Chapter Text
Leo beat back a stray Kraang alien with his katana. It flew through the air with an ear-piercing shriek, landing a good ways away from him. But the battle was hardly over, more of the tentacled monsters breached the gateway every single day in droves.
Just as they had been for the past three months.
The Hamato clan had expanded significantly with many many new recruits. Their small but growing resistance was Earth’s last defense against the Kraang.
“Leo! Behind you!”
Raph shouted from right next to him. Despite the close distance, it was the only way he could be heard over the racket of the Kraang swarm.
Leo spun around and sliced straight through the two brain-faced aliens that were trying to latch onto his shell, their oozing insides splattering from the impact.
“Eughhh, gross!”
Donnie dodged the line on goo by swerving higher with his jet pack. That unfortunately left Mikey unguarded for a split second, creating a target in the group of the brothers and an alien leapt up, trying to infect him. Donnie activated the rocket on his tech bo and swung it like a golf club, sending the approaching Kraang to the clouds.
“Stay together guys! We can’t give them any openings!”
Well, at least we’re still together.
Leo felt the black fabric of his gloves dig into his palms as he hacked away Kraang after Kraang. But the pink mob just kept on coming, the flow of relentless aliens only getting thicker with each swing.
If Leo’s mystic powers were still working, he would’ve portaled them back to their lair base hours ago.
He could’ve portaled them into the abandoned Stock n Shop in a matter of seconds. He could have run around for a few minutes helping Raph with first aid, Mikey with groceries, and Donnie with the techy machinery stuff that Stockboy left in the back room. Their simple supply run could’ve been done hours ago.
Leo slashed at some more Kraang with his completely normal, non-mystic, non-glowy, very boring swords.
Mikey was the only one of them able to regain his mystic powers for some reason. He was chaining up aliens in impressive groups of ten and tossing them aside with his kusari fundo, but it wasn’t enough.
The realization dawned on Leo as he watched Raph get swarmed and knocked over by a hoard of pink aliens.
They weren’t going to make it.
Not this time.
Suddenly, a loud roar from nearby caught his attention.
It wasn’t the Kraang kind of roar which was screechy and made Leo’s blood turn to ice every time he heard it. It was low and rumbly, shaking the ground. It was a mechanical sort of noise… like a car!
A huge buggy smashed through the rapidly building wall of Kraang, catching astounding air time and sending green strands of slime all over Leo and his brothers. It violently swerved, pitching to a stop right in front of the brothers.
The headlights of the car were turned up to full brightness which made the Kraang temporarily squeal, shrinking away. But it was only a matter of seconds before the swarm recovered and surged back.
Leo squinted against the harsh light, shielding his eyes and trying to get a glimpse of the driver. The bunny-eared shadow didn’t look familiar in any way. Definitely not anyone from the resistance.
“Get in!”
Leo didn't need to be told twice, clambering into the car followed by his brothers.
“I really hope you guys don’t get motion sickness!”
Was the only warning they got before the driver slammed the gas and the buggy lurched into action once more.
Leo clung onto the pole frame of the car as the driver recklessly spun the wheel this way and that, just barely dodging more aliens.
He laughed aloud from the adrenaline rush, gripping the frame harder as he got thrown a few feet off his seat. The driver failed to weave around a Kraang and ran over it instead. The turtle watched the spray of green guts shoot out from under the wheels before finally turning to the driver.
He was a white rabbit yokai dressed in an armored biking jacket thrown over traditional Japanese clothing. His eyes were covered with a pair of vintage-looking pilot goggles which he raised an arm to, wiping a green smear from the lenses as he kept his eyes focused on the road.
Normally, punk biker, 1920’s aviator, and Edo period Japan didn’t work together as an aesthetic, but the rabbit somehow made it work… in a post-apocalyptic badass kind of way.
“Mi amigo, you are insane! You from Jersey?!”
Leo couldn’t fight the grin on his face as he realized that his family was going to survive another day, watching as the swarm that was previously about to end them turned into a tiny pink dot on the rubble-covered horizon.
“ Nah , I’m from the Farmlands-“
The driver yanked the steering wheel to the side but still managed to hit a mystery item, making the car jump before continuing.
“Which is arguably worse!”
Despite the two having a (debatably) civil conversation, they had to scream at each other to be heard over the roaring engine of the car and the pained screeches of the Kraang this absolute maniac was ramming into. He had this wild grin plastered on his face as they hit something on the street.
It was like he wasn’t even trying to dodge the aliens anymore. Leo observed his face, watching as his unhinged smile only grew as he clobbered a minimum of five Kraang now trying to dodge the car instead of stop it.
Leo figured him and this guy would make great friends.
“Gotta name, stranger?!”
The rabbit’s ears bounced up and down with the motion of the car, his ribbon keeping them fastened in a top knot on his head.
“Uh, call me Usagi!”
Usagi yanked the wheel sharply, drifting the car around a turn. Out of the corner of his eye, Leo saw Raph snatch Mikey’s shell to stop him from flying out of the car.
