A/N: I know that it's been forever, but school has been terrible, and, you know, this one is extra long, so you should be happy- right guys? Anyway, read, relax, (and review ;)
Leo was up early, again, and going through a series of warm-up exercises. Today he was finally being allowed to lead his team topside. Just yesterday he had finally been able to knock Raph down in a bout, which was apparently the signal that Donatello and Master Splinter had agreed on.
It had taken a staggering amount of effort to get this far, and the time it took would have been interminable if not for April and Casey's frequent visits. He suspected a сconspiracy as the humans always seemed to turn up after Donatello's failed attempt at stopping Leo's practice early. Still their support was invaluable, as was that of his brothers. Even Raphael had kept his usually sharp tongue in check as Leo had his shell handed to him by each of his brothers in turn.
Of course, Mikey hadn't even wanted to touch the older turtle after the disaster of the last match between them that Leo had arranged. Even Leo would have been reluctant to go in against them, especially Raph, after what his younger brother's last blow had done to his chest. But, true to his word, Donatello had come through for him.
.o0o.o0o.o0o.
Leo had been up early, earlier then he should have, trying to get a few extra hours of practice in before his brothers joined him. He spent a good part of practice as yet on the sidelines, observing and helping. But he wanted to be there, with them, rather then hidden away, as he was now, practicing by himself. And yet, his family did not seem to understand that he was simply trying to make up for the lost time; instead they always insisted that he was pushing too hard and that he should rest. He didn't think it was rest he needed, no, he needed not to rest, to once again get used to the punishing schedule their life required of them. Still, it was all he could do to stop himself from hiding his practice sword childishly behind his shell when Donatello entered abruptly. He was expecting some sort of lecture, but Donny breezed into the room as though he had no idea of the actual time. In fact, Leo suspected that he didn't. His brainy brother had the slightly sluggish, slightly hyper air of an all-nighter clinging to his olive skin. Leo was actually considering sending the younger turtle to bed, hypocrisy be damned, when Donatello's eyes focused on the older turtle. Then Leo just could not send away or dampen the happy glow that took over Don's face.
"Leo!" he cried happily.
"Yes?" Leo responded somewhat more carefully.
"This is perfect. I've got something that I want you to try out."
"Me? Are you sure Raph wouldn't be better?" he asked, thinking that, as a baseline, he would be a poor one at this point.
"Don't be silly. I need you for this. Besides, do you want to get Raph up this early? What time is it anyway?"
"Um, so what do you need help with?" asked Leo evasively. He was actually relived that Don was tired enough that he did not notice the clumsy subject change.
"Well, I don't need help, really," explained Don as he walked out of the dojo and across to his lab, leaving Leo to trail after him, "It's more like I need a final fitting." This explanation only served to confuse Leonardo even more. They hardly ever wore clothes, and when they did, baggier was usually better- shells were not the easiest thing to hide. Of course, sometimes Donny deigned weaponry or other gear that needed straps, rigging, or protective clothing, but in that case Raph, or even Mikey, really would have been better. The only explanation that made any kind of sense was that Donny was going to try something on and needed Leo to make notations or adjustments of some kind.
"Okay, just a second," said Donatello as his upper half disappeared into a freestanding closet. "All right, here it is." Suddenly Leo found his arms full of what seemed like a mess of leather straps. He stared uncomprehendingly at the pile a moment before transferring his gaze to the expectant face of his younger brother. It took a moment longer then it usually did for the realization that Leo wasn't actually doing anything to penetrate Don's slightly fogged mind.
