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Leonardo kept his head down, focusing on the sweeping he’d been ordered to do. By Mikey. Because he’d declared himself leader and everyone else agreed he’d be better it than Leonardo--
“Hey Raph! Find more trash bags?” Mikey asked, as the Raph of their team returned.
“Yeah,” he said. “Told you we should have double-bagged them, those pieces are sharp. ”
“There’s also a lot! We had like, two bags! I didn’t think they’d all fit!” Mikey defended.
Leonardo’s team never argued with him like this. Raphael would question things, sometimes, but they didn’t argue.
He swept a little too viciously, scattering glass shards instead of collecting them.
“Hey!” Mikey called. “Pay attention over there, Leonardo! And don’t step on any glass!”
“I won’t,” Leonardo called bitterly, not looking up. Saying things like that was supposed to be his job.
“-can you believe the pizza toppings they had to offer over there? Not even a trace of chocolate fudge!”
“No kidding! I was hoping to bring back a coconut and sweet pickles slice for Leonardo, you know as an apology for ditching? No dice . Honestly it’s unbelievable…”
“Eh. I just nabbed some of the popcorn to scatter on mine. At times like this, improvisation is the solution.”
Leonardo’s head snapped up. He knew those voices. He dropped the broom, running towards the sounds. And there they were.
“Michelangelo! Donatello! Raphael!” he cried, grinning widely. “I found you!”
The three turtles look surprised, albeit happy to see him, but Michelangelo recovers first, “like, sure did! Uh, when did you lose us again?”
Donatello meanwhile recoils, “Uh oh, you don’t think Leonardo changed his mind about covering for us, did he?”
“Uh oh-“
“ Ah, ah -hold on,” Raphael quickly holds up his hands, “fellas, please . We’ve already done the case of mistaken identity gimmick last time, remember?”
“Oh, right. My mistake,” Leonardo said. “So, what are you guys doing in this part of the theater?”
“Getting pizza!”
“Tourism.”
“Hiding from our teammates.”
The other two glare at Donatello.
Leonardo planted his hands on his hips, giving the three a disapproving look. “Now fellas, you really shouldn’t be wandering off like that. I’m sure your Leonardo is missing you a lot right now.”
All three duck into their shells, chastised.
“Aw, gee Leonardo we were planning on going back after, honest!” Raphael defends, and the other two hurriedly nod their heads.
“We just needed a break , it’s these other new turtles, they’re…gosh how do I put this delicately-“
“About as pitch aware as a hoard of screaming cats fighting over tuna pizza dude,” Michelangelo finishes, “it’s just unbearable.”
“Leonardo’s completely fine with it, he’s still with them now! Got it completely under control. We were just holding him back honestly-“
Raphael shudders, clearly reminiscing on sour musical notes, “I sure know I nearly needed to be held back.”
Even if they weren’t really his brothers, the familiarity was soothing. “Well, since you’re here then, you can come help me finish cleaning up,” he said, gesturing for the others to follow him as he walked back towards where his current team were.
Raphael bristles, “hey-well hold on a minute, you’re not our Leonardo! Who says you can…”
He trails off, noticing the other two have already shrugged and started following.
There’s a sigh.
“Don’t know why I even bothered there,” he mumbles and joins.
Mikey and Donnie were bickering as Leonardo rounded the corner, something about how they didn’t need an entirely new wiring system, they just needed what they had to work. As he noticed Leonardo, Mikey abruptly cut off that argument and planted his hands on his hips. “And where did you run off to in such a hurry,” he scolded.
“I found some friends,” Leonardo said, a bit of a bite edging into his tone. He gestured at the other three turtles. “They’re not my team but, they’ve got a minute to help.”
Raphael slings his arm around Leonardo in content agreement, laying on his accent, “Mutant turtle repairman at your service, you break it, we fix it!”
Leonardo grins. “C’mon, let’s get all this swept up,” he said, gesturing at the pile of shattered glass and mirrors. “There’s more brooms over here in this closet-- be careful, and don’t step on any glass.”
Michelangelo salutes, while the other two roll their eyes at the concern but move to comply, “on it, oh fearless leader!”
“Hey, Donatello, why don’t you help Donnie with the lights?” Mikey said. “Spotlights still aren’t working quite right.”
Leonardo crossed his arms, giving Mikey a flat look. “Donnie can handle that on his own,” he said flatly.
“I would never turn down an opportunity to work with myself! Eager chuckle. ” Donnie said, a light in his eyes that made Leonardo want to keep the alternate Donatello far away from him.
“ Oh god it’s a variant of them ,” Raphael utters like a man being told he needs to go back to war, meanwhile Donatello looks helplessly between the two ‘leaders’.
“Uh, Leonardo…?”
Leonardo put his hand on Donatello’s shoulder. “It’s okay. You can help with the sweeping,” he said. While he was speaking to Donatello, he never took his eyes off Mikey.
