So, I had every intention of introducing April and Casey this chapter. I even had the chapter written introducing them. However, Leo informed me he had been locked up in the Lair for too long, and he was getting cabin fever. So, April and Casey next chapter, and a cameo from another familiar face. We'll see where that leads in the future. P.S.-Sorry it took so long to get this out. Between the re-write and not feeling my best this week, it took me longer than I planned.

Knowing his brothers needed some time to process the changes that had taken place in the family, Leo tried to encourage them to head back to bed for a little while. When that proposition was rejected out of hand, Leo just shrugged philosophically before suggesting that if they weren't going to go back to bed, then they might as well get in a light work out before setting the Lair back to rights. The others accepted the proposal with equanimity, and quick work was made of cleaning up the dojo.

After practice, the four turtles set about returning the downstairs to its proper arrangement. They hadn't noticed in the tumult of earlier that morning, but there had been some very minor flooding during the night. Fortunately, it wasn't enough to cause any damage, and it was quickly cleaned up. The quartet finally retired to the kitchen, where Raph volunteered to make French toast for breakfast.

As they settled in to eat, Leo couldn't help grinning as Raph and Mikey sat as close as they could without getting in each other's way. Throughout the morning, he'd found it interesting to observe how his brothers interacted with him now that the truth had been revealed. Mikey had barely left his side. Leo realized he was going to need to sit down and talk with him about it sometime in the future. Raph didn't stick so close, but he did stay within eyesight. He also kept finding various, seemingly innocuous, reasons to make physical contact with his older brother. Donatello, on the other hand, kept as far away as he could and still remain in the same room. He, Leo knew, was going to need a talking to as soon as Leo could pin him down. For now, he was just planning on enjoying breakfast with his brothers.

The food was, of course, delicious, and the brothers all ate until they were stuffed. Feeling more relaxed and at ease now that their stomachs were full, the turtles settled into a calmer, more rational discussion of that morning's rather chaotic events.

"I was dreaming about what happened that day," Leo told his brothers. "I remember helping Mikey, and beginning to climb out, when something grabbed my ankle and pulled me back into the water, where some piece of debris smacked me on the head. I was lucky I didn't drown, actually."

"Wait," Raph protested. "You got pulled back in? We always though you slipped."

"Unfortunately not," Leo said. "And looking back at it through Shadow's eyes, I now recognize the creature as a drone. Drones were basically mindless extensions of our masters' will. They are no good for combat, but they are wicked fast and incredibly strong; excellent for fetching new and unwilling slaves, or sending messages in potentially dangerous situations. The master piloting the drone can speak through it should he, or she, need to communicate. Actually, that would explain the sounds of arguing I overheard.

"Who was arguing?" "What did they say?" Raph and Mikey spoke up simultaneously.

"I don't know," Leo confessed. "In the dream I could only hear the raised voices; I couldn't make out what they were saying; at least, not until the very end." He swallowed hard. "I didn't recognize the speaker, but I felt like I should. I just knew when he said 'Then he's yours' that I felt the most profound sense of betrayal and rejection I've ever known."

A cacophony of sound erupted around the table as the brothers launched into a noisy discussion of who the mystery "he" was from Leo's dream. At least, Raph and Mikey discussed it; Donatello remained oddly quiet, behavior that definitely caught Shadow's attention. Unsettled and self-conscious because of his genius brother's unusual reticence, the oldest turtle hesitantly reached out to lay a soft hand on his younger brother's arm. For his own peace of mind he had to get to the bottom of Donatello's disconcerting behavior.

Are you okay, he asked. You've seemed a little…distant since I owned up to my real identity.

Donatello blinked a couple of time before giving his brother a reassuring smile. Sorry, he said. I know I've been a little reserved this morning, but not because of anything you've done. I didn't mean to alarm you. I really am glad you're back; I've just had some things on my mind that I'm trying to figure out.

