Ch 30. A Cry for Help.

While Leo was attempting to make it through school, back at his home, Saki watched as Stockman and Falco discussed the information given to them by Saki. "It's still too soon to determine whether the enhancing drug is working the way it should or at some point could start to break down." Falco was saying. "We need to give it more time."

"We need to get more blood and check to see what could be happening to his DNA," Stockman insisted. "We need to verify the drug is not having an adverse reaction to where it could possibly be causing his DNA to break down."

"Why not just give more him more of the formula?" Saki asked. "It clearly is working," He gave a slight smirk, "The way he just stormed in here and actually protected himself against me," He laughed at the memory, "If I wasn't trying to use him for profit I might actually be proud of him."

"Master Saki," Falco came forward, "The outlook is promising but we need to give it time," Saki's gaze darkened as Falco leaned on his desk, "One reason so many of my subjects died when I first started using mutants for research is because I wouldn't let things take time." He pushed himself off the desk and clenched his fist in frustration. "Of course things might have been different if experimenting on mutants had been allowed in the first place."

Saki scowled at the two men, after a moment he stood up and looked from one to the other, "How long do you want to wait before continuing with giving him the injections?"

"When he gets home, we'll take some more blood and see what that information tells us," Stockman suggested.

Falco nodded in agreement, "But whatever the test show, we should definitely give it at least a few weeks to see where things go," He added.

Saki nodded; "Very well," He went back to his seat. "Leonardo should be home around five," He told them and sneered, "After his….basketball….practice." He spat and frowned angrily.

The two scientist nodded and started to leave, but Stockman stopped and turned back to Saki, "Um…I thought I should let you know Master Shredder," He began nervously as Saki looked up at him with a annoyed look, "That…Uhhh…Dr. Rockwell was going through your office this morning when I came in."

Saki's smiled and leaned back in his chair, "Was he now," He muttered, "And do you know why he was going through my office?"

"Um, no sir," He replied.

Saki nodded. "He has been watching me since returning to work on Wednesday," He mused, "He must be getting suspicious but…. why?" He rubbed his chin and looked to Stockman. "Keep your eyes and ears open," He ordered then gestured to the door, "If you hear anything…anything at all, you let me know." He waved his hand toward the door, "Leave me now, I'm busy." Stockman nodded and left the room quickly.

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Slash walked into the boy's locker room looking angry. "What is up with you Leonardo?" He demanded as the he and the other players walked in. "You wouldn't let any other team member take the ball and you kept pushing people out of the way, pretty aggressively I might add, just to get to the basket."

"Well maybe if other players would do what they're supposed to do then maybe I wouldn't have to carry everyone!" Leo yelled as he angrily made his way toward the shower.

"That's enough!" Leatherhead called out before the argument could go further. "Leonardo, in my office." He looked at the others, "The rest of you hit the showers." He growled as he made his way to his office.

Leo huffed in annoyance and followed the large alligator while the rest of his team mates went to shower. After Leo left, Spike walked over to Slash, "Have you had a chance to speak with Raph about what's going on with Leo?" he asked. "I know Leo said at lunch he wanted to speak with Raph about whatever was going on but do you know if they did?"

Slash shook his head, "I wish Leonardo would speak with us," he said sadly, "I know he is going through a lot, especially after what happened to him but the way he is acting to everyone around him," Slash shrugged, "It's like he's becoming someone else."

Spike nodded as he looked over to where the office was. "I just hope he snaps out of it," He commented as the two brothers walked into the showers. "We need him, the game tomorrow is a big one and we have the championship game in two weeks."

Meanwhile, in the office, Leatherhead watched as Leo walked in and sat down. The large gator stared hard at the young turtle. He had watched in concern when Leo had run into the gym, breathing hard and sweating profusely; and now, long after practice was over the turtle was still breathing hard and sweating worse than before. After a few seconds, he leaned back and grabbed a towel which he handed to Leo. Leo accepted the towel gratefully and while he continued to wipe the sweat off his body and face, Leather head stood and walked around him. "Would you like to talk about what is happening to you, Leonardo?"

Leo shook his head, "Sorry coach, there's just too much going on right now," Leo told him as he continued to breathe hard, "Too much to go into anyway."

"Leonardo," The coach leaned against his desk, "Since you have walked into the gym, you have been looking anxious, tired, have been very aggressive toward your fellow players and have been sweating an awful lot," He leaned closer to Leo. "Are you ill, should we call your father?"

