Disclaimer: I don't own the ninja turtles.

Leonardo jumped, leapt and ran over rooftops of buildings, freezing rain biting his skin. Glancing behind him briefly, Leo noticed Donatello was starting to pant, while Michelangelo was already gasping for breath.

Leo felt a little bad about pushing them this hard, but they needed to practice more anyway. Well, Mikey did at least. "Just a little more, guys." He said. "We're almost at Casey's."

Leo looked up at the dark and cloudy sky, hoping that Raph was safe at Casey's, they would meet up with him, Leo would berate him for leaving, and then they would ride the storm out together. Something told Leo that would not be the case.

A quick glance told Leo that his brothers had pretty much caught their second wind. "Okay. Let's keep going," Leo said.

Mike and Don nodded, and they began their display of acrobatics across the New York skyline once more.

-

April O'Neil groaned in frustration as she dropped her keys on the ground in front of her apartment building. Bending down carefully so as not to drop the three full grocery bags she was holding in the crook of her left arm, she began groping around on the ground for her keys.

Something whooshed past her ear, and April stood up quickly, causing a pint of ice cream to fall from one of her bags. That'll teach me to go off my diet, she thought ironically, picking up the now useless ice cream.

Nervously moving to the alley to dispose of it properly in a dumpster, the same shadow whooshed past her again. "Casey?" She called out timidly. "Is that you? Leo, Don, Mike? Raph? Is that you guys?" No one answered, and the creepy feeling of fear crept into her mind.

Setting her grocery bags on the front step of her building, April carefully hid herself behind the stoop, waiting for the shadow to come again. With all her senses on alert this time, April caught the faint sound of someone walking lightly through gravel.

Looking around frantically, April caught sight of a large rock. She picked it up and lobbed it at the source of the noise. It connected with a 'thunk' and some mild cursing was heard. April stayed hidden, holding her breath. Finally the figure stumbled into the cast-off from a streetlight, and April had to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep from gasping and giving away her position.

It was a man (at least she thought it was a man; it was hard to tell with the masks) wearing a black uniform with the red Foot insignia.

April swallowed, she didn't feel safe with the Foot so close to her apartment. Locating a manhole cover in the middle of the alley, she crept closer to it, and was about to open it when the Foot soldier began speaking. There was no one around, so she assumed he held a walkie-talkie of some sort.

"-Three of the turtle creatures are heading towards 15th and Eastman. There have been no sightings of the red one." There was silence for a minute, and then, "I will follow."

April stood stone still until the man had moved away, then scrambled down the manhole, her groceries left forgotten on the step.

-

Leonardo stopped for a moment, shaking the rain out of his eyes. A steady downpour had started five minutes ago. "Raph!" he called, but his voice was carried away by the wind.

They had been at Casey's, Raph had never shown up. Don had tried calling his shell cell, to no avail. Raph had disappeared.

"Where the shell is he," Mikey grumbled. "I'm cold!"

Don gave Mikey a look, and shook his head, shaking the rain out of his eyes as well.

"We're all cold, Mikey," Leo said, "But we have to find Raph before the storm gets worse." Mikey didn't say anything, just grumbled some more.

"Let's at least get out of this rain, Leo," Don suggested.

Leo sighed, he wanted to continue looking for Raphael, but Mikey had started shivering. Leo decided it would probably be best if they at least got out of the rain, if not somewhere warmer.

"Alright, come on."

The three turtles leapt single file into the abandoned water tower where each of them holed up sometimes when they wanted to be alone.

"N-now w-what d-do w-we d-do?" Mikey asked through chattering teeth, as he and Don watched Leo pace back and forth.

"We have to keep looking," Leo stressed.

"But what if he's back at the lair already?" Don asked quietly. Leo stopped dead in his tracks and stared at his brother. It was so obvious, yet he hadn't thought of it until Donatello brought it to his attention.

"I…I didn't even think of that," Leo admitted. "Alright. We'll go home, but if he's not there, we'll keep looking, okay?"

Don nodded. "Okay, but seriously Leo, chill."

Leo was lost in his own thoughts again, but his brothers could make out a mumbled, "I can't." Leo shook himself out of his reverie. At least we'll be somewhere warmer, he thought, as he led the way out of the water tower.

-

April wrapped her hands around the steaming mug of tea Splinter had given her. It felt good, the sewers were chilly. "So none of them have come back yet?" April asked.

"No," Splinter sighed, his whiskers twitching in annoyance. "Although I warned them all to stay inside today."

April felt sympathy for the old rat, and was glad that she had no kids, for the time being. Sometimes she felt like she had four. Five, including Casey, April smiled to herself.

April and Splinter both looked up at the sound of the lair's metal door slamming open. Raphael stepped through the hole, soaking wet.

