Raphael winced and hissed in discomfort as Donatello removed the stitches from his side. He had been out of commission for the last week and a half, and he was itching to get back in the game. It burned him to know that he had been taken out so easily. What set him off even more was that he continued to have nightmares about his blue masked brother. Visions of being under Leonardo's leadership.

"All done," Donatello announced, breaking Raphael out of his thoughts. "Take it easy for a little while, you're still healing."

"I'm fine, Donnie," Raphael told him, getting up from the chair.

He looked at his side. Just another scar to add to the collection. Without saying another word to his brother, Raphael headed out of the lab. He carefully stretched his arms above his head, wincing as the wound pulled. He put a hand to his side, cursing himself for being so weak. Hearing sounds coming from the dojo, Raphael headed towards the training room. He found Leonardo inside, practicing as always.

Raphael felt his heart skip a couple of beats. Had his little brother always been that agile? In any case, Leonardo seemed to have improved in his katas. Raphael went over to a weapons rack and pulled out his sais. Leonardo turned just in time to see Raphael come charging at him. Letting out a startled cry, the youngest raised his swords to block the sais that were aimed at his head.

The dojo rang with the clash of metal against metal. Raphael pushed down on his weapons with all of his might. Leonardo grimaced, arms shaking against the strain. He looked up at his brother, seeing murder blazing in the amber orbs.

"Come on," Raphael growled. "Fight back!"

He swung his weapons to the side, unlocking the blades and kicked Leonardo in the chest. The blue masked turtle stumbled back with a grunt. He ducked to the side as a sai came flying at his head. The blade hit the wall with a ping and fell to the floor. Leonardo grunted when Raphael slammed into him, sending both of them to the floor. He raised his arms in defense as Raphael began pounding away at him.

"Raph, stop it!" Leonardo pleaded.

"You'll never get the better of me!" Raphael yelled. "Understand? Never!"

Donatello and Michelangelo ran into the dojo. "Raph! What are you doing?!" Donatello cried. "You're going to hurt yourself!"

"Stop it!" Leonardo shouted as Raphael continued to slam his fists into his arms. "I said stop!"

Just as Raphael pulled back for another punch, Leonardo swung a fist. The lair exploded with a blood curdling scream of pain. Leonardo's eyes shot open, taking in the sight of Raphael collapsing to the floor, hands going to his left side. Leonardo scrambled backwards as Donatello and Michelangelo ran to their fallen brother's side.

"What happened?" Splinter's voice sounded from the doorway.

"I...I didn't mean to," Leonardo stammered. "He wouldn't get off me. I just wanted to make him stop."

Donatello glared at him, eyes dangerous. "So, you struck him in the side?" he asked incredulously. "What were you thinking? You could have torn the wound open again."

"I'm sorry," Leonardo apologized, his voice quivering.

Raphael managed to push himself to his knees. "Get out," he snarled.

"Raph?" Michelangelo asked.

Raphael locked gazes with Leonardo. "Get out before I kill you," he growled.

Leonardo shot to his feet and ran for the door. Splinter stepped to the side as his son ran past. Leonardo could hear his brother's voices, but he never stopped running. He left the lair behind and entered the dark, twisting labyrinth of the sewers.

"Get out before I kill you," Raphael's voice echoed through his memories.

Leonardo latched on to a ladder and launched himself upward. He knew it was dangerous to go topside, but he wanted to get as far away from Raphael as he could. When he was topside, Leonardo hit the rooftops, running as fast as he could. His eyes burned with tears, his jaw clenched in grief. He had never meant to hurt his brother, he just wanted him to stop.

"Get away!" sounded a sudden female voice.

Leonardo slid to a stop, looking around. He hurried to the edge of the roof and looked down. Black clad figures surrounded a young couple. Though he had never seen one, Leonardo knew the figures to be Foot ninjas. But, what were they doing picking on helpless civilians? The ninjas advanced on the couple, drawing weapons.

What do I do? Leonardo asked himself. I can't fight. I can barely hold my own against my brothers.

The woman screamed in fear as the ninjas charged. On instinct, Leonardo launched himself over the edge, vaulting down the fire escape. He swung from the last landing and slammed his foot into the head of a nearby ninja. The man fell to the ground. Leonardo dropped down in front of the couple, drawing his swords.

