The four turtles stood out on the balcony of April's apartment. The boy, who told them his name was Casey, was clinging to Leonardo.
"Will you be alright?" Leonardo asked.
"I guess," April sighed. "My aunt says I can stay here as long as I want, but I'll be a lot better when I track down the creeps that took my dad."
Leonardo hummed. "April, I promise you: we will not rest until we find him."
"Thank you," April said. "But it's not your fight."
"Yes, it is," Leonardo assured her.
April gave him a gentle, shy smile, earning him a glare from Donatello that he ignored. He nodded at April with a small smile of his own and led his brothers away, still holding Casey.
From there, they headed back to the lair, though Leonardo did try to get Casey to let go of him, to no avail.
*
"I am impressed, Leonardo," said Master Splinter, after he had been told what had happened. "You proved to be an effective leader under the most difficult of circumstances."
"Thank you, sensei," Leonardo said quietly. He glanced down at Casey, who was still clinging to him and appeared to be falling asleep. "And I think... I think I figured out why you made me leader."
"Oh? Why is that?"
Leonardo hesitated. "Because I'm able to formulate a plan in the middle of action."
Master Splinter smiled and nodded.
"Everybody!" Mikey shouted. "Come here! We made the news!"
Leonardo picked up Casey and followed Master Splinter out to the main room, where Michelangelo was sitting on the couch, watching TV.
"A report of – get this – ninjas in New York. Don't believe me? After residents reported a disturbance, the police recovered this." The image shown was of one of their shurikens. "For channel six news, this is Carlos Chang O'Brien –" the man clicked his tongue "– Gambe saying, 'Hi-ya'!"
"This is awesome!" Michelangelo shouted. "We're gonna be famous!"
"You must be more careful," Master Splinter said. "The ninja's most powerful weapon is the shadows. Being brought out into the light is a dangerous thing."
"Relax, sensei," Raphael said dismissively. "It's one little news story. What's the worst that could happen?"
Leonardo rolled his eyes and then headed to his room, still holding the still-asleep Casey.
YOU ARE READING
Rise of the Turtles - Part 1 of "Experiment 1251514118415"
FanfictionTMNT 2012 angst-fueled story. This particular one follows the first episode, with minor changes to the plot - specifically the characters of Leo and Casey - to better suit what I want to write. Leo has a different personality (which will be obvious...
