"Where were you two?" Leo demanded.
May and Raphael shared a look. Before they were able to respond, Mikey grabbed the container from May's hand and danced out of her and Raphael's punching reach, giving the container to Donnie, who cracked the puzzle faster than May had.
"Don't read that!" May snarled, seizing the note before they had a chance.
"Why not?" Leo glared, crossing his arms. "What's it about?"
May growled quietly. She didn't know why she didn't want the others to read it, but it felt personal somehow, like a page from her diary, if she had ever written in a diary.
"It's nothing." Raphael insisted. "We both read it and it's none of your business if May says so."
May smiled, grateful for the backup. She had long since given up hiding emotion from Raphael, and had been more open to the other turtles as well. She felt safer around them than she ever had at home around her parents. Even Leo, who, despite his distrustful glares and demands, felt more protective than aggressive. He wanted to protect his brother, and, to an extant, at least it felt like, he wanted to protect May as well.
"It's... it's a letter from the Purple Dragons." May explained. "There's nothing important in it, but whoever wrote it apparently has a thing for me. A creepy thing."
Leo's glare softened at this last sentence. He was a crime fighter. Surely he had witnessed his share of sexual assault when patrolling the streets. May couldn't help but wonder if he stopped pervs like that, if he beat them up, or if he would leave the girls to their fate.
No, he wouldn't do that. Leo wasn't as aggressive and quick to arms as Raphael was, but he still had good intentions.
"I understand, but there could be a clue in there you two missed, something Donnie or I would catch." Leo sighed. "But if you're really uncomfortable with us reading it... then I won't pressure you further."
May almost felt taken aback. Almost. She was getting used to the turtles treating her this way. To them caring for her, being more of a family than any gang or her parents ever had. If Leo ever saw a guy trying to assault May, he would protect her. She was sure of that now.
She thanked Leo, something else that she was slowly getting used to. She knew Leo wanted to catch these guys too, but this was personal now. This was something May would have to do alone.
So, when Raphael and his brothers were asleep that night, May made to sneak out, holding the note tightly in one hand. She couldn't include her friend. The Purple Dragons would expect it. Plan for it. They wouldn't expect her to do it alone. She could surprise them, take out their leader and then- well she didn't have any idea what else she could do, but she knew it was her mission. Not Raphael's. Not anybody else's.
May managed to make it to the building next to her apartment and pulled out the note again, rereading it. Surely there was something she missed...
"What do you think you're doing?"
May jumped, startled, and spun around, to see the hulking figure of one of the turtles in the shadows behind her. Leo stepped into view, arms crossed. They were always crossed.
May didn't answer him. She could do this alone.
"Look, I get it. You want to find the guys that did this. You want revenge for your home." Leo shook his head slowly. "But you can't do this alone. It's far too dangerous."
"I'm not scared of these punks." May replied. "I can take them alone."
"May, please." Leo sighed. "Please listen to me, even if it's just this once. I know you're angry, but please think about this rationally. We don't know anything about the Purple Dragons. We don't know how many there are. We don't know how strong they are. For what we know, they could be anything from the most powerful warriors to walk this Earth to a book club who are way too aggressive at recruiting new members."
May nodded slowly. That was true. All she knew about them was how creepy one of them was about her.
Leo continued, adding the nail in the coffin to her plan. "They know far more about you. They knew where you live, they probably know who your parents are, as well. You won't be able to go undercover, they'll know your face. They'll see you coming." He looked at May with pleading eyes. "You don't have to do this alone. We'll help you. Please don't try to do this alone."
"Why do you care?" May demanded. Sure, she and Leo were starting to get on each other's good side, but this was far more than she had expected from him. Sure, she expected to be stopped, but she didn't think he'd care like that.
Leo regarded May for a moment before responding. "Because you mean a lot to Raphael. I've... never seen him that excited to be around anybody. If you tried to do his alone, and you got hurt, Raph would be devastated. He'd never admit it, but he loves you like family. And I'm sure you feel the same."
May nodded slowly. Again, he was right. May had never thought to describe it that way before, but she did care deeply about Raphael. Maybe even enough to say she loved him, as a brother or an uncle, or maybe a surrogate father figure. She looked up to Raphael, trusted him with every ounce of her being, believed in him.
"Come on." Leo snapped May out of her thoughts. "It's cold. Let's go home. We'll start digging for clues in the morning."
May nodded, following Leo. She just had one more question to ask him.
"Leonardo?"
"Yeah?"
"If... If somebody was messing with me, hurting me, and I needed you, would you protect me? Do you care about me?" She stopped and watched him.
Leo stopped too, and turned to her, smiling gently. "Of course I would. I wouldn't just sit by and let somebody hurt you."
"And if anything happened to me..."
Leo got really serious, and knelt down in front of May so they were eye level. "If anything had happened to you tonight, I would feel guilty, knowing I could have stopped you. I would have fought for you if I had to. And if... something happens to you because of the Purple Dragons... I'd be upset, too. I do care about you, May, even if I can't completely trust you. You do matter to us, to this team, to this family, and to me."
May smiled. "Thank you."
He nodded. "Let's get you home."