Duplicity

"Du-pli-ci-ty n. 1. Deliberate deceptiveness in behavior or speech. 2. The quality or state of being two-fold or double." (The American Heritage College Dictionary)

AN. Well, I got a lot of views but not a lot of reviews for the last chapter. Granted it hasn't been very long since I posted it and I'm not usually one to ask for reviews but it is helpful to know what readers are thinking when they read my stories. Anyway, thank you to those who did read and review. I'm kind of on a roll right now so I'm going to keep writing. Again, I don't know how far this roll will take me. This story, as it is in my head, will have at least 20, possibly 30 chapters. How much of that I end up writing… well I guess it does depend somewhat on how much encouragement I get. Also, I apologize for any typos in this or the last chapter. I guess I'm more concerned with getting them written and posted than making sure I didn't write "chest" where it should say "crest." *face-palm*

Disclaimer: The Turtles and all their friends are the property of Mirage Studios. 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 9

Choose to lead…

The dojo was filled with noise – clashes of metal against wood, grunts of physical exertion, pants of breathlessness, and of course, the usual banter of three mutant turtles excitedly preparing for what they had decided would be the greatest battle of their lives.

"And then I'll knock out three Feet at once with the awesome new move Leo helped me with." Mikey leapt back, out of Raphael's reach to demonstrate. He barely made it half way through before Donatello appeared next to him and Michelangelo was forced to duck out of the way of Don's bo.

"You won't be knocking anyone out if you don't focus, Mikey." Raph charged in with a grin, catching both his brothers by surprise and forcing them to scramble out of the way.

Donnie swung his bo around, aiming at Raph's head, but missing as the red-banded turtle dropped into a roll and moved away. "And since when do we call them 'Feet'?"

"Uh, since it became the plural of foot, duh." Mikey replied casually as though Donnie wasn't the smart one. Donatello just rolled his eyes and adjusted his stance, ready for anything.

It was a free-for-all, every turtle for himself and the winner would be the last one standing. Master Splinter had wanted to be sure that his sons would be able to hold their own against multiple opponents at once. The coming battle would certainly be fierce as the Shredder would not go down without a fight. His sons would have to be prepared for anything if they were to succeed in freeing their brother from the Shredder's grasp.

Of course, they would not be alone. Leonardo, himself, would be fighting alongside them and Splinter had also decided to join the battle. This was too important. There was too much at stake to let his sons go alone. He would fight by their side.

No one had argued with him when he announced his decision the night before. However, Splinter noticed the slight narrowing of his eldest son's eyes before Leonardo nodded firmly. The old rat was worried about his son. His brothers did not seem to notice the subtle wariness in Leonardo's stance or the way he chose his words carefully, even while they watched a movie and joked playfully.

Leonardo was not comfortable in their home and was especially wary around Splinter. Although it warmed Splinter's heart to see his four sons reunited and re-forging their bonds, it saddened him to realize that he would likely never regain the special bond Leonardo had once shared with his father.

Leonardo's time in the hands of the Shredder had changed him. Splinter knew that however much his son tried to hold on to his love for his original family, no childhood memories could hold up against years of vicious propaganda against those he'd once held dear. The ninja master guessed that, quite surely, most of the rhetoric had been targeted towards his own person rather than against his other sons or their family as a whole. The Shredder had known little about Leonardo's brothers and so could say very little against them. For this reason, Splinter had no doubt that Leonardo would soon be able to take his place comfortably amongst his brothers. He was the final piece of their puzzle and they would fall into place like a well-oiled machine. But Splinter feared that the Shredder's lies would forever stand between him and his eldest son.

