A/N: This is a short chapter, but one common feature among teenagers is well, they sometimes act like rebellious teens. And thank you to those who have reviewed. And if you haven't yet, please do!
Please note: Character thoughts are in italics.
Disclaimer: Of this one fact I am certain, I do not own the turtles.
Chapter 11-Lockdown
Oroku Saki's eyes hardened as he stood in the shadows, watching the young warrior return from the encounter with his two brothers that evening. The earlier reports from both Hun and his Elite Guard confirmed that there was not just one, but two, of Leonardo's brothers who had not only survived for all of these years, but were also running around New York City. And to make matters worse, it appeared that Leonardo had not only met with them more than once, but that he was also withholding this information from his father.
Saki wasn't sure why Leonardo was hiding the battles with his brothers from him, but he could not allow the teenager to continue to meet with them. The black banded turtle was normally the perfect son, loyal and obedient. But he was still a teenager, and sooner or later every teenager tries to rebel against their parents rules.
Saki decided he would give the young teen one last chance to come clean about meeting his brothers before he would be punished.
Leonardo carefully cleaned the large gash on his arm and then wrapped it with gauze. He was fortunate that it was near his elbow and he would be able to cover it with his elbow pad, allowing him to hide the injury from Master Shredder.
Too wound up from his earlier fight to sleep, Leonardo sat down and began to meditate. Normally, the black masked turtle could slip into a meditative state easily, but tonight he just couldn't focus. Annoyed, he left for the dojo to let out some of his frustrations.
The black clad turtle opted to perform a series of katas that did not require the use of his swords. He did not want the weight of the sword to aggravate his injury.
Leonardo knew that he couldn't keep the news that there were two turtles, and not only one, from his father much longer. But there was something about these turtles that Saki was not telling him and Leo couldn't shake the feeling that he had to protect them from Master Shredder. Which meant keeping his encounters with the two turtles a secret, at least for now. I'd really like to get some information about them. Who they are, where they are from, but how? I know Master Shredder knows more than he's telling me, but how am I going to find out what it is?
It was growing late and the confused turtle was finally tired enough to seek sleep in the comfort of his room. Unfortunately the fates had other plans for the young teen and as he finished the kata the footsteps of his approaching Master reached his ears.
Saki had been watching the young teen as he performed one kata after another, perfectly. The black clad teen had grown into an exceptional warrior. He didn't just enjoy practicing the art of Ninjitsu, for Leonardo, it was his life's purpose. And out of all of the skills he had learned from his sensai, Leo's favorite's always involved the use of his swords. Which is why it was curious to Oroku Saki that the black banded teen had not reached for his swords even once thus far, instead he kept favoring his left arm as he executed one kata after another.
He's hiding something. This stops now.
Saki leapt towards the unsuspecting teen, aiming directly for his injured arm.
Leonardo felt the oncoming attack from the shadows, years of training having him put his injured arm up to block the incoming strike before he could stop himself. He bit back a hiss of pain as the blow landed, the force radiating down his arm, aggravating his injury.
"Is anything the matter my son?"
Leonardo was never one to admit when he was injured. Saki was not surprised when the teen simply shook his head in reply, No. He advanced with another attack.
"Where have you been?"
Leo raised an eye ridge as he blocked the jab. Since when does it matter where I go at night after a job? Acting like the stubborn teenager that he was, Leonardo kept his reply short. "Around."
Saki's mouth fell into a thin line, Leonardo never shared his thoughts easily and it didn't look like tonight was going to be any different. It was time to force the answer out of him.
Saki began a series of punishing blows, focusing on the turtle's injured arm. It didn't take long for his defenses to fall and give the Ninjitsu master the upper hand. Grabbing the black masked teen by the shoulders he was flipped over Saki's head and his carapace hit the mat, hard. With the wind momentarily knocked out of him, Leonardo couldn't react fast enough. Saki quickly grabbed the teen's injured arm before he could fully rise and twisted it behind his shell. Ripping the elbow pad off, the Foot Clan leader tightened his grip over the wound causing Leo to let out a hiss of pain.
"You should know better than to hide things from me, Leonardo."
Leonardo's eyes briefly flashed with pain before he let out a strangled cry as Saki tightened his grip further.
"I will not ask you again, where have you been?"
Struggling to keep the pain out of his voice, the angered teen snarled. "Central Park."
The Shredder's grip tightened. "And?"
Leonardo's reply came through clenched teeth, hatred and pain in his eyes.
"And I ran into the orange turtle. He was with a second turtle, clad in red."
