Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

That’s it. The world was saved. It seems like such a simple sentence but Casey couldn’t stop looking on in wonder at the New York skyline and think that it meant everything. The Kraang would never invade with their mechs, scorch the earth, or destroy humanity ever again. He didn’t have to worry about waking up for guard duty in a few hours or figure out where their next meal would come from before they starved. 

The freedom should excite him or at the very least make him happy but all Casey felt was the anxious bouncing of his leg and the urge to gnaw at his lip. If he was really being honest the thought of having a choice terrified him. Sure he had the team to look to for support but somehow that wasn’t as reassuring as he’d hoped it would be. 

If Master Leonardo was here I would’ve felt better. He would know what to do.

Shit, there he goes again. Shaking his head, Casey tried to dispel the thought but the doubt remained. Ever since he got here Casey sometimes looked at this version of turtles and was unable to relate them to the ones he once knew. He knew that it was unfair to compare the teens to their dystopic future selves but Casey couldn’t help it.

It was jarring to see the grand masters of ninjutsu he was trained by act like teenagers. He couldn’t even fault them for that, they were teenagers. 

All around, it was unsettling living in the past. When he was by himself, he’d wonder if it was something he would just have to get used to. 

Sighing, he got up from his perch overlooking the New York harbor. It’d been three weeks since the Kraang attack and it seemed like the city was already well on its way to repairing itself. They’d seen neither hide nor hair from the villains residing in the city and the yokai were too busy with themselves to bother stirring up trouble, leaving him and the gang free to relax and recover from what could’ve been the end of the world.

Casey extended his grappling hook, linking it to a nearby building and swung his way towards the turtle tank, the brothers should be done picking up the pizza by now and Casey wouldn’t miss ‘grabbing a slice’ for anything. 

“Casey!” Mikey greeted as the time traveler descended from above to land awkwardly on one of the dumpsters in the alleyway where the tank was parked. 

“You never did end up telling me what your favorite flavor was so I ended up just getting Hawaiian-”

“Something I greatly disagreed on! There are more than 20 different toppings that you could have chosen from not to mention the specials they have at Hueso’s so I don’t understand why you would ever think Hawaiian was the best option.” 

“Oh shut it Donnie, you’re just mad that Mikey finally won the right to pick the toppings this time.” 

Donnie turned to Leo, who was currently leaning on the dumpster beside Casey and passing him a slice, his eye twitching in annoyance. 

“And how did that even happen in the first place? Everyone knows that Mikey always chooses scissors!” 

“Then how come you lost to him too huh?” Donnie looked like he was very close to throwing said pizza in Leo’s face, consequences be damned. Before that could happen however, Casey chimed in. 

“Guys, I honestly don’t care what you put on the pizza. There are much grosser things you wouldn’t think you could stomach. Trust me.” Before they could ask whatever the hell that meant though Raph returned. 

“Hey guys! I brought drinks!” The snapper grinned as he passed around the bags of soda and water. 

Of course he remembered what we all liked, Mikey couldn’t help but think fondly, even though we hadn’t gone to the surface in a while. 

“Hey boss man! Doing better at going places by yourself already! Just don’t take too long next time, Donnie was ready to send out a bot to see if you had gotten weird again.” Leo smugly grinned towards the softshell.

“FALSE! I DID NOT! WHEN DID I EVER SAY THA-” He was interrupted by Raph reaching over to give him a noogie that could’ve been mistaken for assault by its aggressiveness. 

“Aw, thanks bro! The line was just a bit longer than normal but with the help of those breathing exercises April told me about it was fine!” In the face of Raph’s bright smile Donnie couldn’t help but inwardly sigh and slump as all his anger faded. He could always take the pineapple off anyway.

A ringtone interrupts whatever smug reply Leo was about to say. Donnie answers with lightning quickness, not wanting the distraction to go to waste. A few moments later he hung up.

“April wants us to meet up over where South Park Avenue meets Central to see an abandoned high rise. She thinks it might end up being a good substitute for the Lair while Draxum and Dad get it repaired.” 

“Well then let’s go check it out! I call dibs on the biggest room!” Raph jumped into the turtle tank, escaping his brothers' loud complaints.

