The air in the room around us was tense. Nobody seemed able to move, to do anything. Jack Bradford, the leading celebrity martial artist in the country, had just thrown a knife at a child's head! Was it scripted, or had that really just happened?!

I turned the knife over in my hands for a moment, examining its razor sharp edge with a critical eye. Then I casually tucked the small throwing knife away in my belt as I turned and began walking towards Bradford.

"You are lucky." I said overly loud as I approached, so that everybody could hear. "Stupid, but lucky. If you had thrown a real weapon at the back of my head, I could've been seriously injured, or even killed." I stopped in front of him, my blue eyes steeled over as they met his and held his gaze. "And I know that isn't something you wanted or intended to happen."

His face paled as he nervously eyed me, trying to figure out what I was up to. I was hiding the truth, but why? What was my motive? He slowly straightened up, looking like he wanted nothing more then to bolt and run at that moment.

Around us, the crowd murmured and seemed to relax a little at my words, obviously relieved that they hadn't just almost witnessed an attempted murder, but obviously still shaken by what had just happened.

I continued to lecture him, crossing my arms. "Even if you were using a mere prop...," (which it hadn't been) "...you should never, ever used them like that against anybody, much less a child."

He swallowed nervously, seemingly caught by my intense blue eyes. "I... I didn't mean to... I just..."

"You just lost control." I crossed my arms. "As I told you, it would be best if you took a small break to regain control of your emotions. Get a drink of water. Comb your beard." I gestured towards the door. "We will talk about this incident later, in a more private setting."

Bradford swallowed hard, and, after backing away a few steps, turned and almost fell over himself bolting for the door.

"Oh! And I highly recommend you stay inside." I called out after him. "I wouldn't leave the building if I were you!"

He continued to run off as if he couldn't hear me.

"Jack!" The director called out after him, then grabbed her hair, obviously on the verge on panic. "Oh, this is bad. This is very bad! What the hell was he thinking?!" She quickly turned to grab me by the shoulders. "Are you alright, child?!"

"I am fine." I nodded. Then I turned around, and paused when I noticed the aftermath going on in the rest of the gym.

It was like a fog of disbelief and uncertainty had settled over the room. Everybody just sat in their seats nervously, unsure of just what had happened, or what to do. The cameramen and staff were shuffling about, throwing uncertain looks at one another, and the other kids and the audience seemed stunned and dazed. What should they do now? Should they stay? Go? What exactly had just happened?!

I couldn't help feeling just the tiniest pangs of guilt starting to well up in my chest. These people had come here for an innocent night of fun and education. And... and those kids sitting there, all looking so lost and confused. They had come here looking for answers and, maybe, a second chance in life.

And I had let my pride get the better of me and ruined it for them.

"Are you alright, Leo?" April had quickly moved from her seat onto the mats beside me, grabbing my gloved hands and quickly examining them with concern. She obviously was quite aware that had been a real knife that had been thrown at me, and her green eyes flashed. "I swear, if he hurt you..."

"I'm fine, Sensei." I nodded absently, studying the other kids still sitting at the edge of the mat, then I glanced back over at her. I patted her hand gently in reassurance before taking my hands back. "I'm not quite done here yet, though. Do you mind waiting with the other parents just a little bit longer?" I turned to the director, who was still looking a bit panicked and shaken. "Excuse me. I need to borrow the mic for a bit."

"Uh... what?" The director blinked at me, confused.

But I had already reached up and taken the microphone out of her hands. "It'll be only a bit." I promised, then turned to the audience.

The director looked at April, confused and unsure, but April just looked at me for a moment, as if she was suddenly seeing something in me. She gave the director a nod and a knowing smile as she turned and took her seat among the confused parents once more.

"So, my apologies for what just happened." I frowned as I fiddled with the mic a bit, then nodded as I found a satisfactory way to hold it. I turned back to the line of kids. "As you may have guessed, things didn't exactly go according to plan."

The kids paused, and eyed me, unsure of what was going on.