“That’s what all my friends call me! You guys don’t look like you’re infected by those brain-heads-“
Leo did a quick headcount to make sure no one had fallen out before Usagi pulled into another dangerous drift, nearly flipping the car over as he accidentally (was it really on accident at this point? Leo had to wonder, considering Usagi’s giant crazed smile)
The rabbit kept introducing himself like he wasn’t hurtling them all to their deaths.
“I think that makes us friends! At least while the world is ending!”
Mikey was completely in his shell now, just two frightened eyes peeking out from the dark crevice. Raph was clutching him close to his chest with one arm and hanging onto his seat belt for dear life with the other, on the verge of a panic attack. He was the only one out of the five in the car to put his seatbelt in. Donnie was looking greener than usual, closing his eyes and muttering equations under his breath.
Well, at least they were all alive and Usagi was sticking to the road.
Leo had to admire the guy’s guts.
Raph suddenly grabbed his shoulder, panic evident in his eyes.
“Leo! They’re catching up!”
Looking past his brother, he saw a wave of Kraang monsters which were indeed catching up to them.
“Uhh, Usagiiii -“
He didn’t even get to finish his sentence before Usagi’s hand was on the gear shift.
“HOLD ON TO SOMETHING!!”
In a blink, the car was moving backwards and Usagi was standing in his seat with a handful of mystery vials. He put a foot up on top of the windshield and threw them. The glass exploded like small grenades, smoke and fire billowing out from the pink fleshy wave.
And all Leo could think about was how freaking cool this ‘Usagi’ guy was.
He was snapped out of it, however, when the Kraang monster screamed, recovering and charging with twice the force.
Usagi sat back down in a hurry, somehow making the car go even faster in reverse.
“Oh sweet Galileo, I think I'm gonna hurl-“
“Everyone! Jump out on the count of three!”
Usagi shouted over Donnie, hand back on the gear shift.
“One… Two-“
He grunted with effort as he spun the car and pulled it back into forward drive at the same time.
“THREE!!”
Usagi threw himself out with a backflip, landing on his feet far away on his feet. By some miracle, they all made it out of the vehicle with varying degrees of success, none as graceful as the rabbit.
Leo groggily looked up from where he had skidded and rolled to a stop, blinking his eyes back into focus.
Just in time to see the car collide with the monster, exploding in a colorful display of booming orange fire and slime, creating an epic backdrop behind the white rabbit who was still in a slight crouch from landing his flip.
His clothes billowed in the wind from the aftershock and it was like a scene straight from an action packed Lou Jitsu movie.
Leo stared in awe as the orange flames reflected in the lenses of Usagi’s goggles.
How is he still alive? And more importantly, how can I be just like him?
The turtle staggered to his feet, using a sword to keep himself balanced.
“We gotta get to the sewers! The Kraang haven’t gotten there yet and our base is down there!”
His voice was slightly wheezy from the fall, but Usagi quickly nodded in understanding.
The two of them ran to the nearest manhole, Donnie, Mikey, and Raph not too far behind. It was a universal understanding by now, three months into an alien invasion, that Outside+Unprotected=Doom.
Usagi swished back his jacket, revealing a pair of sheathed swords strapped to his hips.
Can this guy get ANY cooler?
Leo thought to himself as Usagi jammed the point of a wakizashi into the edge of the manhole cover, prying it open.
The five hopped in, securing the cover the moment they were all inside.
The noises of the surface were now muffled and they could all hear their heavy breathing as they attempted to calm down.
They all looked at each other and then at Usagi, a quiet tension building as their adrenaline subsided. Leo looked at him to find him looking right back.
The rabbit pulled his aviator goggles off, revealing a pair of chocolate brown eyes. His long ears swished behind him as he shook out his head. He stuck out his hand to Leo, whose heart stuttered away in his chest.
Out of admiration. That’s all.
Just out of admiration.
“Miyamoto Usagi. Nice to meet you.”
Leo took it, wondering how someone this nonchalantly awesome could even exist.
“Hamato Leonardo… Er, sorry about your car.”
Usagi shrugged, pulling back his hand and running it through his ears.
“Meh, it wasn’t mine anyways .”
Before Leo could process that, Usagi was already walking past him, towards his brothers.
“Where’s that base you guys were talking about? It’s still not safe to be out in the open, even if we’re underground.”
Donnie pulled up a hologram map on his wrist cuff, swaying lighly. It looked like he was still dizzy from their less-than-smooth ride.
Usagi slung an arm around Leo’s brother’s shoulders without hesitation, pulling him to his side to support him. Despite not being a fan of physical contact, Donnie didn’t protest and nonverbally pointed in the direction of the lair.
“I gotcha, just lead the way.”
Lucky…
Leo thought in the back of his mind as Usagi steadied Donnie against his body with a strong arm. About halfway there, Donnie proclaimed that he was feeling better and pushed himself off of Usagi who luckily didn’t seem to find the gesture rude at all.
It wasn’t long until the five stumbled into the lair, rightfully exhausted after they were swarmed by concerned people and yokai alike.
A few introductions later, Miyamoto Usagi was officially a part of the Hamato Resistance and on his way to the next mission planning meeting. Leo led him around, showing him all the different parts of the resistance.