"Whoa," he heard the man mutter.

Spinning his swords, Leonardo charged at the ninjas. The alley rang with the sound of metal on metal. Leonardo fought with every ounce of strength he had, however, the ninjas were almost as relentless as Raphael. They quickly overpowered him. Leonardo grunted as a tonfa was brought down on the back of his skull. Katanas fell from limp fingers as he collapsed to the ground.

"Blue?" one of the ninjas asked in disbelief.

"That can't be. He's supposed to be dead," another said.

"If he's here, then the others won't be too far behind him," a third put in.

The first ninja ran off. His comrades stared after him.

"Where are you going?" the second ninja called.

"I don't know about you, but I'm in no mood to take a bath in the Hudson," the first ninja replied.

With their comrade's parting words, the ninjas dispersed, leaving behind the couple and the half conscious turtle. The man walked over to the turtle and knelt down beside him.

"How is he, Casey?" the woman asked, her voice distant and muddled.

"Head wound looks bad," the man answered. "He needs medical attention."

"Well, we can't very well bring him to a hospital," the woman pointed out.

Leonardo felt himself being lifted up, his arm swung over the man's shoulders.

"Then, we'll bring him back with us," the man said.

Leonardo could feel himself begin to slip from the world of consciousness. He heard the woman pick up his swords before he finally lost the fight and darkness overtook him.

"Ti! Leo! Look what Master Splinter gave me," a voice echoed through the realm of shadows.

"Coolness, Andy. You're a full fledged ninja, now," another voice answered.

Brown eyes flickered open, vision focusing on a small bedroom. Leonardo groaned in pain, putting a hand to his head. A thick bandage was wrapped around his head. How did he get here? And, where was "here", anyway? He heard voices and footsteps outside the door. A second later, the door opened and the man from the alley walked in.

"Hey. Glad to see you awake," he said, walking over to the bed.

"Where...?"

"Relax, dude. You're safe," the man assured him. "The name's Jones. Casey Jones. You helped me and my girlfriend back in the alley earlier."

"Right," Leonardo sighed. "Thank you."

Casey smiled. "Dude, I'm the one who needs to be thanking you," he said. "The way you stood up to those Foot ninja creeps..." He shook his head. "No one else would lift a finger to help. You've got guts, man."

Leonardo's eyes moved to the door again, seeing the woman standing in the doorway. Her fiery red hair was pulled up in a bun, her emerald green eyes filled with worry, and, at the same time, relief.

"The hero is awake," she said with a warm smile, making her way over to the bed.

"This is April O'Neil," Casey introduced. "And, who do we have to thank for our rescue?"

Leonardo swallowed thickly. "I'm Leonardo," he replied.

"Like Da Vinci?" April asked.

Leonardo frowned in confusion. "Who?" he asked.

"Leonardo Da Vinci? The painter?" April said.

"I guess," Leonardo answered. "I don't really know where my name came from."

"You been livin' under a rock?" Casey asked.

"The sewers, actually," Leonardo told him.

April and Casey stared at him. Leonardo looked between them, wondering if he had said something wrong.

"What?" he asked worryingly.

"You're...joking...right?" Casey asked.

Leonardo shook his head. "No. I really do live in the sewers," he replied.

"Huh," Casey muttered.

"What?" Leonardo asked again.

"I always thought we only had alligators livin' in the sewers. Not giant, talkin' turtles," Casey said.

April smiled and shook her head. "In any case, we're grateful that you came to our aid, Leonardo."

"Please, call me Leo," Leonardo told her.

"Leo, it is," April agreed. She put a hand on his arm. "Rest, now. You took quite the beating."

Leonardo watched on as the humans made their way back to the door. "April?"

April stopped and turned. "Yes?"

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Leonardo asked. "You don't even know me."

April smiled. "You helped us, and now it's our turn to help you," she said. "We're not the kind of people to leave someone bleeding in the streets."

Leonardo felt his heart stir at her words. His brothers certainly weren't in that same mindset. April's voice made him look up again.

"Rest, Leo," she said gently. "Regain your strength. And, maybe then you can regale to us the fascinating tale of how you came to be."

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