“…sensing a kinda weird vibe here,” Michelangelo starts, but Raphael pushes his teammate forward towards the brooms, ducking his head almost like he’s trying to dodge the tension in the air.
“Just get to sweeping buddy, just get to sweeping-“
“C’mon Leonardo! Why do you gotta be like this?!” Mikey whined . “Look just. Donatello can help with the wires okay? He’s a Donatello! He’s good at that!”
Donatello is starting to look mildly miffed , “heyyy, is that all I am to you?”
“Wh-- no?!” Mikey protested.
“Of course not!” Leonardo added.
“Aw, shucks, thanks Leonardo. It sure is nice to feel valued.”
Mikey groaned, briefly burying his face in his hands. “Look can we just. Please cut all this out,” he said, gesturing at Leonardo and Donatello. “See look, he’s not even working on the spotlights right now!”
Donnie, standing by the fusebox and not working, like Mikey had said, looked completely unrepentant. “Well excuse me, I haven’t had a chance to actually talk to a version of myself yet. Unlike other people in this room!”
“It’s not all that great,” Leonardo muttered, remembering the ways the other versions had talked down to them in their previous team-ups.
Donatello meanwhile squints at Mikey, “sorry, who are you supposed to be again?”
“Wh-- I’m Mikey!?” he said. “Michelangelo? Haven’t you met us before? Also,” he pointed at the mask across his face, “ Orange? ”
“Nope. No recollection.”
Raphael’s quiet singing drifts over as he sweeps, “chim chiminey, Chim chiminey, Chim chim cher-ee,”
“Also I think I’d know if I was talking to a version of Michelangelo. You don’t seem the type.”
Raph let out a snicker. Mikey whipped around and glared at him. He smirked, “Yeah he’s got you there.”
“Well maybe if I didn’t have to keep you idiots from getting yourselves killed I would be able to be more of the wise guy!” Mikey yelled, flailing his arms around.
Michelangelo glances up from where he’s using the broom as a fake guitar instead of working, “Wiseguy? What are you talking about? That’s Raphael’s role!”
Raphael winks, “Present and accounted for!”
“ Raph’s your funny one?!” Mikey cried. “ Raph?!”
Said turtle cocks one hip and raises an eye bridge, “heyyy, careful with the pitch there buddy, they might hear you in other universes!”
Mikey stared for a long moment. Then he turned back to Leonardo and flung his hand out towards Raphael. “ That’s your funny guy?”
Raphael shrugs helplessly at the fourth wall, “everyone’s a critic.”
“Not my funny guy,” Leonardo said quietly. As ill-timed as some of Raphael’s quips could be, hearing them from this version made Leonardo miss his even more keenly.
“Right,” Mikey said. The mood turned heavy for a moment-- everyone thinking about the teammates they were currently missing. Then Mikey clapped his hands together. “All right well, we’re supposed to be working. Hey! Mini-me! Radical moves lil dude but we’re really supposed to be working right now.”
Michelangelo blinks in surprise mid headbang, then pouts, “Aw man , but all work no play makes one totally unhappy turtle! Gee, you really aren’t a version of me…”
“Wh-- hey!” Mikey protests. “I am totally a Michelangelo! I am just a Michelangelo who has to be responsible because everyone else around here is an idiot who will get somebody killed-- and yes you are one of those idiots Leonardo. You’re the one who got us stuck in that gas trap! ”
Leonardo’s jaw snaps shut and he glares at the ground. He’d made an error in judgment. And… yeah it was a bad one.
…Maybe he really didn’t deserve to be leader.
Raphael’s broom falls to the ground with a deafening clatter .
“Hey! Don’t talk to him like that!”
“Yeah! Who got kidnapped and made you king!”
“Ah, Michelangelo, I think there’s a fanfic about that,” Donatello quips, but it’s cut off by Raphael getting up into Mikey’s space.
“You got a problem with Leonardo, you go through me! So leave him alone!”
“...Fellas,” Leonardo starts to say, but he can’t bring himself to say anything else. He… should do something. But he isn’t these guys Leonardo-- he’s not their leader. Their Leonardo probably would never do something like blindly running off and getting himself and an alternate Mikey stuck in a trap that nearly kills them.
“Hey hey whoa,” Raph said, dropping the trash bag of glass bits and making his way over to put himself between Raphael and Mikey. “Cool it, alright?” he said to Raphael.
“Yeah, after all what Mikey said is very much accurate,” Donnie chipped in.
Michelangelo shoots Donnie a filthy look.
Raphael meanwhile adopts a false pleasant tone, stepping back with his hands raised, “Heyyyy well I just think Mr Personality here should put his money where his mouth is! You take charge often back home? You make it a habit of insulting your team members? How’s things been working out for you?”
“Leonardo?” Donatello hesitantly steps into the other turtles vision, “you with us?”
Leonardo glanced up, trying to give Donatello a reassuring smile. “I’m fine,” he said.