Casey was the last to enter before they sped off onto the main road. Unaware of a small drone pausing its recording and flying away. 

The boys arrived at the abandoned building with one less pizza and three emptied bottles of soda but immediately regretted their actions when they told April that. 

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE ALL THE HAWAIIAN IS FINISHED? AND DID ANYONE THINK TO MAYBE SAVE SOME OF THE DIET PEPSI? I’M ON A DIET!” 

Then Raph, bless his soul, spoke what was likely going to be his last words in Leo’s humble opinion. 

“But wouldn’t you be ruining your diet anyway by having pizza?” Leo didn’t like the sudden twitching of April’s hand as he knew that the woman was wishing to be gripping her bat instead of empty air. Casey was their savior when he quietly butted in.

“I’m sorry April. I was the one who had the diet soda. I didn’t mean to take the only one, it was a coincidence. I also had a few slices of pizza so if you want I can run down and buy another pizza and coke?” At that April melted like butter.

“No it’s okay Casey, you didn’t know. I was the one who just called you guys up. Next time I’ll let you guys know ahead of time. But.” She turned to the brothers, her seemingly innocent smile instilling more fear into them than Shredder ever did, “If you guys end up eating all the pizza even though I told you that we would meet up…” She chuckled, “Let’s just say I won’t give you a three-second headstart.”

All four brothers let out an audible gulp before April changed the subject. “So. Moving on, I found this building when I was checking out the job posting across the street and looked it up. Supposedly it was going to be torn down and turned into a new media center for the New York Broadcast but because of all the ‘incidents’ that have been happening on set they’ve been too busy repairing their old buildings to care about making a new one.” 

Donnie looked uncertain. “That sounds great April, but how do we know that no humans will come in for construction or inspection of the property? It does still technically belong to the broadcast company.” 

To that April smirked, “Because of the new job I have at the place across the street. It’s an office building that belongs to the same company and I report any happenings going on in the area that could disturb construction. Not the type of journalism I was looking for but if it can help you guys have a stable home then it’s worth it.” 

“That’s incredible April! We don’t have to live in the Hidden City with Draxum anymore!” Mikey paused, realizing something. “OMIGOSH WE NEED TO DECORATE! THIS CALLS FOR A SUPERMARKET RUN! RACE YOU GUYS TO THE NEAREST THRIFT STORE!” And with no other warning, the box shell jumped out of the nearest window.

“MIKEY WAIT WE NEED TO GO AS A TEAM!” Raph followed immediately after. Leo portaling himself outside a few moments later. Leaving Donnie to look apologetically in April and Casey’s direction before activating his battle shell’s flight mode and racing outside to catch up with his brothers. 

Casey couldn’t help but laugh a little at their antics. They were refreshing, in an ‘Oh my god my childhood mentors just challenged each other to a race like children, what type of alternate reality did I end up in’ kinda way. 

April turned to him, rubbing the back of her neck. “Sorry Case, I promise they’re not that uh, energetic, all the time. They are just excited you know? Even though the people of this city will never know of what exactly the boys did for New York and they can’t live as freely as they can in the Hidden City, this is their home.” 

Casey shook his head slightly, a smile nearly reaching his eyes as he thought about his own time. In a world filled with terror, he still managed to find a home. “I understand. More than you’d know.”

A few hours later, the turtles returned with an impossible amount of home supplies and worked to customize the temporary Lair until they all eventually passed out in the living room. April already left to go home a while ago so Casey was left to lay on the new couch and stew in his thoughts, unable to sleep in such an unfamiliar place. 

Why am I still here?  

It was a question that plagued him ever since they stopped the Kraang. By all accounts, he’d changed the timeline. The invasion would never happen, the world wouldn’t go to shit, and here he was, a survivor from a future that never came to be. 

Sometimes he’s terrified that it means that there’s a chance for the Kraang to return. For something to unlock the gate and allow in the apocalypse, something he couldn’t stop. 

Sometimes he thinks that perhaps he is simply displaced and lost between both worlds. Existing in both but belonging in neither. 