He had given much thought to this the night before and come to a decision. When the time came for Leonardo to fully rejoin their family, he would not force the oldest turtle to accept him once more as his father and sensei. He would continue to teach his other sons and invite Leonardo to join them but would look to him as more of a colleague than a student. Splinter knew well that one's training never truly ended, but it was clear to the ninja master that Leonardo, and in fact all of his sons, were near to becoming master's themselves. So many years of training had led them to this. He had previously considered sending Raphael, and later his brothers, on a personal training pilgrimage to further this end, but the appearance of his old enemy and now the reappearance of his eldest son had changed those plans.

Any pilgrimage would now have to wait until their family was whole and their enemies destroyed. They could not afford to be divided at this time. But once this battle was over, Leonardo would be home and the Shredder would be gone. They would have to spend a few years adjusting to the changes in all of their lives but once things settled into a normal routine then he would propose that each brother make an individual journey of self-discovery which would end with them becoming ninja masters and fulfilling the legacy of his master, Hamato Yoshi.

"Hey, Masta Splinta, do ya think maybe we could take this training topside?" Raph asked, holding up his hand to stall his brothers in their battle. "I'm itchin for a run and we're supposed to meet Leo in an hour anyway."

Splinter looked towards the clock, having forgotten the time as he watched his sons train and became lost in his own thoughts. It had grown late. Looking back at his three sons, he noticed how Donatello and Michelangelo had both frozen at Raphael's silent command. They saw him as their leader and he held that position well.

It had surprised Master Splinter, how quickly his second son had stepped up to fill the shoes of his older brother after Leonardo's capture. Raphael was not the natural leader that Leonardo was. Granted he had many qualities that would make a great leader, as did each of his sons. He was strong and commanding and fiercely loyal. But that loyalty had a tendency to make itself known as a fierce temper and a propensity towards acting before thinking. Splinter had seen these tendencies in Raphael from a young age and knew that the hot-headed turtle would not be able to fully embrace his nature were he given the position of leader. As a leader, he would be forced to constantly curb his inner fire. He would not be able to simply act when the need came because he would be constantly second-guessing himself to make sure he was not acting solely out of anger.

Splinter had always intended for Leonardo to be their leader. He knew that this had angered Raphael in their youth as the young turtle had not understood his reasoning. But when Leonardo had disappeared and Raphael had stepped up to take his place as leader, it had not been easy on him. Many times, Raphael had complained that it was too hard, that he couldn't do it anymore.

"I don't know how to do this, Masta Splinta. I can't control myself. I can't even think sometimes. I know now why you didn't want me to be the leada. It's cause you knew I would hate it!" Twelve year old Raphael kicked out at an imaginary opponent, trying to release his pent up frustrations as he paced through the room.

"Raphael, only you know what you are and are not capable of doing. You should know that I never chose your brother to be the leader. He took it upon himself to lead you. He, too, doubted himself at times and came to me, seeking to step down from the position. I told him what I now tell you, Raphael. I did not choose you. You chose yourself to lead, to protect, and to defend your brothers. It is never easy and everyday you must choose again."

Raphael stopped pacing then. He breathed deeply and lifted his hands to the blades that were sheathed behind his back. He drew one and held it out to catch the light. He stared at the kanji near the hilt – at the name of his brother three years missing. He raised his eyes to meet those of his sensei and Splinter nodded, knowing well what his son had chosen.

Splinter pulled himself from his memory and looked back at his son who was still waiting for an answer. Sheer determination and will power had honed Raphael into the amazing leader that he was today. He was strong, confident, and in full control of his mind and body. He no longer had to think about his choice to lead his brothers; it came naturally.

They all knew that Raphael intended to step down once Leonardo was home for good. He'd been announcing for years that he was tired of leading and now that his older brother was back, he'd been all the more vocal about having the mantle of leadership removed for good. Yet Splinter was curious as to how exactly that would play out. He did not think Raphael would find it so easy to stop leading after having chosen it for so long.

"I won! Oh yeah, I won. Oh yeah. Mmmhmm."