Leo looked up at the alligator with wide fearful eyes at the thought of his father being called and as much as Leo would like to confide in his coach, he felt it best right now if he wait and speak with his father about it first and at their house, not at the school. Leo finally shook his head, "I'm okay coach," He told him, "I've just got a lot on my mind."

"Very well Leonardo," Leatherhead went back to his chair, "Remember, we have our last game of the season tomorrow and, since we have won most of our games, we will be in the championship in two weeks." He gave Leo a stern glare, "Please do what you can to sort things out by then."

Leo nodded as he got up to leave. He walked out of the office, still wiping his forehead, and forced himself to steady his breathing while trying hard to calm himself down. But it was clear by the way the others were watching him, he was not doing a good job. He walked into the showers where he saw Slash and Spike waiting for him. "What's up guys?" He asked them tiredly.

"We are just worried about you Leo," Spike told him as they watched Leo undress and step into the showers. "And we just wish you would talk to us."

"Look guys," He started as he began to run the water, "I've already spoken with Raph and I know I just need to get past some things," He turned and gave them a smile. "I promise you though I will be a better player tomorrow." He stepped into the water and started soaping himself up, "I'll even apologize to the others if you want."

Spike and Slash nodded at him. "Just get a good night sleep Leonardo," Slash told him, "the team needs everyone." He put his hand on his shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze.

Leo smiled up at the larger turtle. He nodded and they bid each other a goodnight. He then turned toward the shower and turned the water all the way to the cold. 'Why am I so hot,' He thought to himself as he let the cold water run over him. 'I can't catch my breath and I feel like I need to run around the track a dozen times,' He shook his head, 'I've got to speak with my dad and find out what those idiots did to me.' He finished his shower and got ready to go home, as he did, he picked up his still dead cell phone, 'I've also got to call Raph and apologize.' He thought sadly as he stepped into the hallway and toward the front doors to go outside.

Leo took a breath and reveled in the coldness of the air, 'I think I'll walk home, maybe that will help get rid of this excess energy I seem to have, and cool me down.' He started walking down the street at a fast pace, adjusting his backpack as he went and before too long, he had started to jog. He was a few feet away from school grounds when headlights turned on behind him and a car pulled up alongside the curb. Leo stopped and watched as Xever jumped out of the car.

"Get in Tartaruga," He demanded.

"No," Leo told him defiantly as he continued to walk. "I prefer to walk so go back to my dad like a good little…."

Xever jumped out of the car and grabbed Leo by the collar. Before the turtle could defend himself, Xever pushed Leo up against the hood of the car and pulled out his butterfly knife. He leaned in close and brought it up to Leo's chin, "Unlike Bradford," Xever leered down at Leo as he pressed the knife against Leo's skin, "I have nothing to lose," With uncaring eyes, he stepped slightly away from Leo, "Now get in and do as you are told, otherwise I'll finish what Jeffrey started."

Leo gritted his teeth and opened the door to the back seat; he slid in and watched Xever get behind the steering wheel and maneuvered the car away from the curb and toward home. Xever looked behind him and grinned, "Being quiet like the good little turtle you are supposed to be," He laughed, "That's the way it should be boy, and better be from now on."

Leo kept his mouth shut but throughout the drive he could feel his heart pound in his head, the sweat pour down his face and the anger rising throughout his body. Several minutes later, Xever pulled into the driveway and parked the car next to another car Leo recognized as Stockman's. He watched Xever give him a mocking grin and get out of the car. As Xever turned to shut the door, Leo quickly jumped out of the back seat and whirl around, he backed kicked Xever in the back and forced him up against the car before the door could be shut and quickly grabbed the back of Xever's collar pulling him backward while pinning him in between the door and the car.

"I answer to no one," Leo whispered harshly in his ear as Xever struggled to pull the collar away from his throat while Leo pushed the car door harder against him, "If you ever pull a knife on me again, I'll use it to cut your heart out and shove it down your throat," He hissed as he pulled harder on Xever's collar. He made a fist with his right hand and smashed it into Xever's back against his kidney causing Xever to gasp in pain.

Satisfied Xever got the message, Leo released the door and stepped back, pulling Xever with him and shoving him to the ground, he then held up the knife and tossed it down by his leg. Xever stared at him with daggers in his eyes. "This is not over boy." He whispered.

Leo stared coldly back at him, "No, it's not." He said and turned to walk into the house.

Leo walked in and was met by his father who immediately demanded he come into the study, Leo sighed in annoyance and shook his head, "Is this going to take long?" he demanded hotly, "I have homework to do."

