"Uh, yeah. I called Sensei dad cause he's a lot like a parental figure to me." CJ said.
"It's quite and interesting story to be honest." Nidas said as he ruffled CJ's long locks.
"Ooh, tell us." April said as she looked intrigued.
"Well, it started during the invasion. We had to leave the lair since it was compromised after two years of hiding and trying to survive. But we were lucky enough to be taken in by April and her base of survivor. Cassandra was there too. Even Draxum. They gave us a tour of the place and Cassandra took us somewhere to show us something. When we saw what or rather who she wanted to show us, we were so shock and surprise. It was a 3 month old baby." Nidas said with a fond look as CJ looked intrigued. That's him right?
"Cass was the one who found him and adopted him as her own. The reason he called me dad is because, I'm the one who spends time with him sometimes when not planning on a retaliation against the Kraang and sometimes it's Cassandra." Nidas said.
"I always call him dad when we're alone with Uncle Raph, Donnie and Mikey." CJ said as Nidas smiled ruffled his hair.
"That you do." He said before the movie started again.
The lair is quieter than usual, except for the sounds coming from the training room. With how open the space is and how loud the brothers are, there is usually no such thing as complete silence. There is always music playing somewhere, the sounds of machinery being built, or TV being played, or even loud talking/bickering. But complete silence is almost unheard of.
The inhabitants of the sewers gathered in the TV room to discuss something. All three turtle brothers sat in a circle to discuss their second youngest brother.
"So..." Mikey started off. "What are we gonna do about Leo?"
"Wow. Sounds like you were planning on getting me out of jail." Leon joked as Mikey rolled his eyes playfully.
"You mean his sudden mental breakdown from the stress of nearly killing a guy, causing him to feel bad about himself and train himself to exhaustion?" Donnie quipped, which earned him irritated looks.
He blinked and asked. "What?"
Raph sighs heavily. "I dunno, guys. Leo said he's doing okay."
"Ya think?" April asked with a deadpan look.
"Leo doesn't like to train yet here he is, for the past few days, training," Donnie drawled sarcastically.
"Yeah, I know that!"
"Guys, stop pressuring Raph." Nidas said.
"He doesn't remember to eat or take proper rest and even skipped out on movie nights!" Mikey grabs his cheeks with a horrified face. "Who does that?!"
"When they're too deep in their training." Raphael said as he munched on some popcorn.
"I know, I know. It's just-" Raph looks away with a grimace. "What are we even supposed to do? He's not doing well, we get that, but how can we even help him?"
"We could try talking to him?" Mikey suggested.
"We tried. He just doesn't listen."
"Kinda nostalgic that every Leo sometimes don't listen." Donatello said.
"Wait, every Leo?" Donnie asked in confusion.
"Ooh, yeah. We travelled to the 1987 universe, well, we were technically kidnapped by our counterparts there to deal with their Kraang problem." Michelangelo explained and Donnie had stars in his eyes. He has so many questions right now!
"We could... tie him up and force him to rest?"
"That will only make him not talk." Leonardo pointed out.
"I doubt he'll relax if we do that."
"Or..." Donnie interjected, giving his brothers a flat look. "We could just talk to him."
This made everyone stayed silent as Leon looked at his twin in surprise.
"Donnie wants to have a talk?" Raph asked in surprise.
"WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY TWIN!" Leon shouted hysterically and Raph had to put his hand on his shell cause Leon looked like he's about to pounce Donatello like a lion.
The two turtles stared at him in surprise. Donnie scoffed.
"Hey, just because I'm not good at talking doesn't mean that it isn't a possibility," he defended himself.
A few taps on his wrist device make a translucent screen appear. "According to my research, a good solution to someone experiencing issues after a traumatic event is to be by their side and talk to them. Therapy is the most preferable option but that isn't possible for us. So all we have to do is just be with Leo, show him that we support him, and remind him that the whole thing isn't a big deal."
"It is a big deal," Raph said flatly.
"It's not, Raphie. Didn't you learn anything from our therapy sessions or do I have to bring out Dr. Delicate Touch?" Mikey said as Raph felt a cold shiver.
"Nope! I'm good." He said nervously.
"Well, no one died!" Donnie said with a frustrated glare, his hands moving around to emphasize his words. "It was just a mystic mishap, we've all had those and we've all nearly died a few times too! So why is this different?"