Donnie and Raph rolled their eyes as Mikey continued his victory dance on the rooftop where they would soon be meeting with Leo. They were all a bit out of breath after their fast-paced game of ninja tag across the New York City skyline but Raph felt great. The run had been exhilarating and the game had been fun. It was made all the more exciting by the knowledge that soon it would be four, not just three, of them who would be racing across the roofs, patrolling the streets, and bustin' the bad guys.

Everyday brought them closer to having Leo home for good. Every exercise and bit of training meant they would just be that much more likely to succeed. Their plan was good. Leo had explained the layout of the warehouse they would attack – how they would enter through the roof and make their way down to the sub-terrain levels where much of the Foot, plus the Shredder, would be caught off guard. Donnie had a few tricks up his sleeves to knock out the lights and make it a true battle of stealth. He and his brothers had grown up in the sewers. They were used to working in little to no light. Raph grinned. May the better ninjas win.

Raph looked around the roof, expecting to see Leo step out of the shadows. It had to be close to when they were supposed to meet him. "Hey Donnie. What time is it?"

"Uh, quarter after ten." Donatello winced. "Man, we're late. But Leo's not here, yet. I hope we didn't miss him."

"Nah, Leo woulda waited for us. He must've gotten held up by something. I'm sure he'll be here soon."

Fifteen minutes later, Raph started pacing the roof. "Where is he?" he mumbled, not really expecting an answer.

Donnie looked up. "Calm down Raph. He's only thirty minutes late. We were late too, remember?"

"Yeah, but we ain't sleepin' under the same roof as the Shredder. What if he was discovered?"

"Ah, come on. Don't jump to the worst conclusion, Raphie." Mikey cut in, trying to lighten the mood. "Anything could be holding him up. Maybe New York's most eligible young bachelor finally got himself a date. Or maybe he got stuck writing an essay on the unimportance of stars. Or maybe he got captured by aliens – Ow!" Michelangelo rubbed the back of his head where Raph had hit him.

"Not helpin' Mikey." Raph growled.

"Guys?"

Three heads shot up towards the voice of their eldest brother. They didn't see him at first but then spotted him lurking in the shadows of an old water tower. Raph smiled feeling relieved.

"There you are, Leo. We were getting worried." Raph said stepping towards his brother. Leo took a step back.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I got a little held up while leaving the tower." Leo stepped further into the shadows so that Raph could barely make out his silhouette.

Donnie stepped forward with a frown. "Leo, are you alright?"

"Dude, why are you hiding over there in the shadows?" Mikey asked.

Leo didn't answer and Raph scowled. Something was wrong and it didn't seem like Leo wanted to let them know. Shell if that was going to happen. He moved quickly and was by Leo's side before the older turtle had a chance to move away. Leo tensed and turned his face away when Raph grabbed his arm to keep him there.

"Bro, what's the matter with you?" Raph squinted through the dark. He couldn't see well but there was something off about his brother's face. To start with, he wasn't wearing a mask. But there was something else too. Raph thought he could smell blood.

"Leo, look at me."

Leonardo sighed and slowly turned his head so that Raphael could see his whole face. Raph gasped and his eyes widened at what he saw.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Donnie and Mike had joined them now and as they came around to face Leo, they both froze.

Donatello moved first, taking Leo by the hand and dragging him out from under the water tower and into the dim light of the bulb by the door to the stairs. Raph and Mike followed and there they all got a better look at Leo's face.

The left side of his face was a wash of colors other than his usual green. Purple and black bruises had formed over most of the area but the most predominant wounds were the two long, red gashes that ran from the middle of his forehead, across his left eye and down his beak, ending just above his mouth.

"It looks worse than it is." Leo began but he was cut off.

"I beg to differ." Don said lifting his hand but not actually touching Leo's face. It wasn't actively bleeding and looked like it had been cleaned, albeit crudely, but he needed stitches and Donatello was extremely worried about his brother's eye which was currently swollen shut. "Your eye…"

"My eye is fine Donnie. Trust me, that's the first thing I checked. I can still see – or rather I will be able to see once the swelling goes down. I'm not sure how, but he managed to miss my eye."

