tushanshu | [TEXT] Leo to Team, COME IN TEAM

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[TEXT] Leo to Team, COME IN TEAM

[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; ]

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So... he had you going for a little while.

[Dude. You BOUGHT it?? You actually bought his brother's bluff?

Leo could have sworn there was no WAY they could pass for eighteen. He's not laughing out loud, but oh man, if you could see the mirth in his eyes.]

[He tries (and fails) to stunt a huff.]

No offense, but you guys don't exactly...look the part. [At least Raph and Don don't. He hasn't seen you quite yet.]

We really don't.

So... you figured it out when you saw him.

[You did believe Raphael over text or audio and then realize you were wrong on sight, RIGHT? Because if you didn't OH MAN SERIOUSLY?

That would go a long ways towards making up for feeling insecure about this Leo's age advantage.]

[UNCOMFORTABLE PAUSE]

We, uh...met face-to-face. [By which he means, he almost drowned your brother in a fishing net. And then the two Raphs met and tried to kill each other. Twice. And then your Raph ditched them.]

[fun times.]

[It's a good thing Leo's too polite to laugh... out loud in the other turtle's face, anyway. So he gets his laughing done before hitting reply. While the cheek-splitting grin is still plain in his voice, it's far more friendly than derisive. Hearing the uncomfortable avoidance in Leonardo's voice helps him feel more at ease - this eighteen-year-old him is fallible.]

Yeah, I wouldn't think any of us could pull that off.

[UM YES the Raphael thing Leo's gonna try for a straight story from Big Leo 'cuz his brother isn't giving him one. Leo doesn't intervene in Raph's fights or business, but he still wants the facts. So he'll know exactly how hard to glare at eighteen-year-old Raph if and when he sees him.

Along those lines... Leo's starting to get curious what his dimensional twin looks like, and he's starting to feel confident enough to make the first move.]

Look, do you... want to get better acquainted? In person? I'm meeting my brothers tonight, but maybe in a day or two...?

[He'll get the story on this Leo from his bros first, of course. There's no way he'd go into a meeting like this blind.]

[It's a bit embarrassing to hear that note of laughter in the other Leonardo's voice, but it's more amicable than mean-spirited, which takes the edge off. Let it never be said that Leo can't be a good sport.]

[The offer, however, catches him slightly off-guard, which is probably communicated in the long stretch of radio silence following it. Things were still incredibly tentative between their universes, and though he feels as though they're making gradual progress, it's been a constant source of worry for Leonardo. To be extended such a frank invitation is...unexpected.]

[There's a slow, cautionary voice in his head, warning him against the foolishness of meeting an unknown person alone. It's two parts wisdom, three parts experience, and one part bitterness.]

[There's another voice, too; and this one sounds more like his own. It reminds him of the other Don's quiet intelligence, the other Mikey's sly grin, and a bag of scavenged food left at their front door by the other Raphael.]

[Carefully, Leo hits the reply button, attempting to moderate the tentative (if somewhat puzzled) excitement in his tone. One of these two voices has always been louder than the other, after all.]

If...your brothers aren't against it, sure. That would be great.

[To be sure, it's a big step for Leo to take; he's both cautious and a bit nervy in extending that invitation. But Donnie said this Leo isn't evil, and Raph was chatting with him - okay, yelling at, but it was pretty standard Raphael. They're clearly not enemies. Leo figures it's about time he caught up to his brothers - if "about time" means "the second he figures out they're ahead of him in the game," which for Leo, it always does.

Also. It's another Leonardo. An older one. What kind of things has he seen? Is he a good leader? What has he been through that Leo hasn't - and what does he know that Leo doesn't? How good is he, and does he also use Niten Ryū?

There must be so much Leo can learn from him. And he's been friendly - heck, he started the teasing with that icebreaker about Raphael's poor choice of white lies, and then was a good sport when Leo turned the teasing around. All that has been enough to override his default caution.]

Give me a drop point... somewhere in the Water Sector. I'll leave a note.

[Not ALL of his caution, though.]

[Faintly, he wonders what Raphael will have to say about this. His brother has been fighting against the concept of alternate versions of themselves from the very first moment the other Raphael showed up.]

