"Alright. Let's get ready to get outta here," Raph ordered, looking out the windows. Below, one could see the airport glowing softly. If they jumped now, they'd be able to parachute down with the sled. Don didn't want Leo tiring himself with carrying them again, and there were plenty of parachutes to carry them and the sleigh.
"You guys sure about this?" Leo asked again, his wings shuddering in agitation as he helped his brothers pack up for deployment. "You can't control parachutes. I could carry the litter again; I've just got to get it down to the ground."
"For the last time, Leo, no!" Don said, frustration coloring his voice. "Your wings need more strength before we can expect that of you twice in one day. Just get ready to open that door."
The humans were seated, buckled in, and waiting nervously for landing. One of the other flight attendants was serving drinks, and offered some to the turtles. As a result of high-sugar juice, Mikey was hyper.
"Can we go now? Huh? Can we?"
Actually, he was almost bouncing off the walls. Don was trying to calm him down, but he was at a loss. Raph couldn't smack him; Mikey was way too bouncy and just rebounded off Raph anytime the red-wearing turtle got too close. Finally, Leo had wrapped Mikey up in a wing and held him still for a while, calming their over-hyper brother down. His mouth, unfortunately, was still rocketing.
"Please!?"
Leo sighed and put his hand on the door, ready to throw Mikey out first once it was open. Raph nodded and Leo yanked on the handle. The emergency exit lights flashed and the door slid into Leonardo, who was knocked backwards into the tarp, which barely held him. Shoving Mikey out roughly, the eldest watched carefully as all three of his wingless brothers descended into the night before three white parachutes announced that they were safe. Then he pushed out the sled, which they had brought in to attach parachutes to, and pulled the cords with his tail.
He looked at Emily, who was sitting backwards watching him. With a grin and a wave, he swung out into the night, holding onto the door frame for a moment and pulling the portal closed so no one could fall out. Then, he let go and dived for his brothers.
Mikey! Leo saw his orange-banded turtle laughing and joking as he floated gently towards the hard earth below. Don and Raph were silent, probably watching for helicopters or an attack.
Leo sighed happily and flared his wings carefully to avoid another wrenched joint. Mike screamed a greeting and Raph rolled his eyes.
They landed without mishap, though Mikey flew into a tree and was left dangling until his brothers deemed it worthy to get him down, that being once he was out of his sugar high. From such a height, he crashed badly and fell asleep on his feet. Tenderly, Leo scooped him up in his wing and made sure their packs were undamaged.
"Let's find April and Case-man," Raph suggested, rolling his shoulders gently. "I'm hungry, and I can't wait to see their expression when they see Leo!"
"Hardy-har-har," Leonardo grumbled, extending a wing around his two brothers to warm them all. "Let's get moving."
"I like that idea. It's cold out here." Don snuggled further into Leo's warm wing, while Raphael backed out and turned to the trees around them.
"I'll keep watch," he said brusquely. Leo looked at him, worried, but when Raph leapt into the big oak next to them, he sighed and nodded. Don was almost asleep and though he argued, Leo told him to rest. He was strong enough to carry his little brothers, and since he'd grown another three inches, Donnie wasn't worried about straining him. He was more worried about Leo chomping on something not-good to eat, like a poisonous bush. Or Mikey, Don sniggered. That'd give him indigestion at the least!
An hour later, Raph jumped down to see Leonardo watching the highway, a concerned look on his beak.
Wonder what's up, Raphael thought to himself, twirling a Sai in agitation. "What's up, O Winged One?"
"Instincts," Leo whispered. "New instincts."
"From your dragon half?" Raph put away his Sai and lay a comforting hand on his leader's shoulder. Showing his rarely-seen compassionate side, Raph asked, "What?"
"It's just… I have this feeling that something bad is gonna happen. I keep thinking that I'll lose you. Somehow. Somewhen. Somewhere. I just can't shake this feeling."
"Vision?"
"No… put yourself in my wings, Raph. What would you be doing right now if you knew something bad was going to happen?"