"I'm going to request that you remain seated for a few more minutes." I continued talking. "There's actually a few points I wanted to bring up about all this, and I hope you'll all bear with me for a moment."

There was a quiet murmur. Nobody really seemed quite sure if they should let me keep going or not, but they didn't actually move to stop me.

"Now, what I want to address is what seems to be the theme of the lesson tonight. Respect." I continued, starting to walk in front of the other students. "That seems to be the concept that has attracted so many followers here tonight. And I agree, respect is very important, both as a martial artist, and as a person. Everybody has a deep desire to be respected. It's only natural." I shook my head. "But with all due respect to Master Bradford, I have to disagree slightly on a few points he made." I paused and stopped in front of the spikey haired blonde kid who had seemed so eager before, letting my blue eyes meet his. "In my opinion," I nodded to him, and the other students, "True respect is not something to be demanded or earned from others. If you want respect, then it is something that first must come from within yourself. Learn to respect yourself first, and you'll quickly find that others will automatically start to respect you more in return." I shrugged. "And even if they don't, you'll find that it matters not. The only opinion that truly matters, the only opinion that you have any control over... is your own."

"Now, I know that it's not quite as simple as that." I continued to walk slowly up the row of kneeling students, watching them carefully. "It's one thing to simply say 'Learn to respect yourself'. It's quite another thing to actually do so. Respecting ones own self can be very difficult, it's not something that you can just decide to do. Self doubt, loathing, fears, and uncertainty often plague even the strongest mind, and they can make it quite difficult to like, much less respect, yourself. Things you've done in your past that you're not proud of, embarrassing moments, failures, they can often push their way into your thoughts and make you feel worthless. Many times, you may even feel like wish you were somebody else, somebody better or smarter or prettier. That's quite normal, especially for teenagers, when emotions are so raw, and identity is so confusing."

"But, martial arts is more then just a fighting style." I nodded, seeing as I had their attention. "It's a discipline, designed to strengthen more then just your body. It's also meant to bring balance, and respect. Real respect, from within yourself." I paused in the center to face them all. "As cliche as it sounds, true mastery of ones self comes from exercising all three components that comprise who you are. Mind, body, and soul, they are all equally important. If you wish to learn to respect yourself, you need to first find your balance, your center. And martial arts help you to figure out who you are, and who you want to be."

And so, for the next few hours, I continued my lecture. And they listened.

I began by telling them about exercising the soul.

I explained about codes of honor. There were many martial artists followed codes of honor, following strict rules on how they acted and reacted to things. There were a few scoffs when I started on this topic, but they died away as I explained that it wasn't about following a religion, or becoming a paladin-like being. I patiently explained that, for most, anyways, they didn't do this because it made them feel superior to everybody else around them, as many people seemed to think, but because it gave them a sense of purpose and identity. Instead of spending their lives searching for who they were, they took the initiative and decided for themselves on the kind of person they wanted to be, and that this was going to be the way they wanted to live their lives. Thus they adopted rules for themselves to follow, even if nobody was watching them as they followed. It didn't matter what other people thought of them, but what they thought of themselves. Their codes weren't meant to bring them honor in the eyes of others, but to bring themselves honor in their own eyes. And, eventually, the codes would shape you into the type of person other people would see as well. I gently made it quite plain that, even if one failed at following their own code occasionally, even if own didn't live up to ones own expectations, that didn't mean you were a lost cause. No, you were only lost if you stopped trying to better yourself. It was far greater courage to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and vow to keep trying. It was a far greater thing to always keep trying to be the person you want to be.

Next, I told them about exercising the mind.

