2 months after the Lioness Clan stayed with the Hamatos,
Leo was riding a spaceship on his way to become a bounty hunter. He landed on a weird orange planet and got off his ship. He read the paper Liz gave him and went inside the diner. There were scary looking creatures inside, but Leo paid them no mind as he went to the counter.
"Excuse me? I'm here for a bounty hunting job." An orange round alien with two trunks and three eyes looked at him. "Oh, you're the new guy, right? Go pick a job on the board and wait for your partner to get here."
Leo raised a brow. "Partner?"
"No one goes on their first job alone, kid. You have to get good experience with someone before you can go solo. Now go pick one."
Leo nodded then went to a board that was filled with posters of wanted criminals. Leo looked at his options and caught one that caught his eye. He picked up a poster that had a boy on it. "A kid? How can a kid this young be a criminal?"
"Oh, good choice, a little kid, that should be easy enough." A voice said and Leo looked to see Elizabeth. "Hey, how's it going, Leo? Looks like you and I are going to be partners."
Leo blinked. "You're my partner?"
"Yup, I've been doing bounty hunting way longer than anyone here, so the boss always makes me be partners with the newbies." Liz explained.
"Oh, I see."
"So, how much does it pay?" Liz asked as she walked closer to him. They both looked at the poster and their jaws dropped. "1,000, 000!!!" They both exclaimed.
"This little kid is worth that much?! How much trouble is he?!" Leo exclaimed and Liz smirked. "Who cares! I could use a big pay day like that, let's get going!"
Liz then grabbed Leo's hand and took off running out the door.
...
On Liz's ship,
"Do you even know where we're supposed to go?" Leo asked as he was sitting next to Liz who smirked at him. "Not really but I know a guy who might have an idea."
She landed in front of a bar and quickly ran inside, Leo following her. She immediately went to the contour with a twinkle in her eye. "Loke, what's up big guy?! Got anything special for me today?!"
Leo looked at the person behind the contour and he felt a chill down his spine. This man's face was covered with his long white hair, and he was wearing a black suit. The man said nothing, he just turned around and handed Liz big boxes full of alcohol.
"I thought we were here to get information." Leo said while giving her a look and Liz turned to him. "I was getting to that, hold your horses. Women's needs come first." She joked and Leo rolled his eyes.
As Liz was talking to Loke Leo's phone suddenly rang, he picked it up and rolled his eyes when he saw it was a 'unknown number.' Leo knew exactly who it was, it was that old lady, Bell. Ever since they left, she has been calling Leo non-stop trying to convince him to marry Eleanor. Leo doesn't understand this woman, how many times does he have to say 'no' until she finally gets it. Leo is too young to marry and though Eleanor is a beautiful girl, he is just not interested in her and from what he can tell she is not interested in him either. Eleanor doesn't have the courage to say 'no' to her grandmother, so Leo has to do it. It doesn't matter what this old woman says his answer is always going to be 'no.' It's not fair for him and it's not fair to Eleanor to get stuck in an unhappy marriage.
'Maybe I should start ignoring her. How did this lady even get my number anyway? I'm going to have to get it changed.' Leo thought to himself as Liz noticed the annoyed look on his face. "What's wrong?"
"Your grandmother keeps calling me. She's still trying to convince me to marry your sister." Liz scowled and snatched the phone out of his hands, answering it. "Hey, what are you-!"
"Sh!" Liz hushed while holding up a figure. "Quit calling him you old hag! He is not interested in Eleanor! Find someone else to force her to marry!"
"Elizabeth?! What are you doing with Leonardo?!"
"That's none of your business! Goodbye!"
"Elizabeth-!"
Liz hung up the phone before her grandmother could protest and passed it to Leo. "Geez, you didn't have to be so harsh." Liz shrugged. "Well, you didn't have the balls to do it."
Leo frowned at her, but she only smirked while stretching her arms. "Anyway, I got the information we need to find this brat so let's go."
Liz started walking out the door with Leo following when she suddenly stopped in her tracs making him bump into her. He looked at her confused and took a closer look at her face. Her eyes were wide, and her shoulders were tense. "Hey, you ok?"
"What's up Elijah!" Someone said and Leo looked to see a man talking to an alien. The man has long brown wavy hair, a short beard, and green eyes. He was wearing a leather jacket, black shirt, and black jeans. "Eh, nothing much. Just came here to get some information."
Leo noticed Loke looking at Liz and though he couldn't see his face, Leo could sense that he was worried. What is this guy an enemy or something? "Elizabeth?! Is that you?!"
The man said as he walked to them. Liz nervously waved. "H-Hi, Elijah." Leo was confused why she was so nervous but decided not to say anything. "Oh, wow! You've really grown up, haven't you?! I remember when you were no higher than my knee!"
He exclaimed and Liz looked at Leo, sensing his confusion. "Leo this is Elijah...my old mentor, he taught me everything I know." Elijah shook Leo's hand. "Nice to meet ya! Are you Lizzy's boyfriend?"
Leo blushed. "No, No! I-" Liz cut in. "He's a newbie and I got picked to be his partner." Elijah smiled. "Well, welcome, newbie! How are you enjoying it so far?"
"Well-" Before Leo could answer Liz grabbed his arm and started pulling him out the bar. "It was nice seeing you Elijah but we gotta go!"
...
When they finally got in their ship and took flight Leo looked at Liz questioningly. Why was she acting so weird? He stared at her for a while until Liz finally had enough. "Quit looking at me like that!"
"What was that about?"
"Huh?"
"When Elijah came in you...you acted..weird." Liz chuckled. "You haven't known me long enough to know my weirdness."