"It will go quicker if you cooperate." He told him. "I spoke with Falco and Stockman regarding what happened with you this morning and they want to draw some blood to verify the drug they gave you is doing it's job and not causing you more harm." Leo watched as Saki grinned down at him and he felt a spine-tingling feeling run along his body.

With a growing feeling of dread coming over him, he nodded at his father and cautiously walked in. "Let's get this over with." He said as he sat down and held his arm out. While Stockman took his blood, Leo's eyes wondered over to Falco. He couldn't stop hearing the words Raph had spoken to him earlier that day.

'Falco's not a scientist he's a murderer.'

Now Leo looked from Falco to his father then back to Falco while hearing the same words replay over and over in his mind.

Falco noticed Leo staring at him, he smiled and walked over to him, picking up his other hand; he felt his pulse. "You are sweating an awful let Leonardo," He muttered as Leo blinked the memory away, "As well as breathing hard, is there anything else that's been happening to you since you woke up?"

"Um," Leo looked at Falco with uncertainty, "I seem to be extremely hungry and seem to have a lot of pent up energy," Leo muttered, forcing his eyes to look away.

Falco nodded, "Your pulse is rapid and you do seem to have a fever." He looked over at Saki then looked back Leo. "Get some rest; we'll get in touch with your father as soon as we have the results of your blood test."

Leo nodded and as soon as they were done, he quickly left the study and went straight to the kitchen in hopes of finding something to eat. Xever was in the living room and the two stared at each other as Leo walked by. But he ignored the feeling of wanting to kill the man and hurried over to the kitchen where he started going through the fridge and other cabinets and pulled out a variety of foods that he quickly devoured. A half hour later, Leo finished downing his third glass of milk, he looked at the mess he had left on the counter and quickly cleaned up, all the while shaking his head in disbelief over the fact that he still felt hungry.

"I have got to get my mind off all this," He muttered to himself as he cleaned up. "Maybe if I get my homework done," He quickly left the kitchen, "That could help." He ran up the stairs to his bedroom and put his backpack on the bed. After he found his cellphone, he promptly put it on the charger then pulled out his homework. He attempted to concentrate but the heat that surrounded him was starting to get to him so he put his books away and walked into his bathroom. He turned on the water, stripped himself of his clothes and jumped into the tub. The water was freezing cold as it rained down on him but he barely felt it. No matter what he did, he just couldn't seem to cool down.

He sat under the shower for almost thirty minutes before finally feeling somewhat like his old self. He got out, and after drying himself off, went to his bed and lay down. He looked at the cell on his nightstand, not fully charged but enough that he could at least call Raph and apologize.

Raph sat at his desk doing his own homework when his cell rang; he looked down at the caller ID and hesitated, just for a moment, before answering it. He took a breath, "Yeah?"

There was a long pause on the other end but Raph could hear Leo's hushed sobs. "I'm sorry," Leo choked out after several long seconds. "I know you're trying to help me…and I know you do care." Raph listened patiently as Leo continued to cry silently into the phone, "I don't know what to do," He told him, "I want to trust my dad but I just don't know anymore." He took a shuddering breath. "I got into a fight with one of my dad's associates and I thought I was going to kill him." Raph heard Leo choke back a sob, "I wanted to kill him," He said with obvious anger.

Raph narrowed his eyes at that statement. "Leo," He whispered, "Don't go home tomorrow," He implored. "I still have your things here so please, come home with me." He listened intently as Leo took a deep breath to try and calm himself down.

"I don't know Raph," Leo began, "I just…"

"Leo," Raph quickly interrupted him, "You come home with me and we'll speak to Dr. Rockwell and have him check your blood and the shots you've been given." When Leo didn't speak Raph continued. "Please Leo, I'm scared for you, we don't know what your dad and those scientists are doing to you and for all we know," He wiped his face as his own tears began to flow, "They could doing some kind of an experiment on you that may end up killing you."

Leo was quiet for several moments as he thought about Raph's proposal and all that he had learned that day. Raph waited with bated breath, listening to Leo's breathing on the other end coming in gulps as Leo debated about what to do.

"Will you be at my game tomorrow?" He finally asked.

Raph smiled, "Of course," He whispered. "Along with everyone else," Another several seconds went by before Raph finally heard Leo take another deep breath. "Okay." Leo whispered. "I'll see you at school tomorrow and…." Raph heard Leo take a deep breath steadying breath, "I'll go home with you."

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Thanks again to my two ongoing reviewers, I love you guys, :) But to all my readers, please keep in mind I have no medical knowledge and all this is strictly made up. I hope everyone is still enjoying the story, please keep those reviews coming and peace :)