I explained about meditation. I told them how meditation wasn't always about emptying one's mind, nor traveling to the astral plane. It was often actually more practical and pragmatic then that. I explained quietly and simply how the brain was often like a jar filled with water and silt. Because life was often chaotic and uncontrollable, with so many things going on at once, that it could feel like the jar was all shaken up, leaving your thoughts and emotions swirling like dirt and debris in your mind. Everything was all tumbling together and making things messy and muddled. Meditation was merely taking a step back, taking calming breaths, and just letting all that silt slowly settle down to the bottom, leaving the water clear once more. I knew that when people thought of meditation, the images often brought to mind were of monks in exotic temples with smoky incense filling the air, but it didn't have to be like that. Anybody could meditate. Just a few minutes sitting in a quiet corner in a chair would even suffice, and it was something that came easier with practice. I considered this lesson the most important by far, and spent quite a bit of time teaching them how to relax and showing them a few helpful breathing techniques.

And, then, finally, I went over exercising the body. This was what they had all come here for, after all!

I made it clear that there was more then just strength and kicks and punches when I talked about taking care of oneself physically. There was a vital importance to one's own well being in eating healthy and sleeping well, as well as a proper exercise routine. There was that old saying that the body was a temple, and it was quite true. The physical body was what housed the soul and mind, and all three required care and attention.

By now, most of the students seemed to accept the fact that I had somehow ended up the teacher tonight, and were eagerly asking to learn some of the moves I had used earlier on Bradford. They... gave surprisingly convincing puppy dog eyes, and I finally caved in. I didn't feel comfortable showing them anything too complex, but basic self defense never hurt, right? Thus, I spent the rest of the time allotted for the program demonstrating and walking them through some very basic moves.

Eventually, though, the lesson had to come to an end. They kids all listened closely as I gave them one last summary of what I had shown them, and then signaled to the sound crew, who ended my speech with the soundbite of a mighty lion's roar. I paused and raised an eyebrow at them. They gave me a hearty thumbs up, then went about playing some pretty epic power ballad to close out the night.

Shaking my head, I turned to give one last glance at the other kids as I moved over to hand the mic back over to the staff and walked off the mats. They were once again looking excited and hopeful, rushing to meet their parents and guardians and excitedly talking. A couple of them waved at me when they noticed, which gave me a bit of hope. Perhaps I had made things right?

Shini, Karai, and Casey were waiting for me at the edge of the mat.

"Leonardo, you were amazing!" Shini grabbed and pulled me into a tight hug.

"Well, of course!" Casey laughed fondly, ruffling my hair. "He's Leo! Of course he'll always jump on the opportunity to come up with the most epic lectures."

"Casey!" I protested, unable to hide the grin even as I made the motions of indignantly smoothing my hair back down.

Unlike the other two, though, Karai was frowning. She immediately reached around and grabbed the small throwing knife that I had tucked into my belt, running a finger along the steel edge and examining it closely. Her face darkened considerably.

"Don't worry, we're going to deal with that in a moment." I reached up and took the knife back, carefully tucking it back away.

I looked around. Where was... Oh. There she was.

Apparently the other adults had figured out who my sensei was. April was trying her best to work her way over to us, but she was currently not only being swarmed by several parents, but was also trying to politely brush off the director, who was apparently trying to pitch an idea for a new series. "No, no, I'm sorry. I'm not taking in any more students at this time, and we're not interested in any production deals. Excuse me, please."

Casey raised an eyebrow, then straightened up and stepped back from me. "Welp, seems like my services are needed here. Hold these for me, will ya, Karai?"

He handed off his hand painted sign, and quickly strode towards April, cracking his neck and knuckles as he moved. The muscular and lanky hockey player plowed into the crowd pressing around my Sensei like a long haired bowling ball, quickly scattering them. "Okay, peoples. Ya heard the pretty lady. Back off, she ain't interested!"

April exhaled in relief, gave Casey a thankful look, and finally managed to make her way towards me. She knelt down to sweep me out of Shini's arms, pulling me into a warm hug. From the look on her face, I could tell she was immensely proud of me.

I was just a little surprised just by how much I reveled in the tangible glow of her pride, and couldn't help but returned the hug tightly, a grin crossing my face.

Then, Karai handed Casey back his signs as he rejoined us, dusting off his hands and leaving behind a slightly cowed and bewildered scattered mass of people.