Anything you want to share, Leo asked, uncertainty beginning to fade under his brother's comforting and loving mental touch.

Thanks, but not yet, Donny replied. I'm still trying to figure out if they mean anything at all, or if I'm just making something out of nothing. When I'm a little more certain on things, I'll definitely let you know.

Okay, Leo said as he flashed his brother a relieved smile and withdrew his hand.

That seemed to be Donny's cut to change the subject all together. "So, I think I've figured out why Shadow couldn't speak," he abruptly announce over his brothers' rather raucous "discussion."

"Really," Mikey asked, attention immediately diverted. "Why?"

"After listening to Leo's account of what happened that day," Donny said, "I think it started as trauma induced mutism, caused by that blow to the head he took while in the water. However, I think the shock of his apparent betrayal by our mystery person caused the condition to become somewhat psychosomatic, as the physical shock became mental and emotional shock. I'm also guessing his 'master' didn't do much to encourage his recovery."

"Too true," Leo said with a humorless laugh.

"Wait," Raph said, "if he didn't want you to talk, why teach you all those other languages? I mean, it wasn't like you could speak to anyone else."

"Not aloud," Leo admitted, "but I did need to be able to understand what they were saying, in order to fulfill my orders. Besides, I had access to certain…techniques that allowed me to communicate mind-to-mind with others, did the need arise. They weren't particularly gentle, but they were efficient."

"So what made him start speaking again," Mikey asked.

"I suspect it was the shock of remembering exactly what happened that night," Donny said. He turned to Leo. "Your distress was extreme enough to overcome the mental block; that, and you'd grown comfortable enough here to know comfort was available if you just summoned it."

"And summon he did," Raph said with a laugh, breaking up the heavy mood that had filled the room. "I think I broke a few laws of physics getting from my room to his."

The others joined him laughing, exhaustion making the comment seem funnier than it actually was. Once they got themselves under control once more, the brothers decided it was time to clean up the kitchen. By the time the short task was completed more than one turtle'd had to cover a yawn. This time, when Leo suggested they all go back to bed, the proposition was greeted with much more aplomb. Only, none of the younger turtles wanted to return to his own bed, since they weren't quite ready to let Leo out of their sight. They finally compromised by pulling the blankets and pillows back into the dojo and all bunking down together. There, cuddled up between Raph and Mikey, with Donny well within reach, Leo fell into the first peaceful, dreamless sleep he'd had in years.

TMNT

That evening, after practice, Raph suggested they take a run topside. Leo was torn between feeling curious about his new-old world, and utterly terrified at the thought of leaving the safety of the Lair. He couldn't help his self-disgust at being so cowardly, since Shadow had visited numerous worlds across the galaxy and hadn't had a second thought about it. What made this so different?

Raph must have picked up somewhat of what he was feeling, for he slung an arm over Leo's shoulders and pulled him for a brief hug. "It's okay if the thought of going out make you a bit uncomfortable, you now," he said.

"I don't get it," Leo told him. "I've traveled to different planets and never had a problem. Why, then, does the idea of exploring my own world leave me shaking in my shell?"

"Think about it, bro," Mikey said, joining the pair's and overhearing the tail end of the conversation. He, too, had picked up on his older brother's disquiet through the bond. "You haven't exactly had the best experiences here on your home world."

"Everything okay," Donny asked as he joined his brothers, his supply back strapped to his back along with his bo staff. Raph quickly explained the situation. "Mikey's probably right," Donny told Leo. "Both you and Shadow experienced a lot of mental and emotional trauma here, while the Lair has been something of a safe-haven. It's understandable that you would want to stay here where you feel safest."

"Hey, bro, we don't have to do this tonight," Raph offered. "We can wait a few days while you get a little more comfortable in your skin. You've only really been Leo for less than twenty-four hours after all."

"No," Leo said firmly. "The very fact that this scares me means I have to do it. I refuse to let fear rule my life."

"You sure," Mikey asked softly.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Leo confirmed.

