And continuing with our long history of feels, have some emotional Leo on Leo.
And then, because we ALL needed it, some fluffy Mikey-led shenanigans!
Previously...
The mission to intercept the mutagen was a bust. The truck got away and the Future Turtles' methods are a tad more... bloody than Donnie was ready for.
Finally, Future Raph and Casey shared a very romantic near-death make-out by the East River estuary. With an audience.
"Wow, Don, I love your skirt." Future Casey prodded at the multi-pocketed kilt. Its owner brushed his fingers off.
"It's not a skirt, it's a utility kilt," Future Donnie said, suture in hand, with the air of someone tired of pronouncing the same set of words day in and day out.
The corner of the lab that doubled as med bay was crowded that night, and Leo listened half-heartedly to the banter. They'd only gotten home an hour ago, and some of them were still getting patched up. After helping a while, Splinter had retired to his room, and Present Raph and Casey had other things to do, each on his own opposite side of Manhattan. The rest were gathered in the lab. Future Donnie worked on Casey's stab wound, while Present Donnie, having popped Leo's arm back in its socket and put it in a sling, dutifully assisted him.
The pain in Leo's shoulder was down to a dull throb, and hardly a concern: he'd be fit for duty again in a few hours. No, there were other things making Leo's head buzz like a jar of flies.
Disgruntled and stressed out and just all around exhausted, he shot a not so covert glare at Future Leo, and another one at Future Raph.
After parking the Shellraiser, Donnie had taken him aside, restless, and told him what happened in that surveillance office. Present Raph and Casey backed it up.
As if Leo needed any more reasons not to trust these guys.
Leo's future self—not even out of his cowl and chest plate yet, which were grungy with mud spatters—hadn't so much as looked his way since they got back. Any moment now, however, Leo expected to get the bulk of the blame for everything going to hell, for letting the truck go. He glowered at Future Leo, silently daring him to. Go ahead, get me started.
The rest of the group wasn't any better off. Everyone was rattled, anxious, or pissed off—everyone except Future Casey, who was currently on the cot, tripping on pain meds, a relaxed smile on his face while Future Donnie stitched him up. The lab was pungent with the reek of defeat. And the antiseptic eeking out of the medigel recently extracted from Future Casey's shoulder certainly didn't help.
Present Donnie was hunched over the bloody blob now sitting on a metal tray, inspecting it with fascination. Mikey watched over Donnie's shoulder, picking at the band-aid on his chin.
"See, the tip goes in the wound," Donnie explained to Mikey, turning the big syringe in his hands, examining it. "The gel packs the wound to stop the bleeding, also serving as an antiseptic. Later, you simply take it out and stitch. It's remarkable." He poked the now hardened blob with the tip, and it wiggled like disgusting blood jello. Mikey let out a giggle and tried it himself, before they both lifted their gazes at Future Casey's drunken chuckles.
"I'm just kiddin' ya, Donnie, you look fabulous." The patient gave Future Donnie a loving shove. "You're great. Isn't he great, April?"
Leo saw the corners of April's mouth tug upwards, but before she could reply, Future Donnie grabbed Casey's face and shoved his head back onto the pillow.
"Will you shut up and stay still, Jones? I'm almost finished."
Future Mikey sniggered, leaning in to Present Mikey, but loud enough for all to hear. "I love sedated Casey, he's such a hippie."
"I love him, too." The same Casey giggled, then he turned to Future Leo, like a kid asking their parents for a new toy. "We should do this more often, not just when I almost die. Only for like special occasions, like birthdays."
Future Leo fumed. "I'm not in the mood for your sophisticated humor, Casey. That last shipment should've been ours." He puffed, uncurling his arms to pace around the cot. "Stockman must be finishing his final serum as we speak. This complicates things." He stopped to shoot a finger at Raph and Casey. "And by the way, you two need to control yourselves. I warned you about this!"
"Hey, I was against coming here!" Future Raph protested, jabbing a thumb at himself while his other arm remained blithely draped over Casey's good shoulder, resting on his chest.
"Raphael," Future Leo drawled, and with that and one look, Raphael shut up. Even Future Casey's blissful smile faded slightly.
That was another thing, wasn't it? Raph and Casey.
Raph.
And Casey.
After their grand reveal, and with Splinter out of earshot, they'd given up on all pretense, behaving like a full blown couple. They were touchy, shot each other looks. Man, the looks.
And the weirdest thing was, it seemed kinda obvious now, somehow. Leo realized he was more surprised he didn't suspect it sooner. Though to be fair, neither Present Raph nor Casey suspected either. Raph had pleaded with them not to tell Splinter about it. And Raph was never one to plead. They were clearly not in that place at all. Or… were they?
"I think you've all forgotten what's at stake," Future Leo went on scolding the lovebirds, reminding Leo of the real reason he was breathing so heavily through his nose. "We can't afford any more slip-ups. You two leave it for when we get back."
"Hai, sensei."
Leo bristled, anger zinging through him once more at Future Leo's authoritarian tone and the immediate obedience. This guy was a jerk. Why did he get more respect than Leo? He crossed his arms tighter, hardly noticing his own nails digging into his biceps.
"There's a lot to prepare. With Casey out of commission, we're one man short," sensei Tyrant continued. Future Casey seemed about to complain, but he wasn't given a chance. "And now we have a mutant super army to look forward to. So everyone who's not in a wheelchair, or high—" he glared at Future Casey "—meet in the dojo in ten minutes."
"Seriously, bro? We're pooped! Can't it wait a few hours?" Future Mikey said, taking the words right out of Leo's mouth.
"The Lotus could attack any minute for all we know. We have to be prepared."
Future Donnie tried next. "Leo, the team needs rest. We'll all be of much better use after a few hours of sleep. I put out feelers all over Chinatown yesterday—sensors, roaches—the Lotus is not gonna come half a mile from the church without us knowing. I can keep an eye out while the others sleep."
