Chapter Text
~~~~~Chapter Fourteen- A New Perspective~~~~~
POV Shift- 2012 Leo
Leo didn’t think he was that strict of a leader despite what his brothers may say. Sure, he followed a rigorous schedule during patrol and training but that was only to keep his family safe. He only wanted to prepare them for what lay beyond their home and any peril they may face. The outside world was cruel, especially to people like them, and his siblings knew this, but it didn’t stop them from sticking their noses into places they shouldn’t. Therefore, it was fairly obvious for the blue-banded turtle to make rules and regulations for when things get dicey.
His brothers, more often than not, didn’t follow his orders all that seriously, especially his hotheaded brother, although they always had each other's backs. When Donnie wanted to go scavenging for materials in the not-so-safe parts of town, Raph was there to protect him. When Raph wanted to let off some steam by beating up crooks, Mikey tagged along. When Mikey wanted to goof around on the surface, Leo was there to keep him company. Hell, when Leo wanted to scope out the abandoned areas around the city for potential threats, Donnie was always ready to help. The point is that no matter what the brothers always prioritized safety first, but that didn’t stop Leo from worrying.
He was the leader of his team and the oldest of his brothers, so it was Leo’s responsibility to keep his family out of harm’s way, no matter the consequences. He liked to believe that ideal applied to Angelo too.
Ever since the small turtle had fallen into their lives, Leo felt this urge to protect him much like that of his own little brothers. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Angelo was Mikey’s counterpart, but Leo’s sense of protectiveness was stronger when it came to the kid. He reminded Leo of when times were simpler and more carefree. Angelo just had this air of innocence about him and Leo wanted to perverse whatever was still left of it… The image of that tiny turtle covered in injuries and panicking with that lost look in his eyes never left Leo’s mind from when they had first met.
Angelo was so young, too young, to have gone through all that he had. The boy was just a child. He was no older than thirteen and already had lasting scarring on his arms. Leo and his brothers weren’t let out of the lair until they were fifteen and even then they had never experienced something so devastating that it impaired their motor functions.
A whole two-year difference was a big deal, especially given the family’s lineage. It was no easy feat being heroes. The title came with a lot of hardships and most wouldn’t be able to handle the responsibility. It was suffocating which was probably the reason why his father wanted to shelter Leo and his brothers from the position for as long as he could. Was it so wrong that Leo wanted to do the same for Angelo?
Judging by the faded cuts and scrapes littered across the child’s shell, he could only assume that this wasn’t Angelo’s first year fighting crime. The boy had already missed out on parts of his childhood, so Leo wanted to give him a chance to be a kid a little bit longer, something his brothers never got to experience…
The kid’s flare-ups were no joke, either. No matter how Angelo tried to downplay them, it was obvious that he was in extreme amounts of pain whenever one appeared. The boy would let out the most disheartening little whimpers when he thought no one could hear him and that was only the tip of the iceberg!
Leo could only imagine what other horrors the child had to face back in his home dimension. The tragedy that had caused those horrid injuries was only one of many that he was sure Angelo had to overcome. Honestly, the blue-banded turtle was terrified to find out about the orange turtle’s past, but would be damned if he didn’t do everything in his power to help! The problem was that Angelo wouldn’t confide in him.
Angelo mostly kept to himself during his stay, well mentally at least. The boy was more than happy to spend time with Leo’s family at any chance he got but would shy away whenever someone questioned him about his past. Now, don’t get Leo wrong. Angelo was very talkative when it came to his siblings. He could go on forever talking about each of his brothers’ personalities, their likes and dislikes, and especially about any of their wacky adventures, although that was pretty much all the child would share.
He didn’t talk much about Splinter or this a lucid Draxum character, neglected to mention anything about his scars, other than that first night with Donnie, and wouldn’t say anything about the terrors Leo knew the boy faced at night. Each of the turtles had shared a room with Angelo at one point during his stay and each of them had awoken to the small child in tears more times than Leo had fingers on both hands! Of course, Angelo wouldn’t talk about what went on in his nightmares (in some cases he even pretended they never happened) so you could imagine why the older’s concern for the kid only grew.
The slight flinches that were present whenever training got a little too rough only heightened the worry Leo felt. He wasn’t blind. None of his siblings were. They could all see that Angelo had some type of reservation when it came to their father and the dojo. The orange turtle would get nervous when training began. Angelo’s breathing would pick up the slightest amounts, just barely noticeable to the trained eye, he would fidget with his hands while looking between each of the brothers even if they weren’t sparring, and his body would stiffen when his father gave the first commands of the day.
It was like Angelo was waiting for something to go wrong or for someone to react in a certain way. This behavior only happened when his father would speak at the start of training, however, and Angelo’s demeanor would do a complete one-eighty as training continued. It was only when the brothers really got into their fights that Angelo would gain that bright, toothy smile of his once more. He would cheer for the turtles dueling, shake his hands in that adorable way he does whenever he is excited about something, and even pleadingly ask Splinter if he could participate too. It was like the child was so enamored with the idea of joining in on the fun that he completely forgot his earlier hesitance or maybe he didn’t notice that he was letting off nervous energy in the first place.
Of course, the boy wasn’t allowed to train with them just yet due to the randomness of his flare-ups, but Leo could tell his father was slowly cracking under the child’s persuasion. If the kid wanted, Leo was sure he would have them all wrapped around his little finger with those baby blue eyes of his… Alas, once training was over, Splinter would call each of the boys up for critique and Angelo’s earlier nervousness would claim him once again. It was strange how quickly the boy would clam up and it only caused Raph’s previous suspicions of abuse to be that more worrying.
The doubts, secrets, and refusal to talk weren’t doing the small turtle any favors. Leo could understand that some things were best left unsaid, but if something this serious was going on then the boys had a lot to discuss.
If Raph was right in his assumption, then would it even be safe to send the child home? Wouldn't it be better if they found a way to bring his brothers here? If Angelo was going through something that horrid, then perhaps his brothers were, too. Maybe they could expand the sewers around their home and build their counterparts a place to live or create a space for them near Leatherhead’s subway station. They would need to get more furniture, food, and supplies, however. Winter was right around the corner, so they would need to prepare for that as well. Although Leo was thinking too far ahead with that train of thought, it was a possible outcome to this whole situation… He only wanted his newfound family safe.
So screw Leo and his overprotectiveness, but he wasn’t gonna sit around and just let the small child go explore the city with all of his emotional instability! It was just asking for trouble with all their enemies out and about, not to mention that the Kraang had been suspiciously quiet as of late. What if Angelo ran into something he couldn’t handle? The kid didn’t have a phone for backup and Leo wasn’t confident that they would be able to protect him if he had an encounter with this new entity, either!
Sure it had been a while since Angelo had been brought into their dimension and everyone could tell that he was just itching to get some fresh air, but it still wasn’t safe! Donnie hadn’t picked up much with his sensors concerning the strange creature they were tracking down and none of them had much luck investigating the random bouts of clues scattered around the city. It might have been easier to find more information if they invited Casey and April into their search, but Leo couldn’t be certain that their location wasn’t being traced.