"Because Leo is having trouble being the leader," Mikey spoke up, gaining his brother's attention.
Leon shifted uncomfortably as he huddled close to Raph as Mikey huddled close to him.
He continues to explain. "Sometimes I hear Leo talking to himself about the whole leader thing. He's got insecurities about it. Didn't you guys notice how he turned to Raph for approval when we did great on a mission?"
"He's talking with Nidas and Leonardo." O'Neil said as Mikey nodded.
Raph looked at Leon as the slider glance at him. He did notice throughout the movie that Leon did give him those looks whenever they finished a mission.
The younger turtles turned to the eldest who blanched at the sudden attention.
"Uh- well- kinda? But he's doing well!" Raph stammered.
"He was until the incident happened." Nidas said gently as he shivered when he remembered the sudden he and Leonardo received.
"Yeah, and then the whole badger thing happened. How do you think he feels? He has been doing well, then suddenly he messes up and nearly kills someone. He's probably thinking he's a bad leader for making it happen."
Raph's face turned thoughtful. "That... makes a lot of sense."
"Huh. Don-tron does have a point." Leon muttered in surprise as Donnie rolled his eyes and punched his twin in the arm playfully.
Donnie frowned. "I still don't understand how this-" he gestures to the direction of the training room. "-is going to make Leo feel better."
"Well, Raph is the strongest? Maybe Leo thought he should be as strong too?" Mikey suggested.
"We need to cheer him up!" Raph said with firm resolve, nodding to himself. "He's our brother and we need to help him. We'll go with Donnie's idea. We find him, sit him down for a talk and tell him that we care about him. Then we'll explain that he's doing a great job as a leader! Easy peasy, Leo is gonna perk right up and be back to his old self again!"
Mikey nodded with a bright smile. "Sounds good!"
"A little simplistic but it works," Donnie quipped.
"Great!" Raph jumps to his feet with a smile. "Let's go cheer up our brother!"
"Yeah!" Mikey bounced excitedly.
"Somehow I think this won't work." Raphael said as he crossed his arms.
"What makes you say that?" Mikey asked curiously.
"I don't know. Just a feeling." Raphael said but he did know the reason. He just wanna make sure.
All three turtles leave the TV room to head toward their brother. They find Leon, as expected, in the training room.
When they glanced inside, their eyes widened as they watched Leon move around the room with his two katanas. He has a narrowed-eyed look of concentration and a firm frown on his face.
His feet are light as he steps around the room, twisting his body as his arm moves fluidly to cut the air with an audible "swish". The way he moves is almost like a dance, but not like anything they have seen before. Swords slice through the air like he is attacking invisible objects yet keeping his form.
Mikey and Donnie whistled in amazement while Raph's jaw drop. Leon blinked in surprise.
Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo looked at Leonardo, knowing that type of sword play.
"Did you teach him the japanese sword dance?" O'Neil asked in surprise.
"I think I did." Leonardo said.
"I remember Draxum teaching that to us but I was able to get the hang of it on the third year of the apocalypse." Nidas said with a fond expression.
"Donnie," Raph whispers to his younger brother. "What's he doing?"
The purple-clad turtle types something onto his wrist device to scan his twin and frowns at the results. "I'm not sure. His movements are reminiscent of Kenjutsu, which is a form of Japanese sword fighting. But his movements are entirely different yet his form is like the katas of traditional sword fighting. Same precise form but he's moving between them like a sort of dance, which is something Leo would do-"
"In non nerdy talk please." Raphael said with an amused look.
When he looks up, he's met with blank looks. Donnie sighs. "Sigh... he's practicing Japanese sword art."
"When did Leo learn how to do Japanese sword art?" Raph wonders.
"These two knuckleheads." April said as she gave both Leonardo and Nidas a look.
"Probably from Pop's old books?" Mikey wonders. Isn't Splinter from Japan? Surely he would have old Japanese books lying around that Leo could have found and studied.
"I don't think dad has some japanese books just lying around." Leon said. Whenever they snooped around Splinter's room a few times, they didn't find any japanese books.
"Okay, but why? Leo's never been interested in 'proper' fighting techniques before," Raph said.
"While that is true, maybe we should ask him?" Donnie suggested with raised brows.
"How long do you think they'll get caught by Leon?" Jones asked.