Knowing he had the rebellious teen in his clutches, Saki squeezed down on the wound one more time, before slapping Leo across the face and releasing his grip.
The Shredder's eyes blazed, his voice laced with anger. "You are not to interact with those two turtles again."
Leo felt his own anger rising, his face still stinging from the blow as he rose from his knees. "Why? Who are they? What aren't you telling me?"
"Enough! Those turtles are a distraction. From now on, one of my Elite Guard will accompany you at all times."
The Shredder's Elite Guard had entered the dojo during the scuffle. The four ninja's silently bowed to their Master.
Leonardo went to open his mouth in protest, but then he promptly closed it as Saki narrowed his eyes at the rebellious teen.
"You will do as you are told. Disobey me and I will have you confined to Foot Headquarters, do I make myself clear?"
Leonardo was clenching his teeth together so hard, he was surprised he didn't break one of them. The angry turtle dropped to his knees and gave his teacher the traditional bow. "Hai, Sensai."
Donatello was heading back to his laboratory after completing his report to the Council of Three and Mr. Mortu on the events of the evening. The purple loving turtle knew that the Utrom's neural interface could be used to help him and his brothers fill in the missing pieces in their memories. But it would require all four of them to do so. And while the Utrom's were happy to hear that Raphael and Michelangelo were friends and not foes, Leonardo was too big a risk to allow into the TCRI building for the procedure.
The frustrated turtle slapped his hand down on the desk in anger. He was this close to piecing together the puzzle. Unfortunately, that anger had back fired on him and the Council of Three had confined him to the TCRI building until the threat from the Shredder has passed.
This is ridiculous! We could use the help of my brothers to fight against Ch'rell. I'm certain once Leonardo sees what the Shredder really is he will join us.
Donatello leaned back in his chair as his mind continued to piece together a plan to help recover their lost memories.
Master Splinter's tail twitched in response to his sons recap of the evening's earlier events. Once again his sons came home with battle wounds, courtesy of their eldest brother, Leonardo. The concerned father could not allow his sons to continue fighting each other. It was only a matter of time before one of them ended up seriously injured. It would be a great loss to go up against the Shredder without their leader, but time was running short, and they could no longer afford to waste it trying to convince the wayward teen to switch sides.
Michelangelo was the first to retort. "But Master Splinter, what about Leonardo and Donatello?"
"My sons, we must focus on the bigger problem at hand. Helping the Utrom's to defeat the Shredder. If we can locate Donatello he may be able to help us, however, reuniting with Leonardo will have to wait."
Raphael's protest was interrupted by Splinter. "But Master Splinter."
"Enough! My sons, I know you are eager to rejoin with your brothers. And I too want them to return home. But the Shredder must remain our focus for now. I suggest you both get some rest. We will resume training in the morning."
The two teens huffed their protests as they watched their father head towards his room.
Donatello was just finishing packing up everything he would need to perform the neural interface with his brothers when he heard someone enter the laboratory.
The purple clad turtle whirled around and found himself face to face with Mr. Mortu. Uh oh, I'm so busted.
"Donatello, what are you doing?"
What he was doing was obvious, but the guilty turtle couldn't help but try to cover his tracks anyway. "Um, just packing a few things into an, um, emergency bag. Yep, just a couple must have's in case of emergencies." Oh yeah Donnie, that wasn't lame at all!
Mr. Mortu let out a chuckle. "Donatello, please come sit down."
The bo wielding turtle sat down and opened his mouth to protest.
The Utrom captain put up his hand, signaling he would speak first.
"Donatello, you have been a valuable addition to the Utrom. And soon we will be returning to the Utrom homeworld. You have a choice to make. You can remain here and return with us or you can decide to leave and rejoin your brothers here on Earth."
Donnie's eyes widened in surprise. Is he serious? But what about the Council's decision?
Mr. Mortu continued. "This is not a decision to make lightly. We must capture Ch'rell and return him to the homeworld to pay for his crimes. And we can certainly use the help of you and your brothers to do so. But once we leave this world, we will be taking everything with us. You will have to adopt a new way of life and live with your brothers among the shadows. Are you certain this is the life you want?"
Don tilted his head as his mind processed the implications of what the Utrom Captain had said.
Mr. Mortu rose from his chair and placed a portable transmat device and a syringe on the table. "I will leave you now to your decision. And Donatello, it has been an honor."
A/N: Well, isn't Saki a strict 'parent.' And I wonder how Donnie's going to use the gifts from Mr. Mortu? Finally if you have not, please leave a review. Virtual bread pudding to those who do!