Katana: Hello! I can't believe how many reviews, fans and follows I have gotten in such a short time. Thank you all so much! I really appreciate it.
Leo: Hmph.
Katana: Look Leo. It's AU. This isn't you, not really. Alternative Universe, remember?
Leo: Doesn't mean I have to like it.
Katana: Whatever. You guys can thank jshelton010 for inspiring me to work even harder on this chapter. Speaking of which, she is writing a Frozen/TMNT crossover that I have the honor of betaing starting the second chapter. Read it! It promises to be awesome.
Leo: See? Frozen. A happy story.
Katana: Ugh! Fine! I promise, my next oneshot will be a happier one. Now will you stop ragging on me?
Leo: All right. *sigh*
Katana: Thank you. Enjoy!
LEO
When Leo woke up, it was slowly. For once, he didn't snap to alertness from the stimulus of the shrill ring of his alarm clock. Instead, he gradually worked his way from the warm numbness of sleep into the world of the waking. This world was warm too, and it confused his muddled brain. Why was it warm? It was the middle of fall; it should be freezing.
A flash of panic. What time was it? Was he late?!
Leo pushed through the haze in his mind and forced his eyes to open. A moment of anticipation, then confusion and fear. That wasn't his ceiling. Leo had spent hours locked in his room staring at the ceiling, and he knew every inch of it. This was not his ceiling. Where was he, then? And how did he get - wherever he was?
He blinked a few more times, trying to force awareness and memory back into his mind. It hit him then. The song. The computer. Donnie's lab. He had fallen asleep listening to the song in Donnie's lab! But, he was lying down on something soft and warm. He had been moved. But where?
He moved his hands from where they rested on his plastron and to his sides, where he felt soft flannel sheets on a firm but comfortable mattress. If there had been any doubt, it was gone now. This was not his room or Donnie's lab.
Leo shoved his hands deep into the material and began to push himself up. He had to check the time. He was going to get the dojo before Master started looking for him, and maybe, after he was done with training, maybe he would find out who had moved him and what they knew.
That was the plan, anyway. It didn't quite work out that way.
Two large hands quickly shot out from beside him and gently pushed him back down. "Leo! Dude, you're awake! But you've gotta stay in bed, bro, what with you having the flu and all!" A fast voice chirpped.
Leo turned his head to face his little brother Mikey. "Flu?" He repeated softly. "I'm not sick."
"Donnie said you were, bro, and he's sentenced you to bed rest until such time he sees fit." Mikey said cheerfully. "But don't worry. Donnie also said one of us should be with you when we're not all in training, so you'll have plenty of company."
Leo narrowed his eyes. There was something fishy going on. He didn't feel sick at all, much less sick with the flu. Anyone could see that, so Donnie definitely could. And Mikey was playing along. Why? To keep him in bed? Why would he do that?
"Where am I?"
"Donnie's room. He wanted to keep a close eye on you. We were gonna use your room, but . . . " Mikey trailed off, clearly regretting explaining that far. Fear clutched Leo's heart. They had been in his room?!
"You were in my room?" Leo hissed angrily. Mikey blinked in shock at his tone and unconsciously leaned back. Leo didn't blame him. He was rarely angry with any of his brothers, and he never showed it.
"Well, uh, not me. Donnie and Raph, actually. They shut the door before I could see inside, and they only looked for, like, a second." Mikey said in a hopeful tone, as if trying to abate Leo's anger.
It didn't work.
"Why were they in my room?" Leo whispered coldly.
"Well, you - you were asleep, at Donnie's computer, and we were gonna bring you back to your room, but when Donnie and Raph opened the door, they shut it back and brought you here."
Leo pursed his lips and closed his eyes tightly. Deep breath, Leo. Deep breath. Oh, God. Donnie and Raph had seen his room. What did they think? What did they know? What if - what if they knew? No. No, they couldn't. Just because they had seen his room didn't mean they knew. No. They didn't know. His shameful secret was just that. A secret.