"I'll take 50." Raphael said with a smirk.
"I can hear you guys."
The turtle yelped at the sudden call and turned back to Leon, who was standing in the middle of the room with his hands on his hips.
"Oh man..." Jones gave Raphael a $50 bill who smirked.
"Busted~" Michelangelo said in a sing song tone.
Leon raises a brow ridge at his brothers.
"Oh-! Uh, we were just wondering about you!" Raph said with a bit of an awkward grin.
"Okay... why? I'm doing okay, as you can see."
"Yeah but like... you're not doing as well as you say you are."
"Nice going, big guy." April said with a sheepish laugh.
"I don't do well under pressure, okay?!" Raph yelped while covering his eyes.
Leon gave them a confused look.
Donnie sighs and faces his twin. "What Raph means is that you have been holding yourself in here to train all day. You forget to eat, hardly sleep and you skip out on too many movie nights."
Leon scoffed while waving his hand flippantly. "Psh! So? A few skipped movie nights aren't that bad."
"Leo, you refused to watch Jupiter Jim movies with us. That's not something you'd do," Raph pointed out with a concerned look on his face.
"That's a major concern if I'm being honest here, Leon." Nidas pointed out as he was worried as well.
"Well, I've watched those movies already. Plus I have a lot of training to do."
"That's the thing!" Raph cut in. "You have been training all the time! I love training as much as the next guy but you're doing it so much that we're worried about you."
Leon frowned and defended himself. "It's no big deal!"
Leon just avoided eye contact from his family and their counterparts. He can already feel his insecurities rising and he doesn't like it when he's insecure of things.
"Is it about the badger thing? Leo, nothing happened. Everything went alright and no one was hurt."
"It's not about the badger!"
'Definitely the badger incident...' Donnie thought with a frown.
Even if he doesn't admit it but seeing the future events including that badger mutant which brought bad and unpleasant memories made Donnie concerned and worried enough that he wants to hit his twin on the head until he gets it through his thick skull that it's not his fault.
"We've had mishaps with our mystic powers before. It's okay, Leo, it's not your fault."
"Why am I sensing a classic Leo and Raph argument?" Michelangelo winced as he sent his younger counterpart who fidgeted uncomfortably.
Mikey doesn't want to admit it but the fights and arguments between Leon and Raph always scare him. There was one time before the whole invasion that the argument got so heated that he had to stay at Donnie's room for the entire argument while borrowing his purple brother's noise cancelling headphones.
Leon shakes his head violently like he is throwing off the words. "No! It's nothing like that! Seriously, guys, I'm fine!"
Raph was even more concerned. "You don't seem fine, Leo. Just tell us what's wrong."
"Nothing!"
Mikey covered his ears as tears stung his eyes as he let out a soft whine.
Nidas saw this and put a comforting hand on Mikey's shoulder. He felt bad for him and could only do this even though it's the future they're watching.
Their argument was cut short when there was music suddenly playing. They looked around for the source.
Michelangelo coughed behind his fist to stop a slight snicker from escaping as Donatello and Donnie eyed each other in confusion.
"Out of all the dimensions, these two knuckleheads has specie ringtones when it's April." Jones snickered.
"What's that sound- oh it's coming from me," Donnie pulls out his phone to check the contact info. "It's April."
He answers the call. "Yes?"
The brothers watched as Donnie listened to April on the phone.
"Mhm. Yeah. Oh. Alright," Donnie turns to his brothers. "April says she needs help at school. Someone taped a lot of knives to a giant high-tech roomba and let it loose. Now it's terrorizing her school and nobody can get close without being cut."
This sent some of the team members of both dimensions laughing. Jones practically fell off his seat and kicked his legs while laughing.
"Who in their right mind would do that to a poor roomba?!" Mikey cried out in alarm.
Leon jumps at the chance to escape the conversation. "I'll go help!"
"Leo-" Raph tried to stop him but the slider cut open a portal and jumped inside. He sighs heavily and pinches his brow as they stand in the now, Leo-less, training room. The air is slightly awkward now that their brother abruptly left. They're used to Leon avoiding serious talks but they are actually concerned about his well being. This isn't like asking him to go on a mission and he bailed.
Leon looked at Raph with an apologetic look and Raph just patted his head to tell him that he's forgiven.