Future Leo seemed to ponder through his glower for two seconds. "Fine. Everyone to bed. I'll wake you up in four hours," he ordered.
In response, everybody around the cot stirred, and yawned, and cracked their bones. The Mikeys were the first to leave, hurrying out together like puppies let out to the garden.
April sighed, heavy-lidded, as she grabbed her backpack. "Well, I better get home to my bedroom before dad comes to wake me up for school," she said miserably, and ambled out like a zombie with a bleary, "see you later, guys."
Future Raph leaned over the cot to give Casey a quick peck on the lips. In a reflex, Leo looked away until they were done. Future Raph then started moving towards the exit following the others.
But Leo stayed put, exchanging a meaningful glance with his Donnie, and decided he didn't want to go to bed with this in his mind.
"Hold on," he said aloud once April and the Mikeys were gone, and Raph was about to go out the door. "There's still something we want to discuss with you three." He pointed at Future Leo, Raph and Casey. Future Donnie looked between them with hesitation.
Leo's future self peered at him, crossing his arms, a gesture Leo was unable to read as anything besides challenging. "And what's that?"
Future Raph swaggered back to the cot and leaned on it, one hand on his hip, while Future Casey put on an innocent look.
"You know what," Leo snarled. "Raph killing a kid like it was nothing!"
"And," Present Donnie chimed in, coming over to stand by Leo, "if I hadn't stopped them, they would've killed the other one, who was, need I remind you, immobilized and defenseless at the time."
"Alright. What happened?" Future Leo said without the slightest hint of shock, and turned to Future Raph.
"Purple Dragon did a Houdini; jabbed a pen in my leg." Here he raised his foot to point at a bandage on his calf. "Then he made a run for it. He was alerting his friends."
"So you killed him," Future Leo finished for him.
A nod and a shrug was Raph's cool response.
Future Leo then turned back to Leo and Donnie like a store clerk one minute past closing time. "What exactly's the problem?"
Leo let out an incredulous cackle. "Raphael. Stabbed a kid. In the head! And he was gonna do it again, in cold blood! Is this something you guys do? Murder defenseless people while they beg for their lives? You're ruthless!"
"Will you relax? It's not like I did it for fun," Future Raph said nonchalantly, something Leo had to doubt. "I had no choice."
"There's always a choice!"
"You don't know that this kid wasn't going through a phase, you don't know that he didn't have a family, or parents," Present Donnie interjected, "or that he would've grown out of it and eventually gotten an honest life!"
Future Casey snickered with the same lazy smile. "Sweet summer child."
"It was regrettable, but justified," Future Leo said levelly. "In fact, if the entire Purple Dragons gang and the Foot hadn't already seen us, I'd be pretty pissed you let a witness go. If anything Raph should've gotten him sooner before he called for backup. I've exercised mercy on scumbags like those before, and it always comes back to bite us in the ass."
"What's the big deal?" Future Raph demanded. "Are you ninjas or what? News flash, kids: sometimes ninjas kill people."
Leo shook his head in complete rejection. "This isn't what we do!"
"It will be. Eventually." Future Leo grinned.
Leo gaped, insides boiling. "How can we be so different? You're me!"
"I was you. But that was a long time ago. You'll learn." And with that, Future Leo turned his shell on them and started for the door.
Trembling with frustration, Leo called after him. "Learn? You don't look like you learned anything! You look like you un-learned!"
With a sour chuckle, Future Leo turned back around. "You have no idea."
"You've forgotten everything Splinter taught us! Compassion! 'An enemy that is willing to cross lines that you won't may be dangerous, but this does not make him strong.'"
"Yeah, I know the quotes. I used to write them down too. But guess what: Splinter's way is only one of many. Even he figured that out in the end."
"What do you mean?"
"Leo—" Future Donnie reached out, but Future Leo cut him off.
"Don't start, Donnie! You don't think I see what you're doing?" he snapped. "I don't need you to watch over me like a three-year-old, like I'm gonna do something stupid. I'm your sensei. So treat me as such." Future Leo's authoritarian demeanor slipped, pervaded by the underlying anger, teeth bared, shoulders set. Before storming out, he ordered over his shoulder, "Get some sleep! We'll look over the new plan at 8."
"He's—he—" Leo babbled once he was gone, motioning violently at the door. "Who is he?" The question couldn't be more heartfelt, because whoever this guy was, he was definitely not Leonardo. And that was not Raphael. They had to be fakes. Even Casey, with his brand new teeth, looked like an actor wearing Casey's headband.
He looked to Future Donnie for some form of answer, because he seemed the least likely to sneer at him. But Future Donnie showed no signs of hearing him, his gaze downcast. Then all at once, he growled, and hurled the tray full of surgical tools at the wall.
Leo reeled at the bang, metallic tools scattering deafeningly on the floor, and gawked at Future Donnie. The latter grabbed his head with a pained moan before slumping forward over the desk, his shell to them. Leo could see Future Raph and Casey glance between them in the gaping silence. The younger Donnie was frozen in place.
"It's my fault," Future Donnie said finally to the wood of the table. "I'm sorry, guys. This was a terrible idea. Exposure therapy." He let out a humorless chuckle.
"I mean… that's what I said," Future Raph muttered, and his Donnie's head dipped lower.
"What was I thinking? Bringing you all here. I must be insane."
Future Casey propped himself on his good elbow and reached out to give Donnie's shoulder a joggle. "Bro, bro, come on. He'll be alright. It's just a tantrum."
Leo, shock blown away by sheer indignance, exclaimed, "Are you kidding me? You call all that—all this—a tantrum?"