Leo scowled. "I know when someone's nervous and your friend behind the contour seemed worried." Liz sighed. "Leo, just drop it ok. It's not important. Let's just get this job done, k?"
"...Fine."
...
Few hours later,
Leo and Liz were going through a creepy forest. They fought huge bugs and monsters, but they were no closer to finding the kid. They finally made it to a meadow and looked around. At first it seemed like nothing was there but then they spotted a little boy with black hair kneeling in the grass. They just observed him for a moment and their eyes widened when the grass around the boy suddenly died.
They both gasped. "Whoa..." Was all they could say. "Ok, this kid might be more trouble than I thought." Liz whispered.
"You think?" Leo said.
"Who's there?" Both Leo and Liz got startled as the kid turned around, revealing white eyes with no pupils whatsoever and his voice didn't sound like a child at all which made them even more creeped out.
Liz pushed Leo forward. "He's talking to you." Leo glared at her but then cleared his throat nervously. "Uh...Hi, are you Todd?"
The kid said nothing, he just stared at Leo's direction which made Leo very uncomfortable. Leo was about to say something else when dark shadowy figures surrounded the boy. They were about to attack Leo, but something moved him out of the way. He expected it to be Liz but to his surprise it was Elijah.
"Elijah?! What are you doing here?!" Liz asked while running to them. "Looks like you and I picked the same job. Sorry, Lizzy but that kid is mine. I don't think you're ready to handle this kind of mission yet. That kid is not just a kid, he is processed by a very powerful demon."
Liz and Leo looked shocked. They shivered as they felt the powerful energy this kid was giving off. "You kids go, I got this."
"But-" Leo was about to argue but Liz grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. "Don't worry about him, like he said he's got this."
Elijah went off fighting and Liz looked at him worriedly. "...Be careful, Dad..." She whispered but Leo heard her, and his eyes widened.
Liz then took off running and when Leo finally got over the shock he followed her.
...
Later,
Liz landed her ship in front of Leo's house before looking at him worriedly. "Hey, you ok? You've been quiet the whole ride. Are you disappointed that we didn't get paid today?"
Leo shook his head. "No, it's not that."
"Then what is it?!" She asked, getting frustrated. Leo sighed. "I heard what you said back there." Liz knew what he was talking about but decided to act damn. "What? I didn't say anything."
"Why didn't you just tell me Elijah was your Dad?" Leo asked and Liz mouth shut close. They stood quiet for a few moments until Leo decided to break the silence. "He doesn't know, does he?"
Liz sighed. "You don't know how to stay out of people's business, do ya?" She said smiling before frowning. "...No, he doesn't...I have tried to tell him for years, but something always stops me. When I was a kid, I didn't know he was my father at first but when I turned 13 my mother finally told me his name."
Leo stared at her as Liz's mind left reality. "I'll tell you the story..."
"When my mother was very young, my grandmother forced her into a loveless marriage with a man named Trent who cared only about his fame. As years went by my mother grew miserable and unhappy, for there was another man whom she loved who she wished she could marry instead. My mother used to say the only happiness she got from marrying Trent was when my sister Eleanor was born."
"So, wait. Eleanor is your half-sister?"
"Yes. A few more years went by and that's when Elijah bumped into her one day, after coming back from a job. They would secretly see each other, day after day. Elijah wanted Isabella to run away with him, but she refused, saying that she couldn't leave her clan in the hands of her mother and Trent. After that, the goodbyes got harder and harder. Isabella couldn't take much more of the heartache, so she broke up with him and never saw him again. Few months later, I was born. My mother couldn't tell the truth about my father, so she told everyone that I was Trent's. He was suspicious at first because of my brown hair but my mother told him that I got it from my great grandma which he bought for a while but after my sister Emily was born, he somehow found out the truth and left. Isabella couldn't care less that he was gone but my grandmother was furious and disowned my mother as her daughter. My mother didn't care though, she continued to lead our clan as the strong woman she was but...there wasn't a day when she didn't miss Elijah."
"Wow." Leo said and Liz nodded. "Yeah. It was a coincidence that I ran into him when I was a kid. My mother had no idea I was training with my father, and I had no clue that he was my father for a long while. I've been wanting to tell him the truth, but I always chicken out and I never told my mother because there never seemed to be a good time. Now, my mother will never know that I found him, like she had always wanted."
"What about your Lioness tattoo? Didn't he ever ask about it?"
"He did but I just told him that I was a big fan of the Clan. He has no clue who I truly am. He doesn't know that I'm in the clan, that I'm Isabella's daughter...he doesn't even know my last name. He knows nothing, I'm just a nobody to him."
"That's because you won't tell him. He has a right to know who you are." Leo said gently, knowing how rough this must be on her because he was in a similar situation with Splinter and Miwa.
"He probably would be disappointed that I'm his daughter. I mean, why wouldn't he be? Everybody reminds me every day what a loser I am." Leo's eyes softened, and he put a hand on top of her's. "I don't think that you're a loser and I don't think Elijah will either. He seems to like you already even though he doesn't know the truth."
"But will he love me?"
Leo shrugged. "If he doesn't then...like my brother Raph always says, it's their loss. Anyone would be lucky to have someone like you in their family. You may have a layback attitude and can be ill-tempered, but I don't think that makes you a loser or any less special than your sisters."
Liz's lips couldn't help but curve into a smile. She blushed slightly as she and Leo just sat there staring at each other. Leo then got all awkward and moved his hand as he blushed. "I-I..should probably go."
"Ok, see ya on the next job then."
Leo chuckled awkwardly and ran back inside his house. Liz chuckled and shook her head at him while still blushing and smiling. 'That guy is weird...but I kinda like it.'