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When Casey Jones was 2 years old, Leonardo Hamato lost his eldest brother.
It happened in a raid, a necessary one that would have supplied the resistance with enough food to last two months. Granted, the grocery store was decimated and in complete isolation, making it the ideal target. Smoke filtered out through the roof from a very faint fire, the windows smashed and the doors bashed in.
The resistance couldn’t afford to lose another soul to starvation. Too many had suffered.
Commander O’Neil and Donatello Hamato were the lookout team for the mission, whereas Raphael and Leonardo were to fend off any Kraang that got in the way. A select few were chosen to gather as many canned goods as they could from the store aisles, and the rest of the resistance stayed behind at camp, just on the outskirts of the ruined city.
It wasn’t as simple as that. Instead of a few Kraang stragglers, there was a whole squadron, hellish beings that wasted no time in obliterating any person, or mutant, they could find. The barren waste of the grocery store erupted into flames, the resistance survivors fleeing out of the crumbling building as fast as their legs could carry them.
“Retreat!”
“Everyone- Evacuate immediately!”
The shrill cries of both April and Donnie should have been enough to call off Leo, but as steadfast and arrogant he was, he pushed through, fending off the Kraang-controlled robots. Raphael was right behind him, urging him to fall back.
“Leo, we don’t got time for this! We gotta get out of here- Are you even listenin’?” Grinding his teeth together, the Snapper focused on smashing another bot to pieces, looking over his shoulder. The terrain they were fighting on was already unstable- the crumbling pavement underneath their feet could cave in at any moment.
“Leo-“
“Relaaaax, I got this! Everything’s fiiine, just- shoot- give me a second!” Now it was Leo’s turn to slice through a bot, sweat collecting on his temple. There was never this many bots at once- it was almost like this was a planned attack, that their mission was too predictable-
A shrill cry pierced the air as a foot met Leonardo’s chest, effectively knocking the air out of him and sending him toppling to the ground. As fast as it happened, another foot started stepping down on his plastron, a sickening snap echoing around them.
“R- RAPH-!”
The Slider could only gasp and struggle feebly, grasping the metallic limb in a futile effort to shove it off of him. The robot’s full body weight must’ve shifted to that one foot, because now, even the bot’s mechanics were creaking. Leo was panicking, kicking his feet against anything that came in contact with it. As the seconds ticked by, Leo started to notice how hard it was to breathe.
How hard it was to think..
To move..
To see through the tears collecting in his lashes.
By now it was undeniable that small fragments of his plastron had started to chip off, and that small trickles of scarlet started dancing their way down Leonardo’s hands, starting at the tips of his nails. His own struggle was starting to die down, his hands shaking as they merely grabbed onto the very thing causing him pain.
A shaky gasp left Leo as the pressure on his chest suddenly subsided, his blackening vision returning to a mess of blurs. In front of him, on the desolate and broken street of New York City, was a huge green and red blob of mass grappling with a robot nearly the same size as it, its sickening iron fangs bearing themselves in exertion. A singular, red eye gleamed in the fire-light, snapping its attention back to Leo once it noticed the turtle’s renewed movements.
“Leo, get- hah-“, Raphael huffed, fist colliding against the robot’s face. “Get the hell outta here! I’ll hold him off-“
“No- no way. I’m not g- RAPH!”
A shriek pierced the eerie silence.
“RAPHAEL-!”
It happened too fast.
All too fast.
Casey never did get to hear the rest of the story. Not from Donatello, not from April. Not from anyone.
Especially not from Leo.
He did, however, remember taking the mutant’s large hand into his own that day, grasping tightly on the two fingers. Casey was just a baby, a toddler, but he had enough decency to know that something was wrong. And that only three out of the four large turtles returned.
When Casey proceeded to climb onto Leonardo’s lap, the mutant began to cry.
⟡⟡⟡
Casey was 7 when he lost his mother.
Ironically, it was during a rescue mission.
Commander O’Neil had gotten a radio transmission from a group of survivors in the ruins of downtown New York. They claimed that they had lived in a small group since the start of the Kraang invasion, but now, since food and resources were running low, they required assistance. Casey remembered how April said it was, “A miracle that the transmission even went through!”
Casey also remembered how there were rumors that it could be a trap. Uncertainty and suspicion traveled around camp like a wildfire, the majority leaning this way and that. It was a gambling game that the resistance didn’t have time for. And yet, they couldn’t just leave people in need like that. Leonardo wouldn’t allow that to happen.
“We need to think of a plan.” Commander O’Niel finally declared, slamming her hands down dramatically on the table in front of her. On the table was a map of New York City, drawn by the scout teams and Commander O’Neil herself. Surrounding the table was Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Cassandra. As if on cue, Casey scrambled to stand beside his mother, eager to be of use to the resistance.
