Ch 16 Taking a Stand.
As soon as the car drove up to the house, Leonardo jumped out and ran inside. He was filled with an anger and rage he had not felt in several months and he needed to get away from his father. His cheek still throbbed and the dull ache reminded him of the humiliation he felt when he realized Raph had seen his father strike him.
Saki watched Leo heading toward the stairs. "Leonardo!" He yelled before the turtle could get up the stairs.
Leo stopped and clenched his fist. "What?" He demanded with a low and forceful voice.
Saki chuckled lightly. "Don't be like that Leonardo." He said mockingly "After all, we haven't seen each other in almost two month."
"And this is how you greet me?" Leo said walking over to him. "With a slap in the face."
Saki sneered at him and turned away, "We have much to discuss." Saki said as he began to walk toward his study. He looked back and narrowed his eyes when he saw Leonardo was not following him. "Now."
Leo took a deep breath and reluctantly followed his father toward the study. Upon walking inside, Leo saw Baxter Stockman, along with another human in a lab coat, sitting in the two leather dark cherry chairs that faced his father's dark cherry desk. To the side of the desk was Bradford, standing with his arms folded and looking at Leo with contempt.
"I've been told you have been coming home late and not telling Bradford where you go." Saki said as he sat down in the tall chair behind his desk. He stared at Leo with narrowed eyes. "Tell me Leonardo," He said as he folded his hands in front of his face, "What are you doing after school that you arrive home long after school is over?"
Leo looked from one human to the other and started to feel extremely uncomfortable. "I..uh," Leo breathed deeply and stared coldly at his father. "Hang out at the library studying." He finally told him.
Saki stood and walked over to him. Leo looked up at him with a steely glare as Saki stared angrily down at him. "Even on Saturdays?"
Leo swallowed and attempted to not look away. "Any place is better than here," He said with a glance at Bradford.
Saki looked from Leo to Bradford and went back to his chair. He sat down and opened his desk, removing a large manila folder. "From now on Bradford will be picking you up and bringing you home as soon as school is over." He looked up at Leo. "At three o'clock." He narrowed his eyes, "Do I make myself clear."
Leo clenched his fist and squared his shoulders. "No," He said simply causing Saki to look up at him with an actual look of surprise.
Leo watched as his father stood and once again made his way over to him. "Perhaps it bears repeating." He said as he stared angrily down at him.
"No it doesn't." Leo told him as he stood his ground.
Saki grabbed Leo's face and pinched his cheeks hard. Leo grabbed his wrist and attempted to force his hand off. "If it does not need to be repeated then you will do as I say and allow Bradford to pick you up and bring you home." He shoved Leo backward and went back to his desk. He opened the folder and began to pull out papers.
Leo rubbed his cheeks and blinked his eyes rapidly as he stared angrily at his father. "NO!" Leo yelled causing his father to once again look up at him. He pounded the desk hard and stood back up, fuming furiously as he watched his son defy him. "I will stay at school as long as I want and you can't tell me differently!" Leo adamantly told him.
Seeing Leo was not going to back down, Saki took a breath and attempted to calm himself. "I have a library you…."
"I have an after school job!" Leo blurted out. He stepped back slightly as his father's eyes went red with rage.
"I did not give you permission….!"
"I'm eighteen father!" Leo yelled. "In case you forgot I don't need your permission." Leo started to turn away. "And as far as I'm concern as soon as I'm done with school I'm leaving this place, and you, for good!"
"Your test results came back Leonardo!" Saki yelled causing Leo to stop walking away and turned back to face him. "This man is Dr. Victor Falco," He said as he pointed to the other human in the lab coat. "With his added help, we think you can be saved."
Leo looked at the tall man with the slightly greying hair, "What are you talking about?" He questioned. "I feel fine." He stressed.
"For now," Falco said turning to face him. "But an anomaly has been detected in your blood stream." He told him as Leo now stood in front of him. "Your father explained to me what happened to your mother and grandmother," He explained, "After Dr. Stockman discovered the issue he called me in so we could attempt to find a possible cure." He now stood up and looked Leo up and down. "If one is not found soon, there is a possibility that you will die."
Leo shook his head. "But…" He looked down at the floor in disbelief, "I don't feel any different…."
"Yet," Stockman now explained. "Perhaps not now but sometime down the road, be it tomorrow or a few years from now," He waved his hand around, "You will fall ill and…." He nodded to him. "You could possibly die." He looked at Leo smugly. "Unless of course we find a cure."
Saki came up to Leo and tenderly placed a hand on the turtle's shoulder. Leo looked at the large hand warily as he still felt his cheeks throbbing painfully from both the slap and the hard pinch his father had done. "Leonardo," Saki began in a low and gentle voice, "I only want what's best for you," His hand gently caressed the turtle's shoulder, "And I don't want you to exert yourself any more than you have to so please," He squeezed his shoulder, "Quit this job and let Bradford drive you to and from school for now on."
Leo turned around and looked at his father with narrowed eyes. The four men watched as Leo slowly began to back away from them. He looked to Stockman, "You have my latest blood test?" He asked. Stockman nodded. "So you don't need any more of my blood for now?"
Stockman shrugged thoughtfully. "For now."