With the way the mystic tracker had picked up on the entity’s signals, Leo wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. Donnie had mentioned that when he had first started picking up signals of mystic energy the locations were random, but now they seemed to be more concentrated.
It might be too soon for speculation, but Leo was certain that whoever they were tracking was drawing closer and closer to the lair as time progressed, almost as if they themselves were hunting something down… An orange-colored turtle, perhaps?
Therefore, it was too risky to put whatever small sense of security they still had at risk by allowing their human friends to come and go as they pleased. Leo didn’t like having to put that particular rule in place, implementing strict guidelines on how often the brothers could go out or the complete ban on anyone that wasn’t them entering the lair, but he didn’t have much of a choice. He could tell it was getting on his brothers’ nerves not being able to visit their friends as often as they’d like.
Donnie was barely able to keep a decent sleep schedule with April not there to keep him in check. Angelo’s mystic tech was not helping in that matter, although Leo could turn a blind eye as long as the genius didn’t get too out of hand with his tinkering. Donnie’s experimenting was helping them find out more about Angelo’s world, but Leo wasn’t going to endanger his brother’s health by not stepping in if things got destructive. Speaking of which, he should probably make a note to check on him later. Donnie had been stuck in his lab for longer than usual…
All the same, Raph missed hanging out with Casey even if he wouldn’t admit it out loud. The punching bags in the lair needed to be refilled on a daily ever since the duo had stopped beating up thugs together. Leo wasn’t sure if his anger came from his ban or from the duo’s previous arguments, although it seemed Raph was less worried about Casey’s situation recently. It would appear that he would need to check on his red-colored brother as well. Leo felt like he was missing out on something pretty important.
Mikey, by far, had it the worst of his little brothers, being the excitable extrovert that he was. Not being able to visit Leatherhead must have taken a big toll on their youngest seeing as how he would longingly look off in the direction of the gator’s home. Although like Raph, it felt like he was more at terms with their current situation ever since a few days ago. Leo was quite proud that he was taking this whole thing more seriously for a change.
Now, just because Leo had banned visitation access to the lair didn’t mean he did the same for their phones. He wasn’t a monster. Plus, Donnie’s phone lines were so secure that he was positive that no foreign entity would be able to hack them. The Kraang hadn’t thus far, so this new individual wouldn’t be able to either… Hopefully. Their friends would get suspicious if they didn’t inform them about Angelo’s condition, too, so it would have been pointless if Leo had done so.
At this point in time, their friends weren’t aware of the foreign entity the boys were tracking and Leo wanted to keep it that way. The fewer people knew the better in terms of stealth, although the secrecy was bound to cause problems later. The boys had told Casey, April, and Leatherhead of their suspicions of abuse going on with the tiny turtle and that was enough to keep the trio away from the lair. Angelo did need time to process the new dimension he now found himself in and the boys didn’t want to overwhelm him, but Leo didn’t know for how long they could keep the trio away. All three of them could be just as overprotective as the turtles when it came to their tightly knitted friend group.
Nevertheless, each brother had taken to keeping their phones close to their person within these past few weeks. It kind of reminded Leo of when Donnie had first shown off his prototype shell phone, star-eyed and all. None of them had relayed on their devices as much as they had since they were first created, now having ways to travel alone without the need for companionship.
Their dependence on their phones only got worse as they started exploring their newfound freedom, so it came as a big shock to Leo when he couldn’t reach Donnie all those hours ago.
Looking back, the blue turtle should have noticed that something was wrong as soon as his little brother failed to pick up his call, but unfortunately, he was too occupied trying to keep Mikey and Raph from tearing each other's heads off.
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“But Raphie, I didn’t mean for this to happen! The balloon wasn’t supposed to blow yet!” A distraught-looking Mikey whined as he crossed his arms over his chest.
An enraged Raph yelled back, “Ya missing the point! Sensei said no more slime pranks because of this reason and ya just broke it. Now that gross stuff is covering our entire living room!” The red turtle huffed as he fought the urge to smack his younger brother for his dumb prank gone wrong.
Leo sighed as he looked at the mess, “Will the both of you just calm down! Arguing will help nothing. Sensei is out getting supplies, but I will be telling him about this when he gets back, Mikey! Expect extra training for at least a week! Now, let’s get this mess cleaned up before it stains the furniture. I need to get back to Angelo as soon as this is done.”
~~~~~~~~
The mess Mikey had made in the lair from his failed water balloon slime prank was too much for the cleaning supplies at home, so the trio adventured down to Leatherhead’s subway station to locate some tougher solvents. Leo reasoned with himself that the trip wouldn’t take that long, thus it was okay to uplift his ban just this once so that they didn’t have to live with a slime-covered couch. Of course, nothing is ever that simple.
~~~~~~~~
Mikey was practically buzzing as they crossed over the threshold of the gator’s home. It made a warm feeling blossom in Leo’s chest seeing his baby brother so happy even if his red-colored brother looked the exact opposite.
“Oh, Leatherhead~~~ We have come to visit and potentially get some cleaning supplies! I may or may not have had a teeny tiny accident with one of my more experimental pranks,” the orange-colored turtle sang as he jogged up to Leatherhead’s door, greeting the gator. A quiet, “Little my ass,” could be heard from Raph as Leo scolded him for his choice of words.
“Ah, my friends! What a pleasant surprise to see your faces. It has been quite a while since I have last seen you all, although it would appear my concerns have been for not. Give me a few moments and I will see what I have left over from the last time,” Leatherhead mused as he patted Mikey’s head before heading back into his train car. Raph huffed once more in annoyance, tapping his foot in irritation at having to wait, while Mikey started happily chatting with the gator from his doorway.
Thankfully, like Leo had originally thought, they would be on their way soon enough. He was already getting nervous leaving Angelo alone in the lair for so long… Well, Donnie was there too, but his purple-banded brother was still locked up in his lab studying the kid’s gear, so…
Nevertheless, he was having a pretty important conversation with Angelo before he was so rudely stolen away. Leo didn’t like that he left when the kid was so clearly upset and wanted to return as soon as possible to provide some comfort. Plus, his big brother senses were tingling and that was never a good sign.
Wait, what is that?
While Leo was having a tiny crisis, his eyes wandered over to the wall opposite the subway cars. The area was practically covered head to toe in different murals Raph had done over the years, some more surreal than others. It was honestly beautiful the way the colors intercepted and blended together between each piece even if the paintings hinted at some concerning thoughts going through his brother’s head.
The blue turtle was proud that his immediate younger brother had found a way to hone his more anger-filled emotions into a comfort that was less self-destructive than previous habits. Thus, a freshly done painting of mixed colors in his brother’s style was only slightly concerning in its own right. It was fairly obvious that the mural was done very recently, so Leo would have to lecture Raph on neglecting to follow his orders after he talked with him about his clearly distraught headspace. However, it would appear that the blue-colored turtle had some things of utmost importance to discuss with both of his little brothers.