Donnie quietly tells April that Leon is coming to her. He blinks when Raph takes his phone from his hand to talk to April.
"Keep an eye on him, April."
"Will do, Raphie!"
Leon looked at his hands worriedly as he opened and closed it. Would this be the way he will act in the future? Oh Pizza Supreme, he hope not.
Raph gives Donnie back his phone. The soft shell tells April a quick goodbye before cutting the call.
"So what do we do?" Mikey asks while looking at the eldest turtle.
"We wait," Raph replies. There's not much else they can do.
Raph couldn't stop the groan at being really helpless on helping his younger brother but at least he knows the reason why he's training but he's just hope that Leon could fix how their bond the way it is before it's too late.
Call him crazy but that music box was already giving off bad vibes and he doesn't like it.
'They were getting concerned...'
"I don't need their concern," Leon replies as he jumps across rooftops with agile speed.
This sent a sensation of hurt through the trio as Mikey looked at Leon with a hurt and confused look. Leon wanted to say something around the lines "this is the future" but nothing comes out of his mouth.
Donnie have a unreadable expression on his face but Leon knows him better and he could see the shock and hurt look in his eyes.
Raph's expression was the worst. He couldn't tell if he was hurt, confuse or shock. It was just... blank.
This just made an uneasy feeling in his gut churn painfully.
High on the roofs of buildings, nobody notices the mutant running around above their heads. Humans hardly look up anyway, too caught up in their own lives to care about someone else's.
The two translucent turtles ran by his side, easily keeping up with him. Even if they couldn't, they would just flicker away and appear by his side when he gets too far away.
'Maybe you should remember to eat more. At least around them, so they wouldn't be so worried,' Leonardo suggested. 'They were right. You need to take care of yourself more.'
"He's right, ya know." Nidas said as Raph, Mikey and Donnie just stayed silent but Mikey just hugged Leon and the young slider hugged him back.
Leon felt frustration build up from Leonardo's words. He just escaped his brother's intervention, he doesn't need another one. Especially from a version of him. And even more so when he can't even run away from the said turtle.
"I didn't ask for a mom," Leon quipped, grinning to himself when he heard Leonardo sputter incredulously.
This made Donnie snicker for a moment as Leonardo rolled his eyes.
"Raph's usually the mother hen." Mikey said as Raph sputter in embarrassment.
"I am not!"
'Hey! Why am I the mom?!' Leonardo points to Leo who looks amused. 'What about him then?! He gives off old man vibes!'
"Did you just call me old?" Nidas asked as Leonardo stuck his tongue out at him.
'I dunno, mom has a good look on you,' Leo teased, poking his tongue out cheekily when Leonardo gave him a glare.
'I am not a mom!'
"You sound like one," Leon teased with a smug grin. "Gotta say, for an alternate me, you sound so soft when you talk. What word did Mikey use again? Ah right..."
He looks to the side to grin at the terrapin turtle. "Soft boi."
That sent everyone laughing as the dim and gloomy atmosphere seemed to disappear instantly.
"He's got you there!" Raphael laughed hysterically while Leonardo fixed Leon a glare that would promise something embarrassing and revenge.
Leonardo's cheeks turned red. The two sliders laughed at his embarrassment.
'If I'm the mom, then future you is a dad!' Leonardo immediately countered.
Leo gave Leonardo an amused grin. 'Oh?'
'Yeah,' Leonardo glared at him. 'I've seen the way you look at Casey. You were totally his dad.'
Leo sputtered, cheeks turning red. He looks away from the alternate turtle with a pout. He ignores Leonardo's triumphant noise.
This sent everyone into another round of laughter and Nidas didn't even bother to hide his embarrassment as he have a proud smirk as he ruffled CJ's head as the laughing teen tried to make him stop but the feeling was enjoyable.
It's true that around their family, they're considered a father/son duo which is why Nidas adopted CJ when he was a year old when Cassandra passed.
"Okay cool it, we're here," Leon interjected as they neared the school. He runs across the courtyard, making sure to keep out of sight before slipping inside the school.
When he's inside, he can hear faint screaming.
Leo and Leonardo stand beside him, looking around the school. For Leo, it's been years since he's seen April's school so the sight is a bit nostalgic to him. As for Leonardo, he's never seen a human school before unless their missions happen to be in one.
