"Mikey," Raph said soothingly. "It's okay. Leo's strong. He'll get through this." Raph looked up. He'd better.
A thump outside announced that Stockman was back. He opened the door, but Leonardo was not in his grip. Instead, he held a sickeningly familiar shell. Wordlessly, he tossed it in, backed out, and closed the door.
Raph just stared at the cleaned thing. It had all of Leo's scars, including the chip on the side. Finally, he reached forward to touch it. It was cold, and shifted as he patted it, letting a note fall out from just under the rim. It was old, and weathered.
Mikey sobbed as Raph picked it up, unfolding it carefully. Leo's neat handwriting jumped out at him.
Well, if anyone finds this, I'm probably dead. Right now, I'm thirteen. Master Splinter is really sick, so I am taking care of him and my brothers. I've tucked it here so that, when I die, my brothers can read this letter. Maybe. I don't know if you'll find it.
Anyway, I am writing to tell you I love you all so very much. In my room, you will find a black book. Raph, that's for you. Mikey, dear Mikey, you can have my old stuffed animals. I know you've always loved them. Donnie, you can have my CD collection. I know you've always admired it.
Master Splinter, if you're still alive, I hope you know that I tried my best. I probably died taking a blow for a brother, or even went out on patrol and was ambushed. Or maybe, in my older age, I changed… maybe I became more like Raph. Either way, I love you all.
If I'm not dead and you've just poked around my shell and found this note, I hope you understand. I couldn't bear to leave without telling you all, so tell Raph to read the black book. He'll understand better, and maybe it'll help him be leader, for it sounds like I can't be, if anyone's found this.
I'll hide this now, and hope no one ever has to find it until I write another one, updated and such. This is my third. I change them every three to five years. When I'm eighteen, I'll write another.
Love forever, Hamato Leonardo, son of Splinter Sensei, brother to Hamato Michelangelo, Hamato Donatello, and Hamato Raphael
May peace be with you.
Raph dropped the letter and let a single tear run down his cheek. He couldn't get it… how was Leo dead? He never died, even when the Foot ambushed him and beat him up pretty bad. Or even when Karai stabbed him. Why would Stockman and Bishop be able to douse the warrior's ever-burning flame?
Sobbing, Mikey reached forward, touching the shell that had once protected their greatest brother. Don sat back, eyes wide in fear and sorrow. Crying loudly, he then hugged Raphael, who put his arms around both of his brothers and held them tightly.
"Shhh," he whispered hoarsely, rocking them. A memory surfaced, and he hummed a lullaby Master Splinter used to sing to them. Quietly, he began singing in his beautiful baritone voice.
"Sleep now, my angels,
Let heaven watch over you.
You shells will protect you,
Your brothers will love you,
Your father will teach you,
Your friends will care for you.
Take heart, my dear ones,
Fly into the realm where
Nothing can touch you,
Nothing can hurt you.
Hold on through despair,
Hold each other tight,
Gather strength from your brothers."
Raph stopped singing, then said lowly, "Leo liked this one. Let's sing it in his memory."
Don and Mikey looked up, their eyes drying slightly as Raph started a new song.
"Every morning I wake up just the same
Another victim of
ordinary fame
I don't see myself as invincible
It's not true at
all
I'm just your average, ordinary, everyday superhero
Trying
to save the world, but never really sure
I'm just your average,
ordinary, everyday superhero
Nothing more than that, that's all I
really am
Just a day job that's someone's gotta do
It's
kinda hard when everyone looks up to you
Try to make it look easy,
gonna make it look good
Like anybody would
I'm just your
average, ordinary, everyday superhero
Trying to save the world,
but never really sure
I'm just your average, ordinary, everyday
superhero
Nothing more than that, that's all I really am
I'm
just like everybody else
After all the hype it's hard to tell
I
keep my game face on so well
I'm just your average, ordinary,
everyday superhero
I'm trying to save the world
I'm just your
average, ordinary, everyday superhero
Trying to save the
world
I try to hide my true identity
But no one knows it's only
me
I'm just your average, ordinary, everyday superhero
Trying
to save the world, but never really sure
I'm just your average,
ordinary, everyday superhero
Nothing more than that, that's all I
really am
I'm just your average, ordinary, everyday
superhero
I'm trying to save the world
I'm just your average,
ordinary, everyday superhero
I'm just your average, ordinary,
everyday superhero
Trying to save the world, but never really
sure
I'm just your average, ordinary, everyday superhero
Nothing
more than that, that's all I really am
I'm just your average, ordinary, everyday superhero."
Raph choked back a sob as he sang the song. "Everyday Superhero" by Smash Mouth. It fit his brother so well…
Mikey hugged Raph fiercely, conveying his thanks to their brother that he had sung a tribute to their leader. Don looked at the incision marks on the shell, noting that it had been carved off carefully.
"Well, I feel like a fool," he laughed, startling his brothers. "Leo's not dead, guys. Look!" Don pointed at the most visible of the marks. "They just took off his shell. It's painful and dangerous, but from the looks of this, they took great care of it. He's alive, or at least, not dead."
"How do you know? Maybe they did that and Leo died anyway," Raph argued. "But we can only hope. If he's not dead, then why did Stockman throw his shell in here?"
"Because he wanted us to believe he was," Mike said, looking around. "I bet he's watching us." In a fluent, angry motion, the orange-clad turtle stood up, and shouted fiercely, "Well, I hope you got an earful, you-" Raph quickly clamped a hand over his mouth and then looked at the wall opposite. It was slowly turning transparent.
Bishop's voice came through a speaker, from everywhere and nowhere. "Well, now that you've figured that out, I guess I'll sow you what happened to Leonardo. Or should I say, Kavara?"
The wall was now like glass, and all three brothers could see Leo's still form behind it. He was breathing… slowly. In place of his shell was a metal one that had a display on the back, and thought he tried, Don could not see what it said.
Leo's wings were spread out around him, and his hands and ankles were shackled together tightly. He stirred.
Mikey let out a whoop, at which Leo's body stirred more, then leapt to its feet. Leonardo faced the wall, and slowly his lips pulled back from his teeth.
Don gasped as the snarl was magnified by the speakers around him. It sounded deadly and menacing. Mikey stepped forward, putting hand on the glass.
Something was wrong.