Another chapter of a story I do not own, with characters I do not own, but love.

Please don't sue and just enjoy.

Cody paused outside the dojo itself to plug in another practice dummy. "If the guys want to try it out right away, I want this thing to be ready." He turned from his task, still kneeling and looked up to meet the blue turtle's gaze. "You really think they'll like it, Leo?"

The blue-banded turtle grinned. "I do." Honestly, he was a little worried about Raph. The hothead was not adjusting well to 2105. Unlike Serling, most of the other robots in the house were eager to serve them. While Leo was used to doing things for himself by himself or relying on his brothers, sensei, or even April and Casey when he absolutely had to, he could now deal with queries in metallic tones on what shampoo he wanted squirted on his head. Or, he could just find sneaky ninja tactics to avoid setting off the robots questions. Raph hadn't figured either strategy out yet. Cody and Serling had already had to repair a lot of bots after Raph rampages.

Cody continued to grin at Leo with more energy crackling from him than from the battle mannequin. "Can you guys get the damaged practice bot out of the dojo and be back in there by the time I return with the guys?"

Splinter smiled and answered for them both. "Of course, Cody San."

The preteen grinned at them. "Great! I'll go get them." Then he took off. His white tennis shoes beat a rapid staccato over the walkway to the door leading to the rest of the mansion. Leo smiled after him. They'd really have to work on stealth training then.

As soon as the door whooshed shut, he headed to the dojo to get the battle droid out. It was probably headed for a workbench like so much of what they broke at home Donnie or Mike thought worth fixing. A raspy voice spoke behind him as he pulled the uninjured wrists of the sparking droid to drag it out. He was a bit too afraid of the damaged wires to sling it over his shoulders. "My son, does something still trouble you?"

Leo frowned before looking over his bare, shell-shoulder toward his father. "You still want me to tell him the good news right after he lays this surprise on the others?"

"Yes."

Leo sighed before looking back to his burden and beginning to drag it. "And you're still sure, you want 'me' not you, Donnie, or even Raph to be his sensei instead?"

"Yes."

Leo stopped dragging his broken burden to look at the rat he now stood beside. "Promise me you'll step in if I begin to mess up too badly."

The rat tilted his head slightly as he stared back into the turtle's face without blinking. "My son, where is all this self-doubt coming from?" He waved one hand as he spoke lifting it from the top of the curving cane Cody had provided him with.

Leo shook his head as he continued dragging the droid he'd dropped a chandelier on earlier. "Cody knows more than me about technology, aliens, even our very surroundings. It feels a bit strange to become his teacher in his own home not to mention his own time period. And I haven't always been the best … teacher ... even back home." He slumped a bit while placing the broken droid next to the plugged in one. His shoulders continued to droop and he didn't look back at his sensei, but at the floor as he continued. "I haven't always been the best student either."

Splinter's warm voice washed over his shell. "Leonardo if I did not think you have learned much and taken those lessons to heart since, I would not let you teach Cody San. But you" he pointed the bottom end of his cane at Leo's heart as the turtle turned around to look back at him, "Have been my best and most passionate student as well as a wise, strong, and selfless leader." Splinter lowered the tip of his cane back to the floor and leaned on it as he continued. "You even taught Michelangelo to fight to a victory in that 'grudge match' in the Battle Nexus when I refused to in hope a loss would humble him. You have fought more than one Shredder without faltering, my son, and done much, much more. There is no other I wish to teach Cody San."

Leo's mouth smiled, but there were still wrinkles in his brow. "Thank you, Sensei." Then his mouth straightened. He put one hand on his hip while lifting another to gesture with. "But … why not Donnie? He also has several years of training under his belt, takes things seriously, and always does his part on missions. He can teach a beginner as much as I can. Cody and he have already bonded, and they think similarly ..."

Splinter smiled up at his son. "I think you and Cody San have bonded more than you know. However, there is 'one' other reason I think it best Cody San learn from you. And it doesn't sound like you have thought of it my son."

Leonardo straightened where he stood. His eyes widened as they stared down into his sensei's face. "What?"