"Come on." April exhaled and stepped back and gestured for us to follow. "We need to go talk to the guys. I'm sure they're worried sick about Leo."

We finally managed to sneak our way out of the crowd, found the stairs leading up, and made our way to the rooftop, where my brothers had ben camping out. I had no sooner reached the top step, and pushed open the door, when familiar green hands snatched me up and pulled me tight against a plastron in a fierce hug.

"Oh Leo!" Mikey clutched me close. "That was sooo intense! So many emotions were had! I mean, at first when you weren't going to fight Bradford, we were like, 'C'mon, bro!', but then you totally did fight Bradford, and you totally kicked his butt and it was awesome, and we were like 'Awesome, bro!' but then AHHH! The knife! He threw a knife! And you caught it! And it was like more AHHHs! And I was freaking out and Raph was freaking out and Donnie was freaking out and we didn't know if we should bust down there or not. But then you used your lecture superpowers and It. Was. So. AWESOME!"

And with that last word of that jumbled up, run on sentence, he squeezed me tighter, and I gave a strangled noise. "Mikey. You're... squishing... me."

"I know, big bro." Mikey whispered, reaching up to pet my hair. "Embrace the squish."

"Leo!" Donnie appeared and managed to pry me out of Mikey's grasp. He quickly set me on the ground and grabbed my hands in his large, green three fingered ones and examining them hurriedly. "Are you okay?! How are your hands?! That knife didn't cut you, did it?"

"I'm wearing the gloves you made me, Donnie." I reassured him, flexing my fingers to show him I still had all ten digits. "So not even a scratch."

"He spent an hour and a half lecturing the entire gymnasium." Shini pointed out, amused. "I think losing a finger might have hampered that."

Donnie scoffed, carefully but firmly turning my hands over, and relief softened his reddish brown eyes as he seemed satisfied that I was, as I had said, uninjured. "We are talking about Leo here, you know. He's tried training on a broken ankle before." He paused, and fingered the sleeve of my gi, noting the autograph inked on it with a frown. "Hm. We'll can use rubbing alcohol to remove that later."

"Thank you!" I was immensely relieved and grateful.

"So you all saw what happened then?" April asked, frowning as she moved over to put a hand on my shoulder.

"Oh yeah." Mikey gave her a wolfish smile. "Speaking of which..." He turned towards Donnie. "I believe it's your turn, Dee."

"Oh, is it already?" Donnie released my hands and stood back up, dusting himself down. Then he flipped out his bo staff and spun it casually in one hand as he walked forward a few steps, pulling out a throwing star out of a pouch on his belt with the other. He tossed the metal star in the air and snapped into action, catching it expertly on the end of his bo as he spun around. In a flash, the throwing star was whipped around the air as he spun, gaining momentum, and then was essentially sling-shotted, flung off the staff through the air like a silver bullet.

Around the corner, past a wall that blocked my view, there was a thunk and a whimpering yelp.

"Booyah!" Mikey could see what was beyond the wall, and was obviously impressed with Donnie's aim. "And that's fifteen points for the Deester!"

"Ooh, good shot, Donnie." Raph's voice complimented from around the wall.

Curious, we moved around the wall to see, and I raised my eyebrow.

Well, in all fairness, I had warned him not to leave the building.

Jack Bradford was pressed up against a wall, looking like he wanted to do nothing more then crawl into the nearest hole and disappear forever.

Unfortunately for him, the main thing preventing him from doing so was the fact that he that he had two sais pinning him firmly to the wall by his clothing, leaving him hanging there, pinned. He was trembling and curled up as much as one could in his particular situation, his body framed by dozens of not only throwing stars embedded into the wall around him, but a wide and vast assortment of knives and blades of various sizes. My brothers had apparently taken the time to set up a point system with chalk around him, as if he were the center of a human sized dart board.

Truth be told, I was actually pretty impressed by the sheer number of throwable sharp objects my brothers had apparently had brought with them tonight.

