I own nothing … Please don't sue, I make no money either. Don't you dare think of paying me!

This pretty much covers all the 2003 TMNT show I think played on television including the movie "Turtles Forever." I made it about Raph's view of Leo, and how it might have changed over the course of the show and into and after the events of "Turtles Forever." So, it starts out rough and ends kinda mushy. ;)

Leo was just too high and mighty. That's what Raphael would have said. He always told everybody what to do. He always played leader. He always gave advice even if the other guy didn't want it. He always stuck his nose where it didn't belong. It was downright disgusting at times.

He'd been like that as far back as Raph could remember. He was like that the night the mousers first showed up and ate their home. Right after Leo proved himself Sensei's pet again, they were attacked and Leo's skills that made him Sensei's pet didn't save them. Then he'd been all uptight about going topside, and about him going out to try to do what Leo had first said they should do to get back into the sewers. He was like that when they followed Splinter to the Battle Nexus, even though if they hadn't done that Leo never would have met his best friend.

Man, he should have known. Only Leo could make best friends with an ex-Samurai even more obsessed with his swords and his honor than him. Yeesh, when those two got together you couldn't get them out of the dojo!

Leo was the first at the farmhouse to talk about returning to the city and taking Shredder out. That one he'd actually agreed with. Then, Leo had felt all guilty about taking the Shredder out enough to go topside and get between foot ninja and gangsters! Then he'd had them all team up with Karai. Then he'd been shocked she was working for a living Shredder all along!

Of course, there was the time he'd gone to a world without Leo or any of his family. There, he'd met a guy who could care less about honor. He'd only cared about winning. And what had "he" done while racing with that Falcon guy across worlds on a super sweet bike? He'd become just like Leo.

When the racer who'd been hurt said someone in her family could help him find his, he had agreed to drive the bike while the Falcom guy navigated. It had been a really sweet bike! He'd done his best to help them win. Except … he'd also insisted they help another team about to get killed. Falcon had complained. He had insisted.

Man. He had become just like Leo ... For once, he'd learned how awkward insisting you and someone else act with honor was. He'd also learned how satisfying winning with it could be. Apparently, Falcon had too.

Then there was the time Leo went crazy. For months his big bro had trained them and himself so hard, so constantly, Splinter had actually criticized him. Splinter had stood up for them and told Leo to back off! He shoulda enjoyed it. But … when it came down to it, he had just wanted Leo to act normal.

He should have been happy when Leo left to get his head on straight. He had been miserable. It was like losing a tooth. You kept forgetting, then realizing it was missing again whenever you ate, or drank, or moved your tongue a certain way. He would forget Leo was gone. Then he'd look for him. He'd wait for him to do something. He'd wonder why Sensei was asking him something instead of Leo. Then, boom, he'd remember. Leo was gone … hopefully not for good, but still …

He hadn't always been happy when Leo was around. He'd never really appreciated his leadership. You never really appreciated your teeth, especially when you bit your tongue. Man though … the way you missed even "one" tooth when it was absent from your mouth for once.

He was so happy, even though they'd all been in a really dark place, even though he'd been missing and worried about the others by then, when Leo had found him. Leo had found them all. Then Leo had taken them to a safe place and put them back together as a family. And Leo wasn't … so high and mighty about it … not until he'd insisted he would go out and face Karai.

Raph could have totally gotten behind that if Leo hadn't been going alone if he hadn't been afraid they really would lose him, forever this time. Thankfully, Leo had come back saying Karai wouldn't bother them again now. For once, he wasn't so annoyed by Leo's high and mightiness.

He'd even felt proud of Leo. He'd felt pretty proud of his big bro for the next couple of years. He'd felt proud of the way he'd led them to save Donnie from his second mutation. He'd felt proud of the way Leo taught Cody Jones to fight just like Splinter had taught them. He'd been proud of how Leo handled Donnie going all hard and sour when they lost Splinter in cyberspace. Whenever Donnie really got on his nerves during those days, Leo would take him and Mikey out to blow off steam and give Donnie some space.