The scene painted right next to Raph’s work grabbed the blue turtle’s attention quickly as he took in its contents. Leo couldn’t help the shocked expression crossing his face as he stared at the newly added mural of three turtle-like figures of which the leader had never seen before but heard of constantly the last few weeks. The art style was familiar with its bright pops of color and more realistic undertones, so familiar in fact that Leo could only think of one possible artist who could have painted it.
Turning with a slightly threatening smile, Leo calmly addressed his two precious little brothers, “Well, it seems that you had a nice outing with our little sunshine despite my orders to remain in the lair. Care to fill me in?”
Both Raph and Mikey gave Leo a confused gaze until realization struck as they simultaneously noticed their mistake and paled considerably.
~~~~~~~~
Honestly, what did Raph and Mikey think was going to happen? Of course, Leo would notice the new additions to Leatherhead’s home! He wasn’t blind! Ugh! He was still mad that they both went against his orders and put not only themselves, but Angelo in danger by doing so. No wonder the mystery entity had been creeping closer to the lair at alarming rates! They probably noticed the kid’s mystic energy when they had gone out and scoped out Leatherhead’s place!
So, their “quick” trip might have taken a bit longer than Leo was planning as he lectured his brothers. He wasn’t sure if he really got through to them about the severity of the danger they brought onto their family from the way Raph rolled his eyes and Mikey slowly blinked his to stay awake.
~~~~~~~~
The red-colored turtle huffed once more at Leo’s words as he finally spoke up after having to sit through another long-winded lecture, “Look, Leo. I get what you’re saying, but the kid needed a break. He was starting to freak out after being cooped up for so long and ya know it. Ya weren’t here to see the smile on his face as he splattered paint on the walls. He was thriving and I don’t feel the slightest bit bad about letting him feel that joy. Were we reckless by exposing ourselves, maybe? But if whatever was tracking the kid really did know where he was, we wouldn’t be standing here talking. I doubt whatever creature out there knows enough to take action anyway ‘cause if they did, we’d have at least seen a glimpse of them by now.”
“Ya,” Mikey cut in, “Angie needed a break from the lair and we didn’t go too far or anything. Plus, everyone was extra careful on the ride over, no injuries from the bikes whatsoever. The little guy was all rainbows and sunshine throughout the whole visit, too! You really should have seen him, Leo! It was amazing seeing how Angie worked on that painting. It was like bam, bam, bam, and the whole wall was covered in paint! And did you see how our alternates look!”
Leo’s frustrated expression faltered at his brothers’ enthusiasm. Perhaps he was being a bit of a stickler and should give his brothers the benefit of the doubt. He had noticed Angelo’s eagerness to stretch his legs and taking him to Leatherhead’s subway was the safest option they had, but they still should have consulted the rest of the team before doing so. The blue turtle could already feel a headache forming for the consequences they would soon have to face from his brothers’ actions.
Letting out a sigh, Leo conceded, “OK, maybe you're right. Angelo did seem more stressed out recently, although it still wasn’t right to leave without telling us beforehand. I understand that you were only trying to help the kid, but we aren’t in the best situation to be recklessly diving into decisions without planning ahead first. I’ll talk to Sensei about this when he gets back and we’ll see what he says… It is a great painting though. I’m glad that he was able to relax even if things are a bit crazy right now.”
~~~~~~~~
Honestly, it was a bit surprising seeing how vastly different his family was from their alternate selves. Leo wasn’t sure how the kid did it, but it felt like he was really looking at what the kid’s brothers looked like in person rather than just on a mural.
Donatello looked a lot more unhinged, giving off mad scientist vibes while Leo’s counterpart looked more playful with hints of mischief ( No, Mikey, he doesn’t look like a playboy. What do you mean he has a potential boyfriend? Why should I care? Stop looking at me like that! We are not taking bets to see which of us can get a date first! Raph don’t encourage him! ). The two figures were contrasts of each other although still gave off a certain type of chaotic energy that suited them perfectly. Leo couldn’t see himself pulling off the same swagger that his counterpart emitted, although maybe that had something to do with being an older sibling rather than something the blue turtle was lacking.
On the other hand, Angelo’s Raphael gave off a more responsible feel than Leo’s hot-headed brother. He could see from the way the figure posed with his arms across his chest and welcoming smile that the red-colored turtle was more… down to earth than his sibling. Perhaps the kid’s earlier statement of him being a big teddy bear was true and not just a weird joke. It was certainly unnerving to see how massive this Raphael was compared to them, but surely Angelo had taken some creative freedom when painting that aspect of the image. They knew that Raph’s counterpart was big, but he couldn’t be that huge. The dude could have been bigger than Leatherhead if the sizing was correct and there was no way that was possible, right?
Despite the shock Leo had from finding out about his brother’s little day trip, another thing that Leo still couldn’t wrap his head around was that apparently, the gator was in on this whole excursion. Even to this day, he wasn’t sure how he felt about that piece of information, whether to be happy that his brothers had potential backup if the threat decided to make itself known when they were vulnerable or mad that Leatherhead didn’t inform him of the outing sooner.
~~~~~~~~
“Ah, it looks like we have been busted. Do not be too hard on your brothers, Leonardo. They only had the best in mind,” Leatherhead mussed as he came out of his train car with a bag of cleaning supplies and an amused expression. He held the bag out to Mikey as the orange turtle happily took the supplies while giving the gator a grateful smile for taking his side in their little argument.
Leo once again let out a deafted sigh, “Of course you knew, too. Look, we can continue this conversation at a later time. For now, we need to head back before Sensei returns and sees the mess Mikey made. I don’t feel like getting into trouble along with you guys at the moment. We have been out long enough anyway and I’m sure the others are wondering where we are. Thank you for your help Leatherhead. We’ll be sure to return the favor.”
~~~~~~~~
After the group had said their farewell to Leatherhead, Mikey taking a bit longer than Leo would have liked, was when the blue turtle had tried to call Donnie. They had started the walk back home, but the anxious feeling Leo had gotten all those hours ago was slowly growing with each step they took.
~~~~~~~~
Leo could tell his nerves were showing by the way Raph’s mood turned sour and Mikey stopped his bubbly chatter. They were reacting to his worried fidgeting and it was only getting worse as time went on. Leo had always had that sixth sense for trouble and his alarm bells were blaring, so he tried to alleviate his worries by calling his genius little brother. Surely, nothing had gone wrong while they were out and Leo’s nervousness was all in his head.
The ringing of his phone made his heart beat faster as the seconds passed with no response in sight. His fears only escalated as Donnie’s voicemail played out. Grasping his phone tightly in hand, Leo shared a glance with Raph and Mikey before they all broke into a sprint heading straight toward the lair. It seemed the same thought process was going through his brothers’ heads as they quickened their pace, running in stride with one another.
Donnie never missed a phone call. It didn’t matter where they were, how early it was, or how stupid their reason for calling was, the purple turtle always responded. Something was either horribly wrong or Donnie had passed out from overworking himself, neither option that pleasing in Leo’s opinion.
It didn’t take long before the group had made it back to the lair since they were train ninjas going at full speeds down a pretty straight tunnel, although they were slightly out of breath upon their arrival. That didn’t stop Leo though, being the mother hen that he was (screw it), as he frantically searched the lair for anything out of place, leaving his brothers behind.
