Duplicity

"Du-plic-i-ty n. 1. Deliberate deceptiveness in behavior or speech. 2. The quality or state of being twofold or double." (The American Heritage College Dictionary)

AN. Duplicity is now on Stealthy Stories.

Disclaimer: The Turtles and all their friends are the property of Mirage Studios. The quote for this chapter is by Mr. Spock. I do not own them, but am grateful for the opportunity to use them in the unleashing of my own imagination.

Rating: This story is rated T for violence and battle related injury. Language is very mild.

Chapter 3

Having is not so pleasing a thing...

Casey wasn't at home; no surprise there. The vigilante had been spending more and more time and April's apartment as of late, much to the young woman's annoyance. His excuse was simple: her place was closer to the guys so if they needed the two of them for some reason they wouldn't have to travel so far. Of course, everyone knew this was just an excuse especially considering they rarely "needed" Casey for anything. The true reason for his never-ending visit to April's place was April herself.

Raphael landed nimbly on the roof of the loft above 2nd Time Around. He could hear music from within and lights shone through the windows. Wasting no time, he scaled down the fire escape to the landing next to the kitchen window. "Red Barchetta" greeted his ears as he slid open the pane and slipped into the light filled room. It was then that his eyes were met a rather amusing sight.

Casey stood at the counter with his back to the turtle. A white scarf was tied over his dark hair and a floral-print apron around his waist. A feather duster was stuck in his back pocket and it flicked back and forth in time with the music as he scrubbed the counter with a sponge that may have once been yellow. When the song ended Raph decided it was time to announce his presence.

"The Mr. Mom look really suits you, Case; although the apron may be going a bit far."

Casey spun around, surprised to see Raph there leaning casually against the pantry. "Sheesh Raph! You tryin' to give me heart attack?"

"Nope, just tryin' to get a laugh at your expense." He shot back with a smirk. "By the way Case, you've got a little somethin' right here."

The man immediately pulled the scarf off his head and wiped his face with it, glaring at Raph all the while. Then his expression change to apprehension as he hurriedly peeked into the living room before pulling Raph away from the door and lowering his voice to a rough whisper.

"Raph, buddy, you gotta get me outa here. April's been running me ragged. I…"

"And for good reason Casey Jones." April appeared in the doorway carrying a bucket filled with soapy water. She smiled at the turtle. "Hello Raph. Sorry, Casey can't go with you tonight. He's making up for all the messes I've had to clean up in the past few weeks. Hopefully then," She shoved the bucket into the arms of the startled man, successfully splashing water all over his apron. "He'll learn not to leave his garbage lying around."

Casey grinned sheepishly. "Ah, common Ape. We'll only be gone a couple of hours and then…" He held up the bucket. "Then I'll scrub your entire floor."

"I don't think so Jones. You're going to scrub my floor anyway. Now get to it." Casey's mouth opened and closed a few times before he stomped to the edge of the kitchen and got down on his hands and knees, grumbling all the way. April smiled and shook her head, then turned back to the turtle. "Can I get you something to drink Raph?"

"Nah, no thanks. I better get going and leave Casey to his… work." He grinned.

"Well, tell the guys I said 'hi,' alright?" She leaned over to kiss the Raph's cheek.

"Yeah, sure thing Ape." He shook off his embarrassment from her open show of affection and turned back toward the fire escape. "Catch you later, Case," he called out and just before he shut the window he heard a grumbled, "Thanks for the help, Raph."

Raphael shook his head; that's Casey for you: an arrogant, pig-headed, mess-maker. Still, he didn't know where he'd be without the guy.

Raph knew he had anger issues; after Leo's disappearance, they'd only gotten worse. But he'd forced himself to control his feelings and emotions for the sake of his brothers. He was the leader now. He had responsibilities. He held his anger inside, only allowing release late at night when it was just him and the punching bag. It wasn't easy, and it only got harder as he got older. It didn't help that he had no one to relate to, no one who understood his anger and what it did to him.