“No I don’t take charge often back home!” Mikey said shrilly. “My Leo’s actually good at the leader thing! ”
Leonardo’s smile dropped.
There’s a sharp intake from all three of the guest turtles, and Raphael reels back. The other two are more than willing to pick up the slack.
“Why you-you no good big BULLY !” Michelangelo shouts with his fists clenched, while Donatello twirls his bo staff in gear, stepping in front of Leonardo.
“Where do you get off huh?! Jerk!”
“Look I’m sorry,” Mikey said, waving his hands. “It’s just been really stressful. I mean c’mon,” he turned a pleading look to Michelangelo. “What if you had to be the leader over a bunch of turtles that were more interested in fighting each other than the bad guys huh? You’d be stressed out too!”
“...not trying to fight with you guys,” Leonardo muttered. Not loud enough to carry through the room to where the others were. But, Donatello was right there.
Donatello glances back, eyes flashing with concern, but it seems to only empower him to clench his grip tighter around his staff, getting into more of a fighting stance. Michelangelo meanwhile glowers at Mikey.
“Dunno. I’d probably just be trying to get along with my team members instead.”
“ I have been! ” Mikey shrieked. Raphael flinched, moving away from Mikey slightly. “ Do you know how insane these two are?!” Mikey continued, gesturing at Raph and Donnie.
“HEY!” they both protested.
“Just because I’m standing up to Mr. ‘Tranqs his teammates’ over there--” Raph started to say, jerking his thumb at Donnie.
“He was gonna run off again!” Donnie protested, flinging a hand towards Leonardo. “Last time it almost got him and Mikey killed, remember?”
Donatello’s voice is murderous enough it’d make his Shredder and Krang bolt .
“What.”
Leonardo starts to reach out, but hesitates. Donnie’s right. He did almost get himself and Mikey killed. He really shouldn’t be leader.
“See, brainiac? Even these guys know that was out of line,” Raph said smugly.
Michelangelo at this stage has pulled out his nunchucks with a low growl, “ these guys ? Like, what’s that supposed to mean dude?”
Raph drew his sai in response, shooting a wary look between Donatello and Michelangelo.
Raphael’s hands are also on his sais, but it’s a movement seemingly done out of natural mimicry of the others than his own instinct. He swallows thickly, and is directing his gaze on Leonardo while the other two continue to bristle.
Leonardo meets his gaze for a moment. His teammate was looking to him-- looking to him for help and guidance.
Help that Leonardo couldn’t give. He looked down.
There’s a quiet choked noise from Raphael in response.
“Hey! Nope, nope, we’re not doing this,” Mikey yelled, marching over and smacking at Michelangelo’s hands. “Put those away before you hurt somebody!”
“Nuh uh compadre! You’re not censoring me on my watch!”
“I-- what?!” Mikey cried. “Censor-- dude just put the chucks away! Please!?” he was practically pleading now.
“No way! Not unless you take back those nasty things you said about our bud Leonardo!!”
“Okay, okay,” Mikey said, holding up his hands placatingly. “Hey, Leonardo?” he said, turning to face him. “I’m sorry, okay? I know you're the leader back in your dimension, and I’m sure your… thing works over there just fine.”
But not here, Leonardo heard the unspoken loud and clear. “Sure,” he said flatly. “Apology accepted.”
It didn’t make any of it better. But he was tired, and he didn’t want to see his two teams fight.
Donatello seems to have other ideas.
“Like heck it is! What’s so special about your dimension then huh, that means you get to talk to us like that?!”
“Okay look,” Donnie stepped forwards, spinning his staff up and over his shoulders. “I’m sure we’d all like to continue this conversation but we’ve got some work to finish so--” Glowing purple weapons sprung up into existence above Donnie’s head. “Let’s all calm down and get back to work, because we know who’d lose this fight.”
Raphael lets out a pathetic little whimper as he stares up at the mystic barrage, meanwhile Michelangelo squawks and immediately scrambles back.
Donatello, of course, scoffs.
“Oh please . I could take your wimpy little magic tricks any day.”
Donnie’s eyes narrow. Leonardo feels like he’s swallowed a rock. All Leonardo wanted to do was keep them from fighting-- and it looks like he couldn’t even do that. He really is a failure-- as a leader, and even as a teammate.
“I-- I have to--” he stutters, edging a few steps backwards.
Raphael’s focus snaps back over to him in an instant , and a very panicked understanding floods his eyes when he sees Leonardo’s backing off. His breath hitches as he moves on hand to reach out over the chaos, giving the tiniest desperate head-shake. Don’t.
Leonardo swallows thickly. “Sorry,” he says, and bolts.
Behind him, he can hear Mikey yelling at Donnie to put the mystic weapons away or so help him--
And then a familiar voice, one that Leonardo often heard out of his own throat. “S-shucks, did I miss anything important?”
So, a quick recap!
