CHAPTER 20: Tailwind
This is from Leonardo's perspective.
While Leonardo felt he was somewhat of a reserved individual, there was definitely something within him that longed for someone to talk to who wasn't his brother. In some ways it was why he felt so attached to his Sensei, someone who had seen the world and could offer a sense of guidance from a different point of view. When April had first come into their lives, Leo had been just as curious as Mikey and Donatello about the world she came from. It was also why his judgment for Karai was often somewhat clouded, he wanted to know her experiences and thoughts on the world, well that and he totally had the biggest crush on her.
This however, was something he had never really had to do before. Watching his youngest brother fight off tears as they prepped Cynthia for the correct direction, as per their agreement to her bringing them here, he felt a sense of melancholy himself. It had only been a day or so that they had been together, but the presence of an older female was something they had all lacked and in a way, craved.
Cynthia: Now my dear, no need for all the tears. I can always come back for a visit!
Mikey: D-Do you promise? I have to show you so many more things, like my secret kata!
Cynthia: Tut tut my dear! The sky is my home, however I will always need to land. We shall reunite yet.
Raph: Com'on Mikey…we got stuff to do!
Michelangelo lowered his head in a nod, Cynthia turning her attention to the other three turtles. Her posture straightened as if she was about to address a large crowd, looking between the three teenage boys.
Cynthia: Now then, I shall be setting off. Thank you for all you have done for me, and when you find your friend, thank her for me as well. For setting us free.
It was almost comical how quickly she left. Using Mikey's hand as a jumping off point of sorts and flying off into the sky. The way she quickly seemed to be absorbed by the night, it was like the universe was removing her from their lives, blocking her out. Mikey turned away with a large sniffle. It made Leo's heart happy to see Raph offer their youngest brother a comforting pat on the back of the shell.
Raph: Don't worry Lil brother. You'll meet again someday.
Mikey: Yeah…I hope so. She was a cool bird…lady.
The return to the lair seemed like ages ago now as Leo peeked over to Donatello who was still trying to get the PC they had picked up into a working state. Raph and Mikey quickly excused themselves the moment Donnie started speaking technical about the state of the computer, something that not many people could handle. Honestly Leo wanted to leave himself, but the eagerness his younger brother had about his computer and the possibilities of information it had also made Leonardo interested in what it could hold. Although the computer had been ripped apart from its shell, looking more and more like garbage as Donnie tinkered with it, after what seemed like hours the whirring of the PC came, calling it back to life.
Donnie: AHA! I knew I could revive it from being beaten, set on fire and being submerged in some liquid!
Leo: Wow, good job Donnie! I have to say I am honestly impressed.
Leo leaned over his brother's shoulder. The desktop on his brother's monitor left little to the imagination. It appeared as blank as a computer could. A few icons of folders and a little trashcan being the only things present on the computer. Donatello left little time before starting to explore the contents of the computer. Digging through the trash of the digital-scape and finding little to be desired. Leonardo honestly knew very little about technology besides the small amount that Donnie had taught the family in order to use the internet to find entertainment and how to operate the T-Phones.
Watching the way Donnie seemed to know just how to operate and navigate this foreign piece of hardware was impressive to Leo to say the least. Donnie after a moment leaned back in his computer chair, biting the back of his thumb gently, a position he often took when trying to understand something.
Donnie: A lot of these files seem to be matching the paperwork found on the ground back at that office space…
Leo: What does that mean?
Donnie: Well essentially it seems to be different sections of an animal catalog database. From what I understand based on what Cynthia had said and these files, whoever owned this PC was collecting or working with animals that were being collected and experimented on with some type of adjusted mutagen. These files all seem to be showing things like how many of one animal they had, and then subdivisions like how many were female or male, how many had a tendency to respond well to the experiments and so forth.
Leo: Okay…but what about the purpose of collecting them?
Donnie: I am not seeing anything on that yet. I am also being kept out of a lot of files for some reason. They seem to be locked behind something called a 'Dasis'.
Leo: What's that?
Donnie: Honestly I have no idea. Based on what I can assume it seems to be a program the computer used to have, but all traces of it besides the warning messages are gone.
Leo turned and watched as Donnie continued to scavenge through the digital carcass. There was something fascinating about the way Donatello seemed to know where to look and how to manipulate the technology before him. The way he made it seem so easy, it made Leo feel jealous sometimes. Turning his attention back to the screen as a bunch of video files popped up, getting a small laugh of victory out of Donatello. Quickly scrolling and finding the date in question.
If Leo could go back in time, one of the things he wished he could stop himself from doing was watching that video with Donatello. It started easy enough, showing footage of the room filled with animals in cages, similar to how Cynthia had described it. It didn't take long for the footage to show the familiar redhead they had been looking for. Although the footage was grainy and dark, with a few clicks it wasn't hard for Donnie to adjust it just enough to get a better image.
Watching April work swiftly, releasing the animals and destroying the cages did give Leo a sense of pride, in both her ninja skills as well as her protective nature to others being affected by the Kraang's existence. It was an oddly bittersweet situation in Leonardo's mind, the way the mutagen had affected everyone's lives. Without it, he and his brothers would not exist as they are, nor would they have been there for April or the people of New York City. On the other side of things, if the Kraang hadn't existed, the universe as a whole would probably have been much better off.
Donatello's pausing the video brought Leonardo out of his thoughts, refocusing on the video before him where April hunched down, moving something out of the corner by the door, bringing the video back and letting it continue playing brought reality crashing down for both of them. His eyes were glued to the screen, watching as the final moments played before them. The way she took her phone out, the way it seemed in a blink she was on the ground, the ground around her turning dark. It was nauseating.
Leo felt himself, frozen in place, trying to use every fiber of his being to turn his gaze away from the screen. The breakaway being the hyperventilating, the muttered whispers coming from his younger brother quickly being followed by screaming. It was seconds before the other three members of the Hamato family were in the lab with Leo and Donnie. Although he was the leader he felt of no use, Falling back on his behind while his mind tried to grasp what he had just seen. April was bleeding in that video, she was bleeding out so much. Her body lay there, alone. He felt his eyes sting as the chaos rang out. Listening to Raph's anger come out from watching the video replay, the way Master Splinter frantically attempted to console his son. Leonardo just sat there, what more could he do?