"Where - where are they? And what time is it?" Leo whispered, all anger from his voice disappearing as he opened his eyes.
To his surprise, Mikey's eyes were brimming with sympathy and sadness, a stark contrast to the energy and happiness that usually lit up his sky blue orbs. Leo turned his gaze down towards Mikey's chest, hating himself. He was the reason for the sadness, he knew it. He didn't know how, but Leo caused that sadness in his baby brother, and he hated himself for it.
"Donnie just left to talk to Splinter a few minutes ago. I have no clue where Raph is, and it's about -" his gaze darted to a different part of the room, "- 7:00."
7:00?!
"I - I gotta -" Leo attempted once again to get up, but Mikey half-tackled him and pushed him back down.
"Whoa, Leo! You gotta stay in bed, remember?" Mikey reminded him desperately.
"No Mikey! I - I have to go to the dojo." Leo struggled underneath his little brother's hands.
"Donnie said to keep you in bed, Leo. You don't need to go to the dojo."
Leo tried to escape from Mikey's grip, over and over again, frustrated tears threatening to burst over. But the pressure was too great, and Leo fell back into the bed. Master, please. I'm sorry, but Mikey won't let me up. I'm sorry! Please don't punish me! Leo pleaded in his head, already trying to beg forgiveness, even though he knew his master couldn't hear him.
"May I at least sit up?" Leo gasped out, trembling under Mikey's hands. He had never been so late for training, ever. He would surely get beaten again, this time until his arms broke. It was a cowardly thought, but suddenly, Leo never wanted to leave this bed and face his master. Here, he was warm and with Mikey. With his master, he would be cold and in pain. It was weak to think so, but he didn't want to go.
"Of course." Mikey beamed, his smile seeming a bit forced, and proceeded to stuff pillows under Leo's shell so he was propped up in a sitting position, like a hospital bed. Leo may not have been sick, but the position felt good, taking pressure off aches in his back.
"Mikey, I'm not sick." Leo repeated, crossing his arms once Mikey was done. Mikey tactfully chose to ignore him, and finally Leo sighed and let his glare drop. When he did, Mikey did some thing unexpected. He hugged him.
"Uh, Mikey?" Leo stammered, arms out wide, unsure of what to do.
"Hmm?" Mikey murmured, face buried in Leo's chest.
"What are you doing?" He whispered nervously, trying to suppress shivers at the contact. Touching was bad. Touches meant pain. Leo didn't want pain. He didn't want to be touched. He wanted to be alone. Why was he touching him?
"Hugging you." Mikey answered simply.
"Could - could you, not?" Leo asked tentatively.
Mikey looked up and saw the fear in Leo's eyes. "Oh! Oh, Leo, sorry!" Mikey quickly let go. He'd forgotten how skittish Leo was.
"It's okay." Leo whispered, looking down at his hands.
The room fell into silence, and after a few minutes, Leo drifted off, put to sleep by the warm bed, something he hadn't felt in a long time.
DONNIE
Donnie took a deep breath. He had been standing in front of the the door for a few minutes, trying to work up the courage and calm to knock and enter. Every time he thought he had, though, his mind would flash back to Leo.
Donnie had slipped off Leo's dojo wraps, pads, belts, and mask when they had gotten him to the bed so he could treat any injuries. And there were injuries.
Leo's arms and legs had been absolutely covered with bruises. His skin was more black, blue, purple, and yellow than green under the covering. Bruises also maimed the sides of his plastron and the areas that were weakest and would therefore hurt the most. Cuts crisscrossed the inside of his arms and legs, and entire chunks of skin were scarred over on his knees, evidence of repeated injury. There was also a huge bruise on the side of Leo's head that nearly sent Donnie into shock. From the color and size of the bruise, Leo could have easily have gotten a concussion. Thankfully, it didn't look like he did, but if he had, Leo could have suffered severe brain damage, or even gone into a coma. For all intents and purposes, Splinter could have killed Leo with whatever had caused that bruise. All and all, Leo looked like a truck had hit him.