Sometimes, in his darkest moments, he wonders if he had actually died in the future and now he is stuck living within his own personal purgatory. Unable to see his family, his real family, ever again. 

Casey turns to his side and looks out at the pile of turtles currently snoring on top of each other and holding blankets tight to their chests. 

Most of all I’m scared that I’ll never get over this. That I’ll be stuck on my past and ruin the lives of those around me. Even if I don’t really belong here, they treat me like family. They treat me like family and I can’t bring myself to do the same. 

I’m pathetic. 

Casey stuffed his face into a pillow and hoped it muffled his sobs.

Chapter Text

Casey was tying a red punching bag to the ceiling with a cord when Leo waltzed in and proceeded to make this action impossible.

“Are you trying to make this into a training room? Just a word of warning Raph will probably break that thing open with one hit.” 

One loop.

Casey glanced at the turtle once before returning to his work. “Thanks Leo but that’s why got this specially made durable one, if he’s able to knock this thing one off in one hit then I’d be surprised.”

“Hmm, I guess. But are you really going to spend the entire day just working on decorating ?”

Two loops.

“It’s not even fun decorating. Spray painting graffiti onto the wall? That’s fun. This is just boring.”

Three loops.  

“Maybe we just need to get you a hobby. Have you ever heard of roller skating? Supposedly it helps with balance.”

Four loops.  

“Or maybe hockey would be more your alley. You know, with your weapon and all. You’d pack a knockout in just one shot.”

Casey finally put down the rope and faced him. 

“Leo, was there a reason for you to drop in? Or did you just want to talk in my ear for an hour?”

The slider suddenly smirked like Casey had just fallen right into his hands.

“Now that I think about it yeah, I did have something to tell you.” 

His smile dropped. 

“You’re being kicked out of the lair.” Before Casey could work himself into a panic attack at the thought of somehow messing up his relationship with the turtles, Leo intervened. 

“Not permanently. Just for a few hours.” 

Casey took a moment to get his bearings before he questioned, “Why? Did I do something wrong?” 

At this Leo’s stern expression softened. 

“No Casey. Before anything else let’s get this clear, you did nothing wrong and even if you did we would never kick you out for something like that.” His face then turned unimpressed. 

“That said I don’t think you’ve been outside the Temp Lair since we got here, which was like, 4 days ago. Even before then when we were at Draxum’s you refused to go outside the perimeter in case you ran into a yokai.” 

Casey was looking at the ground at that point. Everything the turtle said was true. He didn’t know if it was because of the noise or the new surroundings but every time he went outside he was hit by an intense feeling of alienation. 

As if he was intruding on places where people were normal and not traumatized war survivors like himself. 

A hand gripped his shoulder. Casey looked up. Leo was smiling.

“We aren’t criticizing you for that Casey. It’s completely normal that you don’t feel comfortable yet. Shell, if I was in your situation I’d just binge-watch Jupiter Jim and not be a functioning being for another month. But we are concerned. If you really don’t want to go outside then don’t but we can’t watch you waste away either.” 

Casey sighed. He really did hate going outside, even if the views were amazing. But he hated worrying his Sensei ( hesnotyoursenseiyouwillneversee him again ) even more.

“Fine. Did you guys want to go anywhere in particular?” 

Casey felt very concerned when Leo’s face turned into the smuggest expression he’d seen of him yet. 

“Oh, we aren’t going to hang with you. But someone else will.”

A blue portal fizzled out of existence as two teens hunched down on a roof to look down at the street below.

“Uh, Leo? Are we supposed to meet someone down there? It’s a bit busy don’t you think? Maybe we should come back later.” Leo rolled his eyes. 

“No, you are going to go down there and have fun. Someone should be waiting for you on the bench inside that”, he pointed at the building across that looked to be an indoor skating rink, "building.”

Leo stood up and readied his sword to portal away but stopped saying, “Don’t sweat it too much. Just be yourself and I’m sure you’ll have fun.”

Then without as much as a goodbye, the slider was gone. The wisps of his blue mask flickered out of sight as he teleported away. 

Casey sighed. If there was one thing he didn’t miss from his Sensei it was the dramatic exits that Donatello had told him jeopardized more than one mission. 