Was the living room different? Nope, the place was still covered in slime and thankfully it would appear their father had not seen the mess. In fact, Sensei was nowhere to be seen, not being in either the dojo or his room (nothing out of the ordinary in either space), thus Leo could assume he was not back yet. A blessing at the time, but it did little to calm the blue turtle’s anxiety.
Continuing his search Leo ran to the kitchen, although the room was the exact same as when he left, cookies and empty tea cups both lay innocently on the dining table. It was cold and the lights were switched off, so the room had been vacant for some time. That was weird because he was certain he left Angelo here not too long ago, but the kid was probably off somewhere else drawing or playing a game. A small part of Leo was unnerved by the lack of small turtle around, although he shook it off for now, thinking that the problem lay elsewhere (Future Leo blames past Leo for his ignorance) .
Returning back to the lobby, Leo noticed that Raph and Mikey were looking around too, having recovered from their earlier run. Raph was searching around just as frantically as Leo even rechecking some of the places the blue turtle cleared, but didn’t have any luck either. Mikey, on the other hand, was jumping around looking in every nook and cranny with his hands now free. He probably ditched the cleaning supplies at some point, although the couch was suddenly not a priority. It was weird that Mikey was looking in out-of-the-way places (what would be hiding under the couch or inside the kitchen counters), but now wasn’t the time to question his younger brother.
Leo and Raph continued searching each of the lair’s rooms. The duo had checked their bedrooms first, but again nothing was amiss. The medbay was second coming up dry too, as well as the garage and any storage room they had. Running out of options, they rechecked each of the previous rooms once more. Try as they might, however, no one could find anything out of the ordinary other than the fact that the lair was quieter than usual.
~~~~~~~~
Looking back on it now, the silence should have been Leo’s second clue that something was horribly wrong, but in his panic-induced state, he only had one thought swimming through his mind. If the lair itself was perfectly normal, other than the slime-covered furniture, then there must be something wrong with Donnie! He failed to answer his phone after all, so they really should have checked in with him first before tearing up the lair but you know panicking.
~~~~~~~
Leo couldn’t hear any tinkering or talking coming from Donnie’s lab and that could only mean something horrible because there was no way Donnie would willingly take a break from his work, especially with all the new mystic technology laid around and- Ya, ok. Leo just needs to head in already!
Opening the door to the genius’ room with Raph hot on his trail, Leo was greeted by darkness and a squeaky snoring sound. Weird. Slowly the two inched closer to the noise side stepping the large amounts of papers and tech lying around on the ground as they came across what was letting out the noise. It was Donnie with his head smooshed against his pillow and drool dripping down his face… Huh, guess his big brother senses were off. Leo let out a tiny nervous laugh as he looked at Raph, receiving a glare in the process.
~~~~~~~~
Leo really should have listened to his gut! It was never wrong and he was stupid for thinking otherwise. He should have realized that it was weird that Donnie fell asleep in his bed rather than passing out at his desk like usual. Why did he think that his brother was finally listening to his body and took a break when he needed to like a normal person? It's Donnie he’s talking about here! There was no way he would ever do something healthy like that when there was new, shiny technology around, not in this universe at least! Nevertheless, Leo did and now he was paying the price for his stupidity.
~~~~~~~~
The duo retraced their steps leaving Donnie to sleep, the guy really needed it if the bags under his eyes were anything to go off on, and silently closed his doors. Once out, Raph huffed at Leo for worrying him so badly while Leo apologized for his false alarm. Leo would have to talk to Donnie later about his overworking tendencies, although it was strange that his phone didn’t wake him up when he called... Leo was proud Donnie was finally taking his health seriously, however. His little brother had been worrying him a lot recently, so it was nice he was finally resting. In the meantime, they could clean up Mikey’s mess… Speaking of where was he?
“DUDES,” Mikey yelled, running up to Leo and Raph as they shushed him, pointing over at Donnie’s door.
Raph crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the orange turtle, “Keep it down, Mikey! Donnie looks like the walking dead and is finally sleeping after working for so long. Everything is fine, anyway. He just didn’t look at his phone or something. Leo was just trying to scare us. Let’s get back to cleaning already-”
“HAVE ANY OF YOU SEEN ANGELO,” Mikey frantically interrupted Raph, ignoring his warning entirely. A cold sensation similar to ice water poured over Leo as he glanced over toward Raph with a questioning gaze. At his brother's denial, Leo suddenly understood why his youngest brother had been looking around the lair in weird spaces. Up in the rafters, inside the kitchen cabinets, and under the couch… Each of them were areas they had caught Angelo sleeping in on numerous occasions. It was weird, but a very Mikey thing to do. Leo remembers back to when he couldn’t find Angelo in the kitchen moments prior and his nerves increased ten-fold.
It took them all of five seconds before the group stormed back into Donnie’s lab, throwing the door open loudly before shaking the now confused turtle awake.
~~~~~~~~
Nothing Leo had ever faced could amount to the fear he felt at that moment as they yelled at each other in the lab. Looking back on it, the family should have been more prepared for this outcome ever since they picked up on Angelo’s unease, especially knowing their own tendencies to jump the gun as Hamatos. They should have been more careful and explained the situation properly to the kid. Leo should have explained the situation properly to the kid. It was his responsibility after all! He was the leader. He was the oldest brother. He should have done things differently. This whole ordeal could have been avoided if the two just sat down and talked all those hours ago, but no, Leo left Angelo in his time of need like an idiot!
Why did he feel the need to shelter the kid so much? Why didn’t he listen when Donnie said they should start actively tapping into the kid’s powers? Why was he so against letting the kid have a bit of freedom at the cost of his safety?
~~~~~~~~
“You told him WHAT?” Leo screeched, giving a horrified look Donnie’s way. The purple turtle groggily rubbed at his eyes as he gave a big yawn, sitting in his desk’s swivel chair. Raph and Mikey were both freaking out in the background, fueling each other’s anxiety over all the possible situations the kid could have gotten himself into, although Leo had his own problems to deal with currently.
Donnie picked up one of the many mugs lining his desk (gross some of those had mold in them) before taking a sip and immediately grimacing at the taste, “That you called him a hatchling? Ya, it's not my fault you’re too dense to realize how you have been treating Angelo like a newborn these past few weeks, although I can slightly see where you’re coming from being an older sibling, myself. He does have many scars and his flare-ups are no joke, however, I believe it is about time we consider his offer more seriously. Angelo's assistant would be a great asset to my research and we would be able to find some type of solution to this whole debacle a lot quicker. Truthfully, I was going to steal him away for further testing at one point even without your approval… or I would have if he didn’t just up and leave.” The genius turned back to his desk’s monitor, turning his computer on before typing away, leaving the blue turtle to hitch his shoulders in bewilderment.
Leo blushed profoundly at Donnie’s words, completely missing the latter half of his mussing in his embarrassment, while frimley denying “I do not!” The long look he got from each of his brothers and the encompassing silence to follow made Leo slightly doubt his claim. However that couldn’t be true, he didn’t treat Angelo like a baby! The blue turtle just provided extra care and support than he would with his own brothers. Angelo’s arms weren’t in the best shape and he was still adjusting to this dimension, so Leo’s attention was warranted.
