Chapter 54: KneeMS
A/N: I'm back! Wow. It's been so long, and I've missed writing about Tony and the Turtles, but now that new episodes are back, I'm ready to start updating again. I thought of this chapter the minute the episode aired, and I was so happy that I had an idea right away. The episode was awesome and is now one of my top favorites of season three right above "Within the Woods." I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks to those who have read and reviewed. It means so much to me that you're enjoying this story.
BlackNinja101: Sorry I didn't do the filler chapter, but I felt it would be better to leave the story there and wait until new episodes came back. I wanted to concentrate on other stuff, so that's why I didn't do it. But I'll be sure to add some Mikey/Tony fluff in the future if I think of a way to do so. Thanks for reading.
Disclaimer: TMNT and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon. I only own the plot and nothing more.
I remember when my dad was trying to teach me how to ride a bike. I was nervous about it, but he was always there, and told me to just keep trying. I tried it and fell a couple of times, which frustrated me to no end. I was crying and I said loudly, "I can't do it! I'll never learn to ride a bike!" But Dad wouldn't hear of me giving up and said, "Tony, you can do this. I know you're falling, but every time you fall, you gotta get back up and try again." So I did and I soon learned how to ride a bike. Once I got the hang of it, it was fun, and I really enjoyed it. I've looked back on that conversation with my dad, and I understand what he meant when he said those words. Sometimes, you have to fall and just get back up.
That brings me to Leo and what happened recently. He seemed to be getting better, and I could tell he was happier. Then it all changed when he started sparring with Casey and Raph. His knee gave out again, and he was so upset. I was watching the match on the steps and moved over as Raph and Casey brought Leo to the steps and set him down. They offered that he could still spar with them, but he was angry and said he would just watch.
"It's all I'm good for anyway," he said sadly.
Abby, who was sitting on my lap, put her hand on Leo's shoulder. "Do you want me to kiss your owie, Mr. Turtle?" she offered. "Maybe it'll get better." She reached over, but he pushed her away.
"I don't need your help, Abby!" he snapped. "Just leave me alone! Your kisses aren't going to help because I'm never going to get better!"
Tears filled Abby's eyes, and she jumped off my lap and ran into the house, sobbing.
I gave Leo a stern look. "You really shouldn't have done that, Leo," I chastised.
"I'm sick of people acting like they can help me!" he complained. "No one can help me out with this. I'm just holding everyone back."
"My dad always said that if you fall, you have to get back up again," I told him. "I know your knee hurts now, but maybe if you work through the pain, it'll get better."
"I'm not working through anything," he replied sternly. "Just leave me alone, Tony."
I was scared by the mean look in his eyes and had never seen Leo like that before. It hurt to see him so down, but there was nothing I could do. With a shrug of my shoulders I said, "Suit yourself. But the only one holding you back is you, not anyone else." Then I turned and went back inside the house to check on Abby. She was curled up on the couch with Ruffles McBearington, sobbing.
"Why is Mr. Turtle so mad, Mr. Pizza Man?" she asked me.
"He's just upset because his knee hurts," I answered. "He'll snap out of it soon."
"I just thought my kisses would help because they always helped before," she said.
"I know, and I'm sure he appreciates it. He's just in a bad place right now. Sometimes when people are feeling upset, they need space, so I think we just need to give Mr. Turtle his space right now. He'll come around, and I'm sure that he'll let you kiss his owie again when he's feeling better."
"Okay. Thanks, Mr. Pizza Man," she said.
I was about to respond when we heard this strange noise that sounded like a bird. We ran to the window and saw this huge bird mutant attacking Casey and Raph. Leo, Donnie, and Mikey were trying to fend it off. I wanted to go out there, but I knew I probably wouldn't be much use, so I let them take care of it. They were fighting it, but the bird captured Mikey, Raph, and Don. Casey attacked it from the roof, but the bird got him, too. After it flew away, I went outside and saw Leo and April on the other side of the house.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"That mutant just took everyone," April said. I could tell her eyes were funny.
"What happened to your eyes?" I asked her.
"I'm blind," she answered. "I can see what the bird's seeing, so I know where they are. We have to go and find them."
"I can go with you," I offered. "I'll have Gia watch Abby."
"I don't think it's safe, Tony," Leo said. "You aren't trained for this, and the bird could be dangerous. Maybe you should stay behind."
Normally, I would have listened to Leo's orders, but after the way he'd been treating Abby and me, there was no way I was going to bow down to him. "Look, Leo, you're hurt, so you might need someone to help fight or distract the bird. You can't do this on your own, and I don't want anything else to happen to you."
"Tony has a point, Leo," April said. "He can provide help, and we may need it."
"Okay, fine. Go inside and tell Gia to watch Abby. We'll meet you out here."
I ran inside and told Gia where we were going. She wished us luck and we headed off into the woods to rescue the guys.
Things seemed to be okay, but I could tell Leo's knee was really bothering him April kept us updated on what was going on with the guys and if they were okay or not. It was weird to hear her talk about something else she could see, but it was a good thing, too. There was a point where April started acting like the bird and tried to attack Leo, but I helped fend her off until she snapped out of it. Leo was still upset and talked about how he was holding the team back. April gave him a stern lecture about how he had to help them because he was the leader.
"Um, April, I'm over here," Leo called, and I directed her to where Leo was.
"Tony, why didn't you guide me to where Leo was?" she asked.
"Because it was funny seeing you lecturing a tree," I remarked.