(In the past of course, Master Leonardo was too afraid of trying anything else after one of his stunts cost him everything)

The time traveler jumped down onto one of the ladders on the side of the roof and slid down into an alley. As we walked out into the main street, the sounds almost overwhelmed him. 

Back where he was from, this much noise would have alerted the Kraang to their location immediately. Inviting a swarm of droids and infected on top of their heads. 

Shaking the thought away, he shoved his way through the crowded street until he got to the door. He read (A skill that Donatello refused to let him be without) FREDDY’S INDOOR ICE SKATING RINK AND PIZZERIA before he pushed open the door and walked in. 

He was first hit by the loud cheers emanating from the back where he assumed the rink was. Then he noticed a poster in bright colors advertising an ice hockey event reserving the rink every Sunday. Then he remembered that today was Sunday.

This is probably what Leo had planned for me and this mystery person. But I don’t even know who I’m meeting. Hopefully April, she would at least care if I fell flat on my face on the ice. 

Now Leo said they were sitting on the bench. 

Casey finally started scanning the empty restaurant, at least until he caught sight of the left corner of the pizzeria. 

There was a reason why Donatello had to teach him how to read and write. Why Michaelangelo was the one to bring him toys from outside the base to play with. Why Raphael was the one who got him ready for bed and made sure he slept comfortably in one of the few sleeping bags. 

Why Master Leonardo was the one who continued to train him to use the weaponized staff his mother had gifted him with. 

His mother used to do all those things. Right down to trying to make sure he had a consistent sleep schedule, even if it was impossible in the apocalyptic world they called home. 

She did until she didn’t.

Now he stared at a young woman, probably in her early twenties but he wasn’t sure, who was staring him down in shock. Her mouth opened and still in the process of taking a bite of the pizza she had hanging in front of her face. 

Thump. Thump. Thump. 

His breath quickened. 

ThumpThumpThump.

His legs felt weak. Like at any moment he would collapse. 

ThumpThumpThump.

Was someone talking to him? He couldn’t tell. His eyes were too blurry to see anything but colors. 

“CASEY!” 

Someone grabbed his shirt in a vice grip. Pulling him up into their arms. 

“Casey! Oh my god. Can you hear me? It’s okay, just breathe. Shit, breathe for me big guy. Big one in.” He copied her breath. “And one out.” He blew out all the air in his lungs.

“Again. One in. And one out. You can do it.” He kept up with her breaths until he could feel the cold tile underneath him. 

“You back with me big guy?” The nickname opened up a hole in his heart he never even knew was there.

I can't believe I forgot. Big guy. That was her nickname for me. 

"Remember, don't look back. Just keep running until you get to the base, I'll be right behind you. Got that big guy?"

"Yes mama." 

That was the last time he saw her alive.

Someone grabbed his hands, shaking him out of his memories. And he couldn't believe what he saw.

The woman in front of him was the person who taught him to walk, who helped him throw his first punch, who always made sure he never went to sleep hungry. Even if it meant she had to sacrifice her own rations.

The woman who was holding his hands was his mother, Cassandra.

But at the same time, she wasn’t.

She didn’t have that scar on her lip from when she fought an infected yokai hand-to-hand. She didn’t have that eyebrow piercing that Donatello had done for her. 

And most importantly when she looked at him, she didn’t look at him like he was her world. Instead when she looked at him, there was a distance there that he never felt before.

Casey felt like he would rather suffocate on his own blood again. It wasn’t as painful as this. 

“I-” His voice broke. Damn it Casey, she doesn’t know you. Stop being pathetic. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’msorryimsorryimsorry-” 

“Stop that!” He met eyes with her. “Stop apologizing for something that isn’t your fault! I hate that.” She looked away, gritting her teeth.

“Leo you dumbass! When I get my hands on you. Better yet my puck.” She took a calming breath.

“Shit man, I didn’t know you would be coming. If I did, I wouldn't have ever agreed to come here.” She continued before Casey could spiral. 

“I wanted to meet you when we both were ready. You look like you’ll fall over with a slight breeze. Obviously, you didn’t know I’d be here. This is a shit way of meeting your future-apocalypse-son.” 