Leo had also accompanied him to that very disappointing wrestling match of the future, when now one else would. Leo had backed him up facing Headlock Prime. Leo had been great then.

Of course, Leo hadn't gotten everything right in those days. He'd also insisted with Cody on giving Dark Leo a chance. They'd butted heads over that one almost like they had when they had before. Even Leo though, seemed to have come down on his side, when the guy had called in his brothers to take them all out. Leo had even made sure they had a plan to defend themselves. So that turned out fine in the end. Leo had ended up agreeing with him.

And oh man, when Splinter was scattered over cyber-space, Donnie had been "much" more Leo than Leo had ever been! Maybe. Who had been more obsessed and annoying? Donnie when Splinter was scattered over cyberspace, or Leo after they'd been pounded near-to-death by the Shredder in space? It was close.

Then those other turtles from another universe had shown up. It was like having five Mikey's! They always ran off to do something crazy! Even Mikey got frustrated with them! They walked right out in public! They never listened. Why couldn't they just … Wait … Was this how Leo always felt?

Course none of them (except Mikey) was like these tiny, giggly versions of themselves from another dimension, but still … Leo was always saying what he himself had felt then … They had no sense of responsibility! They didn't do what they told them to. They always got themselves into danger. They always made bad jokes! They just made him want to bang his head against something hard! They made him feel … like Leo.

Then there were all those pesky memories they brought up. "Guys, we can't go topside in the daylight! You know what Splinter said!" "Keep your head in the game!" "Raph that's not the honorable thing to do!" "Guys take this seriously! It isn't a game!" All these memories just ran through his mind in Leo's voice over and over again while they were with those little turtles from that other place.

All those different Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles wanted to do was eat pizza! All he wanted to do for a while was punch them in the mouth! Then Leo's voice went through his head again. "Guys stop! Pay attention! We have to come up with a plan!"

Oh man … He'd thought the months Leo had been in Japan had been tough. He'd been left the oldest turtle in the lair. That had been bad. Having like, four, new, younger brothers to keep alive during an Utrom Shredder come-back was "so" much worse! Except … Leo had actually been around to help this time.

Then there had been meeting those turtles in that other, other turtle-verse: Turtle Prime. There, he'd learned what it was like to live with himself. Confident, tough guys who didn't want to listen to nobody and came up with their own aggressive plan of fighting first and asking questions later lived in that universe. Even their Leo was like that! And he talked to himself! Wow that was weird ... Well, it worked out, but still, having someone make it clear they thought you a wimp and a dummy to boot was … harsh.

Was that what it was like for Leo when dealing with … him? How had he handled that for so long! He would have gone nuts!

When they'd gotten back home, all any of them, Leo, Donnie, Mikey, and he wanted to do was veg out. But Leo had gone around checking on them all, including Sensei. He'd even called Karai to ask if she was alright after facing her evil dad, one last time, and seeing him destroyed by a big ray of light.

He'd checked on Donnie, who'd had to work with fun-verse Donnie on a multi-verse hopping invention he still didn't understand, which had to be tough for him. Leo had checked on Mikey who'd had to tell the other four turtles so much like him to stop joking around and take their situation seriously. That had been weird too. Then, his big bro had checked on him.

"How ya doing there, Raph? I know it was hard for you living with "five" Mikeys there, for a while. Even though, you know, we felt some of your pain too. Then we had to drag ya out of the universe you wanted to retire in."

Raph gave Leo a tired grin. Figured Leo would act all cool now even after all that. Then Raph felt his smile melt away. He opened his mouth even though it took energy. "Hey Leo?"

"Yeah, Raph?"

"You remember seeing all those other turtle-teams Shredder found out about on all those other earths connected to turtle prime?

"Yeah?"

"You know how they had all those other Leos?"

"Yeah."

"I'm glad out of all of those, we got you, Leo. I'm glad out of all of those others, we got you."

What do you think?

God Bless

ScribeofHeroes