!" "Dudes, check this out!" the mutant gecko calls his teammates before turning up the volume. Everyone made their way to the radio. They listened carefully as the reporter talks about the stop of a robbery.