If he had been in his right mind, Leo probably would have made some sort of joke or intelligent realization that totally matched his awesome looks… In truth, Leo could hardly think beyond the agonizing waves of pain washing through him as his eyes peeled open only to stare sightlessly ahead as Leo could only focus on the sharp pain of his own breathing. He could taste blood in the back of his throat trying to choke him, and beyond his mind-numbing pain, all Leo could really comprehend is that for some odd reason, he couldn't hear the Kraang screaming in outrage from wherever the alien had retreated to in the Prison Dimension before the Kraang ultimately would return back to his literal punching bag. The thought was barely there, hidden behind the aforementioned pain as Leo blinked back tears.
He didn't want to die, but… But better him than his brothers, right. After all, it had been his pride and inability to listen that had gotten them into this situation. How many were dead because of him? How many were injured all because Leo had prioritized himself over any sort of plan Raph had? It was the least Leo could do, at least the cold of the dimension was starting to eat away the pain in great chunks as darkness speckled across his vision in great, weightless clouds that seemed to sink through flesh until it affected his actual body to hide the pain briefly before it would disappear and Leo's body would remember. Drifting lifelessly, the only true awareness beyond the pain being his fist still determinedly clenched around the picture of his family, undoubtedly creased and splattered with blood.
Somewhere within the shifting remnants of great mechanical creations, planets, and the ruined, skeletal husks of ships, the Kraang roared again, a distant thing that Leo could barely hear above the groaning of what might have been another ship as he drifted past. There was a sound behind him, a warm thing that turned into a shrill, electrical wobble as everything began to go dark. Leo wasn't able to look behind him to see the orange portal turn violet, in fact, he wasn't even awake as his body gave in at last to mindless unconsciousness as the Kraang cried out from the depths of the Prison Dimension.
All in all, Leonardo was pretty sure that whatever had happened in Donnie's lab while he had been casually watching Space Heroes, was probably Mikey's fault. In fact, it was practically confirmed as the only warning he or Raph had gotten was Donnie's sharp demand of "Don't touch that, Mikey," before a high-pitched sound echoed from Donnie's room into the lair. It had been an irritating sound like blades on a chalkboard that had Leo rushing to his feet before his mind had even comprehended what was happening, a sense of fear pooling in him as he raced to to Donnie's door with katanas drawn just in time to see what was most certainly a portal as well as what suspiciously looked like the device that the other Donatello from that alternate dimension had used to summon Leo and his brothers into their world. In fact he barely gets a heartbeat to even comprehend before the portal flashes a vivid orange and a striking white-blue before returning back to the distinctive purple color and spitting out another turtle. There were possibly three seconds where all three of them, Mikey, Donnie, and Leo, were left with gaping jaws before the newcomer made a gurgling noise and spat blood across the floor and all three of them rushed into action. Leo sheathed his twin katanas as he slid to the other turtle, only for his brain to seemingly short circuit as it dawned on him the blue mask across the other's face, a blue lighter than his own alongside two distinctive red stripes that swept across his eyes in a crescent-like shape.
"He's still breathing!" Donnie sounded on the edge of a panic attack as Leo forced his own panic away so that he could speak to Mikey.
"Mikey, we need bandages!" Leo told his youngest brother who was quick to race out of the room, something that had not gone unnoticed as Raph darted into the room.
"Holy shit!" Was the first thing out of Raph's mouth, which, of course it was, before Leo's brother was by his side peering over the newcomer that was clearly covered in blood, scrapes, and bruises.
"Is he going to be okay?" Mikey asked, looking with wide eyes as Donnie began to direct his brothers to help peel the black wrist and ankle coverings which looked frayed and revealed what was most certainly broken bones beneath.
It had been Raph that had peeled the photo out of the turtle's hand, which earned them a mere groan and a shudder before the turtle fell still again. Frowning slightly, Raph glanced down at the photo before looking back up at Donnie who was scrambling to pull his x-ray machine over, motioning them out. Despite looking like he wanted to demand an explanation, Raph merely stormed outside with Mikey and Leo at his heels, the photo still clutched in his hands.
"Raph?" Leo asked softly, and his brother pushed the photo into his hands and Leo's fears were confirmed.
In the photo, there were three other turtles wearing masks that matched the color scheme of his own brothers with the addition of a small rat (which made something inside his chest ache) and a girl. Each of them were smiling, and with his small glance Leo was almost surprised at the differences he found. Their last encounter with multiversal counterparts had revealed turtles that looked essentially the same beyond their masks (and letters inscribed in their belts.) These turtles looked utterly distinct from one another, even more so than Leo's own brothers, each looking as if they were different species.