Mikey spoke up breaking the silence, “Dude, you treat him like you treated me when we were little, and remember where that got you? Bite marks, lots of bite marks! I’m surprised he hasn't tried yet! Why do you think Raph and I had to sneak away with him to get some peace? The dude was buzzing for some action! I know we all agreed to keep him in the lair for a while, but hasn’t it been long enough? And don’t go blaming Donnie for your actions! He was only speaking the truth! All of you guys can be such- such- Big brothers! Ah, Angelo should have come to me instead of running away. We could have had younger sibling bonding time- Wait, you don’t think he thought I was big brother-ing because of you guys, right? Oh god, this is my worst nightmare! I was supposed to be the cool big brother type!”
Raph whacked Mikey on the side of the head as the orange turtle started freaking out, effectively causing the younger to yelp and pout at the action before Raph crossed his arms and spoke up, “Fuck ya too Mikey. We wouldn’t have to baby ya so much if ya didn’t go running off into dangerous situations all the time, Mr. I-press-random-buttons-for-shits-and-giggles! Angelo isn’t really helping his case either with running off like he did! The kid has no idea what's out there!”
“Thank you,” Leo responded, “Glad someone can see where I’m coming from!” He honestly didn’t think Raph of all people would be agreeing with him right now, but maybe he should give his hot-headed brother more credit. Perhaps the red turtle was more responsible than Leo thought. He was even willing to let the foul language slide just this once. Raph turned his attention to the blue turtle at his smug attitude and quickly disproved his earlier statement, “Oh no, ya are going overboard on the coddling. I, at least, try to give him space every once and a while. Ya, on the other hand, have been nothing but a pain.”
Leo bristled once again at his brother's words, trying and failing to come up with a comeback that he knew would never come. He did learn one thing from this whole ordeal, however: he would never again say that he was proud of his brothers! It always stabbed him in the back when he did and led to nothing but more trouble for the blue turtle. They were all dumb and he hated each of them!
Raph looked delighted that Leo had lost their argument until, surprisingly, Mikey jumped in, reclaiming his previous spunk, “Oh come on, you're not any better Raph! I’ve seen you wake up in the middle of the night to check on Angelo even if he is not in your room! You even tuck him in while he’s sleeping!” This time it was Raph’s turn to look flustered. The expression didn’t last long, however, as the red turtle turned his attack onto Mikey.
“Please, ya do the same! Why else would ya be awake at that hour! Ya also add more portions to his meals when the both of you are cooking!” Raph spitted out his words, growing more agitated by the minute.
“Donnie said to give him more portions, Raph! The ki- Angelo’s very skinny!” Mikey retaliated while stepping toward the red turtle.
“Ha, ya were about to say “kid”, weren’t ya? Looks like you’re more of a “big brother” than ya thought!” Raph laughed as he moved to meet Mikey in the middle, smirking. The younger gasped, offended by Raph’s words, taking the chance to draw the argument into a full-blown feud.
“Oh ho oh, you did not just say the B word, dear Raphie! You- you- Meathead,” Mikey snapped, balling his hands into fists.
“Tsk, is that the best you can come up with, knucklehead?” Raph retorted, glaring daggers at the younger turtle.
“Loudmouth!” Mikey screamed. “Airhead!” Raph replied. “Twit” Mikey rebutted. “Weirdo” Raph answered. The two went on calling off different insults and weird combinations of made-up words. The battle of wit was similar to how a tennis match between two professional players was played out, but instead of swift precise movements, the conversation was more sharp and brutal. Neither of the two backed down, getting more frustrated as they went on.
“Asshole!” “Dickhead!” “Fucker!” “Bitch!” “Smellfungus!” “That last one didn’t even make sense!” “I don’t know Donnie says it sometimes!” “You can’t just make up words!” “Says you-”
“THAT IS ENOUGH YOU TWO!” Leo exclaimed using his leadership voice, effectively silencing the two children before him. Mikey pouted and looked ashamed while Raph grumbled in anger. Seriously, what had gotten into the both of them? Tensions were high, that much was true, but this wasn’t how they should be acting!
The blue turtle pinched his eye ridge before placing a hand on his hip in a disappointed manner, “I know we are all worried about Angelo right now and that this situation is really scary, but we should be putting our energy into finding the kid instead of lashing out like animals! We have all been a little overprotective of him and can apologize for taking things too far when he is back home where it is safe. For now, let’s all put our heads together and-”
“Ah ha, found him,” Donnie suddenly interrupted Leo’s speech, gaining the attention of each of his brothers. The purple turtle turned away from his desk to find three startled and questioning faces. “What? It was obvious that Angelo had taken my phone seeing as it’s not here. Of course, I have ways of tracking it down in case it ever got stolen. It really wasn’t all that hard thanks to my genius, although I am surprised Angelo was able to steal it right from under my nose. I’ll have to update my security again… Anyway, It looks like Angelo is somewhere downtown. If we hurry we might be able to catch up with him before he moves,” the purple turtle stated with a pleased smile before standing up from his desk, grabbing his purple tablet, and sauntering out of his lab with the confidence of a madman.
Each of the remaining brothers shared a wide-eyed stare before quickly running after their purple brother.
~~~~~~~~
God, Leo loved Donnie. He didn’t know what he would do without his genius little brother around. If Leo was stuck with only Raph and Mikey for the rest of eternity, then it would be too soon. He wasn’t sure why he didn’t think of tracking Donnie’s phone sooner, but thankfully he wasn’t the only one with a brain cell in his family. It didn’t take long for the small group to locate where exactly Angelo had run off to, being highly trained ninjas. Unfortunately, they did not come across the orange turtle when they arrived at the scene and instead found something incredibly worrying.
~~~~~~~~
The cool night breeze and midnight run had cooled off any hostile energy the boys had a few minutes prior. They were all concentrating on keeping up with Donnie and looking around to see if they could catch a glimpse of their missing brother. Each member of their team was working together in tandem, focusing solely on the hopes of locating the child before something terrible happened. Donnie was in the front, running with his tablet in hand, and leading the group towards Angelo’s last known location. Mikey and Raph took either side of Donnie, glancing over his shoulders to look at the tablet from time to time while Leo covered their backs.
Jumping and weaving through buildings, the team was able to quickly travel a great length of distance, although there was still no sign of Angelo. Honestly, Leo was quite surprised the little turtle had gotten this far without alerting any of the humans down below of his presence, or them for that matter. It seemed the kid wasn’t just playing around and had planned out this little adventure. The kid’s weapon and cloaking broach were also missing from the lab when they left… Leo wasn’t sure if he should be impressed by the kid’s skills or ashamed of his own shortcomings. Nevertheless, he felt like he severely underestimated the little guy. Hopefully, it wasn’t too late to apologize for his oversight.