[Leo almost thinks he understands where he's coming from, now - it's been easy to push it away thus far, but now there's no ignoring this other soul with whom he shares an entire identity. For them, their identities are practically sacred, the only things that truly belonged to them. They were unique, and an accident, and alone. There were no other beings like them in the world.]

[until now.]

[But unlike Raphael, Leonardo has talked with them, divulged personal history to them, extended his olive branch to them one fragile leaf at a time. And it's not at all hard to see that while they're the same in many ways, they're distinct from one another in many more. He hesitates to compare them to a family. But it's something close.]

[And even still, he finds himself smiling at his alternate self's response. Crafty little bugger after all, aren't you?]

Ask your Donatello about our fateful meeting. I'm sure he can point you to the right place.

[A random alleyway isn't exactly the most sophisticated meeting grounds, but it seems like a fair one - everyone knows where it is, and just as importantly, it's a symbol of their first step towards cooperation. He isn't quite sure how much the other Leo plans to tell his brothers, and he won't ask, but if worse comes to worst he'd like to leave a clue for Don to puzzle out. Being included in this encryption at all is still a sign of trust between them that he isn't willing to test.]

[Just before dawn the morning following the last message, Leo leaves a brief message.]

Okay. Meet me at midnight.

[Neither Raph nor Donnie have voiced any reservations over this Leonardo. Actually, Raph is practically dismissive, and may or may not have used the word "pussycat."

Still, Leo is cautious. It's his dimensional twin, and after meeting Mike he really has no clue how different this Leonardo could be. It's a little nerve-wracking; he hopes this meeting will go well but there's no way to guarantee it.

He's more hopeful than afraid, though. The voice at the other end of the line sounded not like Leo, but - almost as if Leo's personality had grown up in a different body. There was something about the way he said things and the words he chose that rang a slightly off-key tone in Leo's core. It's eerie, and fuels both his excitement and his trepidation.

But more than anything else, Leo is burning with curiosity. Sure it's nerve-wracking, but this is also the most grand adventure he's ever been on. And he can't wait to learn more about this older version of himself.

Leo takes the rooftops to the alleyway, of course. When he gets there he surveys the area from above and frowns; going down there is asking for an ambush. He doesn't expect one from other-Leonardo, but that doesn't mean he wants to put himself in a bad position.

There are balconies on the upper floor of these low buildings. Leo finds one with a clear view of the alley and nestles in to the dark corner, crouched and resting lightly on his heels. If you're not looking for a green-shelled ninja, his huddled shape could pass for a patio bush.

He has several hours until midnight. He waits.]

[He'd told Raph he was going alone. Where to find him, when the meeting was, and how long to wait before coming to look for him. He didn't expect anything to happen, exactly - and even if things did go wrong, he honestly doubted it would get so bad as to end in him crossing weapons with his alternate self - but to err on the side of caution comes as natural as breathing. Reason, location, time. Don't come looking before then.]

[Two hours before midnight, Leo sets off for the place he first met the alternate Donatello. The streets are deadly quiet as he travels, thick with an old, lingering trepidation brought about by the curfew that had been enacted by Evandau's police force. The kedan are terrified to lose their meager supplies even after the threat has passed. And it's a terrible thing to fine them for. But tonight, that particular injustice isn't on his mind. Not by a long shot.]

[Finally, hidden in the shadow of a taller building stretched across the rooftops, Leonardo arrives at the meeting place and slinks to the edge in order to peer down into the alley. It's empty, as he'd suspected it would be; it was chance that brought Donatello to him that day, and unprepared, Leonardo had been in the disadvantageous position at the time. No ninja worth his salt would put himself in a place like that with the foreknowledge to warn him otherwise.]

[He drops soundlessly into a fire escape on the side of the building, still cloaked by the zig-zagging shadows that reach into the alley like long, spindly fingers. His eyes scan the far wall of the building opposite. It isn't midnight quite yet, but if he's here early...well.]

[He very nearly passes over the roundish figure settled in the balcony, but something about its slightly off shape draws his eyes back to it. It's almost impossible to make out in the dark, and the shadow is still as the night itself. He finds himself studying it long after what would typically be appropriate; perhaps because he's steeling himself, because after this, there really is no turning back. Final curtain call.]