"I told you not to go outside." I mentioned to Bradford casually as we walked up.

"You!" His eyes widened when he saw me, and he almost moved, except there was a row of sharp shurikens lined up by his legs which quickly reminded him that moving was not a good idea.

"Yeah, what about him?" Raph was standing next to him, and apparently didn't like his tone. His huge, powerful hand smacked the wall as he leaned down to give Bradford a closeup of his snarling sneer. "Go ahead. Tell us. Just what about him?"

"Wait! I wasn't! I-I... Er... I mean..." Bradford, if anything, curled up even more under Raph's towering glare, before whimpering, "What's going on here?!"

It dawned on me that the poor, terrified, horribly confused man was obviously in way out of his depths. He didn't seem to have any idea of who or what my brothers were, or just what, exactly, he had gotten himself into.

Thinking about it, he probably wasn't having a very good day.

Raph snorted, then glanced up to give me a ruthless smirk, pressing against the wall to take a step back. "We've been giving this dickhead a valuable life lesson on why he shouldn't throw weapons at people." He gestured towards the quivering man. "Want to give it a go, Leo?"

"Please don't." Bradford whimpered, eyeing the shuriken embedded only an inch from his left eye. "I've learned my lesson! I swear! I've learned my lesson!"

"You threw... a KNIFE... at a child's... HEAD!" April snarled. "You could've KILLED him!"

Raph's face darkened considerably at her words, and he stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. "And NOBODY messes with our bro like that."

"Your... your bro?!" Bradford looked between me and my brothers, apparently not seeing the family resemblance.

"Wait. Before you guys have too much fun, I do need to step in and have a discussion with him first." Karai stepped forward, her golden eyes glinting dangerously.

"Whoa, K-girl." Mikey held up a hand to stop her. "Totally acknowledging your Big Sister territory here, but we already called dibs."

"Oh, trust me, as much as I'd love to take Bradford apart for what he pulled on Leo down there, I know where our clan boundaries lie." Karai reassured him dryly, never taking her predatory stare off of the cringing, bewildered, and very terrified Bradford. "No, if you remember, I originally came here to find out some information,"

"And watch Leo kick some butt." Shini interrupted her with a smirk. "We most certainly came to see that."

Karai cleared her throat, and continued. "Yes. And that. But mostly, I had come here to have a chat with Bradford about his activities, if I may remind you." She waved a hand. "The rest of his transgressions, sadly, fall into Hamato Clan territory, not Foot. I'll only join in the fun if invited, I promise."

Raph paused and pondered this. "So... first you interrogate, and then we get to peel him apart?"

Karai nodded. "Of course."

I didn't think it was possible for a man to look more terrified, as Bradford's eyes widened, looking at me, then shifting to look at my brothers. "Wait... Hamato Clan?! You're saying that that kid is... And they... The turtles I mean... They're... They're really..." He swallowed hard, eyeing Raph nervously. "I... had heard rumors, but... but I didn't think they actually existed!" His eyes widened further as suddenly some of Karai's words sunk in fully, and his face suddenly blanched even further. "Wait. Foot?!" he squeaked, his voice somehow cracking even more. "As in the Foot Clan?!" He seemed to truly get a good look at Karai then gasped weakly, obviously recognizing her. "O-Oroku Karai?!"

I could almost see the internal tally counter in his brain for 'So, just how many more things can go horribly wrong today?' click another couple of counts higher.

"Hamato Karai." She corrected him sharply. "The Mistress of the true Foot Clan." She turned to my red shadow, gesturing towards the pinned Bradford. "Raph? If you don't mind?"

Raph glanced at her, thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "Eh, why not. It's not like he's going anywhere." He reached forward and grabbed his sais, wrenching them out of the wall. Bradford gave a yelp and fell forward to land in a heap on the rooftop.

He quickly scrambled up to a knee before Karai respectfully. "Of-of course, mistress! Please, forgive me!" He was rapidly shifting between eyeing my brothers fearfully, and eyeing her with pleading puppy eyes.