Donnie slowed his movements with a confused expression before coming to a stop atop a pretty run-down apartment building. The rest followed his actions. “What’s the hold up, Don? We gotta keep moving,” Raph urged, impatiently tapping his foot. Mikey shook his head in agreement while Leo glanced around. Something felt off, but he didn’t quite know what. Donnie spook up, taking a step to the rooftop’s ledge, “We have reached our destination. His last known location was down there in that alleyway, but my tablet is reacting funny. It’s glitching all over the place with this stupid purple-bluey light. Plus I don’t-” Leo quickly pulled Donnie back from the ledge and down out of sight while Raph and Mikey copied his actions. He put a finger up to his lips as they listened in on the enemy down below.
“The Kranng known as Kranng Sixty Seven is reporting the finding of strange energy of which Kranng has found. Unfortunately, Kranng Sixty Seven was unable to locate the second unknown energy source of which Kranng is searching for, although the energy of which Kranng is most interested in is present in Kranng Sixty Seven’s jurisdiction. The Kranng known as Kranng Sixty Seven is now awaiting orders from Kranng,” Screeched the metallic voice of the bubble gum robot. The fiend was standing directly below the brothers, looking at something on the wall behind a trashcan, although Leo couldn’t make out what it was looking at from this distance.
What did the Kranng want with Angelo? Leo assumed the Kranng was talking about the kid since it said something about a strange energy source. If the child’s mystics were leading in this direction, then it wouldn’t be that strange if the Kranng were talking about him. That was not good, though. No, it was downright horrible!
And what was the second energy source the bot was talking about? It couldn’t possibly be related to their mystery assailant, could it? Judging by the fact the Kranng had found something of worth in the exact same alley Angelo was in prior did not sit well with Leo. No, the blue turtle was certainly not liking this situation one bit.
This is exactly what Leo didn’t want to happen! It would only complicate things further if the boy was on the Kranng’s radar. They already had so much trouble finding this foreign entity tracking Angelo down. They didn’t need someone new coming into the picture so soon. However, it didn’t look like the kid was down there, but there was only one way to find out for certain.
The blue turtle glanced over at Raph and nodded his head. The red turtle grinned widely at him before leaping off the building, landing on top of the Kranng drone, and stabbing the robot with his sais. The Kranng screeched before throwing Raph off and started wailing its arms in retaliation due to its shock. Why didn’t the bot use its blasters? Leo didn’t know and frankly didn’t care as he and the rest of his brothers jumped down to join their hotheaded brother. Mikey teamed up with Raph while Donnie looked over at the wall, typing away at his tablet’s screen. Leo landed beside Donnie, looking around to see if Angelo was somehow still there. It was only one Kranng (a small fry at best), so he was sure Raph and Mikey wouldn’t need an extra set of hands.
Unfortunately, there weren’t many places for the young turtle to hide and it became clear that the orange turtle wasn’t in the alleyway fairly quickly. That wasn’t good, but thankly it meant that the child was either somewhere else in the city away from the Kranng or on his way back to the lair. The blue turtle really hoped it was the latter option, although knew with their turtle luck that the chances of Angelo going back himself were slim to none. Looks like they were back to the drawing board, however, they would have to record whatever the Kranng had found before continuing their search. They couldn’t leave without making sure that nothing shady was going on. Leo certainly didn’t need anything else on his plate right now.
Glancing over at the wall, Leo’s heart thumped in his chest at the familiar cross-shaped claw marks hidden behind the trash can. Ya, he shouldn’t have spoken so soon. Dam- Dang it! So that’s why Angelo had chosen this moment to sneak out! This is bad! This is really bad! How much did the kid know? He obviously found out they had been keeping this from him… Oh god, did he encounter the strange entity while he was out? Was he hurt? Was he in trouble? Did he need backup? Angelo couldn’t have possibly tried to fight it, did he?
No, no, that couldn’t be true. The brothers hadn’t even caught a glimpse of the entity yet, plus there was no sign of a fight here (other than the one going on in the background), so the kid was hopefully safe. Angelo was smart anyhow. He wouldn’t willingly get himself into a fight he couldn’t win. Plus the boy did have basic fighting capabilities and was very fast… He did mention he was created to be some type of super soldier as well… Leo didn’t want to hold onto that possibility. The kid shouldn’t have to fight. All the more reason to hurry up and find him.
Knowing that not only the Kranng were snooping around, but also knowing that the entity was close did not calm Leo’s growing panic. If anything his worry was escalating higher than it’s ever been, but he had to keep calm and focus on the task at hand. Donnie would know more. He’s the science guy. Everything would be fine. He just had to keep his cool just like Captain Ryan.
Channeling his most leader-like voice, Leo slowly turned to Donnie, “I’m really hoping you have good news for me right now. What have you figured out?” The purple turtle seemed unbothered by his brother’s panic and resumed fidgeting with his tablet. The purple-bluey static was still fuzzing up the screen. Sighing he responded, “Nothing. My tablet is on the fritz and nothing I do is fixing it. It was working perfectly a second ago, but then we came here and it's not responding! I do know that these claw marks are identical to the ones we have been finding around the city. They are on the smaller side, although that is most likely due to the entity trying to hide them like some of the other markings we found… Ugh! WHY! ARE! YOU! NOT! WORKING!” The genius’ attempts to bring his tablet back to life intensified as he resorted to shaking the device around.
Maybe they should have made sure Donnie had a bit more coffee in his system before taking him out. He seemed more on edge than usual, although with Angelo missing that was to be expected. The calm nature Donnie displayed back in the lab had completely disappeared as time progressed. It seemed he was much more worried about the orange turtle than Leo thought if the genius was resorting to smacking his tech like Mikey-
“Ah!” Donnie squeaked as his tablet produced a small spark while letting out an awful screeching sound. The Kranng Mikey and Raph were fighting had provided a loud shriek of its own, falling onto its knees, and collapsing onto the ground while each of the brothers blocked their own ears from the horrible noise. Donnie dropped his tablet in the process, thankfully stopping the sound with a fizzle, crack, and pop.
“Geez, Donnie! What was that for?” Raph questioned as he removed his hands from his head, giving the Kranng one last kick to satisfy his urges, and putting his weapons away. It would appear the horrible noise had knocked the poor robot unconscious… Perhaps the Kranng were more sensitive to sound than the brothers thought. That information was something they would definitely have to look into later when this whole ordeal was dealt with.
Donnie shook his head to rid himself of the awful ringing before slowly picking up his tablet, “It wasn’t me, Raph. My tablet reacted on its own, although I’m not sure why. I was just trying to get it to wake back up, but must have aggravated it somehow-” Suddenly, a thoughtful look crossed the purple turtle’s face as he glanced to the wall where the claw marks were.
A gleam sparkled in his eyes that his brothers’ knew all too well, only increasing the tension in the air. Slowly, he brought the tablet up to face the wall, inching it just slightly over the edge of one of the markings despite his brother’s frantic protests. As soon as the tablet crossed the indentions it sparked again while letting out a low scratchy humming noise, sounding a bit like radio static.
