[TEXT] Leo to Team, COME IN TEAM

[anything_it_takes]

[The cart ride into Keeliai is long, exhausting and stressful. Leo presses himself into the furthest corner to hide (which still leaves him painfully visible) even as his sharp blue eyes peer through the slats, taking in as much of the alien city as possible.

On one hand, this is the most amazing thing Leo's ever experienced, an exhilarating adventure straight out of Space Heroes. On the other, he's never felt so alone, out of control and exposed in his life. Sure, he always wanted adventure, but not without the guys - and not hauled down a city road in broad daylight, surrounded by people turning their heads in curiosity.

At least the few kedan on the street who take a close enough look into the open-backed cart to spy him out don't scream or run. But there are some stares, and he can feel the undercurrent of hostility like a flame inches from his skin. There's a tension in the air in some parts of the city they go through, a hard look to some of the kedan when they see someone not like them...

Leo slips into his appointed building like - well, like a ninja, or as close as possible while lacking the cover of darkness. When he gets to his temporary quarters he leans his shell against the door and sighs wearily; alien robots and plant monsters are one thing, but this? This is an entirely new level of crazy.

Water had seemed a natural choice when the kedan gave him options. He's glad of his choice now as he splashes some from the room's small fountain over his head, then winces as he does the same to the burn mark forming on his shoulder. It's not serious, but Leo's entire arm aches and tingles from channeling Justin's electrical shock through his katana. He's certainly pulled smarter moves.

Hopefully whatever jerked him "sideways" during that explosion also took his brothers through in slightly different places, and he can link up with them again once they all get their bearings. He knows the team can handle this situation, but first? They have to be together.

He'll start canvassing the city come dusk, one Sector at a time if he has to. But until nightfall, Leonardo has time to kill, and he isn’t about to sit around doing nothing.

Settling in at the console, Leo sets it up for a text message - and pauses, considering his options. This is a public network; he has to get a message out that his brothers will understand if they're listening, but that won't arouse too much civilian curiosity or alert any enemies.

There is one thing... He'd batted around an idea for a code word with Donnie. The problem being, it was never official - Leo just hadn't anticipated a realistic situation where it would be useful. The idea was just idle talk.

He hopes that if Mikey or Raph are alone out there, they'll recognize his reference. Donnie will catch on at least, if he's listening. One way or the other it's the best Leo's got until he can search the rooftops.]


ANy New Yorkers out here? if you know the 2nd Time About shop on Bleeker, contact me ASAP

[Ryan to Dauntless, come in Dauntless...]

Aalso. Look, I got the story from the kidan ans I know i can;t be the first person to ask. But Im looking for any leads on how t get back to my own world... stories, rumuors, anything.

Thankyou.


[Please don't let him be alone out here. Leo presses Return.]



[ tl;dr Enter one cagey ninja turtle boy with delusions of being a Great Hero! Leo v.2012 is here and super worried about his bros ;A; ]

Comments

[anything_it_takes]

[Nnnnnnnngh

Okay, okay, OKAY. Leo takes a deep breath and mulls over the situation. The posts are public record; if their enemies are here, or if they ARRIVE here, Leo can't change that. He can't count on Donnie being able to do it, either.

But you better do what he said and nix the video from here on out, Raph. Leo has a responsibility to protect the team and YOU might not think the Foot or the Kraang will ever get here but it's a good thing somebody around here is capable of planning ahead.

The things that happen when Leo's not around to tell Raph what to do...

Finally he sighs, the outrage over Raphael's video finally spent. Leo turns to sit on the molding around the base of the building spire, shell hitting the stone with a soft clunk.

Time for serious business.]

I take it Mikey isn't here yet. Well - our Mikey, anyway.

[YET. Because Leo just got here, Donnie and Raph have been here for a couple months, Mikey could be incoming. He COULD be... and Leo will treat that as a certain thing because the alternative is not an option.]

[seriouslytwisted]

[Raph huffs and leans against the side of the spire as well, arms still folded.] Haven't seen him anywhere yet. [And it's Mikey. He'd definitely have made himself known.]

Look, Leo- there's stuff you gotta know about these other guys.

[anything_it_takes]

[Leo leans back against the tower wall and looks up at Raph.]

All right. Bring me up to speed.

[seriouslytwisted]

This Mikey seems like an okay guy, but when me and Don went to visit his place it was like Leatherhead's hidey-hole in there. Traps all over, that would seriously kill people. And he let Donnie go in there and poke around on his own, without even going with him to disarm them.

[That didn't really sit well with Raph, but not until he looked back on it did he realize how much it bothered him. Donnie can disarm traps as well as the next guy, but in the dark, with as many as there were, without any idea where they were?

Yeah.]

[anything_it_takes]

[Leo doesn't know if that qualifies as cautious, or careless. But the idea that Donnie could have run face-first into a trap that was comparable to Leatherhead's frighteningly ingenious and pointy machinations? His expression hardens at the suggestion.

Not so great there, Mike.]

I'll have to be careful if I get an invite.

What else?

[seriouslytwisted]

...yeah.

[He doesn't want to talk about this one.]

Watch out for the other me here.

[anything_it_takes]

[OK you know what Raph, the less you say the more Leo has cause for worry. He hears the terseness of his brother's voice, can tell he's not just being brusque, Raph doesn't want to discuss it because talking about it makes him uncomfortable.

Leo is hardly his brother's nanny, but the reality that his brothers have been without his guidance for two whole months is gradually sinking in. So whatever happened to make Raph's expression go carefully neutral? Is Not Okay.]

What happened.