The day he met Casey, he'd nearly lost it. He hadn't had any time to himself to let his emotions out in a few days and he felt like a volcano ready to erupt. Mike wasn't helping, taunting him and altogether getting on his nerves. He'd blown his top and lashed out at his younger brother. He still couldn't figure out what stopped him from seriously injuring Mikey. Thinking back he recalled a hand on his wrist and a voice from behind him, but when he looked, there was no one there. Regardless, it brought him back to his senses and when he realized what he'd been about to do, he high-tailed it out of there.

While trying to get his nerves under control, he ran into Casey. In him, he'd found a friend, a kindred spirit, someone who could understand him in ways that his brothers and father could not. They were so alike; they forged a bond as strong as any between blood brothers. Since then, Casey had become his go-to in dealing with his anger. Together, they would work off their frustrations, whether it was by racing their bikes through the streets of New York City or by, as Casey liked to say, "Bustin' heads."

Raph grinned as he continued along the rooftops. Yep, Casey was a life saver.

"Speaking of bustin' heads…" he stopped and backtracked to the alley he'd just passed over. Peering down he spotted a couple of punks pulling a knife on a young woman. "Ah…" his smile turned wicked. "This should be fun." Pulling out his sai, he leapt down into the ally.

A few minutes later, the girl was dashing out of the ally, unharmed but for a bit of roughing up; the punks were unconscious. Raph dusted off his hands, smiling at the satisfaction of another mission accomplished. He was just about to head back up to the roof when someone appeared at the mouth of the alley. "What the shell? Another one, eh?"

The man was young, probably 19 or 20; his hair was shaved to short stubble and he had piercings along both eyebrows. A purple dragon tattoo ran down the length of his arm. The sight caused Raph to grin maliciously. "Just who I was looking for." He walked toward the man only to stop short when five more dragons appeared along side their buddy. Some held baseball bats, while others wielded tire irons threateningly. "Hey, this might actually be a slight challenge."

They came at him. He didn't even bother with his sai as he sent the first two flying over his head. The third discovered that his shell wouldn't make a very nice pillow. He turned back to the rest only to discover that there were now more of them. "What, did you guys learn how to multiply? I guess you finally passed the third grade, huh." He counted them mentally- about ten, nothing he couldn't handle.

He drew his sai and beckoned them forward with a grin. "Let's do this."

They attacked as one, and not just from in front of him. Dragons seemed to appear out of nowhere from the sides and behind him. Ten soon became thirty, which turned into fifty. The instant Raph took one punk out of commission, another was there to take his place. What is this? he thought to himself. It was common for a handful of dragons to team up for a mission, but they never came together en masse like this; they weren't coordinated enough for that. Somebody planned this…an ambush.

He managed to shove a few more punks to the ground as he looked for an escape. There was no way he could win this on his own in such an enclosed space. The alley was too small; there was no room to move. The roof… I need to get to the roof.

The mass of bodies pinned him in the corner and his sai were wrenched from his grasp. He couldn't lift his arms to draw his katana as they pressed in on him tighter. He saw the tire iron coming; he tried to stop it but his arms were pinned.

For a moment there was nothing. Then the pain came as lights danced before his eyes. It was impossible for him to fight back now; he was disoriented and could barely see. They rained upon him in a torrent of crude weapons and he shut his eyes waiting for darkness to claim him.

Then he heard something; a voice, familiar and yet not at the same time. The deluge eased and then stopped. For a moment he just breathed; a warm breeze from the street felt cool on his overly hot skin. He was sore all over and his head was throbbing. He still couldn't get over the fact that he was alive and he did not notice the sound of steel being laid on the ground nor the presence of someone nearby.

A touch on his face caused him to snap his eyes open. It took him a moment to focus on the stranger; his eyes still weren't working quite right. His first few glimpses convinced him he was hallucinating, or perhaps he had died after all, though if this was heaven he'd hate to see what hell was like. But as his vision began to clear he came to realize that what he was seeing was indeed real.