After Leonardo’s wonderful teammates decided to leave him at the mercy of their…enthusiastic new acquaintances, the leader in blue had been spending his time listening to the new turtles ‘renditions’ of popular musical theater songs.
At least, he thinks that was what they were doing? Admittedly, he thinks he went a little deaf midway through. …That was, probably for the better.
They were sweet kids! Really, they seemed to all…latch onto him? A little? He’s always believed in giving people praise when they give it their best! So, he gave them compliments and warm smiles, andddddd-in return they are now acting like they’ll never let him leave their side again!
Again, it was very sweet, but. Even a turtle like Leonardo falls victim to the pain of headaches eventually.
…especially when he’s been managing four enthusiastic neon turtles on his own because his teammates were meant to be back. By. Now.
So! He went looking for his teammates (after distracting the other turtles by putting on a cartoon of a cute little blue dog on their Donatello’s screen) and, well.
…he’s certainly found them, alright.
The state of them he’s not too sure about.
“S-shucks, did I miss anything important?”
“Hey Leonardo!” the big turtle with the orange headband said with forced cheer. With one final yank he pulled the staff away from a turtle who looked just like the neon Donatello. “We’re just, uh, hangin’ out!”
Leonardo’s eyes are huge as he surveys the scene, where the three participants he knows have all frozen like turtles flipped on their backs, “…I, hope I didn’t arrive at a bad time…”
“Oh, you’re completely fine,” Donatello twirls his staff to jab on the ground, leaning against it and not even hiding the threatening side eye he gives the others, “we were just about done here anyways.”
The neon Donatello lookalike makes grabby hands at his staff. The other turtle shoves him back, hissing, “No, you are grounded! You get it back when you can behave!”
“...Hey guys?” the other Raphael said. “Where’d our Leonardo go?”
“Like, not that you’d care but he took off dude,” Michelangelo answers stiffly, but there’s relief and guilt in his eyes when he looks at the bewildered Leonardo.
Said turtle frowns, and makes his way over to his only remaining team member to have not spoken yet, “Raphael?”
Raphael immediately averts his stormy eyes away, expression tight.
…oh boy.
The big turtle groans-- still fending off the other Donatello. “Should we go get him?” he asked. “He’s probably not gonna be too happy to see us-- DONATELLO I swear I will hit you with this thing!”
At the threat, Other Donatello finally retreats, glaring sulkily. And then he picks up a broom, that with a flash of purple, turns into a bo staff.
The big turtle’s jaw drops. “How… hey! That’s cheating!”
“...Cool though,” Other Raphael said.
… deep breath Leonardo. You can fix this. Things are just a little messy, but it’s okay! It’s nothing worse than what you’ve handled before.
Maybe.
Leonardo straightens himself up and grins, “don’t worry about other me! I’m sure he just needs a moment, and I can go talk to him. In the meantime, you were tidying things up around here, right?”
“I mean there was an attempt, for sure,” Michelangelo grumbles, gazing at the discarded non-magic-staff brooms.
“Why don’t you get back into that then while I sort things out! Other Donatello, that’s some really impressive machinery you’ve got there. I don’t…suppose it has a function to play music?”
Other Donatello lit up, “I do have some speakers built into my staff, however,” he tapped at his gauntlet, speakers popping up out of the artificial shell on his back, “the audio quality is much better from these.”
He gave one final tap. And the most excessively loud, ear-bleeding music began to pound out of the speakers.
Leonardo winces a second, but keeps up his smile, “perfect! Although, maybe it could use a littleeeee volume adjustment? We still want to be able to hear each other after all!”
“WHAT? I DIDN’T HEAR YOU,” Other Donatello yells over the music.
“HE SAID TURN IT DOWN,” Other Raphael yells, hands clamped over his ears. “I SAY TURN IT OFF BEFORE I TEAR THOSE THINGS OFF YOUR SHELL.”
“WILL YOU TWO CUT IT OUT!?” the big turtle yells. “STOP FIGHTING! STOP IT!”
Leonardo gives a hurried look to his Donatello, who quickly rushes into action to turn the music down with a swift Donatello touch , “lets-try that again. The reason I asked is, someone once told me that the best way to turn mundane tasks around is to do them to a funky beat! Right Michelangelo?”
Michelangelo takes a moment, then beams, “like, I’ve always seconded that supreme notion! Disco grooves scare away the cleaning blues after all.”
Leonardo nods at his teammate, then smiles curiously at his purple alternate one, “Would you happen to have anything to match that description?”
Other Donatello crosses his arms, looking very unimpressed. “ Scoff! And what was wrong with the music I was just playing?”
“It wasn’t music, is the problem,” Other Raphael scoffs.
“Just because you don’t have taste--” Other Donatello starts to say.
“ Can you two can it for two seconds?! ” the big turtle yells. “All you two do is argue, argue, argue! You’re worse than my Raph and Leo! Or even me and Raph! Combined! ”
Leonardo shudders, and takes another deep breath. One turtle at a time.