They gazed at him, Future Donnie with defeat, Raph with a scowl. But it was Future Casey who said, "Trust me, this was nothing compared to other—Agh!" He cut his words short when Raph poked him fiercely in his bandaged shoulder.
"I can't believe this," Leo pressed on, since nobody else seemed about to say anything of value. "It's amazing: the more time we spend together, the less I know you people. You know what? That's it. I'm done! I'm not taking any more orders from that psycho." He flung a furious finger towards the exit.
"Don't talk about him that way. We've all been through enough," Future Raph said in a low growl.
"That's right, we've all been through stuff," Leo retorted in a wide motion. "It's never an excuse for what you did! And it's gonna take a bit more than that if we're gonna have to work with you."
Future Donnie, Casey and Raph looked at each other hesitantly, and Leo waited, only because it finally seemed they had something to say. Whether they ended up saying it or not was yet to be seen.
"Alright. You need to understand something," Future Donnie finally said after a cautious glance towards the exit, only loud enough to reach Leo and Donnie. Future Raph, on the other hand, clicked his tongue and started pacing away from the cot, as if he didn't want anything to do with it.
"When our Splinter died, we didn't know about Tang Shen's ghost. We thought it had all been him."
Keeping up his stark facade, Leo crossed his arms and waited for his point.
"Splinter left us. No note, no explanation, nothing. He made his way to Shredder by killing everyone in his path. It was a bloodbath. Mutants, soldiers, even innocent prisoners. Half the Foot was slaughtered that night, gruesomely. We couldn't understand how he had done all that, but most of all we couldn't understand why. It couldn't have been him. He wouldn't do that. But he did. And then he died killing the Shredder. For vengeance. Like Karai had done, only days before. And we didn't— We couldn't understand why," he repeated, his eyes begging Leo to comprehend.
Facade quickly crumbling, Leo found he could hardly bear it, and looked away. This was his brother, in pain. He peered at the desk, where Present Donnie sat listening with glossy eyes.
Future Donnie went on. "We were devastated. Confused. We thought he'd gone crazy! Mad with grief, maybe. How else could he have betrayed everything he had lived for, everything he'd ever taught us? We were just so lost. Especially Leo. He never forgave himself. And he never forgave Splinter."
Leo didn't know what to say. He honestly hadn't thought about it that way. It wasn't just that their Splinter was gone; everything he had ever taught them, everything they knew and believed in, was also gone. The entire foundation for who they were, collapsed overnight.
"I engineered the portal so we could face our past. I thought it would be good for us. Now…" Future Donnie's words faded to a whisper. "If we came all this way, and we lose Karai again… I don't know. Maybe we should've let the past be past."
Leo felt his insides constrict. Was Donnie giving up? In all his anger, Leo almost forgot what they were all doing there. However much they disagreed, they may still be their last chance to bring Karai home, alive. They couldn't quit now!
Like Present Raph, Leo was ready to plead. Whatever it took. But then over by the monitors, Future Raph grunted softly.
"Look, Donnie," he said, approaching his brother. "We all came here voluntarily, alright? Even me. Even Leo! And no matter what happens, there's at least one thing that came out right."
Future Donnie lifted his gaze, questioningly, and Raph grinned.
"Master Splinter," he said simply.
Leo frowned, confused. This seemed obvious: Splinter was safe at home, and the pendant with the ghost of Tang Shen was so far out of the picture, so at least there was that. But clearly, there was more to Raph's words than Leo knew, because Future Donnie's expression lit up with a soft, melancholy smile.
He nodded at his brother. "Thanks, Raph."
Raph shrugged nonchalantly.
"Yeah, and we still got plans J through R, or something!" Future Casey joined in, though drowsily. "And I for one think this whole thing is awesome, Donnie! I'm having a blast!"
"You think everything's awesome, you blockhead," Future Donnie countered, feigning annoyance.
Meanwhile, both Leo and Present Donnie could only stand there as if they'd just arrived in the middle of the movie. "What about Master Splinter?" Donnie asked for both.
At last the trio acknowledged their presence, and Future Donnie said through a sheepish smile, "Oh. Actually, we have you guys to thank for this one."
Leo shot Donnie a questioning look, thinking he might have done something he didn't know about, but got the same look in exchange.
"When we first chatted, and we warned you about that pendant, we had no idea what was about to come out of it. Quite literally." Future Donnie snickered. "Then, we talk to you guys the next day, and you tell us about this ghost. About Tang Shen." Then he laughed, in the same 'eureka' way that the younger Donnie laughed when he finally solved a problem. Leo had often hear that very sound all the way from his room—bubbly, triumphant, with a slightly maniacal lilt.
"And suddenly everything made sense. Splinter didn't betray us, he was possessed! It was as if sensei had come back, whole." He made a pause in which he let out a sigh as light as cobwebs. "I don't think it's quite sunk in yet."
Future Raph leaned on Casey, and the pair gazed at their Donnie as if he was their child.
Leo's feelings, on the other hand, were stubborn. He turned away, pressing his jaw, still wanting to believe he would never throw away his beliefs like this, that he would never be like Future Leo no matter what happened. He should be stronger than that.
But he just had to doubt now. Future Leo had been like him at one point, before he'd lost Splinter, in body and in spirit. Leo could hardly bare to imagine it. He could hardly bare to accept that it could happen to him too. That they weren't so different.
Present Donnie, who'd been uncharacteristically quiet up to then, took a lively step forward and said, "But then that's it! Now you know, so you can make peace with the past!"
Future Donnie smiled, earnest, and motioned around him. "We are trying."
"Well, I wouldn't know it from some of you," Leo blurted out, unable to help himself. He glowered at Future Raph, who only smirked at him, smug.
"Ten years is a long time," Future Donnie said apologetically. "It can feel like forever."
"So nothing's really gonna change," Leo said. It was hardly a question.