Casey looked at her in disbelief. 

“What? Did you think April never would’ve let me know about the whole ‘time traveler from the future came back to warn us about those fuck ugly brain alien things and oh by the way he’s also your son’ situation? I’m not fragile.”

“I don’t think you're fragile!” He blurted out before thinking. “I just thought you would think it’s weird that I’m…”, he gulped, “That I’m-”.

“My traumatized teenage son from the future? Believe it or not, after witnessing a literal alien invasion happen, I’ve been a lot more open-minded. Now get up from the floor. I’ll order you some Meat Lovers, the only acceptable flavor.”

Before he could even protest, she swept him up and threw him onto one of the benches. He watched her power walk over to the counter, where she started dinging the service bell like she was trying to beat a record. 

Casey had just started to process the entire situation when the back door connecting to the rink burst open. A group of teens were cheering as they walked out of the rink, dragging beaten bodies behind them.

“I think we set a new record with that one Frank!” 

“Hell yeah we did, Komodo Dragons NEVER LOSE!” They started laughing as they threw the bodies to the ground. Leaving them to pick themselves up and limp out of the store.  After noticing their jerseys Casey assumed they were the opposing team.

“If you losers EVER think that you can challenge us then you’ll be leaving on stretchers next time!” 

Before Casey could open his mouth to say something he was beaten to the punch. 

“HEY BRATS!” They all turned to look at the irate woman who was trying to talk to the tired employee at the counter. “SHUT THE HELL UP! CAN’T YOU SEE I’M TRYING TO ORDER SOMETHING!” 

“Ooooh. I think someone just tried to talk back to you Frank.”

“Yeah what are you gonna do about it Frank?” 

The Komodo Dragons huddled around him, looking at him like they were just waiting for the signal to fight. 

“Don’t worry guys, granny probably just forgot to take her meds today. We probably shouldn’t hassle her through, she might keel over. ” 

Casey snapped. Just as Cassie (He couldn’t call her Cassandra or Mom, she was neither and she probably never would be) was about to give them the verbal beatdown of their lives, Casey was already on his feet, face-to-face with the asshole.

“Shut the fuck up! You shouldn’t ever take death so lightly!” 

Frank snorted, “And who the fuck are you?” He looked him up and down. “Actually, I think I do recognize you. You’re that homeless dude who scopes around trash cans on 8th street aren’t you? You have to be homeless with that outfit, looks like it’d fit right in an alleyway. And the facial hair, ever heard of a razor Patches or is that a new concept to you? ” 

At this point his buddies were already chortling in the background, looking all the world like this was the funniest shit they’d heard all day.

Gritting his teeth as he glared daggers at this fuckface. He didn’t want to start a fight over a stupid reason like his pride in the middle of a pizzeria. So Casey clenched his fists and decided to just try to get these guys to exit the restaurant as soon as possible. 

Some weren’t as composed however as suddenly the dude was lifted and thrown into the nearest wall. 

“NOW IT’S ON CHICKEN SHIT! I AM GOING TO FUCKING MAKE YOU INTO A SMEAR ON THE CEMENT!” 

The Komodo Dragons looked like they were ready to jump her but from Cassie’s murderous expression, she didn’t care how many people decided to fight her. She was on the hunt for blood. 

There was no universe however, that Casey wouldn’t fight beside his mom so Casey went to her left, ready to back her up if anything went down.

Luckily, that was avoided as the manager finally burst from the backroom, looking haggard and anxious. 

“Everyone please, no fighting in the shop! If you want to settle something, settle it on the ice.” 

Everyone glared at one another, waiting for someone to break the tension.

It was finally disrupted as the tired employee came from the back of the counter.

“One Meat Lovers with extra pepperoni and extra sausage ready to go.”

And just like that, the dangerous air in the store dissipated. 

“Tch. These fuckers probably don’t even know how to take a step on the ice. C’mon guys let’s get out of here.” 

Before they could leave however, Cassie screamed. “WE'LL CHALLENGE YOU ON THE RINK! THEN WE’LL SEE WHO LEAVES ON A STRETCHER!” 