"Oh. It's for you. I've been working on it on and off for a few weeks, and I just got it finished tonight," he explained as he took the bundle back, turning it over and pulling some of the dangling straps straight. "I know that you want to practice with us- and I'm not saying that you can dive right back in, because then you'll only hurt yourself, and I'll just have to fix you up all over again- but with this you should at least be able start sparing again, as long as you take it slow at first," Don concluded as he held up the now straightened garment. Leo was speechless as he looked at his brother's creation. Armor, Donatello had made him armor to replace that destroyed by Saki. Leo reached out and ran a hand down it, truly paying attention now. It was leather, and as he ran it between his fingers it bent when he applied pressure. His flexibility would not suffer unduly, but it was thick enough to provide some protection. And it was soft. He didn't know how Donny had managed to get his hands on anything of such high quality- and enough of it to make something like this…
Donatello ducked his head at the thanks he saw in his brother's eyes. He was happy that his latest 'invention' was being so well received, but he also did not think that he deserved this level of gratitude- after all, it's not as though he could have done otherwise. But instead of trying to express such thoughts, which he knew would just come out in a hopelessly sleep deprived jumble, he motioned for his brother to turn around so he could help him into the armor.
The engineer had put a lot of thought into the design. His first instinct was to use the strongest, hardest protection that he could, to insure that nothing would ever touch Leo's scarred chest again. But the armor would have to cover just about the entire plastron, so it would need to be constructed of something flexible. Working with shells was hard enough, but if Leo lost the ability to curve and bend his plastron then he would be more vulnerable than ever before. Discarding the idea of any sort of metal, both because of its rigidity and luster, he decided to evaluate his cloth based options. There had been some amazing advances in the textiles industry the last few years, but after doing significant amounts of research, it became clear that anything truly viable would be impossible for a mutant turtle living in the sewers to even dream of getting his hands on. Even April wouldn't be able to. And Leo would kill him if he got Raph to go with him and try to 'rip some off' or whatever other euphemism there was for stealing. In the end, he turned to the past for the answer. Armor was often made of leather in days gone by, and the material was both pliable and relatively available.
The actual design was deceptively simple. The main piece fit across his plastron and around his back, putting pressure on the edges of his plastron and forcing the plates to keep their normal position as well as helping to distribute any blows to the chest that Leo might receive. It wasn't a perfect system: the straps that both secured the armor and served as belt and sheath straps put yet more strain on Leo's shell and he would still have to be hyper aware of the plastron area, but it would allow him to fight. And for Leo, maybe more than any of them, that ability to fight and protect was his life.
Leo performed a few careful moves as Donatello grinned at the slow smile overtaking his older brother's face. He would probably have to make a few adjustments as the days went by and they figured out what worked best, but for now he just congratulated himself on making Leo smile. He was still grinning and mumbling ideas to himself as Leo bundled him off to bed. Leonardo appreciated Donatello's work, but sometimes his brother had absolutely no notion of self preservation. When the rest of the family came down for the official start of morning practice he made the appropriate excuses and let Donny have a few extra hours of sleep. He was sure that they would all agree that he had earned them.
.o0o.o0o.o0o.
It had been the new armor that had allowed him to best Raphael the other day. If it had not been for the added protection, the glancing blow he had received early on in the bout would have felled him. Now instead of getting fussed over and lectured, he was getting ready for a surface run.
As he stretched he could feel the leather shift slightly against his plastron, a feeling he was still getting used to, but he shrugged it off as he pulled out his Katana and began a simple kata. He had not even considered venturing up to the surface without his weapons. The blades had been reforged before he had started to dream of seeing the stars again, though it had not been easy.
The day he had been able to write his name legibly he had gone to his father to ask permission to heal his broken soul.
.o0o.o0o.o0o.
"Enter, my son," came the aged voice through the thin paper screen. Leo swallowed nervously and slid the door aside. He made sure to close the barrier behind him- flimsy though it may be, he did not need curious brothers to peer in on him now. He sunk to his knees before where his Master sat without being asked and lowered his head, waiting to be spoken to. Splinter hesitated before speaking, taking in the seriousness and unusual formality with which his eldest approached him. He seriously hoped that the turtle did not bring ill tidings.
"Speak, my student," Master Splinter replied, feeling that he should meet formality with formality.