"You can't expect us to magically transform as if all these years never happened. We need time to process—"
"Oh my God, process what?" Raph droned. "What's there to change?"
"It's scary how you don't see anything wrong," Leo retorted in disbelief. "You were ready to kill in cold blood and it means nothing to you. A life means nothing to you!"
Raph gave an annoyed grunt. "It's not about that, it's about practicality. A dead enemy is an enemy that doesn't come back. It's as simple as that."
"False," Leo countered. "It always comes back. One way or the other. Sensei knew this. That's why he never sought vengeance."
"You know, this flower child discourse is getting kinda old. You're treating us like the bad guys. We're not murderers! We do important stuff, good stuff.
Future Donnie interjected critically, "Hm, I think there's room for improvement."
"Yeah, there's always a headcount! But they were all bastards, and it's always more lives saved because of it."
"Sometimes you do go a bit overboard, Raph. Casey too."
Casey was just lying there on the cot listening, fingers interlaced, and only quirked his eyebrows at the mention.
Leo pressed on, "That's putting it very mildly."
"Oh, what, like you've never killed anyone! And I know you have!" Future Raph signalled at his head, as though threatening to pull out his memories and show them to him.
"Those were times when there really was no choice, and it's always difficult. You can't compare that with what went on in the office. That kid didn't have to die!"
"Actually, if we'd killed them both from the start like I wanted, we'd have nailed that mission! Now look where we are!"
"You were supposed to be watching them! It's your fault you got distracted!"
Raph heaved a lungful through his nose and cranked up a forefinger. But the stab never came. He deflated in one a long groan and shook his head. "Damn, I forgot how sickeningly noble you used to be." He laughed, almost like he found it endearing.
At first Leo didn't know how to take that, and Future Donnie came between them before he could formulate a reprisal.
"Okay, look. I think we can all agree this is a complex subject? But the bottom line is, we're all here for the same thing. We all just want Karai and Splinter, and all of New York, to be safe. So can we please just… get along for these upcoming 60 or so hours?" Future Donnie begged, conciliatory. "Please, just give us a chance. We care about this mission as much as you."
Leo gazed at him askance, jaw clenched, then at the other two. Future Raph, leaning placidly by Future Casey, offered a single slow blink.
They kept asking him to work with them. To trust them. Now they were waiting quietly for his answer like it mattered. Standing silent to one side, Present Donnie seemed determined not to stir up any more trouble. Leo could relate; he didn't have the energy for a debate.
"I already said I'd work with you," he ended up saying noncommittally. What choice did he have? Karai came first.
"Great!" Future Donnie said, clapping his hands together like that sealed the deal. When nobody else did or said anything, he leaned down to pick up a stray pair of bloody tweezers off the floor. "Well, we should probably clean this up and get some shut-eye, huh?"
"Uh, you go ahead, Leo," the younger Donnie said ruefully, and joined the older one. "I wanna finnish coding the mapping marbles. They'll be coming in very handy for the mission."
"Don't worry, I'll make sure he gets his beauty sleep." Future Donnie patted present Donnie's head, and the latter issued him a sassy—but not really bothered—side glare. At least he seemed cured of his doubts.
So that was that. Impatient to get out of there and lock himself in his room, Leo turned for the exit without another word—mainly because any word rounding his mind right now would put him at risk of getting a sai through his temple.
The Future Turtles' camp was already set up in the bench area. Leo beelined for the bedrooms in case his future double was there. He didn't feel like even looking at him at the moment.
But when he inevitably spotted him standing silently by one of the benches, so still that he almost missed him, and saw what he was holding, he stopped dead in his tracks.
His ducky blanket. He'd taken his flippin' ducky blanket. For a moment Leo felt like a mother must feel if she found a grizzly bear playing with her baby, and then he and Future Leo locked eyes. He was this close to saying something very rude, but his future counterpart's abashed glance made him hesitate.
"Sorry," Future Leo said, and just that word took Leo aback. "I forgot how soft it used to be." He was tenderly rubbing the blanket between his fingers, Leo realised, before catching himself with his mouth open.
"You still have your blankie?" he asked once he'd found his voice, which came out less flat than he'd first intended.
Future Leo calmly climbed his way out of the sunken area to meet him. He'd taken off his gear, the scar over his right brow glistening in the dim lights. "Sure. It's a bit worn, and the blue's a little duller. And it has a stain right here that just won't come off. No matter how many times I wash it," he said, pressing his thumb right under the duck's foot.
Leo wanted to ask and at the same time he was horrified to. But at his curled lips, Future Leo chuckled. "Relax, it's just honing oil."
"Oh," Leo said with considerable relief.
"Only nobody remembers when it happened, or who did it," Future Leo went on. "But there it is. And it's ugly, and your blanket is never the same again. It's funny, the way some things change, so gradually you can't even tell. And then you look back and you think, 'how did I get here? Where did this stupid stain come from?'"
For a few seconds, Leo's older self only gazed pensively at the blanket, rubbing the spot where the stain would presumably be. Meanwhile Leo stood there not knowing what to do with his hands.
He continued at length, "Anyway, I'm sorry I've been a bit of a jerk. You can't imagine how weird it is, being back here." He sighed, looking around at the room they were in, and cast a glance past the dojo screens, towards Splinter's room.
"I bet…" Leo said awkwardly. "By the way, I forgot to... thank you, for doing this."
Future Leo offered a grateful, real smile. "It's not just for you. At first I wasn't so sure about Donnie's idea. He's always wanting to fix stuff," he said, and Leo nodded, very much in agreement. "But you know, maybe he was onto something here."
Knowing not to waste an opportunity at a peek past his future self's armor, Leo only listened, silently egging the other on.
"Man, I remember when I was just like you. I just wanted to do the right thing, no matter what. Now it feels dumb and naive, but… Well, it's what Splinter had taught us." A wistful smile crept up on his face. "He always had advice for everything."