Frank smirked like he was unbothered. “Fine then, meet us in 10. And I’d recommend some ice for the concussion afterward.”

They walked onto the rink, the manager following them. Leaving the two alone with the employee who looked like they’d rather be six feet under. 

“Mo- I mean Cassie… I don’t know how to skate. We didn’t have ice or snow in the future after the Kraang took over. They messed with the climate so the weather wouldn’t ever be anything other than smog and ash. 

Her eyebrows rose. “Wow that’s fucked up. But never mind that, you’re gonna learn today. No family of mine will be considered a wimp on the ice. Now come on, I gotta give you a crash course lesson in less than 10 minutes.”

And so they went. 

“See? Now just push forward by scraping along the sides of your skates and you’ve got it.”

Casey did not have it.

“Don’t give me that look. You better learn quick because it looks like the lizards are done waiting.”

He looked towards the gate and there they were. Entering on the ice like they weren’t about to sign Casey’s death warrant.

“Don’t worry too much and let your instincts fly. Just know this.” She turned to him, death in her eyes. “If you let them score the puck into our net I will disown you .” 

She returned to normal. “Be ready to bash some heads in too, now GO!” Off she went to the lineup, leaving him to play goalie while standing on shaking legs. 

“OKAY FOLKS, ONLY RULE IS TO NOT KILL ANYONE AND THE FIRST ONE TO GET A GOAL IN WINS! PLAYERS READY IN 3, 2, 1! GO!” 

Cassie shot off, as quick as a bullet as she raced with the puck to their goal. Dodging swinging hockey sticks along the way.

Wow. It’s cool to finally see her in her element. She used to tell me how it was her favorite hobby, saying it was sad that I would never get to play in our war-torn world.

“CASEY GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME!” The scream tore him out of his reverie, realizing that one of the newts had stolen the puck and was heading right for him.

“Shit.” Casey cringed as the girl got closer, unable to do anything but focus all his energy on trying to stay upright on the ice. 

15 feet. 10 feet. She was a few feet away as she raised her hockey stick, ready to score an easy goal.

That was until the sight of a raised weapon triggered something in Casey’s mind. Falling back on instincts he ducked under the stick and slid away from the attacker, taking the puck with him. 

Like that, he weaved through the masses. Avoiding sticks aiming at his head along the way. 

He eventually got to the other side of the court where Cassie was waiting for him.

“SHOOT IT TO ME! DO IT NOW!” 

Just as he was about to send the puck over, a shadow enveloped him as Frank stood above him. Aiming his pole in a way he couldn’t avoid in time and from the looks of it, it would take out his ribs in the process. 

He did all he could to lower himself to the ground, trying to protect his midsection when something zoomed past, hitting Frank straight in the chest.

Casey looked up and there Cassie was, arm outstretched and with a missing skate. Looking like she got spiritual satisfaction from watching the blonde fall to the ground, cradling his now broken chest plate and probably a blooming bruise.

It only lasted a moment though, then she was yelling at him. “CASEY SHOOT THE PUCK! I’M OUT IT’S ON YOU!” 

The time traveler grabbed his hockey stick, and narrowly escaped the lunge another player made for the puck.

Moving as fast as he could, he rushed as close as he could to the other side but he had already given the other team too much time. They now blocked off any gap to get through to their goal, forming a sort of blockade that denied any entry.

Casey’s mind raced. How the fuck do I win now? Then an idea hit him.

He went to the pad on his arm and shot out his grappling hook, whipping it around the goal and letting it loose.

It flew across the rink, bowling over all the unprotected opponents from behind and rushed straight towards him. 

He shot the puck out meeting it halfway and-

BRRRRRR! 

The manager walked out. “The challengers win! 1-0!” 

Cassie had retrieved her other skate during the chaos and sped over to him, immediately pulling him into a noogie. Rattling his brains around a little bit while maniacally laughing like a supervillain.

“FUCK YEAH WE WON! VICTORY IS MINE TAKE THAT LIZARD SHITS! A SO-CALLED GRANNY AND HER SON BEAT YOU AT YOUR OWN GAME! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

For a moment, Casey felt like ice water was dumped over his head. 