"Sensei. I have come to ask your blessings."
"Blessings, Leonardo? For what do you seek this?" questioned the old rat gently.
"I know that you and my brothers have done your best, Master, and I could never hope to deserve better," Leo hedged softly, "but my soul is still broken." He slid a battered and broken sword from the straps behind his shell and Splinter's eyes widened with understanding. He had been waiting for this day, but he had said nothing, he had not wanted to rush Leonardo, especially after his son had responded so emotionally when Splinter had presented his swords in the first place. The rat had no doubt that the release had been good for his son, but it was not something with which his eldest was accustomed, so he had stepped back. And now he was rewarded by Leo taking this next step for himself.
"Nothing would please me more, my son, then to see you whole once more," Splinter said, a sincere smile spreading slowly across his face. He moved around the low table between them and knelt in front of his son, putting a hand carefully over the damaged blade. "Leonardo…" Blue banded eyes rose to meet those of his Sensei. In them, Splinter saw the determination that had long been a part of the one he had chosen as leader. Yet, these were not the same eyes as that turtle, so long ago. Perhaps it was best, that change comes during a lifetime. If only life did not find it to lay so heavily on his children. "…Please do not go out alone."
"Of course not, Sensei," agreed Leonardo with a dip of his eyes. He rose at the implied dismissal and gave a small formal bow as he exited the room. He paused after closing the door softly behind him, then, with a cleansing breath, went to find Donatello.
.o0o.o0o.o0o.
Donny had managed to find an area relatively close to the lair that they could modify for their purposes. Mikey had been the one to collect the raw materials that they needed, though he neglected to tell his brothers just what he had done to obtain the pieces he had- he was determined to make sure that Leonardo's Katana would never break again. Raph had to do most of the heavy lifting, and assisted with the actually reforming. But only as much as needed- he knew what this meant for Leo.
.o0o.o0o.o0o.
Raph watched his brother carefully as the elder turtle's muscles shook with exhaustion. He had lost track of how many times the metal had been folded, but he was pretty sure that it was more than even the last time he had stood to the side as his brother struggled. No doubt he was overdoing it again, but Raph knew that the frame of mind that Leo got into when he concentrated, the rhythm, was important. Speaking of, he worked the bellows a couple times to keep the fires burning hot enough. It had been a shell of a hard time hunting down enough fuel to do this properly- even harder to haul it all back. He had managed to get most of it down before Leo even realized what he was doing, let alone insist on helping. Of course, judging from this, even Leo would have to acknowledge that he needed all of his strength for the actual task at hand. Raph could haul the fuel and build the furnace, but he sure as shell couldn't forge a sword. And he definitely not his brother's. He didn't really buy all that 'soul of the warrior' crap that Leo and Splinter ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but… well, he wasn't about to take no chances.
As Leo cooled the cherry red metal in a bucket of water set out for the purpose, Raphael's shellcell vibrated softly against his plastron. He frowned slightly and glanced at Leo who worked on unperturbed, before dragging out and answering the contraption.
"Yeah, Don, what is it?" he said in response to the flashing purple name.
"Is Leo with you?" Don said in a rushed breathy voice, without preamble. Raph's eyes shot to where his brother was doing some delicate work on the blade, though it had been but seconds since he had last checked on Leonardo.
"Of course," Raphael said in an angry whisper as his heart wound down again. "What's this about, Donny?"
"Okay, well, they're not close," replied Don in the same slightly distracted way, apparently taking no heed of Raphael's tone, "but if you can get Leo out of there and back to the Lair quickly, and hopefully without upsetting him, then now would be a good time."
"Don. What. Is. Goin'. On?" asked the red banded turtle deliberately.
"There are Foot in the sewers."
"What?!" Raph cried, just managing to keep his voice down.
"It's okay, they aren't near you, remember, but they've never come down here before- not so close, anyway." Don still seemed distracted, but now Raph could imagine him staring at his bank of sensors.
