Water splashed up against his ankles as he raced through the sewers. Leatherhead quickly took a glance at the sleeping turtle in his arms. He took in the injuries that the young turtle had gained and his hatred towards the man who had caused them only grew. Only a monster could do this to a child.
Things could have gone better when escaping from Bishop's custody, but with Leatherhead's uncontrollable temper, it didn't happen. The giant gator had only seen red before his vision had returned, reviling the chaos he had caused.
Unconscious bodies had littered the ground surrounded by piles and piles of fallen rumble. Leatherhead stared wide eyed at the damage he had done, looking down at his hands. He clenched his fists as a loud alarm stared to sound and spun around, grateful that even in his angered state, he had remembered to keep Raphael out of harm. He easily ripped off the bars to the young turtle's cage before carefully taking out the snoozing turtle and cradling him in his arms.
Now he was running through an unfamiliar sewer, hoping the he was heading in the right direction of home.
Leatherhead slowed his running, trying to keep his footfalls silent as he listened to the growing silence around him. He froze when a rat scuttled off in front of him, but nothing else. No one had followed him.
He let out a small sigh and continued his long journey.
Raphael gave out a small moan, earning the large gators attention. Leatherhead brought Raphael closer as the small turtle shivered. They were both cold blooded, and the sewers was not the place to keep warm. Leatherhead felt himself shiver, and sped up his walking, hoping too warm up by moving.
Raphael's eyes fluttered and he groggily looked up at the mutant alligator, who hadn't noticed the small turtle wake yet. Raphael slowly lifted one of his arms and patted the gators shoulder.
Leatherhead looked down and Raph shifted. "L-Leatherhead?" He asked, blinking a couple of times.
Leatherhead gave a small smile and nodded as Raph gave out a tired yawn. He shifted again in the giant gators arms and ended up wincing.
"Stay still my friend," Leatherhead warned as Raphael leaned back into his arms. His breathing slowly as he grew tired again. "Rest," He ordered, "We will be home soon."
Raph nodded and allowed his eyes to fully close, his breathing already evening out. Leatherhead glanced over his shoulder, being meet with the only sound of rushing water. They were still alone.
Leatherhead turned back and begun to run again, only taking his eyes off of the walk in front of him for a second to glance down at Raph, who had snuggled closer to him, his thumb stuck in his mouth. Leatherhead felt another rush of protectiveness for the child.
"Don't let him hurt me!"
Leatherhead shook his head, making the memories vanish. "I won't my young friend," He promised as he felt Raph shiver again in his tight embrace. "I won't let anyone hurt you." He said, knowing that this was a promise he would never break.
The man covered his head with his arms as he stuttered pathetically. "I told y-you! I have no idea!" Baxter cried out.
Leo narrowed his eyes, his sword still posed to kill. "I don't believe you." Leonardo stated with a very scary calm voice.
Baxter hesitated, his eyes landing on the freshly sharpened Katana. He gulped, "W-we… we uh, brought the giant freak alligator here for t-testing. We had no idea he would flip after seeing your… y-your, uh, b-brother." He gulped again and his eyes widened at the look of kill in Leonardo's eyes. "B-but, I didn't do anything to y-your brother! I promise! I w-wasn't even a part of that project!" He quickly added.
"Then what project were you part of?" Donnie asked from behind Leonardo.
Stockmen glared at him, "Well excuse you! But that is completely classified!" He shot, but immediately shut his mouth when Leonardo's sword drew closer to his neck.
"This alligator took my brother?" Leo asked, going back on topic. He furrowed his brow in thought when Stockmen quickly nodded.
"Do you think he means Leatherhead?" Mikey whispered other to Donatello.
"If that's what you call him, then sure!" Baxter chimed in, but quickly shrunk back at Leonardo's intense glare.
Donnie hummed, "If it is Leatherhead, he should be heading home. Raphael will be safe with him."
"And if it's not Leatherhead." Leo inquired.
Donatello's shoulders slumped.
"Guys, please, it has to be Leatherhead," Mikey chirped, "If there was another other mutant alligators in the world, Leatherhead would have eaten him by now."
Leo rolled his eyes. "So we just head home and hope for the best?!"
Donnie fidgeted. "I don't see another option…"
Leo growled, "Fine, but what about him?" He shot, gesturing towards Stockmen.
"I won't tell anyone! I swear!" Baxter yelped, "Plus you can't kill me! I'm a genesis! You might need a brilliant mind like mine!"
"Why?" Mikey asked with a shrug. He flung an arm around Donatello's shoulders. "We have Donnie, don't we?"
Leo turned from Baxter and sheathed his sword. "Come on, let's get outta here." He ordered. Leading his brothers' away from the stunned scientist and out of Bishop's headquarters, which they had been in one to many times.
Leo held up a hand, halting his brothers when a car stopped, screeching in front of them. He narrowed his eyes as the trio slowly backed up into the shadows.
A man with brown ruffled hair jumped out of the passenger side and looked around. "What building is it?" He asked looking at the multiply buildings in the lot.
A larger, more bulky, man stepped out of the driver side. "I don't know," He grumbled, also switching his gaze from place to place.
Leo cleared his throat, sticking to the comfort of the shadows. "Who are you?" Leo asked casually.
Both Jason and Bruno froze as they begun to frantically search for the voice. "Hello?" Jason called back.
"I don't believe you have access here." Leo replied, earning a snicker from Michelangelo.
Bruno took a nervous step back to the car before squaring his shoulders and standing his ground. "We're here for a… a…" He glanced at Jason.
"For our kid." Jason finished, still searching for the source of the voice.
"Kid?" Leo mumbled. "Children shouldn't be allowed anywhere here." He paused, "You must be delusional, sir."
Mikey snorted and Donatello was quick to cover his younger brother's mouth.
"That's why we're here, uh, to pick up our kid… cause they shouldn't be here…" Jason gave Bruno a face.
Leo narrowed his eyes. "Why is your child here in the first place?" He asked.
Bruno's hand flew to the back of his neck and Jason stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked at the ground. "Well, ya see…" Bruno looked around again, trying to decide where the person he was talking to actually was. "We were, uh, delivering, uh, something and my… kid got out of the car." He seemed satisfied with his answer and smiled.
Leo shook his head. "What's the real reason you're here. I seriously advise you to go back home where it's safe."
Bruno's eyes widened. "No! Really! I'm just here to pick up my kid! Raphael!"
Donatello and Michelangelo's eyes widened and before they could do anything, Leonardo stepped out of the shadows, unsheathing a sword. He ignored the two men's gasps as the fell back, "What the shell did you do with my brother?!"