Chapter Text
Leonardo stopped his run as a tingling feeling pulled at his attention. He looked around with a frown. There was a familiar smell teasing him, like ozone and static in the air. Leo was vaguely aware of his brothers trotting back to him once they noticed his absence.
"Leo? What's wrong?" big brother Raph was frowning, it will do no good to his chasm, but Leo appreciated the worry. Mickey was looking around, hands rubbing at his arms and Donnie had come to be a step beside him, shoulder brushing his own in a subtle reassurance.
They had come closer since the Kraang invasion attempt.
So, he was not imagining things, going by his brother's reactions, they could feel it too. Good, he didn't like being paranoid, even if he did like being right.
"Something is..."
He didn't even get to finish the sentence before there was a spark and a bright pink triangular portal appeared a couple of meters away from them, right on the other side of the roof they were in. From it came out a figure in black and green, he landed hard and rolled a couple of times, he used his feet to skid to a stop.
They all blinked at the unexpected newcomer that just happened to be a turtle, eyes solid white and blood smeared on the corner of his mouth. There was no time to say anything before a big creature came stomping from the portal.
It was taller than Raph, but a lot thinner, it roared in a high pitch tone in clear displeasure. The thing looked like someone had played mad scientist with a variety of animals. It was not a pretty sight.
"Well... Fuck" Leon hand was on his swords already; Raph didn't even bother to scold him from using a bad word.
The thing didn't waste time, it rushed to attack as soon as it caught sight of them. Ther new comer was quick on his feet, Leo noticed he was favoring his right leg and his breath was labored. Clearly the fight had been going long before they had crashed here.
"Mad Dogs, lets help!" Raph voice boomed, sai ready.
Mickey giggled as he swung his nunchaku and threw, chain extending with the power of his ninpo, hitting the creature right in the head. That made the creature pause, beady eyes blinking away butterflies as he turned to them. They dove into the fight with their usual boisterous nature. They were loud and cheerful, brandishing their weapons and powers flaring like fireworks.
They relished on the adrenaline of a fight.
The unknow turtle moved aside with a yelp and stayed out of their range, Leo could feel his eyes on them as they fought. The stranger shouted something in a language that sure as hell was not English, but sounded familiar, by the sound of it, it was most certainly a warning. Their boisterousness was toned down when the creature moved fast enough to deliver one good hit to one of them.
One long limb struck Mickey right on the middle of his plastron. Leo little brother saw the hit coming, but it was too late and the wrong angle to evade, Mickey retracted to his shell with a high pitch scream just in time.
The stranger moved fast, catching the shell and preventing it for being sent flown away. The strength of the impact made the stranger crash down on the roof, carapace scrapping the ground. It made Leo wince in sympathy, but at least his little brother was spared the impact.
Leo refocused on the creature once he saw Mickey pop out of his shell and cheerfully thank the stranger that caught him. The creature was losing ground, and soon enough, Raph sent it crashing down with a well-placed glowing fist.
"The thing on its chest! I need it!" the stranger shouted. Leo couldnt help but notice he had no accent; he spoke as a native New Yorker. He also noticed that the thing had some kind of tech on its chest... and it was sparking after the hit it took from Raph.
"Uh... about that..." he started, unsure if the tech had survived the impact. Maybe Donald could repair it?
Leo did feel a bit bad when the stranger shoulders dropped as he noticed the warning, that they could actually understand, had come too late. But then, they were in New York, what made this turtle assume they talked anything but English?
"It's still moving!" Mickey squealed as the thing twitched. Leo little brother was actually hiding behind the stranger and that make him raise one eye ridge and sent his little brother a significant look. Mickey just smiled and shrugged. The stranger took a deep breath and squared his shoulders, catching Leo attention again. From one of the pouches on his belt he took out what, for all intents and purposes, was a lightbulb filled with a neon orange goo.
Leo shouted Don and Raph a warning as soon as the stranger got in a ready position to throw it.
Raph and Don moved away from the path as the stranger just tossed the light bulb in a way that would make baseball players weep in envy. They all saw the lightbulb soar through the sky and hit the creature right in the face. Leo would have screamed in delight about the awesomeness of the throw, but the creature let out a screech that made him cover his metaphorical ears and close his eyes in discomfort.
Leo peeked one eye open when the sound was over and blinked at the melting goo and stained animal parts.
"Eww" his snout wrinkled in distaste and looked away. He could hear Don gag at the unpleasant gooiness of what was left of the creature.
"What was that?" of course, Don will be interested on knowing what the substance was and why it reduced the creature to what appeared to be its basic components. Leo sighed fondly.
"Retromutagen" the stranger said, Leo noted he too seemed quite disgusted by the result, but clearly that was not going to stop him because he walked right through the goo with careful steps to pick up the broken device. "It reverts the effects of the mutagen as long as the mutation has not been active for a long period of time."
"Now he talks English!" Leo said with a little smirk, looking more carefully at the stranger.
