Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT or Heroes and I am not making any money off this story.
A/N: This will probably be the shortest chapter out of this whole story. I have gone back and forth about including this chapter ever sense I conceived this story. It actually sets up for a possible sequel. Anyway, I finally just decided to do it. You will either like it or hate it but thank you all for reading anyway, especially to Alora05, Polly and Kida Bridger for the reviews. (-: As always, please let me know what you think in a review.
Chapter 14
Consequences
Raphael had been gone for just over a year now. He kept in touch though which was good. It eased their minds knowing that he was still okay. Apparently he had changed his mind about leaving the country and had headed off to Sao Paulo, Brazil. Raph had told them all about finding Alex's family which had been on the news perhaps two weeks after that. Dental records were matched and a proper funeral was held for all of them.
Karai had held up her end of the bargain and the turtles were enjoying relative peace. Leonardo, as head of his family, signed a contract of peace between the Foot and the Homato clan. There were to be no more battles from either side and the peace had yet to be broken.
Leonardo was headed back home after his evening patrol of the city. Nothing too exciting had happened, just a common mugger and an attempt at a robbery. He would never admit it aloud to his brothers but he almost missed the challenge the Foot offered him, but not enough for the two clans to go to war again.
He had reached the green of central park and stopped amongst the trees. Something didn't seem right. The sound was just above a whisper but years of training had taught him to be prepared for everything. Leonardo spun around just in time to catch an arrow that had been aimed at his head.
There was one thing Leo hated more than anything and that was being shot at without just cause. His grip on the thin wood tightened, not far away from him was the culprit who oddly looked like a Foot ninja, yet the outfit was not exactly the same, however, who he was didn't matter to Leo all that much. The man had made the challenge and there was no way Leonardo would back down. The stiff wood of the arrow suddenly snapped as Leo broke it with the strength of his grip alone.
Without a glace to the broken arrow Leo tossed the shards to the side. It was like a silent conversation between the two warriors as they stared at one another. The ninja turned from his perch, landing on the soft grass without a sound and started to run with a rather angry turtle on his heels.
Leonardo was slightly disappointed when he saw his foe start to run from him but he was undeterred. Obviously this person was a coward and uninformed on his quarry. The chase moved from the streets to the roof tops within a matter of moments but that did little to slow Leonardo.
The two ninjas moved silently through the city. As the distance from their starting point increased Leo became aware of the fact that he was being led somewhere. Yet, even though that fact should have put him more on edge it only served to intrigue him. So he was not all that surprised when he saw the ninja finally come to a stop.
Leonardo followed suit but drew one sword just to be prepared. The other ninja did nothing to defend himself. That is the only thing that stayed Leo's hand. Very slowly so as not to provoke the turtle the man stepped to the side revealing a small basket.
"What is going on?" Leo snapped. He was tired of playing games and just wanted to know if this man was friend or foe. Of course, Leo had a hard time trusting anyone who thought shooting at him was a good way to get his attention.
The man in black said nothing and only offered a deep bow and gestured to the basket once more. Leo looked at it again and it was all the chance his opponent needed. When he looked back up, the man was gone.
"Typical." Leo growled with a shake of his head. He moved forward but refused to put the blade away just incase the ninja came back. However, he was curious as to what was in the basket; he doubted somehow it would have the traditional cheese and wine. A blanket covered the contents and he carefully used the tip of his katana to pull back the cover, and almost dropped the blade.
Leonardo's jaw had hit his chin and if it wasn't attached to his face he was sure it would have ended up in the subway. Inside the basket was two sleeping infants huddled together seeking warmth from one another. It would have been a rather normal picture if not for the green tint to their skin or the fact that they both only had three fingers. Other than that they looked like human children. There was a white envelop with his name written on it setting upon the sleeping forms and he hesitantly reached for it with as much care as possible.
He finally put away the katana in favor of opening the note. Somehow he seriously doubted that the mystery ninja would be back. The writing was done in a clean precise hand, it only had one line on it but it was enough and explained a lot.
'Your son and daughter, Kimiko and Kensei, guard them well. Karai.'
As if on cue one child opened its sleepy eyes and started to cry. Not to be out done by their sibling the second child chimed in. Only one thing came to Leonardo as he watched the two infants.
"Damn…"
A/N: Okay, as I have said I have toyed with the idea of a sequel but can't make up my mind which way I would like it to go. The options are below. (-: What sequel would you like to read?
1) OMG, stop now! Put down the fic and just walk away. Enough damage has been done, go work on something else…
2) The babies belong to Leo and Karai. Unbeknownst to Karai she has her own mutation in her DNA. With the birth of the children it has triggered this mutation and now she is dying. Unsure what to do she sends her children away to Leonardo while she continues her search for her own father. Saki and Karai's father were partners in an experiment that resulted in Karai's birth. Karai's only chance at survival is to find her real father and the rest of the notes regarding their experiment. It is a race against time and all that Karai can really do is hope against hope that he is still alive…
3) The babies are Leonardo's but they have no connection to Karai. They are actually test tube babies that Bishop created using Leo's DNA. When Bishop tires of the experiment he orders the lives of the children to be terminated. One of the techs cannot follow through with the order and instead smuggles them out of the facility. They know about the liaison between Leo and Karai and use that as a ploy to insure Leonardo's protection over the infants. Bishop is not happy and decides he wants the children back…
4) Karai is on the run with her and Leo's children. After her return to Japan the Foot rebelled against her. The changes that she wanted to make were too much too fast which had caused an uprising, but her fatal mistake was denouncing Saki as both her father and mentor. She was forced into hiding with only a few loyal friends to help her. However, the Foot becomes relentless in their search and now they want both Karai and her children dead. Unable to continue running with two small infants she does the only thing she can think of. Karai hands the infants over to a loyal soldier and friend with instructions to take them to New York to their father while she draws the Foot off in desperate attempt to buy them time…
5) Karai had died shortly after her children are born. She makes sure that they are handed over to their father before she passes. Leonardo finds out about this and is devastated. If not for the two infants there would be little to stop him from falling into the pit of his own despair. Guilt has griped him so hard that he feels himself slipping out of control…
6) Karai does not want to have anything to do with the children. At first Leo thinks she is going back to her old ways but then he realizes that she is only using her indifference as a shield. She is terrified of the choices the alternate 'Karai' had made because on some level she knows that there is a possibility she would make the same decision again. For the sake of the children she sends them to their father as she knows he would never betray them, but that decision to alienate herself from them all is slowly eating away at her and bitter resentment begins to encase her very soul…
And there you go. Let me know what you want me to write…If anything… (-:
And thanks to everyone who has taken time to read this. I really had a lot of fun writing it.
Teoryn