[Eventually, Leonardo finds his nerve. He isn't sure whether he's been spotted himself yet; all the same, he slowly brings himself into a standing position, stepping out of the shadows and halting just behind the moonlight-bathed railing. Carefully, he quirks what he hopes is a disarming grin.]

You're early.

[He also vaguely hopes he isn't talking to a bush. Though he's fairly certain he isn't.]

[Nothing truly seen nor heard, yet Leo becomes aware of another presence. Or maybe there was something at the edge of his hearing: bare skin on stone's edge, metal noiselessly bending under weight, or maybe rust flaking. He knows someone is there.

A flicker of shadow slips down a fire escape across the alley. If Leo hadn't been sitting here for hours, eyes completely adjusted to the darkness, he never would have seen it. Heck, he never would have seen it if he'd blinked at the wrong time. But he continues to wait patiently. Whoever it is will have to put themselves in view before Leo gives up his own cover.

Then the flicker divorces itself from the true shadows, pausing just short of full illumination. Leo's eyes widen as they absorb the details in an instant.

This other Leonardo...

The mask is blue; that's something at least. And he's carrying two katana - or so it seems from here - but with hilts also wrapped in blue, slung differently. As for physical differences, he seems to have smaller hands and feet (two-toed again), and a sharp-angled head with a beak somewhere between Mike's prominent jaw and the streamlined snub Leo called a nose. The plastron is a completely different shape as well, echoing a human's muscular chest; in fact, he looks almost like a superhero. It makes him seem bigger and taller, even if Leo isn't sure there's actually much of a height difference. "Big" Leo's proportions just seem more grown up.

And Leo sees that gap missing from the marginal scutes over his not-quite-reflection's shoulder. It's the edge of a bona fide chunk taken out of his dimensional twin's shell, a big one. Leo remembers his brother's shell injury and knows that the experience can't have been anything but excruciatingly painful.

Leo gasps, a breath of surprise and awe that escapes before he realizes he's parted his lips. It's partially in self-conscious reaction to being called out on what he thought was a foolproof vantage point, but he wouldn't have made a peep if he hadn't also seen his double's carapace damage. Leo claps a hand over his mouth, horrified at his own breach of both silence and manners; regardless of what happened, this Leonardo has evidently seen considerable action and deserves some respect. He feels like he's just broached protocol, badly, and cringes. But when the sky doesn't fall, Leo slowly takes his hand away from his face, slinks out of his crouch and moves to the edge of his respective balcony.

Blue eyes gleam out of the dark as Leo perches there like a monkey, over-large hands gripping the balcony edge as his deceptively elephantine feet nimbly balance on their toes. He's still testing the waters here and is a little worried that he's just caused offense. But beneath the wariness is an eager, almost vibrant excitement.]

So are you.

[Tentative verbal banter. It's like a kitten's extended paw-swipes at a larger feline, part caution and part play.]

[The first thing Leonardo notices are the eyes, peering out at him from the balcony like dark drops of colored glass. (Blue; how fitting.) Once again, he surrenders himself to that alien, deliberate vulnerability; to the discomfort of standing stark in the one place he has never lingered: the light. His limbs itch for the cool touch of shadows against his skin.]

[In a single heartbeat, he's been evaluated. But the blue gaze lingers a pulse too long, and then from the dark balcony comes a soft, almost inaudible intake of breath. Confusion strikes against Leo's mind for only a moment; in the next, he's fighting off the old, self-conscious habit of reaching for his left shoulder. Of course, surrounded by the scars of his brothers, it's sometimes easy to forget how ugly his own wound is. He's seen and wondered at the chips in the younger Raphael's shell and plastron. How many signs of battle do these younger versions carry, at only fifteen?]

[Maybe not all that many. It may be breach of etiquette on his alternate self's side, but Leonardo can't find it in himself to be offended. They're young; in time, they'll build their own collection of scars, and each one will have a memory of honor or of shame attached. History that doesn't belong anywhere but in the rough stories carved into tissue. For now, inexperience is never a crime.]

