Hiatus
A/N: I thought I would vent about my frustrations on not getting new TMNT episodes in a timely fashion through a story. I swear, not having new episodes is driving me mad, especially when they get pushed back so much. Now we won't be getting a new one until July for Pete's sake! So frustrating! And so, I've decided to post this one shot as a way to vent. I hope you all enjoy it.
Disclaimer: TMNT and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon. If I owned them, we'd be getting episodes in a more timely fashion for sure.
Summary: Leo is frustrated that Space Heroes is on hiatus. Will he be able to make it until the next new episode, or go insane?
"I can't believe this!" Leo yelled as he stared at the computer screen.
"What's wrong, bro?" Mikey asked.
"Space Heroes is on hiatus again!" Leo replied. "We were supposed to get a new episode this weekend, but now they've pushed it back! I've been dying to find out if Captain Ryan will beat that alien, and now I have to wait two weeks to see if it's going to happen! Why do they do this to us?"
"Because they wanna piss you off," Raph answered. "You really need to find a new hobby, bro. Freakin' out over this is gonna ruin your health. Personally, I hope this causes the show to get cancelled."
Leo pointed a finger at his red-clad brother. "You take that back right now!" he charged.
"No, I'm not gonna take it back," answered Raph. "It's true. We all know the show is stupid."
"It is not!" snapped Leo. "You wouldn't know a good show if it crawled up your shell!"
"Actually, I do know of a good show and it's called pro wrestling," said Raph with a smirk.
"Oh, please, Raph, that stuff is fake garbage," said Don, rolling his eyes. "You can't seriously be entertained by that."
"I am entertained by it, so shut up!" Raph snapped.
"Yeah, we're entertained by the Divas, right, Raph?" piped up Mikey.
"Stay outta this, Mikey!" snarled Raph.
"It's just not fair!" Leo pouted. "Why can't the show just make up its mind on when it wants to air?"
"That's the network's decision," Don answered. "Maybe certain episodes haven't been finished yet."
"It's only two weeks, bro," Mikey reassured him. "That'll go by in no time, and then you'll have the episodes again."
"Yeah, you're right," Leo said. "I really should chill out, huh?"
"That's for sure," Raph said, playfully punching Leo in the arm.
22222
Leo was sitting dejectedly on the couch. He still couldn't believe what he'd seen on the Space Heroes message board he was part of. How could this have happened? It was like they wanted to torture the fans with anticipation and then dash their hopes when the fans got excited. It was like they were saying, "Ha! Ha! We tricked you! No new episode for you!"
"What's wrong, Leo?" April asked him as she came out of the dojo where she'd just finished a lesson with Master Splinter.
"It's happened again," he answered. "They've pushed back the new Space Heroes episodes to another week. I was so excited for this, and then they just pushed it back. Why do they do that, April? Why do they torture us like that?"
"I don't know, Leo, but I agree that it's not right," April said. "But maybe it's because certain episodes still aren't finished or the network wants to air something else in place of Space Heroes."
"But all there other shows suck compared to Space Heroes!" protested Leo. "How could they think a show about a dishcloth is good entertainment when it's just pointless drivel? Or that other show where the guys do nothing but bake cookies and act like idiots? Or how about that show where the guy has a pet tarantula and they do stupid things? I mean, how could anyone like that stuff?"
April giggled a little at Leo's outburst. "I don't know, Leo, but they just do," she replied. "The best thing I can tell you is to be patient. I know it's hard, but you just have to wait and let things come."
"I know that, but I can't," Leo answered. "It's just not fair!"
April put a hand on his shoulder. "It'll all work out, Leo," she reassured him. "You'll see." She smiled and then headed to the lab to talk to Donnie.
Leo knew she was right, but this was still an injustice. Space Heroes was an awesome show, and nobody seemed to get that at the network. With a sigh, he headed to his room to try and meditate about what was going on.
22222
Practice went horribly the next day. Leo was the first one eliminated in the sparring match, something that never had happened before. After the session was over (Raph won the whole thing), Leo knew that he was going to be in trouble. Sure enough, Splinter asked to speak with him, and Leo nodded and followed his father to his chambers.
"I noticed that you seemed distracted in practice today, my son," Splinter began. "You are never the first to be eliminated from a match. Do you care to tell me what was distracting you?"
Leo hesitated. If he told Splinter about his obsession with the new episodes of Space Heroes, he was afraid Splinter would chastise him for being hung up on something so trivial. Yet he knew he couldn't lie to his father very well because Splinter always knew what was on his sons' minds even if they tried to hide it from him.
"Well, it's about Space Heroes, Sensei," he began. "We were supposed to get new episodes, but the network now says that we can't have them until July. I was looking forward to this, but now they just keep pushing it back, and it's not right. I know I'm stupid for getting so hung up on it, and if you want to punish me for it, I understand. But it just frustrates me that they're holding these episodes hostage. It's like they just don't want us to enjoy anything." After he was finished he looked at his father's face, expecting to see anger or disgust there, but instead he saw sympathy.
Splinter put a hand on Leo's shoulder. "I know how you feel, Leonardo," he said gently. "I felt the same way when one of my favorite characters died on Time's Lost Child. I felt that the network wanted to kill her off because they didn't want her on the show anymore, and I was outraged over it."
"So did you stop watching it?" Leo asked him.
"Of course not," Splinter said. "I continued to watch it and then learned that the fans were outraged over Madeline's death as well, and so the network brought her back. Sometimes it is bes to let people know what you are feeling. Perhaps you and some of the other fans could talk about this and see if things improve."
"But what if they don't?"
"Then the best thing you can do is wait. I know it is hard, but there are other things you can do while you wait. You can watch reruns of it or write your own stories as you seem to like doing. Perhaps that will help you overcome your impatience for these episodes."
Leo's eyes lit up. "That's a great idea, Sensei!" he cried. "I'll write my own story about my displeasure of the episodes being put on hold. Thank you, Master Splinter. You're the best." He gave his father a hug which he returned.
"I do have my moments," Splinter said.
Leo smiled and ran out of the room to go work on his story. It may not reach the network, but at least he had a way to vent out his frustrations over what was going on. Splinter was right in that he had to distract himself, and writing was the best way to do that. It didn't matter that Space Heroes wasn't new yet. He could still reach people and let them know how he felt, and that was all that mattered at the moment. He sat down and began to type and as he did, the anger he felt drained away and happiness replaced that volatile emotion as he typed out his thoughts and feeling about what had transpired. Sometimes writing was a good way to get emotions out, and Leo felt better about the whole thing as his fingers flew across the keyboard and he voiced his discontent in a well written story that many would read.
As he finished the last sentence, he smiled and said, "Take that, network! This is what you get when you piss off a Spacenik."
The End
A/N: I had to write this as a way to vent out my emotions over not having new episodes of TMNT as I thought we would. It really frustrates me to no end that these episodes are getting pushed back, and I feel it's unfair to all of us that it has to happen. I saw a description about an episode where Leo sneaks out of the Lair and goes to fight Shredder, and since then, I've been DYING to see this episode for myself, but it hasn't shown up yet. So this was my way to vent my emotions, and I must say, it has made me feel better to write this out. Feel free to leave a review and have a shelltastic day. And the other shows I was spoofing and had Leo talk about were Spongebob SquarePants, Breadwinners, and Sanjay and Craig.