The next morning, the sun barely risen, Leonardo woke up early and decided to give himself a tour of Titans' Tower. It wasn't long until he found the training room and started sharpening his ninja skills. He had remembered what his father had taught him over the years. When it came to training, the eldest brother had always ranked first. But this time, as he trained himself, he looked around the empty room. He would see Michelangelo either read his comic books, watch his favorite show on TV - or sometimes, both. He'd also see Donatello building machines, mess around with some science stuff, or that April and him would upgrade their computer mainframe. And as for Raphael, he'd be out in the city either riding his motorcycle or hanging out with Casey and beating the living shell out of the Purple Dragons or some other bad guy that came across them. Or when he wasn't out, he'd be sharpening his skills his own way other than as a ninja. Leonardo stopped training and let out a melancholic sigh.
"Friend, do you have troubles?" He looked over and saw Starfire standing a few feet away from him. "You have, as Beast Boy would say, the long face."
"I'm just worried about my brothers and father," he explained to her. "I wouldn't know what to do if they're... dead."
"It is normal for anyone to worry, even on my planet."
The last word in her sentence piqued his curiosity. "What do you mean, 'planet?'"
"Perhaps I have not mentioned that I am from the planet Tamaran?"
"So you're an alien, then."
"Correct." She showed him a warm, friendly smile.
That's why she's talking like that, the ninja turtle thought. I thought she was from another country or something. The Tamaranean girl suddenly lit up, and quickly zoomed out of the training room, leaving Leonardo alone once more. Leonardo just looked in confusion. I've dealt with strange aliens before, but Starfire's definitely different. I mean, she doesn't look like an alien, and yet...
Starfire had returned with a bowl full of what appeared to be white pudding. "Try this," she insisted. "It will make you feel better."
She shoved a spoonful of the pudding into the ninja turtle's mouth. Although, pudding wasn't supposed to taste... horrible. Leonardo forcefully swallowed, then shuddered at the distasteful aftertaste. "What is that?!" he questioned.
"Pudding of Sadness. On my planet, people eat this because it is full of sad feelings."
She's definitely strange, alright... he thought.
I know the last two chapters were kinda short, but this is just leading up to the big thing that's gonna happen near the end of this part.