"Is the way clear?"
"For now. It looks like they came by way of Foot Tower, but they doo seem to be getting closer to your location. I don't know how well hidden you guys will be." Raph thought of the old metal door that stood between them and the open sewers. The years had covered it with somewhat dubious looking growth, blending it into the wall somewhat, but he would not like to put it to a test. And even barricaded, it would not hold for long.
"We'll be there soon," said Raph, coming to an abrupt decision. He turned to find Leo observing him shrewdly.
"What's wrong, Raph?" Leonardo asked.
"You done?" Raphael responded, ignoring the question entirely.
"For today. What is wrong?" Raph sighed. His brother obviously wasn't going to drop this.
"Don says that there are humans in the sewers," he replied reluctantly.
"Foot?" Leonardo asked, though it was not much of a question. Raph made a noncommittal noise and watched Leonardo's hands tighten around the hilt of his weapon. "Then we should get back to the Lair before they arrive." Raph nodded silently.
With the utmost efficiency the two went about hiding any signs of recent use that could be quickly done away with. Then Leo slid both his blades, repaired and no, into the sheaths mounted on his back. The weight there felt good and reassuring, even unbalanced as they yet were. Raphael was faintly surprised when Leo let him take the lead, but after a moment's thought, realized that Leo was just being his usual perfect self. After all, it could take them both down if Leo failed to notice the presence of an enemy in time, and it was clear that the day's work had drained the still healing turtle.
Raph slid into the corridor and held still a moment, listening for any unknown sound, or the absence of one that should be there. Sensing nothing amiss, he motioned for Leo to follow him and they set their sights to home. Usually, when in the sewers, the careful vigilance that was practiced above fell completely to the wayside, but now they utilized every lesson on stealth that their Master had ever imparted. It was much harder to leave no trace in the waterlogged, moss encrusted sewer tunnels then the asphalt and rooftops of the surface world. Even the slightest footprint could give them away- there weren't too many humans running around the sewers barefoot and with but two toes.
They had made it halfway back when an odd splashing and quiet cursing echoed down a corridor to their right. Once they knew what and where they were listening they could even make out the loud but shallow breaths of a group breathing exclusively through their mouths. Apparently their erstwhile pursuers were used to neither the acoustics nor the stench of the turtle's home. Picking up their pace, the two easily outdistanced even the ghostly presence of their voices and soon were safely ensconced behind the blue veined walls of their home.
.o0o.o0o.o0o.
In the end it was a very good thing that Leonardo had decided to rework the more grievously injured blade first, and that both older turtles had some experience with the task. It seemed that Foot continually patrolled the sewers, though mainly in an aimless fashion. Still, they were far too close to the Lair for comfort, and though Donny knew he was probably imagining it, he could have sworn that the number of soldiers seemed to double whenever Leo and Raph went out. The engineer had asked that Leo delay, but the elder turtle refused to surrender now that the task was underway- he even refused to have anyone else accompany him, though Don was yet unsure if that had to do with the spiritual aspect that Leo attributed to this act, or simple worry for their safety.
As it was, it was pathetically easy to evade the Foot. Even if the benighted ninja had managed to catch even a glimpse of green skin, the turtles would easily have lost them in the maze of underground tunnels that failed to conform to any map in existence. Besides, the turtles had grown up in the sewers; they had the home field advantage while the Foot were still trying to figure out how not to splash down the water filled trenches. Still, Donny made sure that just as soon as the actual heating and smelting were done his brothers came right home. Leo could sharpen and polish in the Lair, just like he always had.
.o0o.o0o.o0o.
Leo slid the gleaming blades back into their sheaths. He could hear his brothers finally getting up for early morning practice. They all knew that he got there earlier to warm up, but he always felt badly if they caught him at it. Don, and especially Mikey, gave him the most disappointed and forlorn looks. Thankfully he had grown immune to most of Raph's looks over the years, though usually that would really read 'glares'.
