I only own the "Mom" character.

Leo's POV

I'm afraid I won't be able to catch up to my brothers like my mom told me to. I waited too long beside her. But I didn't want to leave her to face them all alone without even watching from a rooftop to see what happens for myself. In fact, my stomach is tightening at the thought of her facing them all alone.

I know mom is alone up here all the time, but I've never left her or any of my family alone in danger, real danger, before. And I thought we were doing pretty good together. Though, she was really, really mad.

I'm surprised to see all four of my brothers and the two humans we're protecting right ahead where I thought they'd have already long passed through by now. Then I realize the humans are slowing them down. My eyes narrow in frustration.

Then I hear Kraang behind me. It frightens me for two reasons. One, what happened to mom that they got past her while she's trying to stop them? Two, what about us and the humans? I pick up speed to get in amidst my brothers, April, and her dad.

When I'm between them with Mikey, Raph, and the dad on my right, and Donnie and the girl on my left, I say, "Split up! Raph, Mikey, take the dad right! Donnie, you me, and April go left!"

My brothers nod, and we do it the next branch off of alleyways. I hear Kraang robots talking behind us. "Kraang, they are doing that which is known as, 'Splitting up.'"

"Then we shall do what is known as 'Splitting up' as well, Kraang."

Why do they all have the same name? It might be almost like a cool ninja trick to confuse people, but not only is it confusing it's really annoying. How do they keep track of who they're talking to? Do they do that when they're not among enemies? And what do they want with one human girl named April O'Neil?

April is really slowing down. She's breathing louder than I've ever heard anyone breathe before. Donnie is slowing down for her too. He gives her a long look over his shoulders and then me a pleading glance. I've almost … no, I've "never" seen him look at me or anyone else like that before. He looks like mom, when she's trying to get us to make up with each other, or even dad, when we're mad. I "humph," then turn back and spring up onto a fire escape walking in the shadows it and the building make to face the entrance of this alley. I hear the Kraang catching up.

They come into view. "Stop, in the name of Kraang." Then, they raise some kind of guns. My eyes widen. I can hear April breathing and making some kind of choked, gasp-scream sound as her feet stumble around a corner. Donnie will be right with her. In fact, I hear him say, "Hurry Ap-"

I don't hear him finish. I'm already jumping down and cutting apart the Kraang's guns. They fizz and spark as they fall apart. I duck hoping the plastic-elastic-like material Donnie says these suits are made of helps somehow with keeping pink lightning bolts from hurting me.

I hear the guns landing on the pavement. I can feel the Kraang reach toward me. I spin, taking them out with my blades, like my mom said, at their knees. I love these swords! I kept telling sensei I needed better swords. I'm doing awesome with them!

The rest of the Kraang robots fall over. I turn and run. I wonder if I should have tried to finish them off.

Mom always says, and father more or less reluctantly agrees, immobilizing an enemy is the most important thing. I have an idea sensei wishes we could permanently take enemies out, so they won't bother us again, but mom's religion makes her reluctantly ask us not to kill, but concentrate on getting away cleanly so enemies won't be able to follow or figure us out enough to find us again. Father argues enemies as clever and determined as theirs, ours, will eventually find out enough to truly threaten us. She says "Then we'll do our best."

I kind of agree with dad, especially tonight when she and my brothers and I are in danger like this. But I don't want to make her any angrier. I wonder though, with them being robots, if it really matters. I should talk to Donnie about it. He knows more about robots than me. I'll just do what Mom suggested for now easier to know then I won't tick her off more. I'll think about the rest for myself later.

I turn another corner in another alleyway and see Donnie trying to lift off a manhole cover by prying it off with the handle "and" blade of his naginata. I frown. "Donnie, don't treat your weapon that way."

"This one's heavy Leo."

I sigh. Of all my brothers, Donnie struggles most with upper body strength. You'd think it be Raph with his lighter weapons, but he compensates in other ways, a lot of other ways, mainly push-ups, pull-ups, and his weight bag.

Donnie strength trains and trains in all other ways of ninjitsu least out of all of us. Mom and dad let him off with that, because he's smart and keeps working on other things with his intelligence that help all of us, but it's not helping us now!

I kneel down and pull it up with him. He's right. It's heavy.

I wonder if the Kraang see us if they'll have trouble lifting it too. Probably not. They're also made of metal.

No! I can't think that way. I don't hear them here. They can't see us right now. They can't follow us home or even to SP6. They can't find us or dad!"

Donnie turns to the end of a dumpster. "Come on out, April."

I turn. Yep, there she is standing straight after crouching down in the dark. She's breathing a little less heavy, but I had heard her. I just hadn't realized how well hidden she was otherwise until right now. I turn on Donnie with a scowl. "You hid her, but not yourself?"

He glares back. "A little hard to hide and get this manhole cover off at the same time, Leo!"

April approaches us and looks down into the dark hole biting her bottom lip. Donnie gets out a flashlight and illuminates the ladder below. He smiles at this human girl and says, "I'll go down first." Then he does, holding the flashlight in his mouth.

April is still shuddering and breathing loudly as she watches him with wide eyes. I really look her over now. She's more scared than I've seen anybody since Mikey last ran away after telling us he wanted to go find new friends, and mom found out over an hour later. That was when we were eleven. I promised her I'd never let any of us go out alone again after that. I promised myself that too.

I glance back to the entrance of the alley we're in wondering if more Kraang are coming closer to see us wondering what they're doing to mom. I think I hear them in the distance, maybe a few alleys back. April's whisper actually cuts through the sound, she's so close. "Where's my dad?"

I glance to her and think of how worried I am about my mom. I try to smile at her. "He's with Raph and Mikey. They'll …"

I think about both Raph and Mikey and stop. I was mostly going, when we split up, for those already grouped together to quickly break off in separate directions to confuse the Kraang. Now I think about it, could they actually be trusted alone together to ..? I see April still staring at me with that same wide-eyed, frozen-faced expression. I smile at her again. "He's fine. He'll meet us at SP6."

She opens her mouth. Then Donnie's voice below us cuts her off. "I'm off the ladder at the bottom now. Your turn, April."

I look down frowning. It took him that long? Then, I roll my eyes realizing he was probably testing every rung for ease and safety of climbing for the human next to me. I see he's also got the light shining straight up to illuminate the ladder for her. What if someone sees it shining in that mass of smog in the sky? I grumble under my breath to the human beside me instead of telling him to shut it off, though, because she probably "does" need it. "Try to hurry."

She nods and starts climbing down. I hear Donnie down there whispering, "Try to be careful, though!" I roll my eyes. Then I watch and listen for Kraang. When April reaches his side, Donnie does switch the light off and whispers, "Come on, Leo."

I look down, though, I can't really see him anymore. "You can get to SP6 on your own, right?"

I can hear the annoyance in his voice even if I can't see it on his face. "Uh, duh, Leo!"

"Alright, take her there and wait for the rest of us. I'm going back for mom. You're in charge until we meet up again."

"Leo, are you nuts?"

I'm already moving the manhole cover back over the hole. "I gotta help her, Donnie!"

"Leo!" I rudely cut him off by shoving the manhole cover over the hole his voice is coming up from. I'm hoping he'll forgive me later. I'm not caring as much, though, as I probably will, when mom and dad get through with me for this.

What do you think?

God Bless

ScribeofHeroes