"Man, it's really goin' out there," he commented, then caught sight of April on the couch. "Oh, hey Ape."

Wincing at the nickname, April stood up. "Hey Raph," she greeted him back, "Where are your brothers?"

A look of confusion crossed Raph's face. "Aren't they here?"

Splinter chose this time to step forward, his cane tapping on the concrete floor. "I believe they have left to look for you, Raphael. I believe they thought you were at Mr. Jones' residence?"

"Shit…" Raph muttered, then mumbled 'sorry' at the look his sensei gave him. "I was gonna go to Casey's, but it started rainin' so I came back…I'd better call 'em."

Raph pulled out his shell cell and hit the speed dial for Mikey's phone.

-

Mikey knelt at the edge of a rooftop, while Leo and Don discussed something. Mike wondered briefly if he should be included in the discussion, but dismissed it. Anything they said would probably go over his head anyway.

Suddenly one of the shadows Mikey was staring at moved. Mikey blinked and looked again. Squinting hard, he saw nothing. "Huh…" he muttered. "Weird."

Something struck the back of his shell, and he whipped around. Six Foot ninja surrounded him. Looking through their legs, he could see Don and Leo engaged in battle as well.

"Ya wanna play?" Mikey asked innocently. "Okay." He drew his nunchucks. "Let's play."

-

Leo's sword clanged against the yari of his opponent. His eyes narrowed, there was something different about the fighting style of the ninjas they faced. Could Shredder have actually taken the time to personally train a select few?

Leo shook his head as he dispatched the Foot with the yari and circled around one with a katana, dismissing the thought. Shredder was egotistical and a maniac. He would never personally train these ninjas…maybe the Elite did it…

Lost in his own musings, Leo quickly got rid of all six of his adversaries. Looking upward to the higher lever rooftops, he noticed four men. Four men with flat hats…speak of the devil. Taking his eyes off the four Elite for a moment, Leo quickly glanced to where his brothers were. Don had gotten rid of all his enemies, and Mikey was struggling with two.

Leo made a move to help Mikey, but was cut off by suddenly being surrounded by Elite. A low growl escaped Leo's throat. "What…do…you….want!" Leo gasped, as he dodged, ducked, punched, and occasionally got a hit in with his katana. The silent Elites said nothing, but continued to attack.

Leo noticed with a shock that they were driving him backwards. Towards the edge. He faintly heard Mikey's voice calling him, but he ignored it, focusing on staying alive.

He rammed forward a few steps, but was driven back. Letting out a frustrated yell, he leapt, but the Elite swished out of the way like a wave, surrounding him once more when he had landed.

Breathing hard, Leo glared at every single one of them. As if that could help anything.

After blocking one more attack from a staff, Leo felt the back of his foot slip, and he could hear a few loose pieces of gravel fall to the pavement hundreds of feet below.

"LEO!"

This time it wasn't a vague noise, Leo could distinctly hear Donnie calling him. He blinked in shock as Mike and Don rushed in, each taking an Elite headlong, leaving Leo with two.

One of the Elite aimed a kick at Leo's chest, which sent him stumbling backwards…off the edge.

As soon as he was falling, Leo stuck a hand out and grabbed onto the edge of the building, swinging his body against the side with a 'thud.' Swinging himself slightly, Leo managed to get his other hand onto the edge as well. He hung there, refusing to let go. His legs scrabbled on the side of the building, but not one brick was out of place. There was no place for him to get leverage. Leo got a better grip on the edge, and looked up.

An Elite stood above him, grinning. Leo realized this was the first time he had ever seen any part of their face, besides their eyes.

Leo hung helpless, but continued to glare at the Elite. The Elite raised his katana.

-

Don looked up as he finally got rid of the Elite he had been working on for the last five minutes, and he saw Mikey had done the same. Scanning the rooftop, Don noticed there was something wrong. Leo was missing.

Frantically searching, Don remembered that last he had seen Leo, he was being driven back to the edge. Don felt his heart sink as he ran to the edge of the building. If Leo wasn't on the top of the building…then he was probably on the ground…and the probability of anyone surviving a fall from this height was-

Don shook his head, pushing the thought from his mind. He turned around just in time to see the Elite raise his katana, and bring it down with a large 'whump.'

Don felt sick, that noise was one he was familiar with…the sound of flesh being separated from the body. He ran to the Elite, and without thinking, pushed him over the edge. Mikey said later that that was the only time he had heard an Elite scream.

Don knelt at the edge, and was relieved to see his brother firmly hanging onto the building. The sinking feeling returned, however, when he noticed Leo was unconscious. The biggest damage done to Leo though, made Don gag. Leo's hand was missing.

"MIKEY! Come over here!" Don called.

Mike came over from where he had been tying up the left over Foot who hadn't been killed. "What…oh my god."