Actually, Raphael seemed even more tense than usual. Leo assumed that it was about getting defeated yesterday. He had thought that Raph would be happy- well, more or less. After all, it meant that he was getting better. Still, getting beaten by a convalescing brother couldn't have boosted Raph's fragile ego any. Leo sighed; he'd just have to deal with that as it progressed.
Practice went smoothly, with only a few slight twinges from his injuries. Even with Raph not holding back so much as one iota the time passed without any major altercations. Leo was sure that the red banded brother just had something on his mind. It had happened before, and so the other three turtles just made a habit of retreating and dodging until he calmed down. Sometimes Leo would confront him, if only to get him out of the funk earlier, but he really wasn't in condition to let Raph take his frustrations out on his person.
After practice was called to a halt, Leo attempted to distract himself from the trepidation that he felt. He meditated on the matter, but could find no concrete reason for his unrest. In the end he blamed the dourness of his brother and tried to ignore the feeling. He shook it off and spent several unnecessary hours caring for his weapons. Still, it centered him, so it was worth every minute. Before long, however, Mikey dragged him off to watch a documentary with him and Donatello. Then Leo and Don spent the next hour dissecting it while Mikey fiddled with one of his video games, only half paying attention to his older brothers.
Even while debating with Don, Leo was aware of Raphael's scrutiny. His red banded brother's eyes had followed him most of the day, but it was not until they were preparing and eating their light, pre-run meal that he broke his peace.
"What the shell are ya doin' that?" Raph burst out abruptly. Michelangelo froze guiltily, right in the middle of pounding his granola bars into mush.
"He always does that, Raph. It's not logical, but then it is Mikey," said Don, perplexed. "It's never bothered you before," he continued, ignoring Mikey's mumbled protest of 'it makes it taste better'.
"It ain't Mikey," informed Raph shortly, "It's Fearless. Ain't ya noticed?" All eyes turned to Leonardo, who froze himself at the sudden attention.
"What?" asked Donatello, still not understanding.
"He keeps doin this," Raphael explained, demonstrating a rubbing motion across his upper left plastron plate. Donatello looked speculatively at his oldest brother while Leo did his utmost not to look defensive. He hadn't been doing anything, Raph was just tense. The surface run would do him good.
"I just thought his plastron was bothering him," piped up Mikey around a spoonful of granola bar. He had returned to eating just as soon as Raph's attention had gone elsewhere.
"You noticed this too?" asked Donatello incredulously.
"Well, yeah, but only since he started practicing with us. Maybe it's your turtle armor?" guessed Michelangelo vaguely.
"Has the armor been troubling you, Leo?" asked Donny, slightly stricken.
"It's fine, Don, really," he reassured reflexively only to have Raph snort derisively. "It's taken some getting used to, and sometimes the straps do irritate my skin, but that always happens with new equipment. Remember when Master Splinter had us start wearing pads to training?" Donatello nodded, remembering how uncomfortable they had been at first.
"Are you sure that's all it is?" asked Donny carefully, "There is nothing else?" Leo considered for a moment. There was an ache, or a kind of pulling from his injuries, but that was nothing new. He had told Don before anyways. He considered trying to explain that the air felt charged and stifling, like the weather just before a storm, but that wasn't really what Don meant. Besides, even he didn't really understand it- instead he just shook his head.
"I still think that you should check him out again," grumbled Raph.
"There is no reason to," rejoined Leo, "Besides, we're going on a run. Finish up and follow me." With that Leo tossed his wrappers in the trash and headed for the door- leaving the others to scramble after him. Perhaps it was a childish thing to do, but he truly felt that they needed to go on this run, regardless of anyone's sense of foreboding, even his own. Besides, this might have been the only way he could get Raph to actually drop the subject. He couldn't press the matter if he was trailing behind the older turtle.