"He really is like a walking fortune cookie," Leo said, remembering Karai's words, and they both laughed at that.
"I admired him so much. I forgot how much I missed that."
"Splinter's a pillar. I can't imagine losing that part of me," Leo confessed, and realised how true that was. What it must have been like for this Leo. For all of them.
"The coolest thing was how he could be so scary, yet so kind," Future Leo said with veneration. "Truth is, none of us would be here, none of us would be the way we are, if not for him."
"So maybe it's not all so dumb, huh?" Leo said emphatically, crossing his arms.
"Maybe not," Future Leo conceded with a cheeky grin. He hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe I should fish out my old Splinter Quotes notebook."
"Couldn't hurt!"
"And listen. I'm sorry about that Purple Dragon kid. This mission is very important to us, and we'll do whatever it takes to see it through. But it was unnecessary," he admitted, and immediately a pressure on Leo's chest he hadn't realized was there lifted. "This is your timeline, and the consequences of what we do will stay here. It wasn't our place. As long as we're here we'll play by your rules."
"Thank you," Leo said, trying to appear collected. Then he quickly added. "But just so you know, we are willing to do whatever it takes to help Karai, too. And to take down Shredder."
Future Leo gave an approving nod, which Leo found himself awkwardly mimicking.
This was the first time Leo felt like he and his future self had actually talked. Maybe this whole thing could work after all. Incidentally, he wondered if he should ask about the scar—and that knee brace! The same knee had healed satisfactorily on Leo months ago at the farmhouse... or so he thought.
"So, uh… should I be worried about that?" he ended up asking, and pointed at Future Leo's knee, and the firm black material that covered it.
Future Leo wiggled and bent his leg. "Not a lot, but it does act up now and again. I wear it just in case. Also Casey likes that we're 'knee-brace buddies.'"
Man, he would never get used to this. Talking to this clone of himself, this warped reflection. It was like looking in a magic time mirror. His future self's appearance was telling of the years gone by, additional scars and freckles peppering his skin. His plastron had also gotten more roughed up. But the longer he saw it all, the less it bothered him. He looked pretty badass, actually.
He heard something shuffle behind him, and he spun his head around to see the Donnies, Future Raph and Future Casey peeking around the lab doors, grinning. Caught red-handed, they engaged in a bad impression of having dropped something on the ground and disappeared back into the lab.
He heard Future Leo emit a meek groan of complaint. "Get some sleep," he said to Leo, handing him back the blanket. His commanding voice was back—perhaps a little gentler. The thing was, this time it didn't bother Leo half as much. "Donnie and I will take turns keeping watch. We'll wake you up in the morning."
Leo nodded, before realising he'd done it like he would if Splinter had given the order. And when he was about to leave, he looked at the blanket in his hands for a second before offering it back to Future Leo.
"You know what? If you promise not to stain it, you can have it for tonight."
Future Leo rewarded him with a sheepish smile, and accepted the offer.
These future dudes weren't so bad. Future Mikey said so, and Mikey would carry this guy up friggin' Mount Doom on piggie-back.
Unlike their brothers, he and his double had re-e-e-ally hit it off, and they were determined to make the best of their short time together as long-lost twins. They'd had a sleepover in their room, and stayed up long after sensei Leo had sent them to bed, going over their comic book collection, role-playing with their action figures. Even when they finally turned off the light, they lay in the dark instead of going to sleep, incapable of shutting up.
Mikey's future self was rad. He was fun, and cheerful, and positive, and all the good stuff, but he didn't get in trouble half as much. Sometimes he was even... responsible. So far he'd kept his word on not spoiling much because he'd "promised Donnie". It was weird, like the Mikey essence was there, but somehow more… grown up. And not just in the size—'cause he was like half a head taller too.
"You shoulda seen me at 19. I was a noodle," he'd said proudly.
So they chatted about whatever they were clear to chat about. Mostly comics, and movies, and anything that happened from their current date and backwards, which honestly was in itself good for at least two or three volumes. The big heavy anthology compilation type.
Finally, as their eyes got droopy from sleep, they ended up reminiscing about Karaiwa. Future Mikey mentioned how he'd even forgotten about the name mashup, and then got super nostalgic and sad and… It got Mikey's mind wondering, and he fell asleep thinking about how important it was that they got this right. Their big sister was counting on them.
That morning, infected with a serious case of the existential jitters, Mikey attended the meeting with the firm resolution to take it super seriously. Like, more seriously than he'd ever taken any meeting ever.
Everyone had been there, except Present Casey and April. Man, Mikey would do anything to be able to go to school, but he sure as hell wouldn't want to be April right now. Yeah, New York was at stake and all, but the rest of the world hadn't gotten the memo and was just going about its business. She had to keep up appearances, or her dad would get The Call and know what they were all up to. So after running around and getting beat up all night, April barely even had any time to catch some Z's. As for Casey, well… He was probably just running away from his feels. He and Raph better not break up because of all this!
The plan itself was more simple and open-ended than anybody'd expected. Future Leo said it was on purpose because "no plan survives contact with the enemy", and he preferred there be room for lots of improvisation. The Donnies seemed a bit nervous about this. Not Mikey: 'Improvisation' was his second middle name, after 'Angelo'.
The previous mission going to poo-poo meant everything was a little more complicated. The Future Turtles had hoped to be the element of surprise in all this—their trump card. But since the entire Purple Dragons and the Foot had seen them, Shredder probably already expected them sooner or later. Hopefully though, he at least wouldn't be expecting the Lotus.
Also, all this had to happen in the next two or three days, before the Future Turtles had to catch their wormhole back home.