The genius's eyes lit up at the realization while he hopped in excitement before quickly tapping away at the glitchy screen, “Yes! This is amazing news! The marks have a bit of mystic energy still present! I can’t believe our luck right now! Unlike all the previous locations, we weren’t able to collect any sufficient data on the entity’s mystics due to the magic being so depleted.” Donnie smacked his tablet once more causing the screen to glitch slightly and finally start working, although a bit wonky. “Hmmm, it would appear that the glitching was caused by some type of interference… Although the mystic energy is certainly strange, very unique compared to Angelo’s. It’s a mix of colors, blue and purple like the glitching with a bit of… Orange? Oh, oh no,” Donnie finished lamely.
“Oh no, what Donnie?” Leo quickly questioned followed by confused stares from Raph and Mikey. Slowly, Donnie looked up from his tablet with a nervous smile, “Well, it would turn out that Angelo may have unintentionally transferred some of his mystic energy onto the markings while he was here. Which, you know, could potentially aid the entity in finding his current location if its sensing capabilities are anything like Angie’s.”
“Rooftops now ,” was all Leo had to say in response to his brother’s revelation while each of them started their ascent, leaving the forgotten and previously unconscious Kranng drone behind.
~~~~~~~~
It didn’t take long for Donnie’s tablet to die after the group’s mad dash to the rooftops. The poor thing had taken too much strain from the mix of mystic energies and had fizzled out much to the purple turtle’s dismay. Donnie had reassured the group that he would be able to recover the data later, but they were now in the dark about Angelo’s situation, so Leo took charge.
The first thing he did was try to call the genius’ phone once more, hoping for a new outcome, although Angelo still did not pick up. The kid really did not want to talk with them which wasn’t helping. It was understandable that Angelo would react this way after learning that they were keeping something this important from him, although a simple “Hey, I hate your guts, but I’m still alive” text would have been nice! Certainly would have reassured the worried big brothers of the dumb little sibling who thought it’d be a great idea to roam a city full of dangerous individuals, some of whom wanted them dead!
However, Leo wasn’t being a very good leader letting his mind wander in a rage like that. He had to give the next orders to his team which consisted of the group splitting up, Raph with Mikey and Donnie with him. Each group would take a quadrant of the nearby area to search and they would meet back in two hours to debrief. It would be faster if they separated and they would be able to cover more ground that way, so Leo wasn’t too worried about not finding the newest member of their family.
He was hopeful that he would get a call from one of his little brothers with good news within the hour, but, obviously, that didn’t happen or else they wouldn’t have resorted to what they were about to do: call April.
Honestly, that decision was the best one Leo had made all night.
~~~~~~~~
The two hours Leo had assigned the group for searching had ended up taking an extra few as the night passed with no glimpse of Angelo in sight. No one wanted to stop looking for the young child, especially knowing that they were racing against the clock. They didn’t know for certain if Angelo had already encountered the foreign entity and was in need of backup or if the child was still being tacked by it, although they didn’t want to risk either option.
However, Leo could tell that each of his brothers was starting to lose energy. He could see it in the way Donnie would linger on each building and hear it in Raph and Mikey’s voice over the phone. Leo himself was starting to tire out as well from being out for so long with so little sleep, but he knew that they wouldn’t stop until they found the kid. Although surely a small rest wouldn’t hurt, so he called Raph and Mikey to meet up. Leo was reluctant to do so since they hadn’t made any progress and it would be morning soon, but the team wouldn’t work well exhausted, especially if they needed to fight later.
The group met at an apartment complex across from a usually peaceful park, however, it looked like some type of event was going on. The park had colorful market stalls scattered around the nature trails with many humans filling the paths in between. It was strange to see considering that their city wasn’t one for pleasant conversations and strolls in the park. No, New York was typically much quieter and static, but what the humans did on their day off wasn’t really important anyway.
Now, it was unusual for Mikey to not react to the dazzling display brought by the gleaming lights from the park, although it just goes to show how grave the situation they were in if even the cheerful turtle was serious. In fact, now that Leo thought about it, Mikey hadn’t made a single joke since they realized Angelo was missing…
Turning his head away from the bright scene below them, Leo sighed, “Does anyone have anything new to add?” The solemn looks he got didn’t ease the heavy tension in the air. “What do you think, Fearless? We wouldn’t be here otherwise! Kid’s still missing, morning’s coming, and we don’t have a single flying fuck to where he might be!” Raph growled, releasing some of his pent-up aggression. Leo huffed in response, clearly not liking his brother’s language, but too tired and worried to do anything about it. Mikey placed a comforting hand on Raph’s shoulder, but the red turtle shrugged it off, walking over to the ledge of the building and sitting down.
“Dudes, we can’t give up now! I’m sure mini-me is doing fine! He probably just got distracted! You know how we Mikey’s are. Stray cats are pretty distracting with their cute little faces and fluffy tummies! Or like, what if he already went back to the lair and we didn’t know! Th- that’d be funny. Ha, ha… He didn’t though, right D?” Mikey said with an unusually somber voice as he questioned their purple brother. The sad shake of Donnie’s head as he looked at the sewer’s security cameras from Leo’s phone dimmed the small smile on Mikey's face, head turned downward in thought.
Suddenly, Leo clapped his hands catching the attention of each of his brothers, “Okay, that is it. We have been searching for hours with no luck. Angelo is in danger and he doesn’t even know it and we can’t help because we don’t know where he is, so I think it’s about time we call the others for help, April especially since Casey most likely won’t pick up.” He got looks of grim acceptance at his words. Raph was the first to respond, waving Leo down, “Go right ahead with that. I’ll be over here out of earshot.” Mikey replied with a quick “Same!” as he scrambled over to where Raph was, sitting down beside him.
The blue turtle studdered, “We- Well, Donnie has my phone. He should do it! Plus April likes him the best!” Leo turned to look at Donnie but found an empty place, his phone left on the ground. Slowly turning his head back to his brothers, he saw all three of them giving him smug looks. Donnie spoke up, “Ya, no. Don’t get me wrong, I am April’s favorite, but I’m not getting my head chewed off today. I’m too pretty to die young and it was your idea soooooo-”
“Ugh, whatever, but we are all taking the blame for this! It wasn’t only my idea to keep April and Casey in the dark! Everyone agreed!” Leo exclaimed, walking over to pick up his phone. He doesn’t blame the others for not wanting to tell April about their current situation. She doesn’t know anything about the foreign entity and certainly is not going to like that the boys lost Angelo while something that bad was roaming around, especially since it was now coming for the kid.
From the short time April had fretted over the phone all those weeks ago when Angelo first appeared in their dimension, the turtles knew that the kid held a special place in the girl’s heart. Maybe she was trying to focus on the child to distract herself from her missing father or maybe she just had really strong elder sibling vibes, either way, she cared for the boy deeply. April had texted Donnie asking for frequent updates on the kid’s situation, too, so this conversation was not going to be an easy one.
Psyching himself up, Leo brought his phone to his ear and called April’s number… No later than three rings later the girl picked up, “Hey, Leo, fancy hearing from you so late. Don’t you normally go on about how rest is the most important thing for a healthy body and mind?” He could hear a slight tint of assument in April’s voice.