[He watches the other Leonardo as he finally inches into visibility, balancing cautiously on the balcony's edge. His eyes are brighter and younger-looking in the dim light of the sky, framed by a strip of blue cloth and a sleek, almost serpentine head. His body shape is much like that of his brothers'; large, thick limbs, with a torso roughly ovaloid in shape. He's not quite as slim as his Donatello, nor as built as his Raphael. And his katana are slung differently.]

[Leo isn't sure what he had been expecting. But with all the differences, subtle and blatant alike, it almost surprises him to think that this other Leonardo looks like him. Just...younger. He can see something in his counterpart's face that feels dangerously close to his core. Like a fragment of his soul, split off and now belonging to someone else.]

[It leaves a confusing taste in his mouth, one that he can't trust himself to define until he's had time and distance from it. So he shoves it far back, and instead adopts the cautious openness he's used for every one of these alternate turtles, hoping this time won't be any more difficult.]

You know what they say about the early bird. [He accepts your verbal banter, young one. Then, a little more thoughtfully, he steps purposefully into the full illumination of the night sky and dips into a bow. It's polite, but perhaps just a bit less ceremonious than what might be considered normal between complete strangers, and there's a friendly edge to his voice when he speaks again.] I've heard a lot about you.

[He's joking, somewhat. All he really knows is that you like a show about guys in space who slap people.]

[There's no fallout, no offense. In fact Leo is trusted with a well-lit view (by ninja standards), and the strangeness of it all sinks in once again. So much the same, yet so much difference. Just left of right.

At the bow though his eyes widen in a combination of surprise and respect. He straightens to his feet, plants his heels properly and returns the greeting. The angle he uses is both instinctive and correct, held slightly longer than the gesture made by his senior. Before Leo stands back up his eyes glance upwards, a smile curving them into little half-moons instead of full ovals.]

You don't say.

[Said even as Leo straightens and assumes a relaxed stance, his smile tinged with a growing boldness. The Japanese social touchstone eased his nerves; now he felt certain that they understood each other. They have a foundation of mutual respect, and they both wish to be friendly.

What's more, this older Leonardo is really speaking his language. There's an almost playful tone behind those words, an invitation; Leo understands precisely what this means because he can hear it in his own voice. It's a surreal echo, but it's thrilling as well, fueling his hungry curiosity about what this battle-scarred and quiet-spoken older him has experienced.

Leo seems about to say something else when he pauses, blue eyes moving between their respective balcony and fire escape; it seems silly, now, to speak from either side of the alley. He glances at the other turtle and smiles again, this one fully broad and open, before taking a brief step backwards to brace and focusing on the jump.

Then he springs forward across the alley to nimbly latch on to a section of fire escape - slightly higher and on the far side from where his older version stands - and gently slinging down to perch briefly on the far railing no more than ten feet away.

Leo handles his weight so skilfully, distributing the momentum between several quick touchdowns on different parts of the railing, that he comes to a feather-light landing on the rickety metal without a single creak. Now that he's closer, a light bandage is visible on his upper bicep, and during the brief maneuver he favored his right shoulder ever so slightly. But it clearly doesn't stop him from moving with impressive nimbleness.]

Not all bad, I hope.

[Leo eases from the railing onto the fire escape's ledge proper, sticking to the far end so there's as much distance between them as possible. Now he's standing on the same level as his eighteen-year-old dimensional twin, struggling with the bizarre sensation of looking at not-quite-himself.

That's the thing, of course; Big Leo isn't him, and he isn't Big Leo. They seem to have many things in common, but they're also completely distinct. This isn't a version of Leo from his own future, it's a Leonardo who is utterly his own person. Yet it feels like they're also a part of each other.

Leo instinctively knows what the right thing here is. That feeling is hard to trust; he's been led wrong by such things in painfully recent history. But he's spoken to his brothers first this time, and eighteen-year-old Leonardo has their stamp of approval. So Leo dares to trust his gut yet again, and steps forward with body language that speaks of nothing but the earnest desire to make friends.

He holds out his hand. Western-style shake?]

[When the greeting is returned, Leonardo feels a thousand unspoken things move between them; all undefinable, stories without words, shards of themselves passed across hands and held up to the sunlight. Where there were dubious comparisons and an aching for home at his brothers' counterparts, his own reflection instead brings a memory of younger, softer eyes and easier smiles. Something deep and indescribable fastens to another in a place where Leonardo can't quite reach.]