"Exactly fifty-six hours and twenty minutes from now we'll be able to reach the wormhole from the Wells Building rooftop, currently in construction," Future Donnie explained, looking at his techy wrist jigger, which was displaying some sorta map—though all Mikey could see was a tangle of bright green lines and some floaty numbers. "And we can't be late. After that, the wormhole will be unreachable from Earth for another ten years, and we won't make it back to our own present."
"What if the Lotus doesn't attack in time?" Leo asked, to which Future Leo replied even more somberly than usual:
"Then we'll have to start without them."
Lastly, and catching everyone by surprise, the Future Turtles turned to Splinter, and forbid him to go on this mission. At first Splinter looked taken aback by Future Leo's order, as did everyone from this timeline, but then he chuckled.
"I forget I am not your sensei anymore."
So they'd technically just grounded sensei, and that was the most impressive thing Mikey'd ever seen.
Once they all knew their roles, they talked about the new tech. Obviously the Donnies were in charge of that, and they'd already been working on a few cool gadgets.
"That's all you people want us for," Future Donnie joked as he tapped a few buttons on his wrist thing. It went bleep bloop, and a hologram of something like a tranq dart rose from the lens. He explained it was the anti-serum for all the mutated Foot recruits. "Two-phase dart—tranquilizer and modified retromutagen—helped along by a small army of nanites." With another bloop, the holo image changed to some kinda robo-bug.
"Wait a minute…" Leo leaned closer, squinting. "Are these nanites shaped like turtles?"
Future Donnie, sharing a conspiratorial smirk with his younger twin, said, "What's life without whimsy?"
The lighter tone was certainly a relief. Even though the days ahead would be tough, Mikey's brothers seemed more at ease once there was an actual plan. He'd also noticed Future Leo being in a much better mood for some reason. Instead of four deep wrinkles between his eyes, there were only two. Progress!
But the atmosphere could still be a lot cosier, and the energy less… brown. It was very far from the mind image Mikey'd had when he first heard they'd be meeting their time-travelling future selves. Like, what the funk? This was the experience of a lifetime! Maybe two lifetimes! Why all the negativity?
Any gamer will tell you, if you gonna play team games with your team, you need your team to be a team first. If they were gonna beat this mission, the Hamatos, past and future, all had to be one with the force—of love.
It seemed it was up to the Mikey twins. It was their turn to take the reigns of this teenage, mutant, angsty, war mastodon.
Once April and Casey arrived from school, and the common room was clear, the twins set their own plan in motion. Mikey proposed they fetch his fanciest human underwear, but Future Mikey thought it "might not be appropriate for the occasion", whatever that meant.
Splinter passed by while they were working on the sitting area, on his way to get some tea. They offered him to participate, but he politely turned it down. "This old rat knows when to allow the young ones some room."
Mikey thought there was plenty of room, but whatevs. The Future Turtles were still a little shy around him anyway.
So using the Hamato chat group—and a lil' bit of crying 'wolf', like that guy Peter—he managed to get everybody out of their holes and into the common room within a minute.
"What is it?" Leo said urgently at the head of the group.
"Please, sit down, take a load off, chillax," Mikey offered smoothly.
The group looked down at the sunken area, taking in the nest of blankets and throw pillows set around a sheet-covered mystery pillar. Even Leo's ducky blanket was there, carefully spread over the poof. With looks of suspicion, April, the Donnies, the Caseys and Leo started taking a seat, slowly. The rest remained standing.
"What's this about?" Future Raph asked, arms crossed.
Mikey announced, "We gathered you here today because… we gonna have a Mid-Spring Pizza Thanksgiving!" With a flourish, he pulled on the sheet, unveiling the leaning tower of pizza—or as he liked to call it, Pizza Jenga.
"This is what was so urgent? We were working!" Present Donnie said, swatting a pair of work gloves towards the lab which were dirty with motor oil.
"It is urgent, bro! Look around you! All you guys shoulda bonded for life by now and I'm not seeing any bonding!" He wanted to point at Raph and Casey and say "especially you two" but he caught himself just in time, casting a cautious peek at the kitchen, where he could hear Splinter making his tea.
At Mikey's words, the others shared awkward looks. Seeing as though nobody dared speak up, Mikey went on.
"So since apparently none of you's got enough emotional smarts, tonight the Mikey twins are leaders."
Future Mikey stepped up next to him. "And our first order of business is to stuff all your guys's faces with food and brotherly love and positive energy!"
Big Raph groaned. "Do we have to?"
"Yes! Don't make us put on Enya!" Mikey threatened, holding up a finger like a dagger.
"I don't know, Mikey," Donnie said, rubbing the back of his neck. "There's lots to do still."
The others were starting to shift away as well, the cowards. Present Raph was already turning his shell on them. Mikey balled his hands into fists and prepared to yell.
"My sons," said Splinter's voice right behind him, and Mikey swallowed his own yell with a hiccup. Sensei spoke from over the Mikey's shoulders, his voice cheerful, but firm. "Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax. The Michelangelos are right. It would do you good to have a little 'R&R', as they say."
Satisfied, Mikey shot the group a big 'told-you-so' grin.
"Hai, Master Splinter," said some.
"Hai, sensei," said others.
"I guess a little festive spirit couldn't hurt," added Donnie timidly, and April nodded to that.
"Have fun, play some music. Chillax," sensei finished. Then he took a sip of his steaming tea and ambled off.
"Well, there ya go," Mikey said, chest puffed out, but when he looked at Future Mikey expecting back-up, he saw his twin was instead busy following Splinter with his eyes.
"Man, it's gonna be hard going back," he said longingly. His sad smile, and the others' faces in the wistful silence that followed, absolutely puréed Mikey's heart.
But Mikey was leader now, and his team needed him. He stepped up, quickly breaking the silence before the spirits could plummet down the feels well.