'When in doubt, follow the screams,' Leonardo quipped.
"Jurassic Park quote!" Both Donnie and Leon shouted in unison.
They're so watching a marathon of it as soon as they get back especially the new ones; Jurassic World Trilogy.
Leon starts walking towards the sound of screaming. When he hears someone coming, he presses himself to the wall out of sight.
A group of students ran down the halls. The turtles watched as they ran before glancing down towards the opposite of where they were heading.
"Guess we know where the rogue Roomba is," Leon commented as he headed down the hall.
The hall led down to the gym. Just before he reaches out to open the doors, a hand grabs him by the shell and pulls him back.
He yelps, spinning around to face his attacker before relaxing at the sight of his adopted sister.
"Way to give someone a heart attack, April." Leon grumbled as April laughed.
"Relax. This is the future. So it hasn't happen yet." She said with a smirk.
"April," he sighs in relief.
"Glad to see you came to help," April grinned at him.
"A rogue Roomba? Taped with knives? Sounds like another Tuesday," Leon joked with a grin.
"Yeah, you might have fun with it," April points to the window with her thumb.
A quick glance through the window shows the inside of the gym. There are broken tables and broken stuff everywhere. In the middle of the chaos is a large Roomba the size of Mikey's shell going mad.
Jaws drop at the sight as Donnie and Donatello looked scandalized by the sight and Raph and Leon and Mikey just cursed internally at the only group that can do that. The purple dragons.
The knives taped on its back ripped through everything as it moved and spins around. With how fast it's moving, it's almost impossible for normal people to get close without getting their legs sliced apart.
"Geez. Whatever Kendra did to that is seriously messed up." Mikey whistled in astonishment.
Back in the ROTTMNT UNIVERSE;
A sneeze was heard as a certain purple haired teenage girl rubbed her nose. Probably just allergy season.
Back in the theater;
"From the looks of it, someone is just really stupid to do something like that." CJ said with a confused look.
"Science project gone wrong. Someone decided it was a good idea to tape a bunch of knives on someone's improved Roomba as a joke and somehow got water spilled on it. Now it's going berserk," April explained as they watched the Roomba destroy the gym.
"Sounds fun," Leon commented. "Do you need Stabby the Roomba's pieces?"
"Can you grab those for me when we get back? The Roomba parts I mean. I'm planning to build our own to keep the lair at least clean." Donnie said as he was already making blueprints in his mind on what the design and program the Roomba would have.
April leaned against the wall and crossed her arms with a shrug. "Go nuts. But we need the knives. I think it belongs to the kid's mom."
Leon winced in mock sympathy. "Oof. Wouldn't want to be that guy."
"Got that right." Jones and Raphael said with a snicker.
He pulls out his katanas and winks at April as he pushes the doors open with his shell. Turning to the Roomba, Leon brandished his knives. The Roomba, in a comical coincidence, turned towards him.
Mikey and Michelangelo let out girlish scream while holding against each other comically.
"That is so disturbing in one way or the other." O'Neil shuddered.
"Alright, Stabby, let's dance," he grinned.
Stabby revved up its machinery, sparks flying from its body while its knives glinted under the bright fluorescent lights. It zooms towards Leon with surprising speed.
"Holy mac and cheese!" Donatello and Raph were surprised by the sudden speed while Donnie, well, let's just say Leon, Splinter, April and Nidas with CJ are planning to get him to stop the Roomba project.
They can see that very familiar glint in his eyes and when Donnie is planning something, it's not gonna end well.
Leon waited until the last moment before he jumped up, dodging Stabby as it crashed into the door. Its knives are embedded into the wood, tapping it in place.
Stabby wriggled, sparked, and made loud sounds as it tried to escape. Sparks fly from its body in an enraged manner.
A blade slicing its body in half ended its misery. It died with a low whirr.
"Aww... I was looking for some action." Raphael groaned softly.
A note appeared on his lap and he read it silently.
'You'll get that action you're wanting for, Raphael. In a few more chapters or so. -Sophia'
Raphael hoped that Sophia is right cause he's dying to see some action.
"Thus, Stabby meets his end," Leon chuckles to himself at the joke.
'Stabby may no longer stab unsuspecting children,' Leonardo added from the side, a self-satisfied grin on his grin. 'His reign of mechanized terror is over.'
