Chapter 4
Warped Souls
Leonardo could tell by the exasperated look on his brother's face, his restlessness, sullen grunts and contemptuous eye-rolling that he wasn't about to give up his "childish aspirations" so easily. While Don and Raph were waiting in the living room, Leo argued against comic book politics before making it clear to Mike that his heroic antics could jeopardise the safety of their clan.
Reality was sinking in fast. It pained him to see his brother holding back those tears of frustration. Still he would rather have Mike sulking in his room than dead in some alley in a superhero costume.
His thoughts were slowly coming back to their previous discussion on the graffiti symbols found in Dragon-face's apartment but then he noticed his brother had suddenly stopped fidgeting in his chair.
Leo leant forward as he waved a hand in front of his brother's face. "Michelangelo?"
Mike didn't even flinch when Leo started poking him in the arm. He then stood by the kitchen stove to take a closer look at a motionless cloud of steam over the boiling tea kettle.
A voice came suddenly, causing Leo to jerk in shock before turning sharply to see Lord Simultaneous standing at the end of the table.
"Do you know that there are seven universes out there, with millions of in-between dimensions and seventy-nine realms existing simultaneously in the past, present and future?" he said as he reached for Mike's glass of orange juice on the table.
The Time Lord continued, "I have to make sure that everything goes according to plan while megalomaniacs and lunatics are being kept on a tight leash. Of course, it's impossible to keep them all incapacitated forever. So I let them go, let them do whatever they want until it's time to go back to where they belong. Then we mortals have such a hard time making decisions; so lost and confused and always in need of some "divine intervention" to put us back on the right path before screwing everything up again. Hmph. It's a never-ending cycle, I tell ya."
Leonardo watched as Simultaneous chugged down his drink.
"God I needed that!" he chirped, sliding the empty glass back on the table.
"Why are you here?"
"Because I am. It's time, Leonardo."
Guilt-stricken, Leo turned to look at his brother who was still frozen in time with his eyes glazed over and staring at nothing in particular.
"They don't deserve this."
"But you do?"
"If this is what it takes to keep my family away from her, so be it."
"This isn't just about you and your precious little clan, Leonardo. The fate of the Universe depends on it. I'm telling you now's the time to let it go."
"No."
Lord Simultaneous frowned. "You think absorbing the curse is gonna keep Ayu away from Splinter? How gullible can you get? I'm the one who's been keeping her away from your father. I'm the one who keeps this family alive. But do I ever hear a word of thanks? Never!"
"If you're so eager to get rid of him then why haven't you done it?" Leo retorted.
"It takes more than your ninja mentality to question the nature of my job."
"Get out," demanded Leo.
Lord Simultaneous narrowed his eyes at him and said, "I've given the Daimyo his ultimatum. Now I'm giving you yours: spread the curse. Or suffer the consequences."
"GET OUT!"
"You have twenty-four hours."
A burst of blue light spread throughout the kitchen, setting everything into motion again.
The kettle shrieked. An insect flew past him. Michelangelo stood up from his chair and left.
Leonardo fell back into his seat, closed his eyes and began taking deep breaths. He felt a sense of relief washed over him at the sound of Mike's door slamming shut.
His brothers were watching the news.
April O'Neil was on television again.
He listened.