"Come on, guys. If we're gonna get Karaiwa back, we have to show her that she can trust us, that we're the kind of family that's fun, and loving, and there for each other!" he proclaimed, slamming a fist on his palm like a judge's mallet in those lawyer movies.
"Okay, fine!" Future Raph plopped down on the bench, and once he did, everybody else begrudgingly followed. Finally!
They waited for their nine siblings to be seated and holding some kind of food or beverage in their hands, then Mikey said, arm slung over his twin's shoulders, "So my man and I had an idea for a thing: future bros each share something awesome about yourselves or your lives in the future. It can be a fun story, something that you love, or that you're proud of..."
"Think of it as a commercial for our timeline," Future Mikey added helpfully.
Future Casey scoffed. "What is this, group therapy?"
"Sh-yeah?" Mikey exclaimed, because obviously.
"Well, I'm diggin' it. The painkillers are taking effect again and I feel like partying! I'll start!" Future Casey cried, and bounced himself to the edge of his seat.
But Future Donnie threw out his hand. "Wait! What part of no spoilers is too big to fit in your noggins?"
"Just a preview, brah!" Future Mikey said.
"Yeah, no offense," Mikey said, "but so far, it's been downer after downer since you came. We could use some good news, s'all I'm saying."
Future Donnie looked at Future Leo, who shrugged with a half smile. Then, with one finger aloft, he said, "Can I just add a quick disclaimer? Just remember that what happened in our timeline may not be very likely to happen in yours."
"Ugh, you've said that already," Future Raph groused.
Future Donnie lifted his hands in a don't-say-I-didn't-warn-you sign, and sang, "Just in case." And with one courteous hand movement he said, "Proceed."
Mikey whooped. "Alright! Who was gonna do the honors?"
"Yo!" Future Casey shot his good hand up. "So you already know I was in pro hockey before I busted my knee, but what you didn't know is…" He sucked in a lungful so his pecs barely fit inside his own tank top. "I made it to the big league."
"Whoa!" Mikey exclaimed, and started a round of applause with way too many rolling eyeballs from the future crew. Present Casey's expression, however, lit up like a Christmas tree.
"I'm not sure that counts as a light spoiler," he heard Future Donnie mutter at Future Leo, and both did a couple of slow, long-suffering head-shakes.
"Yeah, the money was pretty great," Future Casey boasted. "I also got all my sweet muscles around that time, and this dashing smile. That's how I seduced my little honey tortuga." He started making kissy noises at Future Raph, who ignored him with a killer deadpan.
Future Leo quickly intervened. "Alright, you two, keep it in your shells, there's minors present."
"I'm not doing anything, it's all this idiot!" Big Raph protested, shoving Casey's pucker away, though not too forcibly—and had that been an attempt at a joke from Future Leo? Holy chalupa, it was working!
And well, present Raph and Casey were not a couple for some reason, so Raph kept staring blankly at the floor through the whole conversation, as though he wished he'd fit through that drain by his foot. Casey's eyes were doing the opposite, flicking to and fro like a bunny lost in a dolby surround theater playing a wolf documentary.
"Okay, okay, me next!" Future Mikey chimed in eagerly. "One of my favorite missions was when we took Hellboy's company jet to the ocean ridge and fought the giant—"
"Mikey!" Future Leo and Raph cut him off, making everyone else jump.
Future Donnie glove-slapped his dome. "Dude, shush!"
"What the hell is a 'Hellboy'?" Present Casey said.
Future Mikey slapped a hand to his mouth. "Oh right, we all signed that paper that said we weren't supposed to talk about 'em. I'll just say something else then. Did I mention my girlfriend?"
"Online girlfriend," Future Raph corrected.
"Still counts! She's 22, and a surfer, and a total geek!" he gushed, beaming wider and wider. "And of course… she loves pizza!"
"Well, doesn't everybody?" Present Raph mumbled, one eyebrow raised.
Mikey didn't listen. This girl sounded like a real catch. "Oh dang, Casanova, you gotta tell me how I can meet her!"
"Yeah, yeah, maybe she'll use the same username in this dimension!" Future Mikey said, to which Future Donnie buried his face in his hands with a drawn out sigh. Future Leo patted his shell consolingly.
Then it was Raph's turn.
"Uh-uh. Pass," he said right away.
"Nah, man, you can't pass. It's the rules," Mikey said.
"You never said that."
"We're leaders today," Future Mikey said, forefinger wiggling between himself and Mikey. "And we say that's the rule."
"Fine, okay, uhh… Pretty psyched for that new Transformers movie now that they finally got good."
Future Casey leaned on him, rubbing against his side like a cat. "I think it's pretty obvious what your best thing is. And that is moi."
A loud snort was Future Raph's reaction. "Sure, let's go with that."
Future Casey gasped, sitting straight—haha, 'straight'—before glomping his boyfriend again. "Oh shit, Raph! Okay, I wanna change mine to Raph. My best thing is totally Raph."
"Aw, you guys!" Future Mikey cooed, while all of Mikey's insides squirmed with unbridled joy.
"Actually," Future Raph said, pushing Casey's gropey hands and smoochy face away. "Think I'm gonna make my best thing that one time you tried to pole dance with a floor lamp. Sure cheered me up."
"Wow, I remember that! You were so drunk!" Future Donnie laughed mockingly.
"Did it work?" April asked through an open-mouthed smirk.
"Yeah, for a whole two seconds." Future Raph chortled.
"But they were the hottest two seconds of your life," Future Casey retorted with a wink and a waggle of his hips.
Meanwhile poor Present Raph's head was almost inside his shell at this point, looking somewhere else pretending it was none of his business. Present Casey's lips were so tight and his cheeks so red he looked like inverted clown face-paint.
"Okay, it's Donnie's turn now!" Present Raph grumbled out suddenly. He was lucky Mikey didn't have the heart to contradict him. Future Raph and Casey's stories were just the best.