[He's looking at himself, he realizes as though for the first time, studying the genuine, uncomplicated smile stretched across the other Leo's face. Years ago, when his shoulders were lighter, flesh less puckered by scars, when there were fewer lines in the skin around his eyes. It's a foggy memory, like something dreamed too long ago - he hasn't thought about that part of his life in years.]

[But there's an honest sort of maturity to this Leonardo, too - rough and unpolished, like it's still trying to find its place in the set of his shoulders, but brimming with a life that speaks more of sincerity than it does of world-weary bitterness. Something to face the world with; not because there's no other choice, but because there's people within it worth protecting.]

[Himself, and yet not. His soul, fragmented and split off...but completely belonging to another life, in heart, spirit, and body. And belonging to the souls of his brothers. All connected. Completely individual.]

[For the first time since dragging a red-banded stranger from the depths of the canal, Leonardo thinks that this might just work.]

[The younger Leo sails across the gap between their buildings in what seems like an effortless maneuver, nimbly positioning himself on the railing of the fire escape with impressive grace. Leonardo spots the bandages running up his bicep and finds himself grinning - was that a Donatello-approved maneuver, young man? - but doesn't move to greet him, instead hanging back in relaxed curiosity to see if the other Leo will come any closer. That he's migrated to this side at all, surely he doesn't intend to speak to him from ten feet away.]

[What he hadn't been expecting was for the younger Leo to step right up to him and extend his hand in a Western-style greeting. He stares at the proffered limb in surprise for a heartbeat, eyes widened slightly.]

[Then, he laughs. Completely individual.]

[Leonardo claps his hand into his counterpart's, giving it a firm but affable grip.]

I've heard worse.

[That was so not a Donnie-approved maneuver. But Leo swore not to push it tonight (the only way his brother let him out of there, really) and he is behaving himself... Sort of. By his standards.

He finds himself chuckling in return; it's instinctive. Big Leo's handshake has the same rhythm to it as his own, but the hand is surprisingly small. Again Leo has the sense of just left of right as the three-fingered grip conflicts in his mind with the feel of a hand only marginally bigger than a human's.

As they ease into one another's social space, Leo's caution continues to dissolve. Enthusiasm lights up his face; it's unmistakably the classic star-struck teenager this is the coolest thing that's ever happened to me grin.

What to ask first? Leo's curious about a million things. How was he appointed leader, and when? What deeds of heroism dot his past? What were his most difficult battles, and how did he get through them? And his sensei, how similar is he to Leo's father?

But he can't ask all of those questions - some of them very personal - straight off the bat. The strategy of their immediate situation should come first, and before even that step? Well. Leo turns for a second with a thoughtful frown to glance at the surrounding fire escape, the nearby windows, the alley walls.

It's not really his idea of an ideal chat spot; a clear view of possible approach vectors would help him relax. He'd like to concentrate on what older-him has to say rather than fretting about how well they could be overheard from below, or whether another roof-hopper is creeping up on them from the surrounding high points.]

Look - before we get started, do you - want to get a better view?

[He smiles again, jerking an oversized thumb towards the roof.]

Let's take the high ground.

[If Big Leo likes the idea, Leo will simply thread his way over, through and up the side of the fire escape. It's as if he's incapable of using the stairs normally; small wonder, for he's nimble as a squirrel despite confining the use of his right arm to stabilization, only lifting and pulling with the left. The simple joy he takes in moving around these surroundings in a creative manner shines through his body language like the sun.]

Edited 2013-04-21 07:02 (UTC)

[His younger self's enthusiasm is contagious; the unabashed excitement in his expression is somehow humbling in a way that makes Leo feel both put on the spot and flattered at the same time. It's an odd sort of feeling, one that Leonardo has experienced only briefly before - the praise of a daimyo for a duel won, the thanks of a friend for his land saved. He's tried hard never to take too much pride in himself, but...it's a nice feeling. He won't deny it.]

[When their hands separate and the offer is made, Leo makes a sweeping gesture towards the roof, smirking good-naturedly.]