When he remembered Leo's wounds, Donnie's blood boiled in anger. How could Splinter do this? Leo was their brother, Splinter's son. If nothing else, Leo was a being of flesh and blood, with thoughts and emotions. He deserved to be treated like a real person, to be loved and happy, not to be beaten like a punching bag.
With his anger so high, so consuming, Donnie didn't trust himself not to slip up, and would wait for his temper to come back under control. He would calm down, and get ready to knock, but his mind would return to his older brother, and the cycle would begin once more.
Breathe, Donatello, breathe. Until you figure out a new place to live, you're gonna have to deal with . . . him. All the more reason to get outta Dodge even faster.
Donnie took another deep breath, then raised his hand and knocked on the frame of the door.
"Come in, Donatello." Donnie repressed a shiver and slid the door open.
Splinter was sitting underneath the branches of the tree on the dojo. He was in his meditative position, which was supposed to be calming, but Donnie noticed Splinter was tense, muscles taught, as if waiting for something.
"What is wrong, Donatello?" His voice was calming, almost fatherly, in fact. If Donnie didn't know better, he would have been taking in by his Sensei's tone and believed he cares. But he did know better, and with his new understanding he could hear the bite of anger and tension in his voice.
Donnie gulped. "I thought you should know that Leo won't be in training for at least a few days."
Donnie didn't miss Splinter tensing even further.
"May I ask why?"
"I'm pretty sure he's come down with the flu. He was throwing up in the bathroom last night and running a high fever. He should stay in bed until he recovers. He's in my room." Donnie explained, lying through his teeth. Anyone who even looked at Leo would be able to tell that he wasn't sick. But it was the only way Donnie could think of that Splinter would let Leo stay in bed and out of his sight. During that time, Donnie would tend to Leo's injuries, and hopefully think of a way out of this mess.
"How long will it take for Leonardo to recover?" Splinter asked after a long stretch of silence.
"If Leo stays in bed, a few days, maybe a week or so. A lot longer if he moves around."
"Very well." Splinter sighed. "Leonardo is excused from training. But he will make it up when he recovers." Was it just Donnie, or did those words have an ominous tone?
"O-of course." Donnie stuttered, and made a hasty retreat while trying to appear like he wasn't making a hasty retreat.
RAPH
Raph did another 360, examining everything in the room. It didn't take long; there was barely anything to see. At a glance, the room may have seemed like a storage room, or maybe even an old cell in a rundown prison. That's certainly what popped into Raph's head as he looked around the room.
But it wasn't. This was Leo's room.
There was no bed, simply a thin mattress with a couple of blankets. There was a tiny bowl with a candle and old wax, some matches, and alarm clock, a few spare masks and sword belts, and some polishing equipment. That was it. Nothing else.
Looking around the room, Raph's temper spiked. He could literally feel his body temperature rising (an incredible feat for a reptile/mammal hybrid), and he grit his teeth as he repressed the urge to punch something, or, better yet, Splinter.
Raphael had seriously seen nicer jail cells. This was not a room. This was a place for his big brother to be locked away and tormented with pain. This should have been a comfortable safe haven, but Splinter had made it into a horror chamber.
Raph sat down on the mattress, and felt something squish underneath him. He frowned and reached a hand under the mattress, pulling something long and damp out. A nauseating, metallic scent filled the room as Raph held it up, then threw it across the room in disgust as he realized what it was. Old dojo wraps, soaked in fresh blood that now also stained Raph's hand. Raph looked down at his hand and gagged. His brothers blood was literally on his hands, and quite a bit of it.
Raph shivered, and not just because of the blood. There was another thing about the room that got his blood boiling. The room was freezing, literally. It couldn't have been more than 50 degrees, and the blankets on the mattress were threadbare, providing next to no protection from the cold. It would have been bad enough if Leo was human, but as he was part reptile, the low temperature could be fatal. Living in this room for even one night could have killed Leo, and he had lived in here since he was six.