"He is the heir to a vast company making new and wondrous things in buildings named for his grandmother with technology partially developed by your brother."

"Again, Donnie's doing not mine." Leo shrugged his shoulders. "Why shouldn't he teach the heir to the company he helped start?"

Splinter pointed a clawed finger up at him now. "Leadership."

Leo froze. The small holes that were his ears continued to pick up his teacher's words, however. "Someday, Cody will have to lead others. I want him to learn how to lead, as well as how to defend himself."

Leo remained frozen. Splinter's confident grin grew. He tapped his cane once on the floor. "Now, I think your brothers are coming with young Cody San. Shall we go inside the dojo and wait as part of the surprise?"

Leonardo nodded. Then he followed his master into Cody's gift for them. As they walked out of the shell-shaped dojo, Leo wondered if he should tell Cody he could stop making "everything" he built for them look like a turtle shell.

He glanced around once they were inside. He had a feeling he'd miss this dojo once they went back to their own time. Maybe, now he was about to learn of it, Donnie could make something like this for them in 2005. Would that hurt the future?

The others walked in. Raph was grimacing. Uh-oh … Leo had hoped seeing a dojo would pick up Raph's mood a bit. At least it would give him a place to hide from metallic, overzealous servants and their questions.

Cody approached with a smile. He took out a remote and continued what Leo imagined was his "sell-it spiel" pointing the device toward the ceiling. "It's a holo-simulator with preprogrammed battle scenarios."

Their surroundings became an alleyway at night. A chain link fence stood black against a dark street the brightest patches of which were puddles from a recent rain. Brick buildings and dumpsters flanked them. Leo smiled as he gave his own practiced line in hopes it would help Raph accept this. If one turtle really sold this maybe another would buy? "And 5023 high-rez background modes."

Cody pressed another few buttons, and they were perched on the rise of a snowy mountain. A bright sun made the snow and ice shine against the darker stone beneath them. Leo could tell by Donnie's half-closed eyes and dopey smile he was loving this so much he wanted to cry but, with practiced care, he was holding it in.

Mikey just exclaimed. "Kickin graphics!"

Cody punched some other buttons. An old-west town appeared around them. Wooden buildings stood on either side of a street of orange dust under an almost equally orange sky due to the setting sun. Mikey added, "It's like dojorama extreme. Sweet."

Leo almost nodded to himself. Okay, two brothers and Splinter were on board. But … Raph turned away and raised a clenched fist. "Forget it. Just give me a wooden post and practice dummy." Raph punctuated his final words by beating his clenched fist against its opposite palm a couple of times.

Leo snapped his head to the side to take in Cody's reaction. The preteen was … smirking? There was an almost snarky drawl in his reply. "Sure." He pushed another button.

A holographic replica of their old lair appeared. Not their first one they'd grown up in. This was the Y'Lyntian lair they hadn't even known "was" Y'Lyntian till their visit to the underground city. They'd set up here, there, after encountering the mousers. They'd brought April O'Neil back to it, when she fainted right after they rescued her from other mousers. When they hadn't dared return to it with Foot Ninja haunting the sewers, they'd crashed at her place instead. They'd returned to this place, no, there, after hiding out at Casey's grandma's in the country. They'd hosted their first Christmas with friends here, no, there. He'd hosted Usagi and his friend Gennosuke here … there again. After Karai had finished with it, it would never be the same. They couldn't return to it and live there again even if they could, even when they 'would' return to 2005.

Cody had wanted so badly to create it here for them after reading and hearing so much of what they had done there. The human had wanted to see it for himself as much as he'd wanted to help them gain it back in a small way.

The sight of it all only seemed to enrage Raph more. He turned and yelled down at the kid. "That's not what I meant!" He knocked the back of his hand against a wooden post with wooden arms standing right next to him for good measure.

Cody slumped, sighed, and pressed a button making the old lair disappear. He straightened a little while pulling the remote toward himself staring at it like it had the answers to how to make the hottest headed of his heroes happy. Leo had to repress a sigh and growl of his own at Raph.

He knew his brother didn't exactly embrace 'the new' a lot of the time, but Cody was "really" trying. He had put days into this.