He approaches Donnie, and lowers his voice so he can’t be heard, “look, your music is great! It’s just, I didn’t want to draw attention to this, but, the reason I ask you to pick a,,,gentler, music choice is…”
He glances over so Donnie can follow his line of vision. Raphael still hasn’t said a word-and ever since the music started blaring the turtle has clamped his hands firmly over his ears-nails digging into his mask and skin and breathing uneven. Donatello likewise has moved from casually using his Bo staff for support, to actually using it as support, fidgeting with the wood with eyes now slightly glazed over.
“…it would really mean a lot to me. … Please ?”
“...Ah,” Other Donatello said. “Right. I might have… something a bit calmer.” He tapped at the gauntlet a moment, and this time the music that played was a smooth, disco type.
Michelangelo’s eyes sparkle, “alright! Fantabuloso choice amigo!”
Donatello hums softly, and Raphael hesitantly lowers his hands. Leonardo breathes a sigh of relief. Okay…
“That’s perfect,” Leonardo makes sure to show every bit of genuine gratitude he can in his grin, “thank you.”
“Don’t mention it,” Other Donatello said, waving his hand dismissively. His eyes darted over Raphael and Donatello, a small amount of tension easing out of his shoulders as he watched them gradually settle. “Well, I better get back to work, those spotlights aren’t going to fix themselves. And I need the proper lighting when it’s my turn on stage.”
“Sounds good to me!” Leonardo beams, and from behind him, Donatello clears his throat.
“Um…perhaps I could…be of assistance? I brought with me some of my notes on dimensional portals actually, that I was hoping to discuss with an intellectual ear about. If you’re capable of-“
Leonardo squints.
“- interested, in…multitasking?”
Other Donatello’s eyes light up. “ Yessssss ,” he hisses excitedly. “So far my contacts with other dimensions have been entirely non consensual, but I am eager to develop technology to allow a more free contact between my own dimension and-- ah-- friendly dimensions.”
Donatello begins to eagerly ramble about his previous successful contact with other dimensions and drag his counterpart off, so Leonardo watches them go with a fond expression.
The big turtle heaved a sigh of relief, clunking his head against the mechanical staff. A buzzsaw popped out of it and started whirring. He dropped it with a scream, staring at it with wide eyes. “Is it supposed to do that?! I don’t think it should be supposed to do that!”
Leonardo quickly slashes his sword and cuts it in two, shutting it down almost cartoonishly. Hey, he might not be supposed to be able to do that, but it’ll do!
“...Thanks,” the big turtle says. “It kinda. Scared me,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck and grinning sheepishly.
Leonardo gives him a reassuring grin back, hiding his own racing heart behind it.
“It’s quite alright! In fact, I don’t mean to overstep here, you really seem like you’re doing the best you can! But you also seem,,,you know,,,,, frazzled , so maybe…”
He starts subconsciously tapping his index fingers together. Think Leonardo, think-what’s two birds with one stone?
Raphael shifts to hug himself in his peripheral vision. That could do it?
“You know…Raphael was hoping to do a standup routine on that stage later, but none of us have been available to help him rehearse. Would you be willing to take a break from organizing this side of things? To lend him an ear? …Offer suggestions? That is if you’d be interested.”
The big turtle huffs and crosses his arms. “I know what you’re doing,” he said. “You’re talking us all down and distracting us from the fight we almost had.”
Leonardo can’t help but rock back and forth, gaze slightly playful, “perhaps. But do you want my plan to stop working?”
“...Nah,” the turtle admitted. “I think this is the first time we haven’t been arguing since the whole mess started.” He glanced at Raphael, and hesitated. “...Look I’ll be the first to admit we… didn’t make that great of an impression,” he said lowly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m not sure he’d want my help.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure,” Leonardo smirks, “if I’ve learnt anything over the years, it’s that the best way to win Raphael over, it’s giving him the chance to tell his cheesy one-liners.”
Raphael’s eye twitches, easily hearing the whole thing. He swallows roughly, then walks over so he can jab a finger into Leonardo’s nose.
“Hey, if I’m cheesy you’re the whole block mister.”
“Oh, hi Raphael! Didn’t see you there.”
“Hey,” the turtle says tentatively. “So um. Sorry, about… all of that. I didn’t mean… well no I kinda did but, I shouldn’t have like, said our version of your Leo--”
“AH-AH-“ Raphael hurriedly clamps his hand over the other turtle's mouth, and Leonardo tilts his head in befuddlement, “hey don’t even worry about it! Live and let live man, who am I to hold a grudge!”
“…um,” Leonardo blinks, then beams “that’s good to hear Raphael!”
The other turtle’s eyes crinkle with mischief. There’s an immediate reaction.
“Yee UCK! DID-DID YOU JUST-OH BLEHBLEH ARGH! DUDE!”
