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Usually apocalypsies are always chaotic, survivors always moving and on their feet and escaping narrowly in the tall broken city from danger. At least that's what all those zombie apocalypse comics Leo had read many many years ago had described. Turns out, it is almost always like that, but even alien monsters and citizens turned mutants are supposed to have a day off from picking apart said survivors into chunks at least once in a while, right?
And when that ‘every once in a while’ happens, Leo and his group usually venture to the deeper parts of the city, trying to find as many resources they can get their hands on. Today was one of those days.
Leo put the last of the crates of canned peaches and canned corn on the shelf with the other crates in their makeshift kitchen, grunting with the effort of his old-turtle bones. But he had one more thing to get from the garage.
Out on their mission in the city, Leo spotted an abandoned storefront (what else is new in this Hell-world?) decorated with cartoon-style lightning bolts and spots that Mikey probably painted on their walls all those years ago. At a second glance, an item Leo had nearly forgotten about, and in perfect condition surprisingly, lay in a dimming spotlight. Just asking to be taken by the aged turtle. So of course he did.
And of course he had to share this with his student. A lesson of the past or something wise like that.
Leo made his way from the garage to the living space, the object in (non-robotic) hand at his side. The room was large and open, multiple couches and chairs scattered around for the occupants of their bunker-home, a bedroom with bunk beds lay beyond, the kitchen and med-bay off to the sides of the living area. A boy in his teen years was reinforcing his hockey stick, wrapping a layer of grip over a crack in the wood, his hockey mask resting on his head. The turtle then got an even better idea…
“Hey, kid! I got something to show you.” his voice rumbled, throat a little dry. He should really refill his water can soon before the next mission.
The boy with the hockey stick snapped his attention to the approaching turtle, confusion on his face. “What is it, Sir? Is it plans for another attack? Or-”
“Nah, don’t worry about that right now, Casey.” He chuckled. “This is something way more fun than attack strats. Follow me.”
The duo made their way to a secluded area just outside their base. Leo suspects it might've been a parking lot at one point, but now it's just here for an even ground.
“Is this a new lesson?” Casey Jones asked. He secured his sticks on his back, standing straight for orders.
“Technically yes,” Leo mimicked his posture, turning to face the teen, a smirk he rarely shows now pulling his lips. The object he had in his grasp dropped to the ground in front of him, and before it could roll away, he placed his left foot on the middle of its surface.
“I’m gonna teach you how to use a skateboard.”
Casey’s eyes glanced at the board under Leonardo’s foot. “Uh, what is that exactly? A tactical move?”
Leo was taken aback for a split second, a bit of shock if he was being honest, before realizing this kid had probably no idea what it was like to be a teenager in his own time. Kid probably didn’t even know what a comic book was if Leo thought about it.
“Well, when I was a kid, this was a way of travel, a much cooler and more… ‘hip’ way to get from place to place. Me and my brothers learned together.” Leo said. Leo thought of his family doing tricks in the sewers and in their old homes. Maybe he remembers how to do some of his tricks…
“No offense, sir, but how is this piece of wood going to be helpful in battle?” Casey asked, posture slacking a bit as he scratched his neck with a gloved hand.
“It won’t. It’ll be helpful in the ‘fun’ department.” Leo pushed the board towards Casey. The teen caught it under his foot before it could hit his padded shin. “And if you’re lucky, I could teach you some of my special tricks in due time. And if I remember how to do them.”
Casey lifted the board and examined it. It looked… pretty cool in his opinion. The top had a black rough surface with red screws to hold the blood red wheels on its underside. The bottom of the board had a design of a red and orange flaming skull with purple and blue lightning in the background. Rough, jagged lettering reading ‘metal head’ in front of a solid yellow background. Casey looked back up to his mentor.
“How do you use it?” he said, both their smiles shone in determination.
A few hours later, Casey had gotten all of the basics down, being a surprisingly fast learner. Casey was ready to move onto some complicated tricks, and Leo got the chance to use a board again, being slightly rusty after a few decades, slowly getting muscle memory back from his youth to remember the actual steps of what he and his brothers used to call the “JJ-Zero Gravity”. Once he finally remembered each and every step, Leo began guiding Casey on the steps.
However, being A) a teenager and B) being a Casey Jones, he got a little bit in over his head, giving his own ‘flare’ on the ollie that came with the trick, and ended up tipping over more than he could save himself from, the board slipping out from under him. Casey let out an ‘oof’ as he landed on his knee, now stinging from rolling on the pavement.
Leo saw this from the sidelines, and falling (ha) victim and witness to countless skateboard wipeouts himself, paced his way over to the fallen boy.
“You okay?”
Casey rubbed his head and sucked a breath through his teeth. “Yeah, they should really make some head protection for this activity.”
“Oh they did, cept us cooler boarders never wore them.” Leo chuckled. He then noticed Casey had a new hole to his gear, one that was not already there from dangerous missions, more so a dangerous board on wheels. The aftermath gives a bright red scrape on skin that covers nearly half his knee.
Leo reached into his pouch on his hip, his large prosthetic opening the pouch on his right where his medical supplies are. He pulled out a bandaid and a pack of alcohol wipes before kneeling down to Casey. His bones pop as he bends.
“I’ll be alright, sir. It’s just a scrape.” Casey objects as he notices Leo opening the pack of wipes. He hisses in slight pain as his teacher continues on, wiping the wound and dust away.
“Better safe than sorry, kid. Don’t want you catching an infection.” Leo continues. “‘Sides, it reminds me of when I used to have wipeouts. I was not as graceful as I am today.”
“You used to wipeout?” The teen said in such disbelief, Leo laughed in response.
“Of course! What kid doesn’t wipe out when skateboarding? It’s a part of the fun in it!”
While cleaning the scrape, Leo thinks back to all those times with his brothers in the past. All of the memories of them learning how to keep balance on their respective boards, and having to clean each of their scrapes when they eventually wiped out for the tenth time that same day. Mikey at one point was covered head to shell in multi color bandaids. Leo smiles at the memory of him and Donnie color coordinating each bandaid. The memory of Raph holding onto his hand in fear of himself falling suddenly. The multiple memories of them skating in the living room and Splinter yelling at them to scram before he missed his commercials. Their laughs echo in his mind.
“Sir? Are you okay?” Casey’s voice brings him back to reality. Leo shakes his head to clear his mind, pushing his memories back for another time.
“Yeah, this just… brings back memories.” Leo huffs lightly, with a soft smile and slightly heavy heart. He places the orange bandaid over the now clean scrape, the color another reminder of his distant past.
“Why don’t we try that move again? Maybe this time with less ‘razzmatazz’ until we get it right, hm?” Leo laughs, getting back up with a grunt. Man, this body’s gonna give out on me one day. Is this what Dad felt when I was Casey’s age?
“Yeah, alright. But you’re gonna show me at least another few moves after, right?” Casey grasped Leo’s outstretched hand and lifted himself up, as if the wipeout never happened in the first place. Ready to keep going.
“What kind of teacher would I be if I didn’t?” Leo shoots back, the same determined gleam in his eyes. They continue their skateboarding lesson until near sundown.
Leo hopes he has another opportunity to get another board for himself one day.