Lead the way.

[And then the younger Leonardo is scaling up the fire escape level by level, his motions smooth and flowing like a waterfall in reverse. There's an energy to it that Leo can't help but admire; one that makes him feel slightly old in comparison, even. It reminds him of his Mikey's limitless ability to slide across the rooftops as though he has wings on his feet.]

[But he can't let himself be outdone by...himself. Leonardo waits a moment, then springs over the front railing, launching from one bar to the next with fluid, cat-like leaps. On the final row of bars before the rooftops, he twists his body into a flip and launches himself straight up, toes pointed into the air as he flies over the edge; and then tilting his body again coming down, landing him crouched in front of his counterpart.]

[There's no hiding the slight satisfaction in his face as he straightens up and grins. Okay, he might like to take a bit of pride in himself once in a while. But he hasn't done a simple, whimsical maneuver in...pretty much ever since he arrived here, and he's finding that he's missed the simple pleasure of showing off his skills during rooftop running.]

[Anyhow. Leo sweeps his hands together, shaking a bit of rust loose from them, and glances out towards the midnight skyline. There's still some of the youthful easiness in his face, but it sobers up considerably at his next statement.]

I take it you have a few questions for me?

[Leo's used to roof-running for the sheer joy of being good at what he does, and it's rarely divorced from a little competitive spirit with his brothers. But he didn't expect Leonardo to one-up him... and using a style of flip that happens to be one of Leo's own favorites!

He absolutely can not wait to see Big Leo in some real action - not just flips and jumps, but with a blade. (When exactly did "Big Leo" become his mental short-hand for eighteen-year-old Leonardo-from-another-dimension? Oh well, he has to call him something, and this has to be better than whatever Mikey would come up with.) What kind of tricks does he know, what styles does he use, which techniques does he favor... And what it would mean if Leo himself could win a match.

He bets he can.

But when Big Leo addresses the elephant in the room, all childish enthusiasm evaporates from his demeanor. Suddenly he's a young commander finding his feet in an alien situation, speaking with sincerity to the most experienced and trustworthy ally his team can hope to find.]

Yes, I do.

I get the impression you've been here a little while. [Longer than both of his present brothers, anyway.]

Have you had any luck figuring out this place, or how to get back home...

[All basic and important topics to cover; but he's not just here to piggyback off his elder's effort, intel and experience, so Leo doesn't stop there. Maybe this gesture is too much too soon, but something in Leo's gut is pulling him towards this course of action like a lodestone.

They're all mutant turtles. They all just want to get home. They're all missing family. They understand each others' worlds.

How can they not be allies?]

... and - is there anything my team can do to help?

Edited (dialogue tweak) 2013-04-22 21:33 (UTC)

[For just a moment, Leonardo's smile changes - lessening in width and gaining a few lines at the corners. Again his counterpart brushes against something deep in his core, a passing sensation of staring into a fractured, fog-kissed mirror. He has an inkling that it's one he'll become intimately familiar with in due time.]

[Gone is the child; in his place, the soldier.]

[It's a facile transition that Leo echoes. His posture straightens, arms crossing over his chest, the light set of his brow furrowing into something far more troubled. He glances away from the young Leo at first, trying to gather his thoughts. What has he learned?]

[Mostly it's been failure and laying low, waiting for opportunities to gather information about the Emperor and this world. It's a painful thing, to admit that months of life here hasn't yielded anything particularly ground-breaking, and Leo feels some shame in it. But watching and waiting from the shadows is a principle of being a ninja - eventually their chance will come. They'll find their way back home to their families. He has learned a handful of things, from his failures and successes alike. The cool bite of glass at his waist from within his belt speaks of one in particular.]

[But.]

[When young Leo offers up his team, Leonardo's eyes whip back to his instantly, watching with a heavily pointed carefulness. It isn't ingratitude - more a warning, a wordless rebuttal. Committing your team to work with his is a huge step, a leap of faith that he hadn't been expecting quite yet; not even in the face of the smoothness of their meeting thus far. He knows, and he's certain that his counterpart does as well. It's a gentle, but firm question - are you sure?]

[All he does, however, is slowly uncross his arms and tilt his head attentively.]

