Chapter 8

Leo P.O.V

The words washed over the eldest turtle's head like a tidal wave, "Tortured you" "Filmed every second" "Mikey's been hiding it."

If it wasn't for his brothers' grave expressions, Leo would have thought he was hearing things. Sure- during the Void he had sensed the presence of dangerous forces around him, yet the sensation had been so brief and exploded with such ferocity, Leo had believed it to be an after effect from the Shredder's blades.

Blinking, Leo leant onto his crutch even more and moved to grab the phone, however Mikey snatched it away- quick as lightning- and held the device close to his chest with a simple,

"No." The youngest's eyes were brimming with tears, causing the eldest to wonder how bad the film really was.

"Please, Mikey." Leo met his brother's watery gaze and bent down slightly to be level with him, "Pass over the phone, I need to see that."

"Why? We've told you what it is." Raph unhelpfully grunted, folding his arms and moving to Mikey's other side, almost as if he were guarding the T-phone with his own body. Leo felt his gaze harden.

"So I can't see it even though you three have?"

"There's nothing you'd want to see." Donnie jumped in. That settled it for Leo- the clip had to of been bad for his brothers to jump in to protect him.

"Raph, Donnie," Leo muttered, not trusting himself to say too much in fear of his anger boiling over, "Just give me the phone." He held out a hand to accept the device, yet his directly younger brother batted it away.

"No." The red banded turtle's eyes hardened as he shook his head. That did it for Leo.

"Tell me something, Raph," Leo snapped, making his brothers' blink in shock, "Show me you have at least the slightest trace of empathy in that cold heart of yours and tell me that if you were in my place- just waking up to discover three entire months of your life are missing- that you would not want to know why your body is in constant agony, why you can barely walk or why-" The eldest cut himself off. He had said too much, knocking down the high walls he had built in a single swipe. Leo turned heel- not waiting for a reply- and limped from the barn. He felt his brothers' gazes upon his back, yet he did not turn. Instead, he hobbled into the farm house, past the living room where the two humans were and into the kitchen.

With a silent cry of fury, Leo slammed his fist onto the solid wooden table, making the glasses on top vibrate before suddenly realising his actions resembled Raph's rather than his own. The eldest turtle took a breath and struggled to manoeuvre himself into a meditative position on the floor- eventually settling for the crossed legged form due to the stabbing pain of his knee limiting the positions he could sit in. There, that was much more in character.

Unsurprisingly, within minutes, there was the sounds of footsteps and Leo listened to the muted conversation his brothers were having with April and Casey, only picking up tiny snippets: "…Seen Leo?" "…Kitchen?" "…Happened?" "…Explain later… clip…" But after failing to hear the entire conversation, Leo let everything slip away, emptying his mind like he used to do daily three months ago. Slowly but surely, Leo began to feel the pulse of tangible matter within his own mind- a sense of security and inner strength which could lead to peace if there wasn't a rough underlying presence of dread regarding the T-phone and-

Footsteps again. April and Casey had joined the other turtles and now there were moving as one towards where Leo sat, attempting to get back to the short moment of security he had just experienced. But since he couldn't fight back to the sensation, nor could he be bothered to face his entire family again, he remained in his meditative position, pretending to be deep in a trace despite the burning sensation of eyes boring into his form.

He waited, holding onto the calm exterior to hide his friends from the tension within- even though April was probably able to pick up on these emotions due to her physic powers- but after what seemed like forever of silence, Mikey's footsteps moved close, paused and a soft tap before the youngest turtle retreated once more and everyone else backed away. Leo waited a few more seconds before opening his eyes- his mediation plan ruined- but to his surprise, his youngest brother had put down the satisfying- if that was indeed the correct term to use- sight of his T-phone. The eldest felt a small smile creep up onto his lips as he realised his brothers now understood why he too must see the clip.

Picking up the phone, Leo opened the video folder, scrolling past the other clips of his brothers and sensei, most of which with large grins on their faces- except the one where Raph appeared frozen in terror at the cockroach Mikey had placed on his birthday cake. That was a good day. Then he reached the final video and the peace he had found earlier had completely vanished. The small image attached showed the menacing face of Razzar- his beady eyes glowing with evil intent. That had to be the one.

With a deep breath, Leo adjusted the volume of the phone so that no one else outside the room would be able to hear it, then composing himself, he hit play.

