Been wanting to write a TMNT (2003) x Avatar: The Last Airbender (or Legend of Korra) Fanfiction for a while. And finally thought of a (decent) plot for it!

Both shows are owned by their respective owners. I only own my characters.

Takes place after LOK ends - potentially, AU.

It was stupid of him, and he knew it. But he still did it. Leo had gone out on a morning run, to see what the city had to offer during the night - and he hadn't come back.

Instead, Leo had run into trouble. His own skill and wits didn't save him this time, because his opponents were fierce and determined. In fact, he wasn't quite sure how they even found him. All he remembers was going out for a run, accidentally running into a band of what he thought were Foot Ninjas.. And now he's here.

And here wasn't exactly a very comfortable place. The blue-masked turtle was stuck in a dark, dimly lit room, with his hands chained to the ground. There was no way to escape - he'd already tried. He was in deep, deep trouble, and had nothing but his thoughts to take up his time.

From what he could see, the walls were some kind of reinforced cement, that ran up to a very high ceiling. His visibility didn't reach that far up - he could only guess there was nothing above him. The room was cold, which made him shiver in his metal chains.

Leo was battered and bruised, chained to the wall. He was left to die.

—

The turtle woke up to the door opening. The only times they opened the door for him was to allow him to eat - even if he was a prisoner, for whatever reason, they still allowed him to eat. It seemed unusual for the Foot Ninjas, as wouldn't the Shredder want him dead if he was captured?

Something inside him told him it wasn't the Foot who captured him, but his mind was too sluggish to ponder it.

A guard, face barely visible under a hooded cloak, pushed a figure into the cell and slammed the door.

The figure stumbled and fell to their knees. Leo could see the chains in the dim lighting - they had both their feet and their hands chained, with a gag around their mouth.

Leo moved slightly, and his chains rattled. Immediately the figure noticed him, reacting in fear. He - or she, the turtle couldn't tell - shrank back against the wall, clearly terrified.

The turtle quickly realized he must have been even more terrified than Leo was. In the cold cell, their breaths were quick, panicked, and fog quickly filled the air.

"Calm down, you'll make yourself have a panic attack." The turtle broke the silence with his steady, but weak, voice.

Slowly he crawled to the other side of the room, pulling on his chains as far as they'd go.

It was, when he reached the other side of the room, then he realized that they were actually female.

In the dim light, Leo couldn't quite tell what she was wearing. But her hair had fallen across her face as she bent down in fear, her eyes watching him as she approached. When his face became visible in the dim lighting, she saw that he was, in fact, a giant reptile.

She started squirming away from him again, until he reached out a three-fingered hand and pulled the gag off her mouth.

"Who are you?" She immediately asked. Her green eyes were wide and her breathing still quick.

"I'll tell you if you calm down. You're not helping yourself by panicking." Leo told her gently.

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes slightly. "I'm sorry. It's just where I come from, mutant lizards aren't common."

"Turtle." Leo spoke, trying not to be annoyed. "I'm a turtle."

"Okay.. Well, I'm a human." She bit her lip, trying to figure out what to say. "As much as I'm freaked out by this I don't think I can do anything about it. We're kinda stuck.."

Leo looked around from this side of the room. He hadn't bothered coming over here before - but he wasn't surprised, there wasn't anything else different. No way to escape. But he had to help this girl. The turtle sighed.

"You wanted to know who I am. My name Is Leonardo. My appearance is rather.. Unique, I'd say. We're very different from normal people, my brothers and I. We were mutated by ooze that fell out of a truck, and my Sensei, Master Splinter, rescued my brothers and I. The ooze affected all of us."

"Sensei? Are you, like, some kind of warrior?" She laughed slightly, but then stopped when she noticed the look on his face. "Sorry."

"Yeah, we are. He taught us ninjitsu, so we understood how to fight and blend into the shadows."

The girl went quiet a moment, looking at her chains. Her expression seemed very anxious and worried. Leo left her to her thoughts, moving away slightly. It was probably a lot to take in, hearing about mutants. Especially when you're trapped in a cell with one.

A few moments passed until she spoke softly. "I'm Jaya. I'm.. The Avatar."

She was expecting shock, fear, maybe amazement. But all she got was - "The what?"

The girl's head snapped up and she looked at the turtle. He had a bruise across one cheek, and a blue mask covering his face. He wore no clothes, but it didn't seem awkward - she wasn't really expecting to meet a giant turtle wearing clothes. Well, she wasn't expecting to meet a giant turtle - period.

"Where, exactly, are we?" She whispered instead of answering, fear slowly showing on her features.

"Well.. I'm assuming we're still in New York, but I'm not exactly sure where."

"New York?" The girl pulled on her chains with a single jerk. "We're not in Ba Sing Se? Or Republic City? The Fire Nation?"

Leo looked at her blankly.

"No no no no." Jaya tried to stand up, but the chains across her legs made her only able to stand on her knees.

"Jaya," The turtle came back towards her quickly, not wanting her to have another panic attack. "Tell me what you mean by 'the Avatar'."

"In my.. World.. Since we're clearly not there anymore.." She muttered, closing her eyes and falling back against the wall. "There are four nations. The Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, the Water Tribe, and the Air Nomads. Each of these areas have a special gift - the power to bend the elements. In order to maintain peace and harmony, they have one sole person born that can control all 4 elements - The Avatar."

"That's you?" The turtle looked at her in shock. "Can you get us out of here, then?"

"I can't." She whispered. "The walls aren't earth, It's too cold in here for anything fire related, there's no water - and I can't airbend yet."

Jaya looked at him, utterly defeated. "I'm a failure to my world." She fell quiet a moment, a thought entering her mind.

"Unless.."

Leo looked at the girl as she put her hands and feet together in a very cramped, painful looking mediation style. Her feet were still in chains, so she had to sit awkwardly on her knees. She closed her eyes.

—

Sorry for cliffhanging, but wanted to end somewhere. Will continue writing this when I have free time and inspiration. Feel free to give me your thoughts and ratings.