'How tragic,' Leo added with a chuckle.
That made the triple blue's brothers all groaned in unison.
"Leo, when we get back, we're seriously gonna make sure that you don't hang with him." Raphael said.
"What? I thought it was funny." Leonardo defended himself with a chuckle.
"Good one, Leon." Nidas chuckled.
Leon pulls out his katana and opens the gym doors. He saw April waiting by the wall and did an exaggerated bow. "Your problem has been dealt with, m'lady."
"Such a gentleman." April faked swoon with a snicker.
"Would the lady liked a slice of a pepperoni pizza?" Leon asked in a faked British accent.
"Why yes, my good sir, I would like a slice of such deliciousness." April said in the same fake British accent.
This just made the two snicker and giggle before returning their attention to the screen.
"Thank you, oh great warrior," April shot back. They shared a laugh before walking away together.
With the students having run away from the area in fright, they wouldn't have to worry about being seen. Leon walks with his arms behind his head in his usual casual saunter.
"That would be annoying. I mean, I like to be recognized but not that much." Leon said.
"That we can agree." April said.
"In the future, people don't care since we pretty much have to work together." Nidas said.
"Are you sure you're doing okay?" She asked and Leon groaned loudly.
"Not you too... I'm fine, really."
"Leon, you're seriously not fine. Do we need to bring Dr. Feelings into this?" Mikey asked as Leon sighed.
"I'll give you the green light if so." Leon said as Mikey smiled.
"Well, the boys are really concerned about you. You haven't been acting much like yourself lately."
"What?" Leon stops and turns to her with a confused look. "What do you mean? I'm the same as I usually am!"
"You're not really the same since you started the training thing, Leon." Leonardo said.
April faces him with a frown. "You're stressed. Even Donnie sees it."
Leon grimaces. "Yeah, well, being the leader isn't as easy as Raph makes it seem."
"And you're doing a great job at it," April said gently, which eases Leon's anxiety. "But you need to take a rest. Being a leader doesn't mean you have to work yourself to the bone."
Both teams agreed to that as Leon and Leonardo sent a look towards each other.
"I'm fine, April, truly."
She doesn't seem convinced. Her brows furrowed with concern. "Is it about the Kraang?"
A cold sensation stabs through his body. It felt like he had been shot with ice. The sensation chills his extremities.
Just the mention of the name sent chills down everyone's spines.
"No," he said quickly. He shakes his head and flaps his hands to get rid of the sudden chill. "No, it's not about them."
Mikey latched on Leon's arm for comfort as Raph wrapped an arm around them both with Donnie joining.
"Leo,... if you're having trouble-"
"I'm fine!" He cut her off. "It's over, right? They're gone and they're not coming back. There's nothing for me to worry about and I'm not worrying about it!"
April stares at him with a look before choosing her words carefully. "Right... but, Leo, you went through a lot. What you experienced would have made anyone traumatized. If you're not okay then it's fine. Your brothers will understand."
The sound and feel of his shell cracking like broken pottery. The pain of being battered and beaten by cold metal hands. Kraang's enraged voice echoed as it took its anger out on him.
Leon whimpered softly at the feeling as a phantom pain came from his shell even though Sophia practically healed them completely. Wherever she learn those magic healing powers, he was glad that she does know them.
He shudders at the flash of that horrible memory. "I'm fine."
She still doesn't look convinced. But relented. "Fine... but if you need a break, then tell us. We'll understand."
No, you won't, Leon thought to himself. A heavy weight settles inside his gut.
"Is it about your insecurities?" CJ asked and Leon looked at him in surprise.
"What?"
"Sensei always feels like that sometimes and it took a while for him to seek help." CJ said softly as Nidas agreed.
"Yeah, it took me a while."
They think he's having trouble because of the prison dimension. Sure, sacrificing himself had been terrifying. So is facing the Kraang alone. He didn't want to die there. Not like that. But this isn't about that. He stood by what he said. It was the only way.
His problem isn't that he is traumatized by the incident. It was because he caused it.
He lost the key.
He allowed the Kraang to invade their world. To destroy it.
"Kid, it's not your fault." Leonardo reminded him but Leon's eyes glazed over with a blank expression. It was his fault.
His fault that the invasion happened and almost doomed their home.
A glance at Leo just proves it.