Did she- Did she just call me- 

“Come on big guy, let’s blow this joint. I parked ‘round back.” With that, she dragged him to her car. Leaving behind the horror-stricken teens to their loss.

“Frank. We need to stop coming here.”

A moment passed.

“Agreed.”

Cassie was zipping down the New York streets, ignoring the alarmed GPS and instead choosing to go on her own route.

“Oh my god, shit DID YOU SEE THEIR FACES! HA, they aren’t gonna be forgetting us anytime soon. Fuck I hadn’t had that good a game in a while. Usually I win too fast.”

Half of Casey was listening to her but the other half was stuck in a cycle of thought that wouldn’t leave him.

She called me son. What does that mean? Does she consider me her family? Did she really mean it? I’m too scared to ask. What if she says no?

“Hey Casey, I died in your future right?” 

Casey almost got whiplash with how hard he turned on her. Fear mixed with confusion in his eyes. “How- How did you know?”

She gave him a sad smile. “I would’ve never let a child of mine grow up without knowing how to even ice skate. Smog weather be damned.”

She sighed continuing, “Casey, did I ever tell you why I like to cut my hair short and go by Casey instead of Cassandra?”

He shook his head. She laughed a little. “I thought so.”

Cassie turned right into an empty alley and parked. 

“Well, it’s not a happy story as you might have guessed. It’s actually a pretty shitty one. 

When my mom was pregnant she was told early on that she had twins. One girl and one boy. I was told that my parents were over the moon. They’d been hoping for a boy and were happy that they were getting one. They didn’t mind having a little girl too.

She was high-risk though because of her family’s genetics and had to be taking injections every day to keep us healthy. She didn’t mind though, since she knew it would pay off once we were born. 

But despite all the precautions she took, she went into labor early and had us three months before we were scheduled. As a result, only one of the babies survived, me. My mom passed away after the operation.” 

She took a deep breath and Casey knew she was fighting back tears.

“Initially, Father was happy that at least one of us survived and took care of me like a golden child. His miracle baby he called me.

It didn’t last long. 

I don’t know what did it but one day it was like his love for me faded. At first, it was that he would lash out when I messed up real bad. Then it was him going on a lot of trips to avoid being around me.

Eventually, it got to a point where I would see Father maybe twice a year if I was lucky. On Christmas and New Year’s. Never my birthday. 

Sometimes I’d wonder if they were mourning on that day instead. Mourning his late wife and mourning the boy they’d wished they’d gotten instead.

So, in an effort to get some attention from him, I acted out. I cut my hair, I got into fights, I went by Casey. Maybe I just wanted to fill that role in my brother’s stead. Maybe I just wanted to see him happy again.

God, I joined in the Foot Clan when I was 19 for shit’s sake and even they were a better family than mine had ever been. They had at least provided me a place to live away from my dad and actually cared about my well-being. 

There was a reason why I was so devoted to them. Still am. I do what I can for the Foot when I’m not working my main job as the Brownie Clan’s leader.”

Casey slowly blinked. “What?”

Cassie looked amused. “What did I not tell you about the Brownie Clan? Yeah, they’re my girl scout troupe and I’m proud to be their leader. Just you wait, we’re going to take over the world with our brownies. I gotta take you to meet them sometime.” Her smile faded.

“But yeah, to this day I don’t know where the hell my dad is. He sold the condo behind my back as soon as I moved out and I haven’t heard a word from him since. He blocked my number and any mail I send comes back with a return to sender.”

She sighed. Casey couldn’t help but notice that like this, she looked so defeated. Like all of her fire had died out. He couldn't help but think she looked just like his mom, his past mom. 

“But I’ve moved on. He wanted a son but that’s not who I am and I’ve come to accept that.” She looked up at him, anxious. 

“My greatest fear was that if I had any kids I’d be the same, a deadbeat who never looked like she cared about them. I want you to know Casey that although I may not have had you yet and am hopefully far far away from that day, we can still eat pizza with extra pepperoni and play ice hockey together. Because if that doesn’t make you family, I don’t know what will.”

Cassie tearfully smiled. “Bottom line, I’m happy that I got to have a person as amazing as you for family, Casey.” 