"Hm, alright," Future Donnie said ponderingly, tapping his lower lip. Despite all his griping, he was now totally into the game. "Well, the portal was a huge success!"
Future Mikey blew a raspberry. "Tell them something they don't know, Don!"
"How about your job?" Future Leo offered.
"You have a job? Why?" Mikey exclaimed.
"We got tired of having to accept charity, and filtering money out of sewage. So I became IT support, through the wonders of the interwebs."
"Actually that's something I'd been thinking about for some time. That's a great idea!" Present Donnie chimed in, looking very invested.
"I gotta warn ya though, you'll be surprised how many indecent propositions I get regularly. Guess they like my voice."
"You can always find a career as a mad scientist," April jested. "I hear there's a future in super villainy, and the pay is great!"
"Dude, don't give 'em ideas! If Donnie turns evil, we're all doomed!" Everybody laughed like he was joking, but Mikey wasn't entirely joking. "You guys laugh now, but…"
"You know, speaking of mad scientists," Present Leo said, "I've been meaning to ask… How did you even come up with this insane plan anyway?"
"It was Mikey's idea. Sort of."
"Really?" Mikey squeaked, literally looking up to his taller twin feeling very special.
Future Mikey flashed a proud grin. "I was playing Mass Effect, and—certainly no spoilers for Mass Effect, 'cause you gotta play that shit." Here Present Donnie nodded. "Anywayz, I screwed up and one of my fave characters died, three games in. Like died for real. Man, what a mess," he breathed dramatically as though it haunted him to this day. "I was so bummed out I had to cheat and load a previous save, so then I did, and I saved them, and I said to Don, 'man, if only we could go back in time and reload previous saves in real life'."
Future Donnie took over. "So that got me wondering about ways to make time travel actually possible. And I started my research. Of course we could never alter our own reality, but there was a relatively 'simple' way of travelling between universes, which was just as cool. Couple of years later, here we are!"
Here they were indeed. Mikey had to take a moment to gape and wonder, overcome with uncontainable pride, and excitement, and an urge to dance.
"Well, I believe this calls for another one of those Kodaks!" he cried, whipping out his T-phone.
Present Donnie chuckled. "That's not how you say it. The line is 'Kodak moment', so taking Kodaks wouldn't make s..." but he dropped it when Mikey pointed the camera at him first, and only smiled sheepishly.
After a few more pictures, April asked hopefully, palms together as though praying, "So what about Future April? Can I get a best thing?"
"We can't really speak for her," Future Leo said apologetically. "But she did finish college with honors. I'm pretty sure she was proud of that."
April and Present Donnie fist bumped. "I bet you had a lot to do with that though." She smirked, sitting forward closer to Future Donnie.
"You liked doing your homework in my lab, but besides that, it was... well, mostly you. Now Casey," Future Donnie shot a finger at the latter. "Casey needed 'a nudge'."
Mikey noticed April opening her mouth as if to stop the imminent change of topic, to no avail.
The hockey star lifted his burly chin from Big Raph's mighty shoulder. "And by a nudge he means he hacked my grades once so I could get in college."
"What?" Present Donnie yelped.
"That I'm not proud of," Future Donnie excused himself. "But it was either that or having him around all day. And I've yet to find a daycare center that'll take him in."
"Love you too, D," the same Casey retorted with an ample, ad-worthy smile and a finger gun. "Not like Raph, though, don't worry."
When Future Leo's turn came, at first he refused, like Raph. After some prodding, all he said was, "As far as I'm concerned, this is the best thing that's happened in a long time, so… Let's keep it up."
"Even though the previous mission was a total bust?" the younger Leo asked.
"No plan survives contact with the enemy," Future Leo answered with certainty. "What matters is we keep at it."
"Improvise. Adapt. Overcome," Future Casey said seriously, raising his good fist.
"And even though I don't always show it… I'm glad for this opportunity." Future Leo looked at Future Donnie, who gawked like he'd just whipped out a surprise present for him, ribbon and all. Sensei Leo then turned to the whole of the room. "And I'm very proud of all of you. Splinter and Karai are sure lucky to have you guys."
"Aw, Leo!" Future Mikey scrambled over several pillows and blankets on his knees to throw himself at his brother.
Future Donnie joined in right away slinging a long arm over them both, and Future Raph reached out to rub the top of his Leo's head while Casey cheered.
"Well shit, here's to us then!" Future Mikey exclaimed, getting back up and reaching for his cup, and everybody rushed for theirs. "We gonna make sure we get the good ending this time: New York is saved, everybody lives, somebody might get married—I dunno—and nobody's magically turned into a glowy green cyborg."
"I approve!" Future Donnie said, raising his cup. "Here's to the good ending!"
"Kanpai!" Future Leo yelled.
"Kanpai!" They all toasted in unison, and chugged down whatever kid-friendly beverage was in their cups.
Now this was more like it! That was the most Mikey'd seen Future Leo smile—and laugh! After all that fighting, and the emotional chafing, and that wipeout of a mission, and the general despair—it was nice having the whole fam together in something as sacred and live-giving as pizza bonanza. The mood was actually jokey and breezy for first time since the future turtles got there. When the food was gone, they played ninja twister. Future Casey asked the Donnies for the science explanation of one's own farts smelling so good and the Donnies ruined the joke by actually answering the question. Then Splinter joined them for a game of charades. And they took lots of photos.
Later, as he browsed through all the new pictures in his phone, a testament to a good time had, Mikey mentally patted himself on the shell for a job well done.
So! Did the future turts gain YOUR trust?
Remember! Reviews are a writer's Scooby Snacks ^w^
NOTE: still an Apritello fic! Despair not! Next chapter will go into everything not being said up to now.