“Told you I was a Mikey!” the other turtle said smugly. Raphael simply whines in outrage and starts wiping his hand aggressively on the other turtles arm. Okay then!
“What-- ew! Gross!” he protests, pushing Raphael back.
“Thaaaaat, might be my cue to leave,” Leonardo chuckles, pointing behind him, “I’ve got a rogue turtle to look for after all.”
“ Yeah yeah sure- I cannot believe you just licked me!!!” Yeah they’re be fine.
The big turtle pauses in his spat with Raphael. “Hey. Thanks for looking out for the lil guy. I don’t think he’s gonna be too happy to see any of us right now.”
“Oh, don’t worry, it’s not even a problem! I’m just looking out for my fellow turtles!” Leonardo beams and squeezes the big turtle's arm, “I’m sure you’d do the same.”
A strange look flickers in the other turtle’s eyes for a minute. “...Yeah, sure,” he said. “Just uh. Look it’s been really stressful and none of us have been at our best. Keep that in mind?”
Raphael, for whatever reason, shows the other turtle a smile with a bit too many teeth, “save the disclaimers, lets just leave them to it. Catch you later, oh fearless leader!”
“…will do,” Leonardo replies, although his enthusiasm is a tad more unsure, “I’ll-yeah. I’ll be back. Don’t get into any more fights, okay?”
“Oh we’ll be little angels .”
“Please,” the big turtle said, grinning, “if you’re anything like my Raph you’re gonna be more like the other side.” He held his fingers up to his head like horns. “Whooo I’m Raphie and I like busting heads, especially Mikey’s,” he drawled in an extremely low and gravelly voice. Raphael recoils.
“ A ! Leonardo!! Defend my honor here man, this guy is making me out to be some kind of Casey Jones wannabe!”
“ Already walking away Raphael! ”
“Wait, Casey’s not your best friend?!”
“In what universe is-“
“Mine!” The big turtle said.
“Mine too,” Other Raphael adds in.
“Okay, well that’s why your universes are stupid-“
Leonardo drowns the rest out, on a mission. After all, talking to them was the easy part.
Now he needs to talk to himself .
…
He pauses.
“Wait, that guy was a Michelangelo?”
Leonardo finished pushing the last box back and surveyed his work, hands on his hips. The little out of the way area he’d cleared out was still smaller than he’d like… but it’d do.
Drawing his swords, he began working through a kata. Focusing on the familiar movements, getting every step, every swipe of his sword exactly right. At least he could improve his ninja skills. Maybe he’d be able to go back and be a member of the team, even if he couldn’t be leader…
Leonardo’s sword buried in a box. He’d meant to pull that a little short to avoid exactly this. With a heavy sigh, he tugged it free. Figures, couldn’t even be a proper ninja either.
“Aw man, I’ve been trying to get that move right for days! Or, actually,” there’s a bemused chuckle, “I mean I guess this means I already have?”
Leonardo started and whirled around, to come face to face with a mirror.
Or. Not a mirror. The other Leonardo.
“ Of course, I will give myself a little bit of slack for being out of practice, but not too much! After all, hardwork and self discipline is the only way I’ll get back on my feet!” the turtle continued, his expression and voice bright, “golly though…”
Some of the happy amusement drops into a kind of stunned awe as he looks at himself, rocking a bit back on his feet.
“This sureeee is weird…”
Leonardo finally found his voice. “...Yeah,” he agreed, still staring. “It is.”
The response seems to, throw the other off kilter, but only for a moment-
“Right! Well, I just got done settling things down back with the guys, but I heard you weren’t doing too alright yourself. I thought I’d come check on you and see what’s wrong!”
The reminder of the team Leonardo has currently left behind settles a rock in his stomach. “I’m fine,” he said. “You should re-join your team, I’ve got to practice.”
With that, he turned back and began another kata. This one was sloppy-- unfocused. He couldn’t lose himself in the movements, Mikey’s voice playing over and over in his head. My Leo’s actually good at the leader thing!
A hand shoots up to stop one of his arms in motion, and his counterpart steps in front of him with a furrowed brow.
“…I’m not sure you are,” he starts almost warily, before determination takes form in a stubborn frown, “and I’m not leaving until I know for sure you’re going to be okay.”
It was so much like something Leonardo would have said-- though considering he was talking to himself, that wasn’t surprising. “...You should re-join your team,” he repeated weakly. “They… they need you. Mine doesn’t need me.”
“Wh-of course they do! Why, they were falling apart when I arrived!”
“They’re always like that. I-- I just make it worse,” Leonardo said, curling in on himself.
There’s a curious head tilt, “well, have you actually been trying? I got them to calm down just fine!”
If Leonardo had swallowed a rock earlier, now it was a boulder. “I have been,” he said, his voice small, weak and-- and pathetic. “But they don’t listen to me. They shouldn’t listen to me, all I do is cause more trouble.” Leonardo hugged himself, staring at the floor. “Mikey was right, I’m a terrible leader.”
