Michelangelo had found himself watching Leonardo and Lea interact most of the afternoon. He felt at a disadvantage as Donny had been home for a few days longer then him and he had gotten to see how the relationship between the two had progressed. Mike for his own part just could not wrap his head around how Leo had gotten a girlfriend before he did, especially one that was as cool as Lea was.
Maybe if she was some serious ninja chick with no personality that never smiled Mike could understand that. If he was honest with himself that was always the kind of girl he assumed Leo would end up with. Lea was none of those things; she was fun and really nice to him and had really cute friends which Michelangelo planned to capitalize on as much as possible.
The thing that really fascinated him was the way Leonardo reacted to her. After Glurin and the rest of the Utroms had split to finish planning their rally, Leonardo had cornered Mike and started to lecture him about both taking Lea out of the lair and getting her to buy him things. Michelangelo felt like he had literally walked in the door but he was ready to leave again. Then Lea had appeared.
Mikey had watched as she touched Leo's arms, and his older brother's attention had wavered. Lea had somehow worked magic and drew Leo away. Lea then turning to look at Michelangelo one last time had winked at him, letting him know in her way it was alright. It wasn't that Mike hated being around Leo, and he didn't mind the odd lecture from his brother every so often. Especially when he knew he deserved it, thought he would never admit it.
Lately since Raphael had left Mike thought Leonardo just didn't have enough to focus on. Leo worked for the Utrom's but didn't really seem to devote himself to the task the way him and Donny had. So Leo had tried to maintain this almost "head of the household" role that Splinter had been. But Leonardo wasn't Sensei, and they were all grown men now and it was hard getting scolded almost daily by your brother who you didn't always think was right.
It hurt Michelangelo to stay away, because he felt like he was abandoning his brothers, but it just hadn't been much fun to be home. Somewhere along the line, he wasn't certain if it was the death of their father, or just getting older they had started to loose some of there cohesion. Looking back maybe it had started with Leo finally really killing Shredder and all of them losing what up until then had been there purpose.
Maybe overall it really didn't matter why they had all drifted apart over the last almost year. It had happened. Yet now Michelangelo felt like something was changing again, and it wasn't even really so much that Leonardo was obviously falling in love with this woman he was with. It was that Leo had a spark within him again, a determination. A self confidence that Mikey could now see had wavered from their youth.
Leonardo and Lea had talked for quiet some time after she had dragged him away. Michelangelo had settled in to read a book that had been published by one of his favorite authors while he had been off world. Leo had come back and much to Mike's shock apologized and asked him about what he was reading. The two of them had, had a genuine conversation with no judgment by either side. Mike had almost forgotten what this was like and he got the impression from the way he reacted Leo felt similar to him.
The early evening was passing quietly. Don was tinkering with any number of projects he always seemed to be involved in. Leonardo was doing katas by himself off to the side and Lea had settled in to watch one of the films she had purchased for him with Mike. Only much to Michelangelo's amusement she seemed far more interested in what Leo was doing then what was happening on the TV.
"Have you ever seen him in battle?" It took Lea a moment to realize Mikey was talking to her; he cleared his throat waiting for her answer.
"Oh, sorry no; I mean Leonardo saved my life the other night but in terms of actually seeing him do any martial arts I haven't why?" She looked at him curiously and Michelangelo just smirked.
"My brother is an idiot." Mikey grinned at Lea standing up and stretching. She blinked at him not knowing what he meant by his words. "You like Statham movies?" Mike pointed to the television and the steady drone of the film neither was currently watching. "Well he has nothing on my brother." Michelangelo crossed to where Leonardo was silently going through positions. "Leo up for a little sparring?"
Leonardo turned surprised; eye ridge raised the wooden bokken in his hand dropping to a relaxed position. "Mikey did you just ask to practice with me? I thought you hated sparring?" Leo's tone was somewhere between shocked and amused.
"I don't hate it Leo, I just don't live and breathe working out the way you do. Anyway I am doing it for you." Michelangelo tried to nonchalantly tilt his head towards the couch and the woman that had currently turned kneeling watching the two men talk across from her.
Leonardo glanced over at Lea and then back at Mike, his brow knitting. Michelangelo worked hard to not laugh as he could see his older brother reasoning out how Mike was doing this for him. "Impress her Leo; you should have seen her browsing through movies with me today. She eats up this bullshit, the fact you have not used this to your advantage yet makes me a little disappointed." Mikey could not stop the grin form crossing his face.