His brothers caught up with him in the sewers just outside of the Lair. Raph looked ready to kill him, and firmly reminded him that Master Splinter instructed that they stay together. Another day Leo might actually have teased him for actually daring to quote Splinter after all the times that Raph had disobeyed. Of course, he would usually have to beat Mikey to it- but today he said nothing. He wasn't planning on letting any of his brothers out of his sight anymore then they planned on letting him out of theirs. But not because he feared for himself.
He doubted that Saki would try to grab him a second time, but that did not mean he would not try for his brothers. Still, as he emerged into the fresh air, he could not help but relax slightly. He had not been outside in what seemed very much like forever. Even the small New York breeze was welcome after so long. And he would bet that it would feel even better on the rooftops.
He turned to find all of his brothers watching him with varying degrees of amazement and annoyance. Leo smiled back unabashedly.
"Let's take this to the roof." His brothers could not help but return his infectious grin.
"Last one up hatched from a rotten egg," decreed Michelangelo, embracing the offered sense of fun with open arms, happy to shake off the tension of the morning. He leaped up the fire escape, followed closely by Leo. Below them, Raph glared and shot a glance at the still grounded Donatello. Don offered a brief shrug before scampering after them. Raph cursed softly before following himself. He wondered briefly if this was how Leo usually felt about his own behavior, before disregarding the thought and leapfrogging over Donatello. Shell if he came from a rotten egg.
The turtles sprinted over the rooftops silent and invisible. But even beyond the extra effort it took for him to make the jumps and the reflexive watchfulness that he always felt on the surface, Leo reveled in the air moving past his skin and the presence of his brothers surrounding him. Even so, Donatello noticed that they were heading away from the Foot Tower- he wondered if that was a conscious choice on Leonardo's part, but was having a far too pleasant run to even consider bringing it up.
Raphael was too busy watching his older brother to notice much about where they were going. Leo'd take care of that, but he wanted to be sure that someone was going to take care of Leo. Sure, Raph would bet his sais that Don was keeping an eye out- shell, Mikey probably was- but somehow it felt more like it was his responsibility. Maybe it had something to do with being the second eldest.
They had never discussed what would happen if Leo… could no longer lead them- and if Raph had anything to say about it, they never would. Still, he felt that the task would fall, should fall, to him. When he had been younger there had been nothing he wanted more then to be the Leader. Even now he sometimes resented the position of leadership that Leonardo held over him, but he didn't want to lead, not really. He didn't want the responsibility, the knowledge that he was the only thing that stood between his family and discovery, death, or worse- to be the one they turned to for answers and plans. No, thank you.
It had been that terror, the realization that it would all fall to him, that had sent him running from their home when Master Splinter had declared Leo to be dead. He had not been called back, and no demands had been made of him, but that hadn't stopped him from thinking about it, wondering if he could do it. In the end he still hadn't been sure. The only conclusion he had come up with was that he would need to go home eventually, go home and face that emptiness. Thankfully he had found Leo on April's roof before making any decisions. After that the family had been forced into a holding pattern as they waited to see how much damage had been done to the oldest turtle, to see how much he would recover. Though an uncomfortable and tense time in the Lair, Raph had been glad for the reprieve. And when Leo had come back to them, well, Raph was nothing but relived. Relived and worried.
This had been the second time in as many years that they had almost lost Leonardo. As formidable a warrior as he was, it was painfully clear that Leonardo needed more than just skill if he was to live to lead his brothers into adulthood. Sometimes it seemed that locking Leo up in the Lair was the best option, but Raph of all turtles knew that that would never work. Still, this first trip topside had him more on edge then he wanted to admit. He knew that he was taking out his nervous energy out on his brothers the same way he got rid of most of his energy and emotions, with anger. But he couldn't seem to help it, and of course, it didn't help that Raph had indirectly been responsible for this outing. If he had known that Leo getting the upper hand in their bout would result in this then he would have been more careful. He just hadn't been expecting that last move. Though not as fast, yet, it seemed to him that Leo had become twice as crafty.