Shifting his feet, Leo responded calmly despite his nervous demeanor, “Ah, well, I really needed to ask for your assistance with something. It’s been a pretty crazy night. Hope I didn’t call when you were busy.” Perhaps if he kept the conversation light, April wouldn’t be too mad when they got to the serious stuff. He might be wasting time, but it was important to slowly recall their situation to April so that she wouldn’t kill them all later. “Uh, no, you’re good. Casey and I were just hanging out at this pop-up market downtown. He said he needed to buy something for his sister, but then we ran into a friend. Anyway, what’s up? You boys aren’t in any trouble are you?” The redhead questioned with a worried tone.
“The market with orange fairy lights that looks like it’s packed to the brim with people? Huh, we are close by actually and ya I guess you could say we are in a pickle right now,” Leo prolonged the conversation getting some “get on with it” looks from his brothers. It did make things easier knowing Casey and April were together and close by at that. They could all meet up and discuss what to do further after everyone is caught up on the situation. April’s voice broke the blue turtle’s train of thought, “Ok- Leo, what’s going on? You’re stalling. You only do that when you are caught in a lie. Whatever it is, I swear I won’t get mad, alright?”
At the girl’s reassured tone, Leo took a deep breath before quickly talking into his phone, “You remember Angelo, right? Ya, he’s missing and we think this guy we’ve been tracking down for the past few weeks is hunting him. Sorry, we didn’t tell you. A lot has been going on and we didn’t want to cause more issues for the kid in case the guy somehow knows how to track mystic energy like Angelo can. It was for the safety of everyone really since it seems we were right in our assumption… somewhat at least.”
Silence greeted Leo’s apology so he contented his explanation, “We know the kid left sometime within the past five hours. Mikey, Raph, and I went to get cleaning supplies for some mess Mikey created in the lair and left Angelo with Donnie, but when we came back the kid was gone. We’ve been looking for him ever since but had no luck. We did have a run-in with a Kranng bot earlier and thought Angelo might have tried to hunt down the foreign entity (that’s what we're calling the guy now, thanks Mikey) by himself. Both his weapon and cloaking brooch was missing as well, thus we think he might be designed as human right now. We couldn’t find him on any of the rooftops in the area so we were hoping-”
“I KNEW IT! He’s over here guys. I knew something fishy was going on with that kid,” April’s voice rang out loudly from Leo’s phone, causing the blue turtle to cover his ear from the noise, the action being repeated by his siblings.
Surprised at the girl’s outburst Leo looked over to his brothers and saw expressions matching his own. What were the odds that Angelo was closer than they realized, although that didn’t sit well with the team. The kid was down there somewhere in a packed space filled with humans who could potentially find out his identity with a swap of their hands. Regaining his composure, Raph quickly turned around and squinted at the crowd down below while Mikey and Donnie copied his actions, trying to spot the child in the swarm.
Leo could hear movement on the other side of the phone as April continued, “Oh, that boy is in so much trouble! I knew something was up with this child ever since Casey dragged her over here. She had this shell-shaped phone that I could have sworn was Donnie’s and was being very vague in general. Well, I guess “she” turned out to be Angelo in disguise this whole time! Oh, I can’t believe I was right! What was he thinking coming out here alone? Oh, I’m gonna give him a piece of my mind… Don’t think I forgot about you guys, either! Next time tell us about this stuff so things like this don’t happen. I- Ah, Wait!”
The call broke off suddenly. That’s just great! What had happened on the other side? Was everyone alright? Did the brothers need to step in? Of course, they needed to step in! That was their little brother down there! The child clearly wasn’t thinking straight and they had to go after him before matters turned worse!
“Found him!” Mikey screamed pointing off in a direction down below. Following his hand, the team could clearly see a small figure running at top speeds away from Casey and April. The crowd seemed to part from the chase-like scene going on down below while the brothers started one of their own on the rooftops beside the park’s border.
Oh no he didn’t! Angelo couldn’t have possibly thought running away was a good idea right now! Like Hell were the boys losing him this time! Oh, when Leo got his hands on the kid, he was gonna give him the longest lecture of his life and- Oh. Oh SHIT!
Not looking where he was going, Angelo had run into some passersby and they did not look happy, although the situation only got worse as the kid’s broach had fallen off, exposing the young turtle to the world. It didn’t look like the boy was aware of his disguise being undone as he slowly stood up from where he had fallen with large eyes. Where were April and Casey? This is literally Leo’s worst nightmare come true! He wished he could go down there and help the boy, but it would only make the situation worse.
The next course of events happened quickly, almost as if someone had hit fast forward on their TV remote. Angelo had said something, but the guy pushed back, literally shoving the kid to the ground and Leo heard a low growl leave Raph’s mouth followed by a low hissing noise from Donnie. He was sure the same hostile energy was being shared between Mikey and himself, because who the fuck would push a little kid down to the ground so harshly like that!
Then the guy had the audacity to try and strike the boy, but Leo was having none of that and stopped the man by throwing one of his throwing stars between the two. He wasn’t even aware of the fact until the action was done and Angelo’s eyes had met his. He hopefully gave the kid a reassuring gaze despite his riled-up demeanor, although he wasn’t sure if his comfort was of any help. The child looked really bothered by what happened and if it wasn’t for both April and Casey berating the group surrounding the boy, he wasn’t sure he would be able to stop his brothers from doing the act themselves. He was sure Donnie had already found the guy who was going to punch Angelo and was plotting some way of getting back at him. Leo wouldn’t stop whatever the genius had planned and was sure that both Raph and Mikey would be on board for a little mischief. No one messed with a Hamato, especially not their newest little brother!
Thankfully, whatever their two friends said to the crowd surrounding the trio had allowed for them to slip away. The boys were hot on their trail, not wanting to leave the small turtle’s side for one second. With the sun just peeking over the horizon the group was finally able to regroup with their missing family member. Now all that was left was their joyful reunion and making sure the kid was safe.
~~~~~~~~
Leo shook his head, clearing his mind from the lengthy flashback it had forced his panicked-induced state into. The recap somewhat calmed his nerves, but he couldn’t help the way his voice shook as he addressed the young boy, “MICHELANGELO ORANGE HAMATO, YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE!”
The leader put on as much of a serious face as he could as Angelo looked up at him with the sweetest pair of puppy dog eyes Leo had ever seen. They almost made him want to back down and just hug the kid right then and there. It had been a stressful past few hours and Leo could tell the boy was still reeling from his earlier panic attack, but it wasn’t the right time to lower his guard. They were still out in the open with who knows what lurking in the shadows. It wasn’t in their best interest to stay any longer, especially with what just happened in the park as well, not to mention the stink eye he was receiving from the angered redhead.
The group had a lot of explaining to do, thus Leo came to his next decision rather easily, “We are heading home RIGHT now and that is FINAL .” It was not up for discussion. He was mad, scared, worried, and had so many other mixes of emotions swirling around in his head, but if one thing was for certain, Leo as oldest brother and leader was going to carry on with his duty and keep his family safe, no matter the costs.
If only he had the foresight to see how his actions from that night would aid in the whirlwind of consequences soon to follow.