Leonardo frowned, "Michelangelo martial arts are not something to be used in order to impress someone else, it's…" Mike rolled his eyes walking away from his brother and across the training space to get into position. Across the room even Don stopped working glancing up curious what was going on.
"Now remember Leo, you have to go easy on me, I'm not quiet the juggernaut you are." Mike's tone was too flat to be honest and he gave Leo a pointed look, trying to tell his brother to get the stick out of his ass this one time and just appreciate what he was doing for him. Leo glanced back at Lea again and it was finally the excited look on the woman's face that really spelled out for him just what Mike was trying to accomplish.
Mike could see the uncertainty on his older brother's face as he got into position across from him. He could almost read the war going on in Leo's mind. Mikey sighed, wishing like he had just about everyday since he was a child that Leonardo didn't take everything that happened so seriously. Leo bowed and Mike returned the gesture and the match started.
Leonardo had left his bokken to the side before starting, while weapons were impressive, Mikey thought hand to hand was a good place to start for Lea's appreciation. The two Turtles circled one another sizing each other up, it dawned on Michelangelo as they did he couldn't recall the last time he and Leo had actually sparred.
Mike wasn't really in the mood to draw the match out all day, so he threw the first punch. Just a quick jab with his right fist, Leonardo easily blocked it and threw his own hit with his right. Mikey blocked his brother's fist also and went for a combination of a punch, followed by a solid kick.
The match went on like this for quiet sometime, until both brothers had forgotten this was only for show and were sweating and breathing quiet hard. Leo smirked rubbing his jaw where at some point Michelangelo had managed a fairly solid hit on him. "I forgot how fast you are Mike." Leo was impressed it showed clearly in his tone.
Mikey was rotating around his left shoulder, realizing how sore he was going to be when he woke up the next morning. "Thanks Leo, but honestly that juggernaut crack was not that far off for you." Both Turtles smiled and Leo slapped Mike fondly on the arm.
"That was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen." Lea's voice broke through the jovial moment happening between the two brothers. Mikey's smile just got wider, but he watched as Leo looked almost a little embarrassed.
"You haven't seen anything Lea! We're all pretty fucking amazing if I do say so myself, but Leo is so damn dedicated he puts us other three to shame." Mike winked at the woman across from them, but her eyes were only for his brother and Leo at the moment looked uncertain what to do with her praise.
Michelangelo sighed, rolling his eyes; glancing over at Donatello who was watching the whole exchange also. Donny smirked at Mikey with a shrug; Don was obviously used to watching Leo awkwardly try to navigate his way around his relationship. "Wow, Leo I could watch you practice all day that was beautiful." The awe in Lea's tone was prevalent.
Leonardo cleared his throat, obviously trying to decide what to say. "Thank you, your words mean a lot to me." Mike walked away missing what his brother's said next and made his way over next to Donatello.
"Is this seriously what they are like all the time?" Mikey glanced back to see Leo had stepped closer to where Lea was kneeling on the couch now and was obviously explaining a move to her as he pantomimed it the air as he talked.
"When I got here he didn't even want to admit to me he had a female friend." Don gave Mike a meaningful sideway glance. "He's actually come a long way in a short time." Mike and Don watched silently for a moment as Leo finished a move and Lea reached out grabbing his hand her whole face lighting up, speaking to their brother in an excited tone. Leonardo smiled hugely as he answered, squeezing the smaller woman's hand in his.
"Do you remember the last time he looked this happy?" Mike shifted to look at Don speaking in a hushed tone. Donatello considered for a moment before shaking his head.
"Honestly no." There was a purposeful silence as both brothers watched as Leo and Lea were now walking out of the room and towards Leonardo's room in the back.
"He's going to leave soon to check out that hate group's hide out isn't he?" Mike's voice went back to its normal level now that he and Don were the only two in the area.
"It's getting late enough that he should be able to move around without much notice from anyone, even people on the look out for extraterrestrials; so I would assume yes." Don looked back up at Mikey, "Are you going to go with him?"
Mike shrugged before replying. "In true Leonardo fashion he has decided to burden himself with this all on his own and hasn't said a word about it to me, you?"
Don shook his head, sighing. "Same here, I mean he has had me help him with nearly every step up until this point. I don't know why but to me, this feels like something we should all be doing together; but maybe I'm just nostalgic for the way things used to be."