The turtle knelt before him, examining his head wound carefully. Calm brown eyes shown though a dark blue mask and there was no mistaking who it was. Raphael's mind was reeling. He still couldn't figure out why he'd been ambushed or how he'd survived and now, out of nowhere, his long lost brother had appeared and was tending to his wounds? It didn't help that his head felt like it was about to split open and he couldn't think straight.

The older turtle leaned back and took a good look at Raph before standing and lifting a long nodachi from the ground beside him. For a fleeting moment, Raphael thought his brother was going to cut him down but he merely slid the large sword into its sheath along his back and held a hand out to him.

"You're going to have one shell of a headache tomorrow, Raph."

"Leo…" Raph breathed. He took the offered hand and stood but was immediately overcome by dizziness. Leonardo steadied him, allowing him to lean against him as he overcame the sudden nausea.

"You've probably got a concussion. You'd better get Don to take a look at that. Can you make it home?"

"Yeah, it ain't far." Raph answered almost robotically, his mind still racing at everything that was happening. If my head would stop pounding maybe I could figure this out.

Leo looked up to the sky as though searching for someone then returned his gaze to his brother. "Good. You'd better go then." After ensuring that Raphael could stand on his own, he stepped back and took one last look at his younger brother. "I'll see you later, Raph," he said. Then he scaled a nearby fire escape and disappeared into the night sky.

11:24 PM

Raph should be home soon.

Donatello spun away from his computer and gazed toward the entrance to the lair. He felt bad about what he'd said earlier and didn't want to go to bed with bitter feelings still hanging in the air between himself and his red-masked brother. While he was set in his beliefs that the chances of their eldest brother coming back were slim, he knew that his words had hurt Raphael, who had held so long on to the hope of Leo's return and the honoring of a promise made years ago.

He was about to turn back to the monitor when the door opened. Raph came in, as expected; but what was not expected was the state he was in.

"Raph!" Don rushed to his brother's side, taking note of his injuries as he led him into the living room. The most obvious of these was the golf ball sized lump on the top of his head; he probably had a concussion which would account for his staggering pace. He was covered all over in small cuts and bruises, but nothing else major.

"Master Splinter! Mike!" He called for his brother and father as Raph slumped against the sofa. Quickly, he rushed to his lab to get the first aid kit. When he returned, he found Raph trying to stand up again. "No, Raph. You've got to sit down while I get you fixed up."

"No, no I'm fine Don." His words were mostly coherent, which was a good sign. "I've got to tell you-"

"You can tell me later." Don pushed him back down on the couch and proceeded to shine a small flashlight into his eyes checking his pupil dilation. Meanwhile, Michelangelo and Splinter had arrived.

"Dude, what happened to you?" Raph turned his head toward Mikey's voice and spotted his sensei, which prompted him to try and rise once more.

"Master Splinter, I…"

"Raph! Stay still!" Donatello ordered, shoving him back down. Raphael remained seated but continued to speak to the rat, further annoying his brother-turned-doctor by turning his head away.

"Master Splinter, I saw him. He was there. He saved me." No one knew what he was talking about but Splinter merely came around to sit beside him on the couch and rest a paw on his arm.

"Be calm my son, and tell me what has happened." His voice and gentle touch did indeed calm the still-disoriented turtle. After a few deep breaths he began explaining what happened after he left April's apartment.

Donatello work quietly as he told his story, patching him up and ensuring that he wouldn't be falling into a coma any time soon. He did not pause in his work until Raph told of the number of Purple Dragons that had attacked him. At this point he stopped completely and stood back, his mouth agape. Michelangelo also appeared shocked at what he'd heard.

"Why would they gather together like that? The dragons always work alone or in small groups. They don't have the communications power to pull together an attack like that… unless… someone else was pulling the strings."

"That's what I was thinking. But who?"

Don just shook his head. He had no ideas at this point but planned on looking into it as soon as he got the chance.

"Continue, my son," Splinter prompted and Raphael returned to the tale. He paused for a moment before speaking about the stranger. He met each of his brother's eyes before returning his gaze to his father.

"I couldn't believe it at first, but there really wasn't anyone else it could be. He wore a blue mask, but it was dark blue, like almost black. And he had a big ole sword… an ôdachi of some sort."