The future version of himself. So old and worn down. Chips on his plastron. Cracks on his shell. Faint scars on his body, a deep Raph chasm on his forehead, and an arm missing entirely. He looks so tired. He has seen a lot of bad things. Leo is the haunting representation of the apocalyptic future he had caused. The future he allowed to happen because he was too arrogant.
A hand rests on his shoulder and he looked up to see Nidas putting a giving him a reassuring look but he can see the pain and mournful look in the older slider's eyes which made him look tired and worn out.
Leo lost his brothers through a war they couldn't win.
Leon nearly led his own brothers to their deaths.
All because he was a terrible leader. Too bold. Too stupid. Too arrogant to listen to their words.
No. It wasn't about the Kraang. It was about himself.
'He's still blaming himself...' Leonardo realized with a saddened look.
He takes a calming breath and gave April a reassuring smile. "I'll keep that in mind."
April relented with a sigh and a nod. "Alright. I gotta go find my teacher. Maybe we can go home early today."
Different pizza pockets wrapped in wrapper which was still warm dropped on their laps and they munch on it while liking the flavor. It's like pizza but wrapped up.
"You're gonna pick up Casey?" Leon asks.
"Yup. Might even take him to the pool later."
"Just come back with pizza," Leon winked at her.
"Casey is going to school?" Nidas looked surprise but relief. At least CJ can mingle with kids his age.
April laughs. "Yeah yeah. But it's Casey's pick."
"Aw what?! Casey will put olives and anchovies on the pizzas!"
"Ew, who would those there?" Leon stuck his tongue out.
"What? It's good." CJ said in confusion as he was eating said pizza.
"Says the sliders and diamond box terrapin eating Hawaiian pocket pizza." Donnie and Donald pointed out as they took a bite of theirs.
"Tough luck, blue boy. He's going through his first exam and it's stressing him out."
Leon groans. "Right. Those things. Fine. But you're telling my brothers."
"Deal."
"Mmm, this all meat pizza is yummy." Raph said and happily munching away on his.
That's right, Sophia got them all each a pizza pocket from a different country which was in their favorite toppings or flavors.
They parted ways with a quick fist bump. As Leon heads back home, he feels his alternates follow him. It is a blessing and a curse to be able to sense their presence.
They feel like ghosts to him. Haunting him with what he could be, and what he would become.
A great leader.
A worn down fighter.
He could become either of them anytime. Right choice or wrong choice.
Leon slowed in his chewing. A choice. Would he become like Leonardo or would he become like Nidas? Which is the right choice?
Leonardo, the great leader whom others turn to for guidance.
Leo, the old turtle who had been seen too much and so worn down by the weight of his mistakes.
Their presence is a constant reminder to him.
The alternate where he was made leader. The eldest brother. The calm and patient turtle who has all the answers. The turtle whom his brothers would turn to for guidance and who has kept them all safe.
Raph and Leonardo looked at each other with a understanding look. They know they're the eldest brothers and would do anything to keep their brothers and family safe.
The future him who lost everything and became the last one to die. The one who fought with a flickering flame of hope to fight against war too great for him. One where he had caused it.
CJ put a hand in Nidas' shoulder as the older slider smiled painfully at the reminder of how his brothers died as he sipped on some sprite.
He doesn't blame either of them, of course. They didn't get to choose to be here. They were dragged here. Possibly because of him.
They were like branches of his future. He could be the great leader, or he could be the worn-down warrior.
Could he become one of them? Can he? Will he?
He could lead his brothers to victory and keep them all safe or he could lose them all until he is the last one standing.
No, his brothers and friends wouldn't understand. This wasn't about the Kraang. It was about him.
His failures. His mistakes. The problems that he had caused.
The only way to stop it was to be better. To stop making the same mistakes. He's the leader now. It's his job to protect his brothers.
This made Leon's family worry. If he does his job better than before and not make mistakes, then... Leon won't be the same anymore.
He won't let them die. He won't lead them to their deaths.
Even if it means wearing himself down to be better, he will. Because in the end, it's not about him.
His life means nothing if he loses his brothers. If his family and friends die from his inadequacy.
A heavy weight settles on his shoulders as he runs home.
Leon frowned as he finished his pizza pocket. A choice? But what choice will he choose? Can he only choose one or the other? What would happen if he chose either, would he still be the same Leon before the whole invasion...?