"Screw that! If we think we should go, then we should go!" Mike's words hit a cord with Don and pushing back from his work bench he nodded in agreement.
"You know Mikey I think you're right!"
Michelangelo had been working with the Utrom's so much lately and because of there aversion to weapons and violence he couldn't recall the last time he had actually carried his nunchaku on his person. It felt good; his weapon had always felt like an extension of his personality and at times even his body. He loved his new job welcoming strange visitors to his home world, but at times he missed the old heroic aspect of his life.
Past just carrying his nunchaku, he couldn't recall the last time he was in his complete ninja garb ready to go on a mission with his brothers. All of that life seemed like it happened so long ago now, before they lost Splinter, before Raphael left and before everything just kind of changed.
Even before his death, Sensei had moved up to North Hampton for some well deserved rest. Leo tried to keep them on task with training, but none of them had ever listened to Leonardo as well as they had their father. Slowly with each fight and every time one of his brothers threw in Leo's face that he wasn't Splinter that he couldn't tell them what to do; each in their own different varying degrees. Mike noticed that after a while Leo just stopped asking, he started running his own missions. Training with members of the Foot, Michelangelo clearly sees now trying to fill his own void in his own way.
All four of them had been so selfish, but maybe that's part of what grief did. When you hurt so much after a while you just stop noticing the pain of those around you. Walking back out into the lair, Mike could see across the room Leo was strapping his katana to his back, his final ritual before heading out the door. Lea wasn't with him, so she must have stayed in Leonardo's room. Mikey could only imagine Leo had an interesting time convincing her to do that, but much like himself and his brothers; when you could tell something really meant something to Leo it made you want to do it for him.
Knocking swiftly on Don's door as Mike sped pass he jogged over to were Leo was about to exit. Realizing him and Don's decision to join their brother would be useless if he left without them. Leo glanced back over his shoulder at the noise his eye ridge raising as he noticed Michelangelo heading his way and how he was attired.
"Are you also heading out?" Leonardo gave Mike a considering look as the younger turtle stopped a few steps from his brother.
"No Leo we're going with you!" Michelangelo could hear Donatello's door creaking open behind him and Leo glanced back to see his other brother was also fully grabbed for a midnight run.
"I didn't ask you to." Mikey noticed that Leo wasn't denying them the chance to go, but he was trying to figure out why all the sudden they seemed interested in doing so.
"We know Leo." Don had walked up in the meantime and jumped right into the conversation. "But we both like Lea also and hate what was done to her; and we know how important this is to you." Mike and Don stood side by side looking at their leader, waiting for his reaction. Leo looked at each hard for a moment before a little to Mike's surprise a smile broke across his face.
"Thank you. I appreciate the help." Leo turned as if to go, Mike felt his own words blurt out before he could stop them.
"This is great! It's just like old times, like we're a team again." Leonardo turned and considered Mike's words, before forcefully shaking his head.
"No, we won't seem complete until Raphael returns." The oldest squared his shoulders and once again started to head towards the exit door. Don and Mike quickly looked at each other both thinking how that was probably the last thing they would have expected Leo to say and both also knew that it was very probably true.
The night air felt good, brisk against their skin. It made all the Turtles feel more alert, more alive. They fell into the natural rhythm that had been taught to them since they had first patrolled. Leo took the lead with Mike and Don flanking to either side of him just a step behind their brother.
Michelangelo was surprised how naked his back felt without Raphael to bring up the rear. He had never worried about a surprise attack before knowing nothing ever got by his hot headed brother. Leo's parting words in the lair rang even more true to him at that moment.
Leonardo knew his destination and the brothers covered the ground in between quickly and silently. Depending on hand signals from Leo to direct them as they leapt from roof top to roof top. They found themselves down near the river, abandoned buildings particularly warehouses tended to draw a less then savory element to them.
They found the building that Don's source had said should be were the group was located. Donatello it appeared knew a few hackers from various internet circles he was in. Leo wasn't going to complain because it made getting information he needed much easier.
Leonardo had made it a point to separate and push all distracting thoughts from his mind. He needed to be focused on what they were doing here right now and not on the woman he was leaving behind. His training made this easier then he had expected, as did the fact he was doing this partly for her.