“…you know, I’ve felt like this quite a few times before,” the other finally admits shakily, “and it’s-it’s really easy to believe it! But…the guys really do need us, even if sometimes they say they don’t! We’re an invaluable gear that keeps the team turning, so it’s our responsibility to keep at it, no matter what anyone says!”
He takes a deep breath and stops fidgeting with his arm bands, attempting to look his counterpart in the eye, “being a leader doesn’t always mean being perfect . It just means being the one always there to try to hold things together, no matter what! You can only fail by quitting .”
Leonardo laughed. It wasn’t funny but he laughed anyway. “Or,” he said, flinging his arms out, “I could fail them by getting them killed! Because that’s very nearly what happened!”
There’s a soft flinch, “w,well, yes that isn’t-the best outcome, but-“
“I haven’t helped them at all since we got turtlenapped,” Leonardo continued. He rubbed at the band, still clamped around his arm even here. “All I’ve done is make bad calls that they don’t listen to-- and then when Mikey did we ended up nearly getting gassed to death. The villain had to step in and save us! The villain! ”
“B-but one little slip up doesn’t equal-“
“And since the bad guy is a dimensional duplicate of Michelangelo, ” Leonardo continued, barely registering that this counterpart was still talking, “that means there must be a Leonardo out there too, and who knows what he’s doing to the turtles he’s kidnapped!”
There isn’t a third interruption.
“They’re better off without me!” Leonardo said. It still hurt, thinking that. Saying it. “They’re better off without me,” he repeated, quieter. “...You should go too. Back to your team. Don’t make the same mistakes I did.”
He gets a soft hiccup and a half strangled sob as a response, “ what if I can’t? ”
For the first time, Leonardo actually turns to really look at his counterpart. The fear Leonardo felt curdling inside, plain across the other’s face. And as much as he wished he could offer reassurances-- he could think back to many mistakes he’d made as the leader of his team.
Maybe both would be better off without Leonardo.
“...Do you want to train with me?” he offered.
“I, I don’t,” Leonardo’s shaking , and his already wobbly voice suffers as a result, “ you’re just… ”
Something shifts.
“…no, no ! M-maybe my team doesn’t need me, but-but I still need them! I-I was already the reason we split apart once, I won’t do that to them again! You know, you really hurt my Raphael!”
And now guilt mixed into the knot of emotions weighing heavy in Leonardo’s chest. “I guess that’s just what I do,” he said flatly.
The other recoils.
“You- so do you even care?! He doesn’t trust me anymore, you know that?!” Leonardo’s voice hitches, but the anger in his tear filled eyes blazes, “Ever since I-and now you’ve made it worse! You left! After everything we go through, how could you even think to do that?! You’re meant to be me -why are you such-such a-COWARD!”
Leonardo flinches, the word coward making him reel like he’d been slapped in the face. “I’m not a coward!” he said hotly. “I-- I’m terrified to be on my own,” he cried, voice cracking. “They’re-- they’re not my team but they’re all I have right now and-- and-- I want to be there! I want to be part of the team! But they’re better off without me .” He scrubs at his face, which is getting irritatingly wet. “If someone dies because of me I don’t-- I don’t know how I’d live with myself.”
“…then, you better be prepared to live as a failure instead,” his counterpart's tone is venomous , shuddering as he jabs a finger against Leonardo’s chest, “know what? I hope you’re right that they’re better off without you. Because if they die, when you could have helped them, because you were too busy feeling sorry for yourself? That’s still on you.”
His counterpart’s words hit hard . “I-- I’m not-- they are better off without me! They’ll-- they’ll be better without me around.” But now uncertainty was worming it’s way through Leonardo’s gut. “I’m not just feeling sorry for myself. I’m not.”
“…sure you aren’t.”
The Leonardo moves to leave, and his gaze doesn’t lose its edge for a second, even when it swirls with something more deeply wounded, “just know. If you can’t even fight for yourself , you can’t hope to fight for anything. So don’t waste your breath practicing if it’s for nothing.”
Leonardo watches his counterpart leave, the knot in his stomach tightening. Maybe he had a point. Maybe Leonardo shouldn’t even bother practicing. Slowly he sank to the ground, tucked behind a crate. He hugged his knees to his chest and stared at the wall, mind spinning like a tornado.
But at least here, he wouldn’t cause any more problems.
“Hey, Tony Hawk, you gonna help at all?” Raph called to their visiting Michelangelo. The other Raphael had dragged Mikey off to practice his act, leaving Raph with Michelangelo.
Said turtle had managed to find a skateboard somewhere , and was rolling around the freshly-swept floor. Instead of hauling the bags of glass to the trash.
Michelangelo does an- admittedly impressive -backflip into a one hand handstand on the board and grins, “Like, but you’re doing such a mondo terrifi-caloso job of it yourself! I don’t wanna throw off your rhythm.”