"Hello, Jack, it's been more then a few years, hasn't it?" Karai stopped in front of him, plucking a kunai out of the wall behind him, and examined it. "I have to admit, I'm rather surprised to find you operating in New York City. Especially, since I'm quite certain that I had specifically declared this city Hamato territory, and thus off limits." She turned to Shini. "Didn't I say that?"

Shini leaned against a wall, playing with the chain of her Kusurigama. She nodded agreeably. "Yes, dear. I very distinctly remember you strongly stressing that point."

"And yet, imagine my surprise when I come here and discover that you were busy recruiting here. Almost as if it were behind my back." Karai turned back towards Bradford coldly, raising an eyebrow.

Jack Bradford's internal 'Bad Day' counter tally continued to tick upwards.

"I... er... I mean... I would never..." Bradford somehow, almost impossibly, seemed to shrink even further. "There was a substantial fanbase here already, and we were trying to keep up recruitment numbers. That... that order was made a decade ago, and I didn't think anybody would mind. I didn't think that the Hamato Clan actually existed! I mean, mutant turtles?! That is absurd!" His eyes shot over to my brothers nervously, suddenly realizing those 'absurd' mutant turtles were right there and very real. "Uh... no offense meant? Please?"

"Some taken." Mikey grinned at him.

"So then. Jack..." Shini suddenly melted out of the shadows behind him out of nowhere and purred in his ear. He yelped in surprise and jumped, turning to stare at her in shock, and then back to the empty place where she had been leaning only moments before. Her golden eyes glittered as she traced his cheek with a long fingernail. "Tell us of your dealings with the NeoFoot."

"The... the what?!" He swallowed, his eyes wide. He looked genuinely confused. Terrified, but confused. "Is... is that the name of the agent I'm supposed to be going through now? I haven't been told of any change. I've always just been contacting Greta, as usual."

Karai paused, then narrowed her eyes, studying him suspiciously. "You... you really don't know, do you?"

"Know what?!" Bradford squeaked, sweat dripping down his face.

Shini grabbed him by the chin, and looked into his eyes.

He whimpered, looking terrified back into hers.

Shini frowned, then nodded in satisfaction. She released his face and stepped back from him, dusting off her hands. "He's telling the truth. He's really clueless."

"No kidding." Donnie muttered under his breath.

Karai exhaled, though I couldn't tell if she was relieved or disappointed. Then she nodded, straightened up, and sternly pointed the kunai at Bradford. "There is a faction of traitors daring to call themselves the NeoFoot. If I ever find that you had anything to do with them..."

"Never, mistress!" Jack quickly shook his head overemphatically. "I'm loyal only to you and the true Foot Clan!" He bowed low.

"We shall see." Karai waved it off. "Very well. I believe you for now."

"Oh, thank goodness." Bradford exhaled in relief.

Karai cleared her throat. "Now, there's just the little matter of your behavior earlier tonight."

"That's where we come in!" Mikey volunteered.

"Wait!" Bradford gasped, turning to plead with Karai. "You're not going to help me? I'm not working with any NeoFoot, remember! I swear! I've been nothing but loyal!"

"Unfortunately for you, not only did you attempt to throw a weapon at the back of a child's head, but that child just so happened to be of the Hamato Clan." Karai crossed her arms, staring at him coldly.

"And, as Mistress Karai pointed out earlier, New York City is the recognized territory of the Hamato Clan." Shini playfully . "And, by the terms of the treaty between our two clans, the Hamato Clan is fully within its rights to litigate such a blatant transgression against one of their own."

Bradford's face blanched under his beard once again, and his nervous gaze once again darted towards my three, large, dangerous looking brothers, who were standing alongside a furious, mommabear April, and Casey, who was cracking his knuckles and giving a deranged grin.

"This is a very grave offense indeed." April said seriously, stroking her chin thoughtfully. She lowered her hand and shook her head. "I would say that judgement for such a crime should come from the Hamato Clan Leader himself."