Raph let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Then he got angry. "Who? Who did this to you? What happened, Leo?"

Leonardo sighed. "I messed up."

"They found you out?" Raph asked.

"No, my cover is still good. I just… made a mistake. I was given an order that I couldn't follow. In the Foot Clan, disobedience has consequences. Saki was just – "

"The Shredder did this to you?" Mikey asked. "I thought you were supposed to be like his son or something."

"That's it, Leo! You ain't going back there. Not again. Not after this." Raph crossed his arms in a look that Donnie and Mike both recognized. Their red-masked brother was in leader mode and he was putting his foot down. Unfortunately, Leo didn't know that.

"Yes I am, Raph. I have to. We are so close to finishing this. Too close to back out now. We have to follow this through to the end. We have to defeat our enemy. The honor of our clan demands that we get revenge for – "

"I don't care! I don't care about the enemy or revenge or some age old vendetta! I care about you, Leo! All that matters to me is my family – my brothers – making sure they are safe and unharmed. That includes you, Leo, and I am not about to send you back in there to get beaten up again. This ends now!"

Leo's eyes widened, taking in his brother's stance, his tone, his presence and recognizing it for what it was. "Wow." He whispered. "You really have become a leader, Raph."

Raphael seemed to jerk in surprise at these words. Almost instantly, he seemed to deflate – his arms dropping to his sides and his stance relaxing. He shook his head.

"No. No, Leo. I'm not the leader. I never wanted to be the leader. I'm no good at it. You are our fearless leader. You're the one we need. And that's why we can't lose you. Not again. We just got you back." His voice trailed off at the end, not sure what else he could say. Don and Mike had both grown quiet during the exchange. Neither dared to say anything.

Leo didn't reply at first. He simply stared at Raph, as though waiting. After a moment, Raph realized what he was waiting for. It was time to make another choice. For seven years, he had chosen to lead his brothers. Now though, it was time for him to follow.

Raph took a deep breath and nodded. "You're right, Leo. You're the leader. So we'll do this your way. If you say we gotta wait, then we'll wait. But I sure as shell hope it's soon, bro, cause I can't stand to see you hurt like this again."

Leo nodded firmly and opened his stance to face all three of his brothers.

"Tomorrow. Our plan will take effect tomorrow at ten o'clock pm. The Shredder and a group of his Elite will be present in the warehouse we have planned to attack. I will go ahead of you and make sure everything is in place. You all know the plan."

Three heads nodded and then Mikey broke the tension.

"Dude, the Elites will be there? I love their hats." He said with a laugh.

Donnie sighed and turned his attention back to Leo's face. "Now that that's settled, let's go down to the lair and I'll get you stitched up."

Leo shook his head. "I can't Donnie. I'm going back to the tower tonight. Someone will notice that if I receive treatment and wonder where I got it. I'm not exactly on Saki's favorite persons list right now so I've gotta lay low for tonight."

Donatello frowned. "Will you be able to fight tomorrow? With your eyes swollen shut?"

His Blue-banded brother nodded. "I'll take something for the pain and swelling and most of it will have gone down by tomorrow night."

The brainy turtle eyed him skeptically but finally sighed. If Raph wasn't going to argue with Leo, then he really couldn't either. "Fine. But I'm stitching you up the moment we get back to the lair tomorrow night. No arguments."

Leo nodded and then addressed them all. "Everyone should probably get a lot of rest tonight. Tomorrow will be a big day."

"Right, let's all head home." Raph agreed. The sooner they got to bed, the sooner they could face tomorrow and have their brother home for good.

"Put some ice on that wound, okay Leo." Donnie offered his parting advice.

"Goodnight, Bro." Mikey offered. He and Donnie both headed down the fire escape, intending to take the nearest manhole into the sewers. They weren't too far from home.