Raph … probably didn't even realizing how rude he was being as always. He knew his eldest's brother's nerves were nearly shot. 2105 had been rubbing Raph the wrong way almost constantly since they got here. And he had thought "he" was the traditional turtle.

On Cody's other side, Splinter turned and pointed to his red-banded brother. As their sensei approached the hot-headed turtle by a step, Cody backed out of his place between them, so the rat could speak to his son and student directly. "Raphael, a true warrior must always adapt to any new situation and surroundings." Splinter spread his hands as he continued. "Besides, young Cody San has worked hard to provide you this space to sharpen your ninja skills." Splinter stepped backward to place a clawed, furry hand onto the preteen's shoulder at the end. "You should be grateful."

Part way through the rat's wise words, the human had turned large eyes with only partially wrinkled eyebrows over them upon Raphael, but he didn't look up into his face. When Splinter was nearly finished, he turned to look down a little at the rat sensei with wide, green eyes and straight lips.

Raph had turned away from them both. His arms were once again crossed over his chest. His snarl had fallen into a slight guilty frown. "Yeah, I know."

As Cody dared begin to turn his gaze back toward the darkest green turtle, Raph pounded an elbow into his upper arm. "Thanks kid." The kid drew the skinny limb back with a flinch and gasp of surprise, or was it pain?

Leo bit back a scolding for his rougher brother. Seeing Splinter's own wide eyes and gritted teeth as the human almost went over him to get away from Raph for a moment didn't help. Leo froze and watched to see if Cody could understand Raph's attempt to make things right.

A dopey smile soon replaced the pinched mouth, tight skin, and wide eyes of terror on Cody. But, the preteen began to rub the place his brother's elbow had collided with. Okay … maybe they should add a light form of conditioning to their training regimen too.

Then, Sensei said the words that made Leo's heart both soar and freeze. "As a reward for your boundless generosity, Cody San, Leonardo has my blessing to start you on your own ninja training."

He was already in a pretty confident pose, leaning slightly back, head and chin up, and hands on hips, mostly due to his pleasure at Raph's apology and Cody's good grace in accepting it. He stayed this way through Splinter's announcement. He even added a thumb's up in Cody's direction.

Cody's reaction was about as much as he could have hoped for. A quick glance at him with wide eyes, an almost hesitant, but mostly loud "Really" then an "Alright!"

A string of questions and very awkward, wild movements followed. The latter began like a celebration dance but turned into really bad ninja-movie choreography. "Where do we start: hidden tiger attack, five-fingered phoenix death-blow? Hiyaa! Ha! Hiyaa!"

And Raph, maybe to make up for earlier, walked up a few steps behind the human. He bent over to put probably heavy, but still seemingly gentle hands on both the preteen's shoulders. Cody was in a lunge-pose.

After a "Huh" and glance over his shoulder, Cody fell silent. Leo took this as his cue. He walked up to his student's other side without even looking at Raph. He didn't need to. Like so many other things they did together, they knew what the other had to do without communicating. Call it family familiarity. Call it warrior's instinct. Call it an odd mixture of both. All members of a ninja team should be able to do it.

Cody straightened. Raph straightened with him. One of his hands fell off the preteen's shoulder, and Leo's replaced it. Cody looked to him. Leo looked back. This was the moment.

He knelt down and then crossed his legs before him. To his credit, Cody followed suit without taking his eyes off his teacher. Raph stood behind the human arms crossed over his plastron again, but wearing a half-grin now. Leo smiled.

Man … what it was to have that wall of dark green, muscled mass of brick hard determination that was his brother standing by when they tried something new together …

Leo locked eyes with his pupil as the kid stared back. "We start at the beginning, meditating on the connection between the body and the mind."

He shut his own eyes. He could feel the stillness and seriousness of his pupil across from him as he maintained such himself … for about five seconds. Then he felt the air move. There was some definite turning of Cody's head from side to side. For his part, he became even more still and concentrated in hope the preteen would pick up on it and mimic him. Instead, he heard. "Ah … this is 'not' what I had in mind."

What do you think?

God bless

ScribeofHeroes