Casey felt tears fall but this time he didn’t feel sad. He had heard of people crying out in happiness in movies and books but he had never experienced it himself. After all, how could when death was common and the world slowly rotted from the inside? 

He didn’t expect it to make him feel so raw . Like his insides were being scraped open for all to see but he didn’t care. Because looking into Cassie's eyes, he saw her looking at him with a tenderness so familiar it hurt, even if it was just a moment.

Then all he could think was-

Hello again Mom.

Casey didn’t return to the high rise until the sun was beginning to set. Cassie had dropped him off with the promise to hang out again soon. 

She said she’d bring him some brownies next time. Free of charge.

As he swung up the side of the building towards the roof, Casey couldn’t help but admire the New York city lights. Somehow they didn’t seem that isolating anymore.

When he finally reached the rooftop, he lay down on the cement and watched planes fly by. Feeling more peaceful than ever.

Then the roof access door banged open. 

“Soooooooooo, how did it go?” 

For the first time in his entire sixteen years of existence, Casey actually wanted to throw Leo off the roof and not in a sparring sort of way. He wondered if the slider’s actions were actually making him go insane. Raph had warned him.

“Come on are you not going to answer me? After I went through all of the trouble of setting up a meeting between you guys? Don’t be mad, I was just trying to reconnect you two since it seemed like you were never going to do it for yourself.”

Casey whipped around. “Yes I did get to have some fun hanging out with her but it also almost led to me going into a panic attack, Leo!” At some point in the conversation, Mikey had also come up to the rooftop with Raph trying to follow as quietly as possible so as to not interrupt the conversation. 

Donnie had reluctantly followed and did not give a damn about social clues so he just butted in. 

“Yeah great plan Leo, retraumatize him by letting him go see the past version of his dead mother with no forewarning and have him figure out the rest. Was your end goal more trauma?”

“Dr. Feelings did not approve of this plan and he is very offended by this lack of respect.” Mikey chimed in. 

Raph grabbed them both and hauls them back whispering, “Guys I’m going to need you to leave them alone for a few minutes, let them work it out themselves.” 

“But then I can’t bother Leon about this. Who knows how long I can hold this over his head?”

All argument stopped however when a loud crack ripped through the space around them. Then a bright orange light started forming a line in the air in front of them. 

Raph stared. “Uh Leo, are you doing that?” 

The slider replied a moment later, too distracted by the glowing ray of light that was slowly expanding in front of them. “Can’t say I am hermano.” 

“Mikey?” 

“It ain’t me! Do I look like I’m making this happen?” He was right, usually when Mikey tried out his new mystic powers, his hands emanate a golden glow that is impossible to miss. Something that wasn’t happening right now.

“I swear to Pizza Supreme I will burn down New York myself if it’s another alien invasion.”

“Donnie! Don’t say stuff like that! What if it comes true?” 

“Then Raph, we will move to another planet because this one’s too much of a target. Give me a few days and a hundred pounds of uranium and I’ll have us flying out of this solar system in no time.”

“But I like New York! They’ve got the best pizza here!”

“Um, guys?” They all turned to Casey who was pointing at the now stabilized portal. “I think we are about to see for ourselves.”

Right after he said that a blur exited from the portal, landing on the concrete.

“I call it if it’s an alien.” 

“WOULD YOU STOP WITH THE ALIENS?!!” 

Someone with an extremely familiar voice scoffed, “Sorry to disappoint but I’m not an alien, that’s for sure.” 

Casey’s eyes shot to the mysterious figure, now standing up from its crouch.

“Ah, it’s good to see you again Casey.” 

And there he was, Master Leonardo. He looked different compared to before, instead of using Raphael’s giant arm as a prosthetic he had a wooden one built in. His previous worry lines were nonexistent and the smile he threw at Casey was brighter than any he’d seen in the past.

But seeing him standing there, with the sunset lighting him from behind, Casey couldn’t move.

He absentmindedly felt tears start to course down his face. Unable to look away or even breathe.

How could he when today, dead men walk once more?

He couldn’t even hear Leo scream from behind, “Holy fuck, IS THAT ME?”.

“Hey mini-me! Language!”