The tent the small group was in was almost torn in two, only a couple wooden stakes acting as support beams that prevented the ‘roof’ from caving in. It was a miracle in itself that the table they had wasn’t full of splinters. Casey shuddered as a breeze drifted by, a result of the many holes and rips in the tent’s exterior.
“No shit, Sherlock.” Cassandra smirked, placing a hand on her hip as she eyed the map. Casey couldn’t hide his smile as he did the same, mimicking Cassandra and glancing at the map.
April rolled her eyes, and before anybody else could interrupt, she began to devise a plan.
“There will be two groups of two, consisting of Mikey and Leo, and Donatello and Cassandra. A scout team will cover the area and alert you if it’s safe or not. Once it is, Mikey’s team will proceed out and into the base, recovering whoever it was that sent the transmission. If you two need help, motion for Cassandra’s team. I’ll be overlooking everything on the street cameras and give you intel through your radios.”
Casey had almost forgotten the Purple Dragons’ change of heart in all of this, assisting them with hacking the city cameras. Or rather, the ones that still existed after all the destruction.
“You got it, boss.” Cassandra reached down and ruffled Casey’s hair, giving the kid a smile. “Stay out of trouble, alright? Or better yet, destroy something for me.” She winked, and left with the others, leaving April and Casey behind.
“Don’t even think about it, Casey. We don’t need another mess around here.” April laughed light-heartedly, turning around to fix her radio signal and prepare for the rescue. “How about you go and gather some rations for when they return?”
“You got it, Commander April!” With a fixed posture and a salute, Casey ran out of the tent, happy to help in any way possible and determined to make use of himself.
The kitchen, If you could even call it that, was in worse wear than the tent that Casey was just in. It was a poor excuse for a tent, with just barely any cover at all. The only indication that it used to be something was the remaining splintered stakes tethered to the ground. It still served its purpose, though, and beggars can’t be choosers.
The rest of the afternoon dragged on slowly, and Casey resorted to entertaining himself with a small lizard that was perched on a rock. There wasn’t much to do around here, especially with everyone so busy, and he found it hard to believe that the team wasn’t back yet. Curiosity got the best of him as he picked up a basket, filled with rations that he had gathered earlier, and made his way to the tent that April was in.
It was deserted. The map lay sprawled across the dusty ground now, and the walkie-talkie abandoned on the table. The only sound coming out of it was static.
“Commander?” Casey had no idea where she would have gone. She wasn’t one to just abandon post, and that fact alone made Casey back away in fear, looking this way and that.
He noticed a crowd of people gathered at the front of camp, and quickly rushed over. This wasn’t just a simple accident, something must have happened for this many people to amass together.
It was hard to make out anything with his height, and he found himself on his toes trying to look over everyone. He resorted to pushing people out of his way, desperate for any answers. The crowd was eerily silent, as if in a vigil of some kind. Casey hated the silence, and found himself at the front of the crowd, gazing in the middle with a blank face.
At first he was confused. Everyone from the rescue team except Cassandra had returned, and there was no sign of any of the survivors they were supposed to retrieve. He didn’t understand, so he inched closer.
Until Leonardo caught his gaze.
Casey had never seen his eyes so desolate before, so wide and devoid of any emotion except pity. Pity and… grief. He’d recognize that stare anywhere. It was the same look Leo had when Raph died. Which meant only one thing.
“No…”
The crowd started to back away now, quiet murmurs of sympathy and condolences spreading like a plague. And worse of it all, Casey knew exactly why. They were sorry for him, and the only person missing was his mother.
He stumbled forwards, and into Leo’s awaiting arms, the rest of the crowd dispersing as Casey’s sobs echoed louder than ever. He would later find out that the whole thing was a set-up, organized by the Foot Clan. Taking Cassandra’s life was just an added bonus for them, as sick as it was; She was a traitor and meant nothing to them. They didn’t know they took Casey’s entire World in turn.
⟡⟡⟡
“Find the Key. Stop the Krang.”
In just six words, Casey’s life fell apart. The worst part is, he didn’t believe he could do this. Not after everything that has happened to them. To him. His only guiding light was dying in front of him and he couldn’t do anything but repeat the mantra of words in his head over and over again.
“I- I don’t want to lose you.”
His voice cracked, and before his sensei could even finish his sentence, the Kraang spotted them.
The world erupted in golden light, Mikey’s golden light, and then there was nothing more.
Casey was left alone, again.
⟡
Casey Jones knew grief from the moment he was born. It was easier having someone else handle the burden as well, but now that someone else is gone.
And Casey had a job to do.