"What?! No, please, have mercy! I'm sorry! I didn't mean anything!" Bradford wailed, obviously terrified at the prospect. I briefly wondered if he had ever met the Shredder while under his uncle's wing. Even if he hadn't, Karai was pretty scary herself, so I supposed that if those two were the type of experience Jack had with ninja clan leaders, he was probably having some pretty intense possible scenarios running through his mind at that moment.

April looked down at me and winked. I gave her a quick, appreciative grin, then cleared my throat and put my best 'leader' face on.

"And thus you get to deal with me now." I stepped forward confidently.

His face transformed from fear to confusion. "Uh... what?" He started to stand up, looking around perplexed.

Raph grabbed him by the shoulder and shoved him back down roughly. "'Leo's our leader. So you'd better show him the proper respect."

"What?! The kid?!" Bradford looked at me in shock. "But... but he's still in elementary school!"

"And yet he managed to kick your butt rather handily." Mikey was more then happy to point out the obvious.

Jack Bradford looked from me, to my brothers, to April and Casey, to Karai, and then, finally, back to me, understanding dawning on his face.

They were completely serious. Somehow, despite being a young kid, I was actually the head of the Hamato Clan. The Hamato Clan. An almost mythical clan, said to have powers and skills beyond imagination. If the rumors were true, and there were three obviously pissed giant mutant turtles in front of him, so they very well might be, this was a clan that was said to have stopped armies, alien invasions, and even destroyed the all powerful Shredder.

And he had thrown a knife at their leader earlier tonight.

I was fairly certain that internal 'Bad Day' counter broke at that moment.

"So... what's the verdict, Leo?" Donnie asked me casually, coming up to stand at my side. "Just say the word, and I can utterly ruin everything he loves and all that he's spent his life building with a few key strokes. Alternatively, Raph's idea was fairly simple. Simply punt him off the side of the building." He paused for a moment. "Mikey's plan of building tiny knife carrying robots to shadow him and throw knives at him when he's least expecting it is a little more... unconventional, but still doable as well."

"It's poetic justice." Mikey nodded sagely.

"I-I didn't mean to throw that knife! Honest! I... I never meant to do that!" Bradford pleaded, looking around and sweating. "Please, just... I-I'm sorry! I'll -I'll leave! I won't ever trespass here again! I'll do whatever you want!"

I pulled his knife out my belt, and he stopped, swallowing hard.

"You will never, EVER do something as stupid as this again. Do you hear me?" I held up the knife and fixed my icy blue eyes on him.

"I..." His shoulders bunched up a little, and he shrank back a bit, clenching a fist as he looked away. "No. I won't. I swear."

"Hm." I frowned at him. I flipped the knife up, caught it, then tucked it behind my back as drew back my arms. "Listen closely, because this is the way it's going to be. Those kids I saw tonight? They came here looking for a chance in life. All they wanted was something they could believe in. A purpose. And your program? It has potential. Not only to teach kids how to respect themselves, but, to find a place for those that have none. But, there are definitely issues that need to be addressed first."

Bradford eyed me warily. "Such as?"

I held up one finger. "First off, you are going to attend anger management classes. And not some faux celebrity rehab center or something like that. No, you are going to find a certified and reputable program, and you will not interact with any students or teach any classes until you have completed this program to their satisfaction. I do not want to hear of a repeat of tonight, is that understood?"

Bradford licked his dry lips, but nodded, a little hope flickering back into his eyes. Maybe he would survive tonight after all.

"Second." I held up another finger, counting the points off. "You will hire professional, trained therapists who are specialized to help troubled children. They will not only council and provide therapy for the kids that come into your program, but you will follow the lesson plans they help you put together. No more of that aggressive 'Earn the Respect' nonsense."

"What?!" he started to protest. "But my slogan is..."

"... Is counter productive, and will only encourage kids to get into fights that they can't win." I stopped him with a glare. "Much like you did tonight."