But that wasn't the point, the point was that they were here, they were outside, and it was his job to look out for Leo so Leo could look out for them. He was the second eldest. Sure, he hadn't always done the best job. Sometime it seemed that he actually caused most of Leo's problems, but he was going to try and do better. They needed Leo, and if that meant that he curbed his temper and his trips topside a bit, well, that was just fine.' Just as long as Leo stays offa my case', he added defensively.
Michelangelo was totally unaware of the heavy thoughts playing through the minds of his brothers. He was having to good a time being out in the air , and with all of his brothers. He left the pondering to his older siblings; their temperaments were far better suited. Mikey would sometimes get something stuck in his head which would bother him, and sometimes it would even be something that the rest of his family would consider 'important', but once he dealt with it he tended to move on. So instead of brooding, he left both the past and future alone, busying himself with calling back insults to his brothers as he bounded, virtually backwards, across the buildings.
Leonardo smiled as Mikey compared Raphael's speed and agility to that of a space slug. What exactly as space slug was, or if it was more or less athletic than a regular earth slug, he had no idea, but Raph's reaction was amusing to the highest degree. He rebounded off of a fire escape, a windowsill, and an air conditioning unit as he made a mad dash to capture the ankle of the laughing orange maniac. Mikey, however, just leapt lightly out of the way, leaving Raph to gather the tattered remains of his dignity- a difficult task when all three of his companions were laughing at him. Indeed, Michelangelo was still chuckling when Leo suddenly signaled for them to stop and be on guard.
All four turtles froze, eyes searching the shadows and hands inching toward their weapons. The stillness lasted for several minutes of intense vigil before three sets of eyes turned questioningly towards their Leader. Leo had no answer for them- he was as confused as they, if not more so.
They should have been attacked, that was the best that he could have offered, and it was an answer that they were unlikely to accept. True, he had been feeling uneasy all day, an the feeling had slowly intensified as they had moved away from the Lair, but just before he had called the halt there had been the unmistakable feeling of imminent attack- a feeling that went far beyond that of his five senses. And yet, there was no one.
"Uh, Leo?" asked Mikey, hesitatingly breaking the silence.
"Yeah…I'm," he paused, relaxing his stance and glancing around once more, "…I'm sorry, but I thought…"
"It's okay, Leo," assured Don quickly, "Master Splinter is always saying that it's better to be safe than sorry."
"Yeah," muttered Leonardo, still distracted and embarrassed. At least he hadn't actually attacked anything. He started forward again, leaping over the next alley in unvoiced shrug and signal to follow him. His brothers trailed him, though the mood of the outing had been somewhat dampened. Raph, however, who had been silent and oddly blank through the episode, now kept a careful eye on the surrounding rooftops. The other remained firmly on his older brother.
.o0o.o0o.o0o.
Leo felt badly for his horrible misjudgment, regardless of his brother's quick acceptance. He wanted to stay out longer to make up for it. Mikey was just starting to bounce around again, but his own strength was waning and they were now quite a distance from the Lair. He was about to call a halt when he was again assailed with the sense of imminent attack. Not quite trusting his apparently hyper paranoid senses, he paused in his run to look behind them- only to hear a feminine sounding scream from the head of the column. Mikey.
.o0o.o0o.o0o.
Raph had been hanging back, keeping an eye on 'Fearless', especially since that whole, whatever it was, thing. He still looked a little tense, but otherwise it was like he was just watching their backs, same as always. Raph had noticed the elder turtle slowing a little over the past mile or so, and he was thinking about catching up with Don and Mikey so they could call a unanimous halt- when Leo stopped on his own. A dead stop. Raph frowned and was about to go back for him when a girly scream came drifting back to them. But it wasn't a 'don't sneak up on me' screech; it had reached a 'there's a monster over there' pitch. But it wasn't monsters that had Raph worried, not this time.