Raph turned to follow but was stilled by a hand on his shoulder.

"Raph, can you wait a minute. There's something I need to tell you." Leo said.

"Yeah, sure. I'll just tell the guys to go on without me."

Raph was gone only for a minute but when he came back to the roof, Leo wasn't where he had left him. He found the older turtle leaning on the edge of the opposite end of the roof, gazing out at the New York City skyline through his one good eye.

"What cha looking at?" Raph asked, leaning on the wall next to his brother. Leo didn't respond so Raph followed his line of sight to Oroku Towers which glowed harmlessly some distance away from them. He looked back to his brother and noticed the grim look that had nothing to do with the scars running down his face.

It dawned on him suddenly that his brother was giving a lot up by coming back to live with them in the sewers. Sure the Shredder was evil, but he had given Leo a chance at a life outside of the shadows. As Oroku Sorin, Leo was able to travel and see the world. He could go out in public, while disguised, and wander about like an ordinary teenager. Among the Foot, he could probably hang out freely with other guys his age. He probably had friends there - people who weren't really bad, but didn't really know any better than to get caught up with the Shredder – friends he was going to betray tomorrow night.

"You're giving a lot up, aren't you?" Raph finally asked.

Leo glanced at him sideways. "What do you mean?"

Raph nodded towards the tower. "I bet you got a pretty fancy room up there. Free cable, wi-fi, room service, private dojos. The Shredder's a wealthy business man, right? I'm sure you've got the best of everything up there."

Leo stayed silent so Raph continued. "You got any friends in the Foot? I mean, I'm sure they're not all bad."

Leo shook his head.

"What about that ninja chick? She gonna be there tomorrow?"

That got his attention. Leo looked at Raph. "Karai?" He shook his head. "No. No, she won't be there. She's in Japan right now. By the time she gets back, it'll all be over." He frowned and seemed to consider saying something more but then turned back to the skyline.

Raph sighed. "You know, the lair ain't much. Master Splinter has always tried to do the best he could for us but most of the time we had to make do, you know? It ain't nothing fancy, but its home - and not because it's sentimental or special or anything. We've only lived there a couple of months. It's home because it's where our family is. I can't imagine living anywhere where Mikey wasn't driving me nuts with his pranks and Donnie wasn't blowing up some invention or another. I can't imagine not having Splinter there to teach us and guide us. I know it's been a long time since you've known any of that but we've always been there waiting for you. There is a place for you in our home and its right there, by our sides, leading us through thick and thin. It's a place where you don't have to hide anymore. No more acting, no more pretending. You can be yourself there."

Leo looked at him seriously. "What if I'm not the same turtle you remember, Raph? What if I've changed? What if I don't fit into that place anymore?"

"You're still you, Leo." Raph placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "It doesn't matter what's happened to you or what you've had to go through. You will always be our brother. And if the hole you left when they took you doesn't quite fit anymore, we'll adjust it. We'll make the changes we need to and get to know the new you. You belong with us, bro."

Leo offered a half smile which was skewed strangely by his injury. "Maybe."

Raph sighed, realizing that it was going to take more than one pep talk to get Leo to work through the demons of his past. There would be more time for that later, though. After the battle tomorrow, they would have all the time in the world.

"What did you want to tell me, Leo?"

"I…" Leo opened his mouth but then stopped. His mouth snapped closed and Raph thought he saw his brother's one open eye harden for a moment, but then it was gone.

Leo shook his head and tried to smile again, despite his wound. "I just wanted to thank you, Raph – for always believing in me, having faith that I would return even when it seemed impossible, for following me into battle even though I've been gone for years and we've barely had a chance to reconnect."

Raph grinned. "I'd follow you anywhere, bro." With that the red-masked turtle turned and left the rooftop, following his brothers into the sewers to get some much needed sleep.

Leo watched him go and his crooked smile faded into a deep frown.

"I know."

…And gain the choice of a follower.