Raph swore under his breath, once again feeling overwhelming guilt. This - this - this sick, twisted treatment had been going on since Leo was six, practically a toddler, and he had never thought anything might be wrong. He had let his brother suffer in silence for almost ten years.
Well, no more! Never again. Raph vowed, not for the first time, that day even, that he would get Leo far away from Splinter, or die trying.
Raph got up, and exited Leo's room. He pulled the door shut, then looked up and came face-to-face with Donnie.
"Ah!" He screamed, startled. Then he lightly punched Donnie's arm. "Don't do that."
"Sorry. Just got out of the dojo."
"The verdict?"
"We've gotten a few days, maybe a week."
"Hopefully that'll be enough. Donnie, we need to get out of here ASAP." Raph growled.
"That bad?" Donnie sighed, nodding to Leo's door. Raph didn't answer, and simply held up his blood-stained hand. Donnie slapped a hand over his mouth, gasping.
"That -that -"
"Yeah."
"I'm going to be sick." Donnie whispered.
"It's sick all right. Leo's dojo wrap was soaked with it."
Donnie tensed, standing rigid, and Raph could almost see thunder clouds above his heads.
"How - how - how dare - "
"I know." Raph gritted.
Donnie took several deep breaths. "I'm going to relieve Mikey. Want to come?"
Raph thought, then shook his head. "You're better with emotions than me."
"Suit yourself."
Donnie slipped inside his room and shut the door. Not sure why, Raph hung around outside the door. He wasn't sure what to do. He actually did want to see his big brother, but like he told Donnie, he was afraid that he may say something to hurt Leo, or let it slip they knew. And if Donnie had made one thing clear, it was that while they should be delicate, they shouldn't indicate they knew.
A couple of minutes later, Mikey stepped out.
"Hey Raph. Where you been?"
"Nowhere." Mikey shouldn't have to know what he had found in Leo's room. Mikey was putting on an amazing front of optimism, but Raph could tell this was hurting his baby brother. Mikey had always been the most in sync with the other brothers emotions. He was almost an empath. Seeing his oldest brother in this light, it was hurting the little guy.
"Leo's sleeping, if that's why you're waiting. Woke up for a few minutes, talked a little. Raph, he - he was scared of me touching him."
Raph grimaced. That - that - that (insert cuss word here)! What had he done to Leo, to make him so afraid of a touch?
"We'll - we'll fix that, Mikey. We'll get out of here and help Leo be okay again."
"Right." Mikey tried to grin, but failed.
Raph threw an arm over Mikey's shoulders. "C'mon. You want to watch some TV? You can pick."
Mikey smiled softly, aware of what his brother was doing. "Thanks Raph."
APRIL
If one were to look at April O'Neil during her 4th period class, one would guess that she was nervous. And one would be correct. Ever since she had left the Lair last night, her mind had been completely occupied with thoughts of Leo. She had had multiple nightmares during the night, all of them featuring Leo getting beaten, and her research hadn't helped any.
She had gotten to school early that morning and logged on to a computer station into the corner, far from most prying eyes. She had Googled abuse victims, and watched the information flood in.
For an hour, April forced back tears as she read psychological profiles, biographies, news stories, and looked at pictures, quotes, and videos. All of it broke her heart, and the fact that Leo was going through it made her want to bawl.
And now, all that information and the memories of Leo's emotions and experiences swirled in April's head, making any attempt at actually paying attention to her teacher futile. That poor, poor soul. Living with this for - for who knows how long. Tears threatened to form in her eyes as her imagination (curse her younger self for not ruining it with TV) played scenario after scenario, each one growing more violent and intense with torture.
Finally, mercifully, the bell rang. April grabbed her already packed bag and was out the door like a shot.
She rushed down the hall, determined to outrun her emotions. She couldn't break down; she couldn't. The guys needed her. They needed her to think of a place they could go.
An arm suddenly shot out and grabbed her, yanking her in front of a row of lockers. April spun, and came face to face with her best friend, Irma.
"Whoa, April. Where's the fire?" Irma said half-jokingly, pushing her glasses up her nose.