[seriouslytwisted]

[You know Leo, your brothers managed fifteen years without your guidance and somehow made it out relatively unscathed. You are definitely not Raph's nanny, and now that he's gotten this on top of Donatello all but accusing him of going on a wild rampage and expecting people to come after him because of Raph-

Yeah he's getting really annoyed here.]

None of your business.

Just watch out for him. He's got a temper. [Yes, Raphael is aware of the hypocrisy here, and he also knows it should say a lot about how unhinged this guy is if he says he has a temper.]

[anything_it_takes]

[Raphael's obviously on his last frayed nerve here. Leo's done fighting; he raises a hand slightly in placation.]

Alright, I'll try not to get him angry.

[Okay. They've been over everyone so far, except for...]

What about the other me?

[At THIS point Leo's not sure what to expect.]

[seriouslytwisted]

He's fine.

[Grumpily obliging, because he's glad Leo decided not to push it. Then again, Leo can always tell what's too far with Raph.]

He's not gonna be a problem.

[anything_it_takes]

[Yeah, Leo's not interested in a Real Fight, and he knows when it's going in that direction. He might not understand Raph a lot of the time... but he Gets him.]

Thank goodness for small favors.

[michaeljangelo]

Aww man, you really didn't just say that out loud, did you? That's like, asking for trouble.

[Says a voice from a nearby shadow. A nearby shadow that suddenly has the munchies and starts chewing on something crunchy.]

Begging for it really. Like...watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat sort of way.

[seriouslytwisted]

[HOW THE FUCK IS HE SO QUIET]

Mike! Nobody invited you, get lost!

[anything_it_takes]

[HOW DID HE SNEAK UP ON THEM okay to be fair, when Leo's engaged with his brothers he really doesn't focus enough on his surroundings. That has been proven over, and over, and over. STILL.

Hey, that sounds like...]

Is that popcorn?

[Are you creeping up there watching them talk and eating POPCORN????]

[michaeljangelo]

[Ninja.]

I did that already, get lost I mean. It was kind of embarrassing, really. My own fault though, I really don't get out nearly as much as I should.

[From the brief sound that follows there's the sound of someone brushing brushing their hands together, presumably to get rid of crumbs.]

Seaweed chips. Or...at least I'm going to pretend they're seaweed chips. It's traditional that this sort of thing require either candy or something with a good salty-crunchy mouth-feel.

[seriouslytwisted]

Stop talking.

[The real question is, how long was Mike there listening?]

Were you following us?

[anything_it_takes]

[YEAH. HE NOTICED THE "NINJA" PART. THANKS.

Leo just folds his arms and glares at the source of Mike's voice. He's backing his bro on this question.]

[michaeljangelo]

Why would I need to? You outright announced where you were going to be. It was just a matter of finding my way here.

[Slowly Mike emerges from the shadow. And why yes, he's smiling...of course he's smiling.]

[seriouslytwisted]

[DON'T YOU DARE ANSWER HIS QUESTION WITH A COMPLETELY REASONABLE EXPLANATION]

Yeah well, this isn't a meet and greet! I'm trying to talk to my brother here!

[anything_it_takes]

[Leo winces. Mike's kinda got them there. Leonardo had been too busy being a bossy-pants taking charge of the situation to worry about one of the other resident mutant turtles inviting themselves.

He's about to ask if there's a particular reason Mike is here, when he... realizes the mask is red. You know, on top of all the other bizarre physical differences. And there are a lot of them.]

Huh.

... Did somebody else choose orange?

[Sorry Raph but this is still all very new and disorienting to your brother. He's had a long day.]

[michaeljangelo]

[That's our Mike, telling the truth when it isn't his turn.

Judging by his expression, Mike was just about to swat at Raph with a jibe that was equal parts snark and genuine affection. Of course...that expression shifts when Leo's question catches his attention.

That's when the snark completely melts away and a look of pure amusement takes over.]

That's adorable. You guys share a brain!

[The voice is wrong, and the inflection isn't quite right, but aside from that this Mike could easily be their Mikey poking fun at Raph for talking to his pet turtle.....again.]

[seriouslytwisted]

They all wear red.

[Note the lack of irritation and demands that Mikey switch his color this time. Yeah, he read the conversation between big Leo and Mikey about why they all wear red bandannas; even Raph has his honor, okay.]

[anything_it_takes]

[It never occurred to him that they might NOT have wound up with different colors. Yet it seems to suit Mike, along with his strange two-toed feet and strangely-shaped face sporting an over-broad, toothy grin.

Leonardo's not distracted by the differences of his brother's dimensional twin for long though. The ribbing almost derails him and Mike gets treated to a second or two of flustered embarrassment over being called adorable before Leo recovers his composure and scoffs.]

Okay, very funny Mike. Is there a reason you're out here eavesdropping?

[michaeljangelo]

[You know, now that you mention it Mike does not the lack of apparent irritation from Raph with regards to his choice of mask color. So much so that his attention is instantly diverted from Leo back to Raph, who has earned his very own single brow-ridge look of impressed astonishment.

He's still looking at Raph when he begins to answer Leo.]

Curiosity. I mean, I knew right away that you weren't from my world, so I figure that frees me up from the ol' cloak and dagger routine.

[He half shrugs.]

I mean...isn't the better question why the heck are the two of you meeting out here?

[seriouslytwisted]

[Don't you look at him like that. He's still tempted to toss your ass off the roof. He's still all offended that you decided to leave and go back home after a while. One would think you didn't appreciate the semi-constant abuse!]

That would be because of Captain Paranoid over here. [A rival to you, Mike, without the homicidal tendencies.] Why, your Leo isn't all obsessed with secret plans and meeting places and whatever?