Still he had been grateful when she agreed that if he told her everything, she would allow him the space he needed to accomplish his task. Lea was surprisingly understanding of the insanity of his life and in a way even seemed to appreciate it. That fact baffled and pleased him, but that was neither here nor now. At this moment Leonardo found himself studying each entrance and window to see where to best spy inside the complex.
"Do you think this is the place?" Michelangelo appeared a little skeptical, looking down at the seemly silent building below them.
"The guy I got the information from is usually pretty legitimate, and he seemed really certain of what he was telling me." Don answered the question for him, Leo noticed a dumpster off to the back pushed up against a wall. There were no direct lights falling in that area and it was close enough to one of the windows to be able to get an idea of what was going on inside.
"I am going to head down, you two stay here and wait for my signal." Leonardo didn't linger for a reply and instead leapt down to a ledge below and then dropped to the ground. He kept close the building in the shadows, controlling his breath barely making a sound. There were not many street lights in this area which was to his advantage, using the cover of darkness Leo sped across the street and to the dumpster he had been viewing from the roof.
He jumped and landed on top of the object in total silence; pressing himself to the building next to him once again he leaned up and peered in the corner of the window. The glass was so dirty it was hard to see within but to his advantage it would also make it difficult to tell he was looking in.
Leo studied the room inside with interest, pleased to see it was filled with people and he did believe this was the place they were looking for. He waited a few breaths getting an idea of what he was dealing with before letting out one long, low whistle. Silence followed except for inside where music was playing and a TV was blaring some video game Leo thinks he had seen Mike play at some point.
Within moments his brother's appeared just below him. Leaping down Leo indicated with his head that they should step off to the side and out of sight. Mike and Don followed there brother around the back of the building next door and looked at him expectantly.
"This has to be the place," Leo spoke in a quiet tone. "The walls are covered in spray painted anti-alien messages and the word HU. There are about thirty guys I can see inside, but none of them look to be trained fighters. They look like the guys I scared out of Lea's shop that planted the bomb. Still at this rate I wish I had brought Casey with us, we can always use an extra set of hands." Leo looked back at HU's building his mind obviously working out their next course of action.
"Did you see that Justin guy that was spying on Lea?" Donatello knew what was first and foremost on Leonardo's mind even if his brother didn't mention it. Leo's eye reminded on the warehouse still obviously in thought.
"No, but there were lights in rooms on the second floor and if he's more high ranking in this organization, if we can even call it that; Then he may up top." Leo nodded to himself once before turning back to face his brothers. "They probably have guns among other types of weapons so we will have to be extra careful. I would like to try to knockout as many of them as possible. I have a clean up crew ready to come in after we finish here."
"Clean up crew?" Mike looked at his brother curiously. "You're not bringing the Foot in on this too are you Leo?" Leonardo shook his head.
"Nothing like that, I want this entire ploy to play out as legitimately as possible. Among the other people I have gotten to know as of late I have met a few members of the NYPD. They were quiet enthusiastic at the idea of getting to claim the credit for taking care of such a nefarious group." Leo smirked at his brothers and Don and Mike exchanged first a look and then nods.
"You want the public to think human's took down a group designed to protect human right's not what would be considered aliens?" Don could see how strategically that would be a far wiser and stronger move. Leonardo didn't answer Donatello's comment but instead let out one deep breath.
"It's one large room inside which will making fighting more difficult because we can't sanction them off into smaller groups, I would suggest we all enter from different sides of the building to at least present more targets." Leo's eyes narrowed.
"That sounds reasonable." Don and Mike nodded in agreement with their brother's ideas.
"Mike you enter through the door on the back side of the building, Don you take the window I was spying in earlier, I'll take the front door." Leonardo drew his katana from there sheaths. His muscles taunt as his body prepared itself for the coming combat. "Get to your assigned areas, wait for twenty five seconds and then enter."
The three Turtles all exchanged looks with one another. Each of them felt the mild rush of excitement. How good it felt to be together again. "Stay safe and don't take any crazy chances." Leo gave Michelangelo a lingering look at his last sentence.
"Same goes for you Fearless One. Lea's going to be pissed at us if we don't bring you home!" Mike couldn't help but grin at the smile that crossed his brother's face. How obviously good it felt to Leo to know there was someone waiting for him, worried about him. The three ninja broke apart, each as silent as the darkness that surrounded them they proceeded to their assigned areas.