April muttered something that sounded like, "Boys" causing Leo to smile. We continued on when Leo realized he was okay and that he could stand on his own. I took his crutch for him because I figured it could still be used if someone else got hurt. We reached the place where the bird had taken them and climbed the mountain. We found the nest but no sign of the bird. Leo spotted the hole and called to the others. Raph answered back that they were okay, but before Leo could do anything, April warned him the bird was on top of us. Sure enough, the bird came back. Leo and April were caught in its talons, while I was caught by a tentacle thing. I managed to wriggle free, and so did Leo. We got on top of the bird and watched as April did the same. We plummeted to the water, but April steered the bird back up. It took some time, but she managed to steer the bird into the hole, effectively plugging it up. The others climbed out and then we ran because of the avalanche that was coming down the mountain. We managed to get out of it and went back home.
After we got back, we told Abby, Uncle Gino, and Gia what happened and how we'd rescued the others.
"It's good to have you back, Leo," I said to him.
"Yeah, you were as cranky as a chick with PMS," Raph commented.
"No, dude, he had KneeMS 'cause he was cranky about his knee getting better," Mikey corrected.
"Good one, Mikey," I praised him. "I've never heard of that one before."
"Pain can make someone angry," Uncle Gino clarified. "I would sometimes get upset when my back would give out, so I can feel you on that."
"Yeah, but I shouldn't have taken it out on you guys," Leo said. "I'm really sorry for the way I acted."
"No sweat, Leo," said Raph. "At least you're better now."
"Is your owie better, Mr. Turtle?" Abby asked him.
"Yes, it's all better, and I owe it to all the kisses you gave me," he said, giving her a hug. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, Abby, and I promise not to do that again. And since my knee's all better, you know what that means?"
"Piggy back ride?" she asked, her eyes lighting up.
Leo laughed. "Yep," he replied. "Hop on." He bent down, and Abby climbed on his back. Once she was secure, he started galloping like a horse and carried her around the house. Abby began laughing, and it was good to see her bonding with Leo again. After a few laps around the house, he set her down again because he didn't want to overdo it.
"Hey, Abby, you know what else it's time for?" Mikey asked her.
"No," she said.
"Tickle monster!" Mikey yelled and began tickling her, causing her to giggle again.
"I'll save you, Abby!" Leo said. "Never fear, Mr. Turtle is here!" Then he began tickling Mikey, causing him to laugh and let go of Abby.
"Hey, no fair, dude!" Mikey yelled between laughing.
"I'll save you, Mikey!" Raph declared and jumped on Leo's back which caused Leo to fall to the floor. He was okay though as Raph began rubbing his head with his fist. That led to Casey joining in and even Donnie got in on it, too. I smiled and leapt up on the couch.
"Look out below!" I yelled as I jumped off the couch and into the pile of bodies.
"You guys are impossible!" April giggled.
"I swear, I don't know how they can do that," Gia added.
"Your uncle Tony and I used to wrestle all of the time," Uncle Gino said. "It was funny because we always were competitive and always acted like we had to win. Let the boys get their energy out. At least they aren't fighting viciously or anything, and I think this is somethin' they've needed for a long time."
The wrestling match ended, and we all kept laughing about it. Then we had dinner and started joking around about Leo being cranky, complete with Mikey doing an impression of Leo's angry voice.
"Hey, I don't sound like that!" Leo protested.
"Yeah you do," Mikey said. "I can only imagine what you're gonna be like when you're an old Turtle. I can see you yelling at kids to get off your lawn."
"No, that would be Raph, not me," Leo corrected him.
"Oh, no, I can totally see you doin' that if you're KneeMSing," Raph joked.
"Well, I remember when you were KneeMSing when we were kids and you bruised it trying to cross that pipe in the sewers," Leo reminded him.
"I remember that," said Don. "Splinter was so mad at him."
"Yeah, Splinter totally chewed Raph out for being so stupid," added Mikey. "You guys should have been there."
"Man, it sounds like I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of one of Splinter's lectures," Casey said.
"Yeah, Splinter sometimes has that effect on people, but he's still the best dad," Raph said softly.
Everyone grew quiet, and I could tell they were all thinking about their father and whether he was alive or not. Then Mikey lightened the moment by trying to burp the alphabet, but he didn't get very far. After dinner was over, we all headed to bed. Leo told a bedtime story to Abby before she went to sleep and kissed her forehead.
"Goodnight, guys," he said, and Gia, Abby, and I said goodnight back.
"It's so good to have Leo back," Gia commented.
"Yeah, I'm happy he's okay," I replied. "I was afraid he wasn't ever going to get back to himself."
"Do you think we'll be able to go to New York soon?" she asked me.
"I think so as soon as they feel it's the right time for it," I answered. "But I think they all need time to move on from this. Even if Leo's healed physically, he may still have mental wounds, and those need to be healed, too."
"You're right, Tony," she said. "I guess the only thing we can do is be there for him."
"That's what family does," I told her. "Goodnight, Gia. I'll see you in the morning."
"Goodnight, Tony," she said back.
As I drifted off to sleep, I felt happy that Leo was back, but I was right about there being more to the healing than just the physical stuff. Each of the Turtles would have to go on a special quest to find more about themselves and to prepare themselves for the battle to come. I only hoped they would be ready to face it and that they would be stronger because of it.
A/N: And that's the end of another chapter. I'm so glad I got this done and that I'm back writing about Tony again. I can't wait for next week's episode because it looks awesome. Feel free to leave a review and have a shelltastic day.