April looked away. "Just - just trying not to be late, Irma." April said in a faux cheerful voice.
Irma frowned. "You're horrible at lying, April. What's bugging ya?"
April frowned as well, and, in a split second decision, grabbed Irma's wrist and pulled her friend down the hall.
"Whoa! Where are we going?" April didn't answer. She walked as fast as she could, pulling Irma behind her, until they reached a janitor closet on the second floor. Out of the way, the janitor almost never came there, and Irma and April had all their private conversations there. April pushed Irma inside, slammed the door behind them, and flipped on the lights.
"Irma. I need to tell you something. But you need to swear you will never say a word of this to anyone, ever."
"I won't."
"You need to promise, Irma." April repeated stubbornly.
"I promise April. What's wrong?"
April bit her lip, took a deep breath, and summoned her courage. "A friend of a friend of mine, I think - I'm pretty sure that - that he's being abused."
Irma's eyes widened in shock behind her glasses. Her eyes then quickly narrowed in disgust. "Abuse? Who?"
"You don't know him, he's - he's homeschooled. I - I found out yesterday. He - I don't think he knows I know."
"April, you have to call the police on the dirtbag who's doing it. How old is the guy? Who's - you know?"
"He - his name is Leo. He's 15." April bowed her head, rubbing her eyes.
"Call the police! You can't let Leo go through this a second longer."
"Irma, it's complicated. I - I can't call the police. Leo, he - he's not - not supposed to be here. If I call the police, he'll - he'll get hurt too."
"What - ?"
"Irma, I can't! The police can't be involved! I just - I don't know. I need to get Leo out of here. Out of his home. But - but I have no clue where. And - and he's not alone. He has brothers. They - they aren't being hurt, I don't think. They didn't even know until, like, yesterday." April blubbered, tears silently falling from her cloudy blue eyes.
"April." Irma gave her friend a one-armed hug.
"I don't know where to take him and his brothers. I can't think of any place that's safe and big enough in the city."
"April, I'm not gonna pretend I know what's going on, but you do what you need to do. Even if that means looking outside the city. C'mon April. Isn't there anywhere where you've felt absolutely safe?"
April thought. Safe. It had been a long time since she had felt safe and totally secure. She cast her mind out for a safe memory, and was surprised at what she found. She remembered being a little girl, and bouncing around a small kitchen, trailing after an adult. The memory made her smile through her tears.
That's when it hit her, and she gasped, amazed she hadn't thought of it before.
"What?"
"Irma, I know what to do. Thank you!" April wrapped her arms around Irma, giving her a huge hug and almost knocking her over.
"Uh, you're welcome. Not sure what I did, but you're welcome."
April grinned, feeling a spark of hope at her inkling of a plan. "Your parents are away for the next week, right? And they left their truck?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Can I borrow it?"
The minute school was out, April bolted out the door and ran straight to the Lair, not stopping until she reached the main entrance. She rested on the turnstiles, catching her breath, then went inside. Raph and Mikey were sitting in the pit, pretending to watch TV, from the glazed looks in their eyes.
"Hey guys!" She said, not exactly happy, but definitely excited.
"What's got you so happy?" Raph grumbled, Mikey nodding his agreement.
"Because I found a place." She whispered, not knowing if Splinter could hear them. Mikey's and Raph's eyes grew to the size of pizza pans. In synchronization, they hopped up and pulled April down a hallway and into a bedroom. Judging from the drum set and heavy metal posters, April guessed it was Raph's.
"Where?" Raph wasted no time in asking.
April gave a determined grin. "To Grandmother's house we go."
All right, people. You know what I want. Please, please, please, please, please review! I really want reviews!
Also, can you guess where April's taking the guys? Any TMNT 03 fan should be able to get this! Leave your guesses and reviews in the super fun box below.
Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon, but my teachers are starting to pour on the homework, so if there are delays, sorry. On the plus side, I joined a creative writing club at my school, so I should have a bit more time to write.
Thanks for reading!
-Katana