"Come on, help me get him up here," Don ordered, taking over the role of leader, at least for the moment.

Together Don and Mikey pulled Leo onto the rooftop – Don marveled at Leo's ability to hang onto the building even while unconscious.

Suddenly Mikey's shell cell went off. He moved away from Don and Leo a few feet to answer it while Don tried to temporarily stop the blood flow coming from Leo's arm.

"H-hello?" Mikey's voice was shaky.

"Mike? What's wrong?" It was Raph. Mikey almost breathed a sigh of relief.

"Raph, we need help. Get here right now."

On the other end, Raph was shocked. He had never heard Mikey sound so serious.

"Okay, Mikey. Where are you?"

As soon as Mikey gave Raph the location, he hung up and scrambled over to where Don was kneeling next to Leo.

Upon seeing the extent of the damage, Mikey turned away and threw up. He felt a hand on his shoulder; he didn't need to turn to know it was Don.

The roaring of a motorcycle caused both of them to look up, and Mikey ran to the edge while Don stayed with Leo.

"Raph! Raph, we're up here!" Mikey called, waving to his brother on ground level.

"Okay Mike, what the hell's the-" Raph stopped short, seeing Leo. "Holy shit."

"We need you to help us carry him down from here," Don said calmly, as if nothing ever happened.

Raph nodded in shock, and mechanically moving around to help out Mikey and Don.

-

April nervously tapped her fingers on the coffee table. Raph had left in a hurry, saying there was an emergency. She swallowed, she had a feeling something was extremely wrong.

Her fears were confirmed when Raph, Don and Mikey came in, carrying an unconscious Leo. However, when they turned to bring him to the infirmary, April noticed something was wrong, something was missing…Leo's hand was missing. April gasped and her hand flew to her mouth.

Splinter appeared calm on the outside when he saw Leonardo, but the twitching of his ears, whiskers and tail gave him away otherwise. April sank onto the couch as they all disappeared into the infirmary room.

-

The first thing Leo registered was pain. Well that's good. He thought. At least I'm not dead. Unless I'm in Hell. That would be just my luck.

Leo groaned, and tried to open his eyes. At first he panicked when all he saw was blackness, but then he realized he hadn't opened his eyes yet.

Chuckling a little at his mistake, Leo forced his eyes open, but stared at the ceiling, too tired to move his head.

"Hey Leo." It was Don. Of course it was. It was always Don. The family doctor.

"Donnie?" Leo was amazed at how weak his voice sounded.

"That's me," Don said. "Um…how do you feel?"

Leo grinned slightly. "Like I was hit by a truck five times over." Leo could hear Don moving around in the room, and heard his soft laughter.

"Well I wouldn't be surprised. I have to go get some things and talk to April. I'll be right back." Don's voice disappeared.

"Hey bro." A new voice joined Leo in the room. Mikey.

"Hey Mike." Leo acknowledged. "Hey, did we ever find Raph?"

"He was at home the whole time," Mikey muttered darkly, surprising Leo a little, and making him wonder how long exactly he had been out of it.

"So, is the ceiling really that interesting?" The joking Mikey was back, after that brief moment of darkness.

Leo scoffed. "No, I can't move my head, ding dong." He heard Mikey laughing, and then felt a pressure behind his shell. Mikey was pulling him into a sitting position. Once sitting, Leo smiled. "Thanks Mikey."

Mikey looked nervous. "No problem."

Leo cocked his head. "What?"

Mikey's eyes widened. "Uh, nothing."

Leo raised an eyeridge, and then dismissed it. "Whatever." Looking down to his right side, he noticed his hand was totally covered in bandages and things.

"What happened to my hand?" Leo asked curiously. He tried to wiggle his fingers, to see if it would hurt. Nothing happened. "And why can't I feel it?"

Mikey audibly swallowed. "You lost it, Leo."

Leo blinked, not comprehending. "What?"

"Your hand. You lost it. It's gone. The Elite chopped it off…" Mikey trailed off, unsure of his choice of words.

Leo sat in wide eyed shock. "Mikey…I think…I want to be alone now." Mike nodded, and disappeared out of the room.

Leo stared at his arm. No hand. No nothing. He was a swordsman, how was he supposed to handle the double katana now? How would he be a master of ninjitsu like Master Splinter. How how how.

Leo finally tore his eyes away from the hand he no longer had. Staring at his katanas, which someone had rested against the wall, Leo did something he hadn't done for years.

He cried.

-

A/N: Well, I am pretty proud of myself. Everybody has their demon turtle, and mine happens to be Leo. The remedy? Write a story about him, duh! I really have no practice at writing Leo, so sorry for any character mistakes and whatnot. And I have this feeling I should be running from the Leo fans about now…