Leo's Memories

Chapter 14 Pain

Vern really needed for the turtles to wake up. It was really boring in the lair without them. Not that Splinter isn't nice to hang around, but the rat has been in a meditative state for the last hour. The gang has been asleep for four.

Leo was in his cage, clutching at his different injuries. The blade in his plastron was left there, and now it was almost healed over. The turtle was lucky to not have any infections. He looked over the small scars decorating his body, they were pale and slightly puckered. Raw and exposed because of the continuous electrocution. Finally, he looked at his hands. They were finally healed, but the shaking hasn't stopped. He could barely move his fingers. They twitched as he tried to clench his fists.

"Dinner time!" The Doctor came in with a small bowl of soup that he carefully placed in front of the turtle. He slipped the muzzle off of his prisoner's face, barely avoiding the snap of the turtle's jaw, "Now, you don't want me to take the food do you?"

Leo looked down at the soup. It looked like clam chowder, but he could smell the difference. There weren't any drugs, so the turtle dug right in. He shakily brought the bowl to his lips, tasting the warm meal. He put the bowl down as the Doctor started to laugh again.

"Do you enjoy it?" the maniac wiped tears from his eyes, "I heard that turtle was a delicacy around here." Leo smiled and stared the man right in the eyes as he lifted the bowl to his lips. He finished the last of it as his captor stopped laughing.

"It is a delicacy, especially in soup," The turtle grinned, showing his sharp canines. He placed the bowl in front of the man, allowing him to place the muzzle back on.

"You take the fun out of everything." Leo delighted in his small victory.

"I'm hungry now,"

"Not now Mikey,"

"He just willingly ate turtle."

"Casey."

"Yeah?"

"Most turtles are cannibals."

It was cold, Leo could see his breath. Turtles didn't like the cold. He didn't like the cold. Leo curled in on himself as his cage seemed to get colder. Was it winter? Or was this another plan for torture? Either way, he needed to get warm fast. He closed his eyes and imagined the warmth of his home. How long has it been? Will he ever get to see them again?

"I'm surprised you haven't gone into brumation yet. Do mutant turtles go into energy saving mode?" the Doctor walked into his cage.

"So this is just torture." Leo could barely talk through his chattering teeth.

"Yes. Despite being a mutant, you're still as cold blooded as your ancestors." Cold blue eyes lit up in glee as the turtle let out another shiver. The man watched him for another hour before letting the heat return to the cage. Everything hurts.

"What's brumation?" Casey and April looked at the shivering turtles. It was like they could feel the cold.

"Brumation is when reptiles shut down their bodies to conserve energy. This is very dangerous as it could lead to death."

"Has it ever happened to you guys?"

"It almost happened to Mikey once when he fell into a frozen lake. Leo instantly dove after him and made sure that he was the warmest turtle on the planet after that."

"Yeah. I almost shut down and drowned! It was scary."

Leonardo was having another seizure. The Doctor barely electrocuted him before he started seizing. The muzzle hadn't even been taken off, leaving Leo to bite down on his tongue. The tears streaming down his face burned and made the cuts from the muzzle worse. Everything hurts. He could hear laughing. The Doctor was enjoying his prolonged suffering. He could feel blood roll down his head from where it was continuously slammed into the metal exam table. Everything hurts.

Once everything had finally settled down, the Doctor grabbed another scalpel. It seemed to be his favorite tool to use on the turtle. Leo whimpered as the blade sliced easily into his scales. His nerves were still on fire because of the seizure and the scalpel only made it worse. He looked the man right in the eyes as he carved simple delicate designs into his bicep. Just under his band tattoo. That was his second tattoo, Raph had come up with the design. He watched as the Doctor copied the beautiful design that his younger brother had come up with.

"Whoever made tattoo ink for turtles is a genius! But, I prefer the older method," The blade dug deeper into his arm, "Who did your tattoos?" Blood was dripping down his arm. He could hardly see the design. When the Doctor didn't get an answer, he sighed and walked away. Leonardo was dragged back to his cage where he dissociated quietly.

Raph watched as his brother's art was mimicked and nearly sliced into. He didn't deserve this. Leo didn't deserve any of this. Why was this happening!?

"How is he okay?" Donnie whispered, "How can he act like none of this ever happened?" Was he okay? Or were they just ignoring the signs like they always did? Was their brother still in pain? The gang sat in silence as they digested all of this.

"Why didn't we try to look for him?" Mikey asked, his voice hoarse from crying, "Leo never breaks his promises. Why didn't we go look for him? Could we have saved him?" The brothers looked away in shame. They were too caught up in their own world to think about why their brother wasn't home. They felt betrayed and alone. But, that wasn't a good excuse.