[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]

[A note shifts in the subtle echo between them, but even as Leo belatedly realizes that commentary on Donnie might be insensitive to his older self, he realizes he's caused neither offense nor injury. Instead, the current he feels before he even has a chance to read Leonardo's expression is warming, affectionate even; although it passes in a matter of heartbeats and is accompanied by no verbal dialogue, he feels that they understand each other that much more now. It leaves the impression of a short-lived rivulet deepening a shallow gouge, soon destined to become a flood channel.

Leo inclines his head in a professional, abbreviated nod; he's in full "serious, taciturn leader" mode. But then the younger turtle pauses, visibly weighing different considerations; the cobalt blue eyes that turn back to Big Leo's burn with clarity of resolution. It's his responsibility to ask this; his own brother won't tell him.]

Leonardo… Now that we're officially working together, I need to ask you something.

[A slight pause, both waiting for permission and choosing his words. This is a weighty issue; in the end he decides to ask simply and directly.]

Did you see what happened between our brothers?

[After his conversation with Raphael last night, Leo knew he would have to ask this question. What he wasn't certain of was how forthcoming another Leonardo might be about the answer, particularly if the topic was broached on an uncertain truce.

Now? They're allies, they've shared meaningful intel, and physical goods have swapped three-fingered hands; a relationship is established, and honor demands as honest an answer as his counterpart can give. The timing is a strategic move, and definitely an unfair one.

Sneaky little thing, isn't he? His Splinter taught him not to play fair when it counted, and he does need to know: What happened when their Raphaels met?]

[duelkatana]

[The question is well-timed. Almost perfectly so, and not coincidentally. Breaching such an obviously delicate topic so early into their relationship may have been a gamble, had they been any other two people in the world - alliances have shuddered on despite rivers of bad blood running beneath the surface. But they both know the game and the chess pieces here. Even with the threads of reluctance and annoyance pulsing in his mind, Leonardo can't help but be impressed at his double for subtly walling him in like this.]

[Furthermore, he knows that it's a perfectly reasonable request from his counterpart, whose brother is one half of the conflict. And if he were in Little Leo's position, he'd damn well want to know what Raph was getting up to and who he was pissing off while Leo wasn't there. It's more than the integrity of their newly established alliance that obligates him to answer honestly; it's the shared burden of being their respective brothers' keepers.]

[Well-played.]

[Still, his answer is not immediate. More than arguably anything else, Leonardo has an obligation to his brother. And while he has no intention of refusing to answer, he does need to decide where the happy medium is between honoring this alliance and honoring his brother's privacy. Leonardo would allow shame upon himself ten times over before he violated Raphael's trust... and speaking of him to another person at all already puts him on very thin ice where that's concerned.]

[It's a difficult position, and it's not one he appreciates being in. It's channeled more towards the situation as a whole than his counterpart, but there's no hiding the note of irritation in his voice when he finally speaks again.]

What have you heard?

[Because it's never as simple as "make inquiry, get information". Leonardo's purpose for posing the counter-question is equally strategic: there are many ways to define what "happened" between the Raphaels, and depending on what Little Leo's Raph told him, Leonardo's own Raphael could be anything from one half of a disagreement to a borderline psychopath. Until his counterpart reveals to him what he's expecting - and by proxy, affirms that this honesty goes the other way - any details about Leo's brother in red will not be forthcoming.]

[anything_it_takes]

[Of course it's not as simple as "make inquiry, get information." Young Leo is neither surprised nor upset at the rightful question, but it does bother him that he has so little to say in return. The bitterness in his voice as he reveals the depth of his lack of knowledge surprises even him.]

Nothing. [Or near enough to it, anyway. He snorts.] Until now, I wasn't even sure you were there. [Which had been somewhat implicit in the wording of his question, but not necessarily the case. Leonardo's answer hadn't been explicit either, but Leo could pick up the truth of the matter through his twin's tone and expression.]

All I know is… [Leo raises unblinking eyes to his double's pure white gaze, a determination spurred by uncompromising duty writ on his mask.] My brother told me to avoid yours, and insisted I let him "handle it." I need to know why he said that. [Because that kind of partial input doesn't make his imagination go nuts. He doesn't even know if it was a matter of safety or honor that inspired Raphael to insist upon a solo approach. The dearth of information is far from encouraging, particularly given Raph's evaluation of his twin as a nutjob.

Leo both deserves and needs to know, and he hates being in the dark. He isn't accustomed to having his brother tell him to stay out of this business – especially not like this. Their relationship has yet to become so strained; they push each other, but Raphael never pushes away so hard. Although Leo will honor his word to his red-clad sibling, he can't stand this void of information about what actually went down. And if Raphael won't tell him, he will just do his own investigative work. If Raph found out he would probably be pissed to say the least, but Leo considers having the full picture too important.

The young ninja doesn't appreciate being in his position, either. The understanding between him and Big Leo is too nascent for him to be certain, but he hopes the other leader sees the situation as he does – little brother became embroiled in Something Troublesome, and (in this instance at least, considering it affects far more than just Raphael) Leo feels duty-bound to investigate the incident. It may not be appropriate for him personally to engage in damage control, but this cannot go unaddressed.]