Bradford couldn't argue with that, but his face did grow a little sullen. Until Raph cleared his throat, and Bradford remembered that only a thirteen year old stood between him and getting punted off a building. "Understood." he meekly lowered his head respectfully.

"You are very much on thin ice right now." I frowned at him. "Know that we will be following up on this, and running background checks on anybody you hire for these positions. Make sure they are qualified." I held up my hand again. "Third point, and I think this one is rather obvious. I trust Karai, and her plans for her clan. She can take those lost recruits and set them on a path of honor, instead of joining street gangs like the Purple Dragons. Thus, I have no issue with you recruiting for her, even in our territories."

"Leo..." Karai seemed touched at this.

I glanced at her to give a quick smile, before turning stern once more at Bradford. "But if I ever hear of you leading kids to the NeoFoot, or encouraging any other criminal or gang activities, we will take action."

"We both will." Karai said firmly, and then gave Bradford a particularly snake-like fang-filled smirk. "And trust me, Jack. If anything like that ever happens, you better pray that they," she gestured to my absolutely terrifying brothers, "find you first."

"She thinks we'll be more merciful because our method would be messy, but fairly quick." Donnie explained helpfully.

Bradford shrunk just a bit more. "U-Understood."

"And now my final, but most important, point of contention." I stepped forward to grab Bradford by his shirt, getting right in his face just so he could see how serious I was about this. This was a point I wasn't going to budge on. "You will be getting rid of that damned concession stand!"

"Aw, but Leo!" Mikey pouted a little at that. "There's cotton candy!"

"It's a dojo, not some cheap theme park!" I exploded in irritation as I released the startled Bradford. "Set up a café out in back, I don't care, but in the dojo itself?! Have at least a modicum of respect for traditions!"

"Okay, okay! Anything you want!" Bradford squeaked. "I will do all those things you said! Please, can I go now?"

I paused, studied him for a moment, then glanced around at my family, noting how they had seemed to accept my judgement. I turned back to Bradford. "Then you agree to the conditions we are demanding?"

Bradford looked relieved, and nodded quickly. "Yes. I promise, I'll go get the treatment as you told me to, and have my assistants start interviews for the proper professionals for my classes at once. If this 'NeoFoot' ever contacts me, rest assured that I shall inform Mistress Karai immediately, and follow her every wish!"

I raised an eyebrow.

"And I'll have my staff start disassembling the food court first thing in the morning!" he quickly added.

I exhale, and then nodded. "Understand that you are very much on probation right now. But, for the moment, I believe that our clan would benefit more by using your strengths and influence towards a goal for good, then wasting it all by focusing our energies on revenge."

"Yes. Understood. Completely! Thank you!" Bradford almost melted in relief, and a little bit of that showman in him appeared once more as he gave a dramatic bowed low. "Your mercy is greatly appreciated, and I will do my best not to disappoint you."

I stood there for a second, eyeing him, and then suddenly I whipped about, and there was a flash of steel.

Bradford froze in place, and stared in disbelief and shock at his own throwing knife, now dangerously embedded into the rooftop only a hair's breath from his hand.

My blue eyes were icy cold as they met his unnerved gaze. "Know this. If I ever hear of you pulling something like what happened tonight again, there is no place you will be able to run and hide. There will be no second chance after tonight."

He stared at my eyes, his mouth agape, then down at the knife by his hand. He swallowed hard, and nodded fearfully, his voice cracking slightly. "Understood."

"Good." I nodded, convinced that the lesson had been taken to heart. "That bit of business completed, now there's only one thing left."

"Wh-what's that?" He licked his dry lips and eyed me nervously.

I reached behind me and pulled out the Program Completion certificate that Principal Williams had given me, handing it to him. "Could you please sign this for me?"

A/N:

Little Leo's internally monologue: Hm. I feel like a piece of me has clicked into place. I feel... more like myself now then ever...

I know! I'm going to give lectures to EVERYBODY!