Leo felt Raph stand at his right, a step behind him in silent suport, but curious about the stranger as everyone else. Miguel had run right to them, feet sliding along the goo when he tried to stop, making him collide with Don and interrupting Don rapid theory mumbling on how that worked as they tumbled to the ground in a tangle of limbs.
"While I'm quite glad we could help" Leo tried not to laugh at the unimpressed look the stranger give them just as the device threw sparks. "Who are you and what was that thing?" Raph gestured vaguely to the goo and animal parts.
The stranger sighed and gave a mournful look at the device before turning back to Raph. Leo couldnt help to think the stranger was kind of cute, he was a bit taller than Miguel, if sturdier looking, the curves of his face betrayed his age, provably about Miguel age. Leo wanted to squish his cheeks and coo at him that everything was going to be all right. He didn't think it would be appreciated so Leo contained the urge.
"This is a dimensional portal made by a group of aliens, I have no idea how the creature got it's... hands? I guess? on it, but since the kraang last invasion we have been recovering their tech left, right and center. It doesn't help that there are many mutants running around as of late" the stranger winced and shifted on his feet, it reminded Leo on how Donald tended to shift when he did abridge the circumstances of an experiment gone awry.
"The krang?!" Leo felt his stomach drop somewhere near his feet. He still ached when thinking of those things.
The stranger nodded and Leo could feel the cold sweat already. Raph big hand on his shell helped him find his center. The still unidentified turtle looked up to him and then to Raph and then back to him again. He had noticed Leo unease and, to his surprise, hurried to reassure them.
"The Kraang are no threat, not for now in any case. We are mostly worried with clean up, reconstruction and relocation."
"Wait, wait, hold on, go back for a second" Donald was scowling and gesturing wildly, eyes round like saucers. "A dimensional portal?! Are you actually from another dimension?!" Donald had come to stand close to the stranger, who looked startled at the sudden lack of personal space, he tried to back up just for Donald to follow him.
They were properly impressed, of course. Until now, Leo and his brothers had assumed this turtle was from the Hidden City. What where the odds of an actual dimensional traveler when they had a Yokai community close by?
"Er... yes?" the stranger blinked and Leo was amused to see he was using the broken device as if it was going to protect him from Donald. As if!
Donald screeched and started rambling about possibilities and consequences and things Leo had mostly heard on sci-fi movies. Better save the stranger from his twin before he broke him. Leo was very aware on how Donald attitude may take a bit to get used to, especially when Leo was half his self-control.
"So! who are you again?" he said, pushing Don away without care. He saw from the corner of his eye Raph get a grip on Don before he could faceplant into the goo and ignored the reproachful look his eldest brother was sending his way. The stranger smiled a little rubbing one eye with his hand, it made the urge to squish his cheeks even stronger.
"Well, technically speaking? I'm you"
"Come again?" Leo said, blinking. He had expected many things, but certainly not that.
"No way!" Miguel looked delighted at this revelation. "You look nothing alike!" And they really didn't.
Leo squinted at the stranger claiming to be himself from another universe, trying to see the similarities. The stranger squinted back at him. He could not see it, nop, not at all. Leo hummed and the stranger smiled a little more.
"Not my first dimension hopping. Meet other version of myself before" he rolled his eyes and then rubbed at them again with his hand, there was a glint of fondness there along with a lot of annoyance. "It always an experience."
"Oh! Oh! oh! tell me about myself!" Miguel jumped in, big grin on his face and eyes eager.
"We should... really go away first" the stranger said, shifting in place. Leo had the feeling that this other him was not comfortable with being exposed, going by how he kept looking around. One would think he expected something to jump out of the ether and attack them. Then again, they just had a dimensional portal open and drop this turtle and a monstrous amalgamation of animal parts on them. Maybe Stranger was not wrong to be paranoid, he did mention it was not the first time this happens to him.
Leo frowned to himself, he refused to call him Leo, that was his name! Oh, this was going to get confusing very quickly.
"Something wrong with your eyes?" Raph, the worrywart asked.
"Oh, no, it's just... very bright here" the stranger smiled again, gently. "Im fine. But i would appreciate if we could be out of the open, please?"
"We can take you home!" Miguel said, already latching to the stranger and leading him away. Nevermind the danger of taking strangers home.
"Oh, I have so many questions!" Donald hurried to follow them, firing questions and giving little time to answer.
"I bet" Other Leo said, letting Miguel drag him away. "I may need your expertise to fix this" he poked at the broken portal machine. The thing sparkled and fizzed out with a sad whine. Donald hummed and his googles went down over his eyes as he rambled science, taking the artifact from Other Leo.
"Relax Leo" Raph said, startling him. "It's going to be fine."
Leo hummed, following after his eldest brother. He was not quite worried about Other Leo intentions as much as he was worried about what could follow him here. The mention of the Krang sent chills down his spine and he was sure his brothers would be just as wary if the stranger had not diverted their attention to his dimension hopping thing. Other Leo clearly have experience dealing with his brothers... well, not Leo own brothers, but his own.
Curse this Other Leo! it makes things so confusing!