“Uh huh,” Raph said. As Michelangelo skated by, he caught the board with his foot, bringing it to an abrupt halt.
In true cartoon fashion, the action causes the turtle to be hurdled forwards into a wall, “ WHAAARAAAAAGHHH!”
“Whoa Mikey!?” Raph dropped the bag and hurried over, batting a few stars circling Michelangelo’s head out of the way to get a better look. “You okay there?”
He’s rubbing his head with a grumble, but seems relatively unharmed despite the force of the fling, “like, no thanks to you…”
He’s fine. “Yeah well, I didn’t expect you to go flying ,” he said, offering a hand up.
Michelangelo takes it and dusts himself off, laughing, “well that was your first mistake! But, uh…yeah, I guess I could lend a hand. Now that I’m up and all.”
Raph chuckled lightly as he pulled Michelangelo to his feet. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of movement. He turned to see Leonardo-- just one of them. Michelangelo’s, judging by the lack of shock-band. “Hey Leonardo,” he said. “Any luck finding, uh, Leonardo?”
Leonardo flinches, eyes widening like he hadn’t registered Raph at all despite staring right at him. The turtle's dark mask is practically drenched with tears, his body seems to be experiencing tremors against his will, and he doesn’t…seem to have enough wits yet to respond. He seems shaken .
“…so uh, take it the talk didn’t go so well?” Michelangelo asks, in a mixture of humor and horror.
There’s a hysteric little giggle in reply, and Michelangelo’s visible alarm triples as Leonardo just shoves his face into his hands.
“Whoa, Fearless?!” Raph says. Geeze, what had Leonardo said to this guy.
Michelangelo rushes over to grab hold of Leonardo’s shoulders, but he’s floundering, clearly not accustomed to seeing his leader in such a state. He gets a choked distraught whine for his efforts, “w-woah, hey-it’s okay dude!”
“I’m sorry! I can’t-I don’t want to,” the small turtle lets out a distressed cry that seems to be caused by the fact he’s upset at all, “ I can’t make it stop! ”
“Hey hey,” Raph hurries over, hesitating a second before settling on rubbing the back of the little guy’s shell. “Easy, easy. What happened ?”
Leonardo hiccups from the force it seems to take for him to not start blubbering, “ I made things worse ! I tried to snap him out of it, but, but he just-he wouldn’t listen to me! I just got so angry, I-I, he,” his voice does the impossible by raising another pitch, “I just-I gave up ! Me !”
Raph glanced over at Michelangelo, hoping that he could get some clue as to how to handle this from him. His Leo never broke down like this, never admitted to any of the emotions Raph knew were churning under the surface.
From the looks of Michelangelo’s panicked expression, his doesn’t usually either. “I…”
“You guys wouldn’t be better off without me , w,would you?” Leonardo questions abruptly with a whimper, and Michelangelo’s breathing seems to stop .
“ Dude .”
Okay. Looks like Raph is gonna have to handle this. No biggie, right? “Hey,” he said, placing his hands on Leonardo’s shoulders and looking him directly in the eyes. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from all this multiverse stuff-- it’s that no, none of us would ever be better off without our Leo. Your dimension ain’t that different.”
Leonardo sniffles and averts his eyes, “well he doesn’t seem to think so…”
“Well then he’s wrong!” Michelangelo cries, and Leonardo jumps from the force of it, “of course we need you man! We-we fell apart without each other, r-remember?”
“…of course I remember . I’ve never felt more miserable.”
“Yeah, well, ditto!” Michelangelo squeezes Leonardo’s shoulders, “for the whole bunch of us! We’re the bestest of compadres, remember? Can’t have one without the other! All for four and none for more!”
There’s a weak but real laugh, “it’s all for one and one for all, Michelangelo.”
“Details details.”
“Yeah, and as for… our Leonardo,” Raph glanced in the direction he’d run off to. “...It’s been really stressful. We’ve all said stuff we shouldn’t have and… guess he took it to heart more than we realized.” He looked back to the Leonardo currently here with him. “Look. I do think Mikey was right in that he shouldn’t be our leader. But he’s still part of the team, and we’ll get him back,” Raph said firmly.
Leonardo quietly shuts his eyes, taking a shaky breath, “I don’t even know how well that will go. He’s not taking things well at all and I…gosh I need to go apologise right now, I said such terrible- eep! ”
Michelangelo stops his leader from moving in one swift bear hug.
“No can do amigo. Someone else can have it handled, mmk?”
“But!”
“Yeah, listen to Michelangelo,” Raph said, rubbing the little guy’s head. “I think it’s a little fresh for you guys right now, yeah? Let someone else talk to him first.”
Leonardo gets a pout , but he leans into Raph’s touch with a slump, “oh, alright…”
Michelangelo shoots Raph a grateful grin as he squeezes his imprisoning hug tighter. Leonardo’s frown intensifies as he notices.
“You’re…not letting go, are you.”
“ Nope!”