The tallest one, and largest, was clearly Raph with a distinctive spikey shell and a sharp fang peeking out from his mouth. A surprising contrast to Leo's own brother, who was shorter than both he and Donnie. A turtle that could be recognized as Mikey even without the orange color scheme had his arm thrown over Raph, smile almost blinding as Leo's eyes traced the orange spots on this Mikey's shoulders and the paint on his shell. In the middle stood a dark-skinned girl with thick curls framed by two turtles that were clearly that world's Leo and Donnie. The Donnie in the photo looked undeniably smug with what was most certainly drawn on eyebrows on his mask above his eyes with goggles sitting atop his head. The Donnie in the photo was wearing something covering his own shell as the Leo in the photo smiled happily, a lightness in his eyes that the Leo of this world could hardly imagine.
At the bottom, there stood a small, round rat, so different from his own father, and yet…
"Wow," Mikey began, eyes shining with surprise from where he looked over Leo's shoulder. "That means he's totally you from another dimension, right." Mikey looked ecstatic at the idea, and Leo was not surprised when Mikey added, "We all look so cool. Look at me, and Raph is huge!"
Turning the photo over, Leo let his eyes scan the strange cylinder with a skull on it sketched on the back before he let Mikey take the photo from his hand to look over it with a smile.
Raph was leaning against a wall, arms crossed over his chest before he finally seemed to grow tired of Mikey's rambling.
"Mikey, what did you do?" Raph snapped.
"What? Me!" Mikey looked almost insulted, and Leo mentally reminded himself to hold another weekly family therapy session. "Donnie is the one that built a dimensional portal gun thingy!"
"Yeah, and you are the one that touched it!"
Leo mentally thanked whatever was possible out there when Donnie stepped out, drawing Raph's attention from Mikey as Donnie smiled nervously at them before looking away. "So, I guess good news first… He's stable. Most of the damage was done to his ribcage and plastron. His shell is cracked in multiple places and he has a broken arm and probably a concussion. I did take some blood and apparently he's a red-eared slider and sixteen."
So, both younger than Leo and a completely different species. Donnie would likely have a field day with his theories about why that was the case.
"Also… He is probably Leo from another dimension…" Donnie added softly, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "In my defense… I never actually intended for the device to be used, unless we were totally screwed and needed help like the 1987 Donnie." A pointed look towards Donnie, "Hence why it was hidden away. Mikey."
Raph's mouth opened, most likely to start a scathing response but in a surprising act of restraint, he merely shut his mouth and took a deep breath. Well, it meant that maybe April hadn't been entirely off base when she suggested they start practicing some therapy techniques, even dropping off some self-help books in the lair when she visited. After a moment of clearly gathering his thoughts, Raph spoke at last.
"Donnie, why would you even build that?" Raph asked, his tone lacking the bite it would have a year ago… Hell, even a few months ago.
"Well," Donnie seemed to shrink for a moment. "Look, a lot has happened so I guess that I just wanted a sort of insurance that if we ever needed it, we could get help."
Looking at one another, Leo let himself take a deep breath before he gave Donnie a nod. "Well, whatever the case, he's here now." He looks at Donnie expectantly. "Can you send him back?"
"After he's healed," Mikey added softly.
"What if he is an evil version of Leonardo?" Raph asked with no small amount of sarcasm.
"..." Donnie looked uncomfortable. "I hadn't exactly gotten to the part where it sends them back… But, I will get right on that just in case he is from a dimension where we are evil."
"As if we could be evil," Mikey snorts, even pointing at the photo. "Look how happy they look, and more importantly, how cool!"
April O'Neil had been contacted to sit with the injured turtle with Donnie left behind to watch over the injured turtle, work on completing his device, and, just in case the newcomer did in fact prove to be evil, help April (not that they doubted her ability to defend herself but they had no clue what this alternate version of Leo was like, nor what he was capable of.) In fact, it had been April that first became aware of the injured red-eared slider returning to consciousness.
"Donnie!" She called out, rising to her feet just as dark, pained eyes peeled open to look at her in open confusion for a solid minute before panic overwhelmed the turtle's features. With alarming speed for someone so injured, the red-eared slider scrambled to his feet and was in a corner before April's mind had even truly comprehended what happened just as Donnie raced in.
"Who are you?" Came a rough rasp, dark eyes so unlike her own Leonardo's narrowed sharply even as his body trembled and shook in obvious pain.
"Please lay back down, you are badly hurt," Donnie tried, only to receive a look that most certainly read as the equivalent as duh.
"I'm April," April tried to soothe, only for the alternate version of Leo to actually roll his eyes.
"Then why are you white?"
What…?