.o0o.o0o.o0o.
Donatello was strung out in the middle, trying to keep an eye on both Mikey ahead and Leo behind. By unspoken accord it had been decided that Raph would take responsibility of watching Leo. The red banded turtle had become strangely protective lately, but he knew what to look for as far as injury, exhaustion, or odd behavior went, so Don felt more or less at ease letting Raph do the hovering. Besides, Mikey was obviously feeling all that time stuck underground: he was like an over-wound spring-turned-perpetual-motion device. It was a good thing that Raph was just as happy to get out as MIkey, or the older turtle might have tried harder to catch Michelangelo earlier. That was the last thing they needed on this trip. Donny wanted their first run to be as smooth as possible. It was obvious that Leo was far more on edge then he led any of them to believe. After what Don could only describe as the panic attack earlier, the middle children had exchanged significant glances, but had pressed on all the same. Donny didn't want Leo to think that they didn't trust him, or that this very understandable reaction was anything to get even more worked up about. Still, they had come pretty far, maybe it was time to rein in and head back.
"Mikey! Don't get too far ahead- we probably will need to return soon," he called ahead.
"What? Already?" floated back the predictably whiny voice.
"Yes Mikey, don't make me get Leo to tell you." They both knew it was an empty threat. Leo would probably opt to keep going if he knew that Mikey really wanted to- he had been especially deferent to the youngest- but Mikey played along anyway.
"Alright, fine, bring out the big guns! But just let me up to this next building, the view is fabuloso!" Don rolled his eyes at Mikey's butchering of the English and Italian languages, but didn't raise much protest as Mikey disappeared a few stories up. The roof would make a good place to regroup anyway.
Then the air was rent by the sound of seemingly impossible shrillness. Only Michelangelo's vocal cords could produce such a pitch. Donatello cursed himself even as he hurled himself up the side of the building, struggling desperately for handholds, determined to get to his little brother.
.o0o.o0o.o0o.
So Leo was still a little messed up. It wasn't like they didn't expect this- or something like it. really though, Leo with a messed up danger sense? It was like Master Splinter without his cane- craziness! But he didn't see that it was worth making a big deal about. He had tried to be serious for a while, but Leo seemed more comfortable when he was just bouncing around, which was fine by Mikey- that was what he wanted to do anyway. How could he not? They were finally topside! He let out a contented sigh before Don's voice interrupted his reflections.
"Mikey! Don't get tpp far ahead- we probably will need to return soon," Michelangelo grimaced comically, even if there was no one around to see him.
"What? Already?" he called back, putting as much little brother 'charm' as he could into the words.
"Yes Mikey, don't make me get Leo to tell you." Mikey figured that this was Donny's way of reminding him that Leo still couldn't keep up this pace all night. Which was a shame, cause it was a really nice night, but Mike would never make him do anything that would hurt his oldest bro- even if Leo'd probably do it if he asked.
"Alright, fine, bring out the big guns," he called back, "but just let me up this next building, the view is fabuloso!' It was an old marble faced building at least six stories taller than its immediate neighbors- and while not the best view in the city, it was the best in the area and caught a nice breeze most nights.
He was up and over before Don had a chance to protest. The youngest was pretty sure that they could all make it up just one more building- even Leo. Besides, it would make a nice ending-turning-around-ish place for their first run. He bounded over the low wall of the roof and landed with a flourish, raising his hands like a gymnast after a beautiful dismount- only to drop them with a screech as he realized that he was suddenly not alone on the very flat and very open roof. He didn't even have to wait for the purple smoke to clear to know that he had just landed himself in some serious shell.
It really was too bad they had such cool hats.
A/N: um, beware of cliff? Hopefully it's not too bad- but how could I resist a line like that?
Anyways, please leave a review because I really took a long time on this (and I desperately need them to get through schoolness). I'll try not to leave you guys hanging for too long.