"Probably storm around in a fit of rage because I can't find this trouble and kick its shell," Raph smiled.
"If you were me, a responsible leader who just got his soul back, what would you be doing?"
"Looking for answers." Realization dawned on Raph as he remembered how Leo had been acting towards Mikey. "You think we're gonna lose Mikey?"
"No! I think we're gonna lose something else… something far worse. But I can't figure out what."
"Then why've you adopted Mikey as your…"
"Dragonet?" Leo looked at the highway again. Donnie stirred in his wing and Mike grumbled in response. A loving grin creased Leo's face. "Because he's so innocent."
"Why not Donnie?"
"Mikey seems like a dragonet to my dragon half. I've got this urge to protect him, and it's stronger than the one to protect all of you. I think we all do; remember when Mikey scraped his knee in the sewers?"
"You carried him all the way back on your shell, and Donnie wouldn't stop fussing. He said it'd be real easy for Mike to catch something through an open sore. I kept telling myself that it was my fault; I should have been watching out for him." Raph remembered that day well. They'd just been tots, almost five years old and barely able to run without tipping back to all fours.
"Yeah. The way he clung to my shell… Did you know that a dragonet stays with its mother for an entire decade before moving off to find a mate and life of its own?" Leo suddenly asked. "And that the mothers of dragonets are the sole caretakers; the males get too… rambunctious?"
"Whoa, bro. You lost me. I thought we were talking about Mikey and your recent "dragoness" attitude towards him." Was Leo avoiding the subject?
"I told you that because it was relevant. To my dragon half, I should be the sole caretaker of Mikey. It keeps telling me to fly away with him so you and Donnie won't…"
"Hurt him? Get too rambunctious?"
"Yeah." Leo looked at the forest floor. "I can't shake either feeling, Raph."
"Maybe you shouldn't," he answered carefully. "If you have new instincts, learn them. Find out what they're telling you. Then learn to ignore some and trust others. That's what we had to do when we mutated. And Master Splinter had to overcome his hoarding behavior."
"He hasn't," Leo suddenly giggled. "I've found food stocks in his room several times."
Raph just stared; was this what Leo was really like? If so, it looked like he could give Mike a run for his money, judging by the glee in the winged turtle's posture. Since Raphael couldn't see his eyes, he didn't know what Leo was exactly thinking.
"Why do you still have your mask on?" Raph found himself asking. "Is it really too bright out here?"
"No. I just didn't think about taking it off. Hold on a moment." Leo untied his blue bandana and blinked, looking around. Then, he set his eyes on Raph. "Look at that. You're smaller."
"Dude, I'm not shrinking. You're a whole foot taller than Mikey now! And, by the way, your eyes are glowing." Raph was a little unnerved by that last; it looked like two demon eyes were staring at him.
"Hm. I can see perfectly. We'd better get ready to meet April and Casey. They should be here by now. Can you call them on your Shell Cell? I'll wake Donnie and Mikey."
"Sure thing, O Winged One." Raph sniggered at the bored expression on Leo's unmasked face as he pulled out his cell phone, courtesy of Don's genius with technology and machines, and called April on her regular cell phone, not the Shell Cell.
"April here. What's up?" No visual, unfortunately, but Raph could hear Casey talking to someone in the background and the care engine running lowly.
"It's Raph. We're ground-side and looking for some pickup. I'm almost dead on my feet."
"We're almost to the air port. Where are you specifically? I'll pick you up."
Raph looked around and noticed a sign. He gave the directions to April, who told him that they were on their way. Then he turned to see Donnie and Mikey stretching as Leonardo sat on a stump behind them, his eyes riveted on Mikey and Donnie. When Donnie slapped Mike in jest for a joke, Leo started and his upper beak pulled back almost into a snarl, but he calmed down with a visible effort. The two younger brothers didn't see, but Raph did. He was worried; what would happen in a fight?
Would Leo protect Mikey so much that Mikey would become dependent on him?