In all honesty, he was surprise his hands stayed steady for as long as they did, yet after the first few minutes, he was forced to put the phone down.

"Hello turtles," Razzar began, "We are sure you turtles will escape before we are finished with you so allow us to send you all a message." Tiger claw stepped into the frame, the limp form of Leo over one shoulder and a syringe in the other hand. The big cat injected the entire contents of the syringe into the turtle's exposed neck and instantly Leo appeared to tense, yet he did not- or could not move.

"Leonardo, the mightiest of the warriors and an honourable being has finally been defeated at Master Shredder's blades." Tiger claw held Leo up by the arms so his blood stained front was visible for all to see. Leo winced at this as his hands began to shake but he did not stop the video, "And now he shall suffer for his actions against us." In the background Fishface and Razzar were pushing forth a large metal cauldron which was steaming in the winter air, and that was when the true horror began.

"I personally, enjoy a bowl of turtle soup." The fish mutant grinned as Tiger claw handed the turtle to Razzar, who proceeded to drop Leo into the cauldron and a moan of pain could be heard, but due to the injection- Leo didn't seem to be able to move. After a long minute, he was pulled out of the water to reveal his dark green- almost red- skin. Razzar chuckled then threw the turtle into the snow, so burn marks wouldn't be as obvious, then repeated the process once, twice- three more times, until Leo's energies appeared to be sapped and he could no longer make any sound through pain. Then Xever went one step further and began to describe the best way to soften up turtle meat, punching and kicking the leader of the turtles until his already burnt flesh was bruised and torn. For a blissful moment, it seemed to be over, but then Razzar took the fish's place but using claws instead so when he was through, Leo was bleeding heavily, his blood forming a pool of crimson beneath him.

Finally it was Tigerclaw's turn.

"A mighty warrior will always attempt to take a stand upon waking, yet Leonardo will stand no more." And with that, he pulled out a heavy looking sledgehammer and brought it down hard upon Leo's kneecap- the sickening crunch of bone and a moan of unconscious agony escaped his mouth-

Leo paused the clip and took a deep breath to calm himself. He looked at the ceiling and counted the cracks- of which there were twelve- and once his insides had stopped rolling, he watched the final moments with dread.

Tigerclaw dropped the sledgehammer with a solid 'thunk' onto Leo's shell, causing a slight dent to appear before he grabbed the turtle by the neck, lifted him off the ground, and began to squeeze. Leo's face went a dark green, then an aquamarine but as his skin reached borderline purple, Tigerclaw let go, allowing Leo to crumple to the floor where the cat gave one final- and slightly unnecessary- kick to Leo's already shattered knee.

Razzar took up position in front of the T-phone and snarled into the screen a final message.

"The leader of the turtles has been defeated. Be warned." The screen cut to black.

Leo just sat there for a long moment. He could just about deal with his injuries, yet it was the mocking words of his opponents which had really gotten under his skin. "Will never stand again" "He has been defeated" "Be warned." Not only had the words been humiliating, they were addressed to his brothers- the ones who were supposed to look up to him for guidance. But now- because of that stupid video- they most probably looked at him with disgust, it- or even worse- disappointment.

He had failed them. He had a chance to defeat Shredder once and for all- to save Splinter, yet he had blew it. He was cut down and forced his family to retreat from their home, from their mission and their life. He had let everyone down.

Leo screwed up his eyes tight- to hide the anger he felt boiling inside- but after a few meditative breaths, he felt his emotions retreating slightly, and he struggled back to his feet, testing his weight upon the limb which had been shattered.

Yes, Tigerclaw had done a good job with the sledgehammer, but there was one small victory for Leo to consider. Despite the catman's words and harsh remarks, he was walking. He was alive and as long as there was breath in his body, he would continue to be a fighter and do his best to protect his family.

There you have it folks. How Leo got his injuries in my world!

If you wish to do everything I just did to Leo but to me- I would completely understand! :)

SO, what do you all think?!

How will Leo act around his brothers next?

What will April and Casey think?

How is everyone dealing with Mikey hiding the video?

Thanks as always to all who have taken the time to review! You guys are the best! Also, I'm sorry for the long waits but it is exam season so I can't do as much writing as I would like! :(

See you guys soon and thanks again to everyone who continues to support my writing!

LL99 out!