What do you know so far?

[Leo registers the silent rebuttal with a blink of surprise, though he knows precisely why it was issued. He already knew this was a quick move; perhaps he should have been more patient before taking action. The rebuke is like the painless ghost of a lesson from Sensei, a voice of experience teaching wisdom couched in whatever methods were needed to get through a willful young turtle's thick skull. Don't commit your team too hastily, is the lesson he hears in that glance.

But this isn't hasty. In fact, it feels overdue. There are the fragments of no less than three ninja turtle brotherhoods running around Keeliai, but not one of them is going to get back to where they came from if they don't work together. Leo wants to get his brothers home, and he can't imagine this city holds a single foreigner with whom he'd rather work towards that goal than the turtle in front of him (outside of his own brothers, which went without saying).

And now that he's sure of it, hesitation is only a weakness. Leo didn't extend his team's alliance on this first meeting as the result of a lack of caution, a deficiency of patience or a failure to consider potential downfalls. Neither was it extended because he was star-struck - though his evaluation of older Leonardo's character and that gut feeling of communication on an intuitive level did play a hand. Besides, he's still in control over his team - as much as he ever is. Offering help, or rather working together, doesn't mean that they must commit to anything unwise.

The young turtle's expression settles and his chin dips imperceptibly, a ninja's nod; the focused, self-possessed look in his eyes is a clear and silent answer. Thank you for the reminder, but I know what I'm doing. I want to work together... No, that wasn't quite it. We need to work together.

Leo did this because he's going home, and he needs help to get there. They all need each other's help. So he's just going to do something about that.]

Well for one thing, I know getting home won't be easy or quick.

[Leo lets his gaze roam over their surroundings as he pieces his rough intel from a quick-n-dirty scan of the Network together with Raph's sparse input and Donnie's info-dump. They're on a giant turtle, it's been sick, foreigner-kedan tensions are high, and popular consensus agrees the Emperor is on a heck of a power trip. Then there's the items he's not sure what to do with, like the theory this is all a psychic world and they're here to fight "bad feelings", and the huge fuss over cloning tanks about a month back.

Leo pauses, cobalt eyes flicking up to his older personification.]

I also know that I don't have enough information. [Because the information he does have is too confusing. Until and unless they understand what's going on around here, Leo doesn't think they're going anywhere.]

Normally I would remedy that by paying the Palace a little moon-lit visit, but something tells me I wouldn't be the first to try.

[The answer to his warning is understood. Leonardo holds that decisive gaze for one heartbeat, picking it apart and reassembling it in his mind - and then it's gone. No further acknowledgement; no further controversion. The decision is made and will be reflected in where the conversation goes from here.]

[His arms cross again, and just like that, they're in business - two leaders of newly allied factions. Months of tip-toeing around each other are filed away, locked in a mental cabinet to reference if the need ever arises. But for now, the situation has been spun on its head. In less than an hour, the turtles of this dimension have shifted from cautiously tolerant of each other to allied against the world's forces.]

[...honestly? He's seen worse odds.]

[The younger Leo's response says it all: he knows the basics of this place. It's the largest, most tedious hurdle to jump, and he's glad that it's already out of the way. There are the more complicated issues - like the nebulous details of that cloning facility and what feels like an impending civil war between kedan and Foreigners - but they can wait. The former is near-indecipherable as information stands now, and the latter is...something to keep an eye on. Nothing more, for the moment.]

[Then he mentions the palace. Leonardo smiles wryly, his gaze flitting sideways to that black silhouette in the distance - the one that brushes the skyline, that hovers on the horizon like a lurking shadow; that dark, lingering presence, visible from the highest rooftop or the most dilapidated street, bearing down on them always. (With warm, glowing lanterns and beautiful cobbled-road gardens framed by lush green foliage, it's quite beautiful, up close.)]

[Leo ticks a slow, almost self-depreciating grin. His gaze slides back to his counterpart's in a silent invitation.]

You wouldn't.

[As the alliance is silently accepted and solidified, a swell of pride fills Leo's chest. He's stranded on an alien world with a partial team and no way to ~~beam up~~ get back home, but in less than 36 hours he's initiated an alliance with a solid, experienced leader who understands Leo's world and tactics implicitly, and who's also in complete alignment with his goals.