"Then let's get out of here," Raph said, and he led them out into the darkness.

TMNT

That night was one of the most heart-racingly exhilarating, and mind-numbingly terrifying, of Leo's life. Fortunately, the exhilaration well over-shadowed the terror. They had started the night off playing follow-the-leader, ninja style, with Raph, Mikey, and Donny all taking turns as leader. They'd offered Leo a turn, but he'd averred, stating he wasn't familiar enough with the city yet to comfortably lead.

Leo had had a blast leaping and flipping across the rooftop, chasing and teasing his brothers. He'd had even more fun showing them up in a game of dare, wherein the brothers competed to see who could pass the closest to a target human, without attracting attention. Raph did pretty well, but the indisputable winner was Leo, who not only got by the target, but also stole his watch, wallet, and toupee, and returned them all two blocks later, without his victim being aware it happened at all.

Things were going great, until the turtles heard cries for help coming from a dark alley they were passing over the top of. Initially, Leo had been hesitant to intervene, but his brothers were already making their way down to street level. He arrived just in time to see his brothers facing off against a colossal human leading a group of ten or so regular sized humans; all of them were marked in some way by some sort of purple lizard. Leo was going to stay back and follow his brothers' lead, until the oversized thug threw the first punch. Powering up his spirit marks without consciously thinking about it, Leo put himself between Raph and the incoming first, and stopped it cold; with one hand.

Twisting the captured fist, Leo forced the behemoth to his knees. A stern glower kept the other hoodlums from moving to intervene. Returning his attention to his captured prey, Leo said in a voice that was much more Shadowblade than Leonardo, "You will keep your hands off my brothers."

"Let me go, you mutant freak," the massive human growled, leading Leo to twist the arm a little more.

Bringing his free hand up to place it against the growling man's temple, Leo traced an indecipherable shape softly on the skin. The human's eyes momentarily blazed with bright blue light, and he abruptly went pliable. Letting him go completely and stepping back, while the large man stayed on his knees, Leo said in the same dark voice from earlier, "You will leave my brothers alone, and you will tell your master that Shadowblade, formerly a Chi'Tarri trainee, has placed them under his protection. Any aggression against them will be met by me. Understood?"

"Yes."

"Then take your goons and depart," Leo commanded. Within minutes, the humans were gone. The glow faded from the spirit marks, and Leo sagged in exhaustion. Fortunately, Donny and Mikey had been expecting that, so they were in place to catch him as his legs buckled under him.

"That was wicked cool, bro," Mikey said as he wrapped a supportive arm around his oldest brother.

"But what was 'that,'" Donny asked. "I've never seen anything like it."

"That was one of those techniques I was telling you about earlier," Leo said. "It's a quick and dirty mind grab. It was a trick we used to prevent servant and underlings from revealing our presence when we were up to…let's call them less than moral undertakings. It doesn't work on everyone, but that oversized gorilla is a follower at heart. Also, it's only short-term, and will eventually wear off."

"Let's get out of here, then," Raph said. "Hun might be a mental push-over, but his boss certainly isn't. And now that you've challenged him, he'll definitely retaliate, to save face if nothing else; we'll deal with that when it comes. Right now, let's get going."

The brothers made their way quickly and quietly to the nearest sewer access. Once they were safely underground once more, Mikey said, "I've been thinking; maybe it's time to have a proper welcome home party for you, Leo."

"I agree," Donny seconded unexpectedly. "April's been anxious to meet you for weeks."

"Casey too," Raph added. Then, remembering his brother's hesitation earlier that evening, he added, "but only if you're ready."

Leo gave the suggestion due consideration, and finally said, "Why not? I'll have to meet them sometime. A welcome home party's as good a place as any. What could go wrong?"

Famous last words, huh? Any ideas what's going to happen next chapter? I'd be interested to see if anyone gets close, since I have a good idea what's going to happen. After all, what could go wrong at a welcome home party?