"Um… bro?" Mike cut it, now completely confused. "Who are you talking about?"

Raph held his tongue for a moment. He knew they wouldn't believe him, especially not Donny. But he had to tell them. "Leo."

Don had just finished bandaging a small cut on his arm when his brother said this. He frowned. Of course. He took a deep breath.

"Raph, you've been through a lot tonight and you got hit pretty hard. Hallucinations are a sign of a serious concussion."

"I wasn't hallucinating, Don. I know what I saw. He helped me up and told me was gonna have a headache, which I do by the way. Then he just… left." He turned away from his purple-masked brother and looked at Michelangelo. "You believe me, right Mike?"

Mikey looked between his two brothers, unsure. "I… don't know what I believe."

Raph frowned and then started to get up. "Yeah well. I know what I saw. I know it was Leo. And I'm gonna go find him."

"Raph, you're still disoriented. You need to rest."

"I'm fine. I just need some Tylenol. Leo's still out there and…" A fur covered hand on his shoulder stopped him and he turned to see his master's gentle smile.

"And he will still be out there tomorrow."

"Master Splinter. You believe me?"

"I believe… that if Leonardo has revealed himself to you once, he will most certainly come again." Raph nodded and allowed himself to be lowered back onto the couch. "For now you must rest and allow your body to heal. Anything else can be dealt with later."

2:38 AM

He stared at the computer screen. He was tired, but knew he wouldn't be able to sleep if he tried. They had kept Raphael up for a few more hours to ensure that there wouldn't be any lasting effects from the concussion. He'd finally given him the okay at about 1:30 and sent him to bed with two ibuprofen tablets and a glass of water. Don himself had retreated to his computer, unable to get his mind to settle.

"Hey, Donny. You gonna go to bed?" Mike came up behind him from a late night trip to the bathroom. "What are you doing anyway?"

"I'm just researching recent gang activity and the like. I'm trying to figure out who might have headed up that ambush."

"Find anything?" The orange-masked turtle asked, straddling the second computer chair and spinning it around a few times.

"Nope, it's all just the usual stuff. Nothing abnormal." Mike nodded and resumed spinning. There was silence for a few minutes, only interrupted by the sound of typing and dripping sewer pipes.

Suddenly Mikey stopped and stared directly at Donny with a frown on his usually happy face. "Don? Do you not want Leo to come back?"

Don looked up at his younger brother. "No. Of course I want him back. I just don't see it happening is all." He typed a bit more.

"But if Raph really saw him tonight…"

"That's a big 'if' Mike. People do tend to hallucinate when they've been hit that hard. And Leo was already on his mind from earlier." He clicked on a link.

"Yeah, but if he did see him… that means Leo's gonna be coming home soon. Wouldn't it be cool to have him back? It'll be the four of us again, like when we were kids."

Don sighed and exited out of the internet before turning to give Mike his full attention. "Yeah Mikey, it would be cool… at first. Thing is, we don't know where Leo's been all these years, what he's gone through. We've all got false expectations about what having him back would be like but the truth is, he's probably a completely different turtle from the brother we knew when we were nine. Heck, we're probably a lot different then he remembers. I guess what I'm saying is that a part of me is scared of having him back, of what it would do to our family."

Mike seemed to chew this over in his mind as he swung back and forth in the rolly-chair. "I guess it's like what Spock says." He finally whispered. "Having is not so pleasing a thing as wanting."

"It's not logical but it is often true." Don completed with a small smile. The Vulcan had always been his favorite character on Star Trek.

After a few more moments of contemplative silence, Mikey brightened. "But he's still our brother, right? So it doesn't matter if he's different. We'll work through it, just like we've worked through everything else that's come our way. No matter what, we'll always be a family."

Don grinned and nodded. That was what he loved about his little brother. No matter how many facts and statistics his own pessimistic realism came up with, Mike could always worm his way through them and find those plain and simple truths that could not be broken, those undeniable certainties that stood as a barrier against all the doubts and hardships in their difficult life.

They were a family; they were brothers… and that would never change.

…as wanting.