It's true, this is moving fast. Very fast. Leo hangs on to his older version's warning and tucks it next to his own natural caution, lets them both sit in the back of his mind as ready watchdogs. He doesn't want to get careless.

He also can't imagine making any other choice. These other turtles aren't his brothers, and it's true he doesn't strictly know them, or their skill-sets or how reliable they are when push comes to shove or a million other things but... they're turtles. Not just any turtles, but turtle brothers affected by mutagen and raised by a sensei. That counts for something, and exactly why or how is beyond Leo's ability to explain, but it still counts.

There might be friction between certain team members, but that's a logistics issue. Leo figures that if it becomes necessary to have both Raphaels in the same space, they'll cross that bridge when they come to it.

Besides. With two Leonardos working together, what can't they accomplish? Everyone will be back home in no time. Right?

But to get home, he needs to know more. When it's confirmed - clear as day to his mind, anyway - that Big Leo had already tried an intel mission to the Palace, his eyes light up with interest.

Oh, what, you're going to lead him on and make him ask for it? Cruel. Now Leo needs to know; pride drives him to dissemble that he's not hanging on the next word, but not very far beneath the confident, ideals-driven leader is clearly a near-grown boy eagerly waiting to hear a story.]

So.... so what happened? Did you find anything?

[DON'T KEEP HIM HANGING DIMENSIONAL BRO]

[Leo abruptly feels a bit guilty that he's strung Young Leo along like this, only to have nothing but a rather disappointing tale in return. But it can't be helped, in the end - interesting or not, the story's purpose is one of intel, not frivolity. And there are a few parts of it that continue to bother him as just strange to this very day.]

[Turning on his heel, Leo motions for his counterpart to follow him as he perches at the rooftop's edge, facing the dark silhouette of the palace. His mouth narrows into a thin line, expression leveling out thoughtfully. He's recreating the night in his mind. Step by step.]

The entire palace is barely smaller than Keeliai. There's gardens and an outer wall running around the main building; it takes a few hours to circle the whole perimeter. [There's a nearly-imperceptible note of unease there, a place where the sentence hangs a moment to long. It takes a few hours if entirely uninterrupted. Which, inconceivably, they were. He'll get to that later.] Most of the windows are fixed, and they don't come lower than about fifteen meters. On ground level, we're looking at just under a dozen smaller entrances aside from the main entrance hall. Probably to cellars and kitchens.

[He stops there, eyes sliding in his counterpart's direction. Basic layout is easy; the non-basic execution is where it gets weird.]

Edited (minor tweak) 2013-04-30 19:12 (UTC)

[Leo is the embodiment of respectful attentiveness, eyes straying now and then to the topic of their conversation as if he's trying to duplicate the scenario in his own mind. It's somewhere between the regard he would give Splinter, and the equal-meeting-of-minds he had when discussing mission business with Donnie.]

"Probably?" Were they that secure?

[Because if Leo had entered through one of them, he would know where they led. What had stopped them from breaking in through a simple kitchen door? Either a guard so tight even ninjas couldn't finagle their way past, or a lock Big Leo couldn't hack without his Donatello at hand.]

Edited 2013-05-01 23:09 (UTC)

The locks weren't the problem - the palace architecture is straight out of a later Chinese dynasty. [An irritated edge seeps into his tone; it's not aimed at Little Leo, but at the recalled frustration of failed attempt after failed attempt. They had to have tried about ten doors total that night with nothing to show for it. And he's still trying to wrap his head around the thing that actually stopped them.]

A few yards into each vestibule there's some kind of...force field. An invisible barrier. [His mouth flattens.] It doesn't have weak points. It can't be cut or shattered. All of it just bounces back. Everything but the main entrance is completely sealed off.

[Leo doesn't mis-interpret the frustration for a second. It's too close to his own inflection, he knows precisely what Big Leo means by it. And if he faced that situation himself his tone would be identical.]

Force field, huh. I wonder... If Donnie can track the power source, we might be able to shut it down.

[Of course, Leo's thinking in terms of tech, not magic. He hasn't been here long enough to figure out that's now a realistic factor.]

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