Leo walked to the door, his eyes looking at Saki with mistrust. "Then until you need more," He said as he reached the door, "I will continue to take the bus as well as do the job I was hired for." He watched Saki's face began to turn red with anger. "You were never that concerned before father," He said, "I highly doubt your anymore concern now so this act of yours is not going to change my mind." He began to leave, "I have homework to get to." He announced, "I'll see you in the morning."
As soon as the door shut, Saki turned angrily toward the others. "I want to know what progress you've made on getting that vaccine Stockman!" He demanded as he stood over the dark man.
Stockman shrunk slightly as Saki towered over him. "I figured out the formula but for some reason it breaks down after a period of time." He explained. "Even if we were to inject the vaccine into a healthy specimen, it might make the specimen feel as strong and resilient as Hercules but it doesn't last." Stockman rubbed his chin in consternation. "If only there was a way to make his blood more sustainable to keep it from breaking down."
"Perhaps if we added more of this mutagen to his blood stream?" Falco mused, "Maybe that would get the results you want."
Stockman nodded. "It's worth a try." He said looking over to Saki.
Saki nodded then turned to Bradford. "Notify Hun," He told him. "I will be returning to Japan once again."
"How soon do you wish to leave?" Bradford asked.
Saki looked toward the door to the study. "Not for a while," He replied, "I think I need some bonding time with my son."
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Leo walked into his room and shut his door. He made his way to his desk and sat down. He looked down at his feet before sighing in frustration. 'Left my backpack at the school.' He thought dejectedly. "Oh well," He muttered to himself, "Not really in the mood to do my homework anyway." He stood up and started toward his bathroom. 'I need a shower.' He turned on the water to warm it up and started to remove his costume. He took out his wallet and cell phone to place on his desk. As he did, he noticed his cell was blinking. He opened it up and saw six missed calls from Raph. Leo sat on his bed with a heavy sigh. 'How am I gonna face them on Monday?' He wondered as he rubbed his cheek. 'One thing at a time,' He told himself as he began to make his way back to the bathroom, 'How am I supposed to stay here for an entire weekend and deal with him?' He looked back at his bedroom door, and after a moment's thought, walked over to it and locked it.
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Raph looked down at his phone for the sixth time and pressed the disconnect button angrily. "He slapped him!" He yelled out angrily. He was in the parking lot of the high school and surrounded by his brothers and their friends. "I can't believe Leo's father just slapped him…and for what?" He was about to call Leo's phone again when a furry hand was placed on his.
"Raphael," Splinter had watched Leonardo leave the dance and after seeing his sons and their friends walk out of the gym he decided to follow. After waiting a few minutes by the school entrance to see if they would return, he made his way to where they were standing and had heard everything Raph had just said.
"Father," Raph looked up at him in concern. "I have to get a hold of him."
"You have been out here for several minutes trying to call him," He said, "Perhaps you should let Leonardo call you when he is feeling up to it."
"But his father…."
"I know Raphael." Splinter looked at Raph with saddened eyes. "And it is clear Leonardo needs time and you need to give it to him."
"Yeah dude," Mikey said coming over to him and putting his hand on his brother's shoulder. "When Leo's ready, he'll call you," He shrugged, "And if he doesn't call you, maybe he'll call one of us."
Raph nodded and started to walk back into the dance but was held back by Mona. He turned to look at her and shook his head. "Not now Mona," He said, "Please, I'm just really not in the mood."
Mona huffed as Raph started to walk away from her. "If Leonardo's father hasn't killed him then I just might." She muttered angrily.
"Mona," April came over to her, "We need to talk."
"There is nothing to talk about April," She responded as the girls started to walk back to the school. "I love Raphael and we have been through so much together." She said with a sad voice, "I have helped him overcome so many things, got him away from the Purple Dragon gang and get him clean of the drugs." The large Salamandrian looked down at her friends sadly. "I stood by him while he went through rehab, surely that must mean something?"
"Mona," Renet came over to her. "Do you hear yourself?" She asked. "You're comparing your relationship with Raphael to Drug Rehabilitation." She told her. "And while I'm sure he is grateful to you for that, and always will be, surely you can see a relationship will go nowhere based on something like that."
Mona sighed and looked away. "I just don't know if I can let him go yet."
"Mona," The girls looked over to see Raph standing by the door to the gym. "Maybe I can help you." He looked at the others. "Can you give us a moment?"
April and Renet nodded and walked back into the gym. Raph came over to her and looked down sadly. "I do care for you Mona," Raph started, "And I will always be grateful to you for everything you've done to help me," Raph swallowed hard, "But I don't love you," he finally said, "At least not in the way you want me to."
"But do you love him?" Mona questioned.
"I…." Raph looked away and shrugged. "I don't know if I love him but I do feel something for him," Raph confessed, "But that's really not the point Mona," Raph took her hands. "All of this has made me realize that I'm not right for you." They stared intently into each other's eyes. "We're not right for each other."
Mona looked away and nodded tearfully, "I will always care for you Raphael." She told him. She bent down and kissed his cheek gently. "If Leonardo is the one you end up with," She whispered, "I do wish you all the happiness in the world."
They released hands and Mona waked back into the gym. Raph watched her walk away then looked back down at his phone. 'Please call me Leo.' He thought as he clutched his phone hard.