“Huh, I guess living in the countryside of the Hidden City really does keep me out of the loop. I had no idea there were so many other survivors.”
Usagi remarked on their way to the meeting room.
“I was fighting those freaky aliens all by myself.”
Leo imagined that for a moment, Usagi with his two swords slashing through Kraang monsters, probably with awesome explosions in the background. Usagi was the complete epitome of awesome (in Leo’s opinion) and he couldn’t be happier to have him in the resistance.
“No way! For three months?! If I didn’t have my brothers and April, I literally would’ve died the first day.”
He laughed, remembering all the close calls they’ve had so far, including earlier that day. In retrospect, it really wasn’t that funny, but laughing helped Leo cope.
Sue him.
“WAIT-”
Usagi stopped walking eyes wide and staring at Leo’s hands.
“Are- are those fingerless gloves?!!”
He took Leo’s gloved hands, yanking them to his face.
“They are! That’s so dumb!”
Leo ignored how hot his face felt as the rabbit clasped his hands, laughing. Usagi had really warm hands and a really nice laugh.
“What?! What makes them dumb?”
“They’re like, all the bad parts of a glove with all the good parts chopped off!”
Usagi rubbed a circle with his thumb over the back of his hand and Leo swore his bandanna tails were about to catch fire.
“You have limited mobility while still leaving fingerprints everywhere. Fingerless gloves are absolutely the dumbest article of clothing to exist.”
He tried to ignore the way Usagi was pressing his finger tips against his own, turning his head to the side.
“Well- well, I think they’re cool! Pssh, What even are you, anyways? Some kind of thief?”
He was only joking, since Usagi made such a big deal about the fingerprints thing, but the rabbit only shrugged, a slight smirk on his face.
Leo knows he shouldn't find this cool, he knows that stealing is bad… but is it really bad if it’s someone as badass as Usagi?
“How’s the resistance doing? Looks pretty crowded in here.”
The turtle didn’t miss the way Usagi so abruptly changed the topic, but he wasn’t about to call him out on it either.
“I mean, we’re definitely getting stronger. Well, except for today. You really saved our butts out there.”
Leo joked, elbowing the rabbit.
“The Kraang came to my village on my sixteenth birthday and I spent the whole day fighting until they retreated, so I learned a lot… What a way to spend a sweet sixteen, am I right?”
Usagi joked back, bumping his elbow against Leo’s in retaliation. As the words registered, the turtle fit together the pieces in his mind.
The Kraang had breached the Hidden city after they took over most of the surface. That meant Usagi had turned sixteen sometime in the past three months.
That meant Leo was…
“Hold on, I’m older than you?!”
The turtle looked up at his companion in a new light. Usagi was a good few inches taller than him and had a much deeper voice.
“Possibly. How old are you?”
The rabbit seemed slightly confused as well, seemingly switching up his tone to be more respectful.
Leo quickly waved his hands like he was trying to physically shoo away the misunderstanding.
“No no, I’m sixteen too! But my birthday was earlier.”
“Ohhh, okay, good good.”
The rabbit breathed out in relief as they approached a closed off train car.
“Good?”
“Yeah, I thought you were kinda cute, honestly. But it would’ve been weird if you were like, way older- Is this the meeting room?”
Leo’s face burned up as he processed Usagi’s words. He had been so casual about it too! How’s a guy supposed to respond to that! Usagi himself seemed unfazed, peering into the train car through the cracks in the boarded up windows.
Be cool, Leon. Be cool-
“I- uh, yep! This is the meeting room! The room where we plan uh, missions! And… stuff! The others are probably inside so… haha-”
He wanted to slap himself, but instead just held open the door for the rabbit. Inside, Leo’s family were busy around a hologram map displayed over the table. Raph stood at the head of the table, commenting on different buildings and locations. Mikey and pops were listening, writing things up on the whiteboard while occasionally glancing at the hologram.
Donnie and April looked up from the map. Leo cringed at the way the majority of the miniature New York was bathed in pink light.
Kraang territory.
They already infected the subways, it was only a matter of time before they reached the sewers…
Leo refused to think about it. They were going to fight as damn hard as they could. No matter the odds.
Good thing he was the man with a plan.
“Leo, Usagi. You made it. We’re trying to figure out what to do next. The lair can only hold so many refugees and we’re startin to fill up. Any ideas?”
Raph only darted his eyes up for a minute and Leo led the rabbit to an empty seat at the table.
“Well, there’s only one thing we can do…”
With his usual flair, he rested a hand against the edge of the edge of the table, leaning over to point at the building the portal had opened up in with a confident smile.
That caught the attention of his family, all going quiet to hear what he had to say.
Oh, Usagi’s gonna think I look so cool!
he thought to himself, a beat before opening his mouth.
“We get back the key and cut the Kraang off for good!”
Any protests were immediately silenced by the sound of Raph’s chair scraping as he stood up.
“Leo-”
“BUT!”
Leo interrupted him.
“But this time, we take our time. This time we make a plan.”
Raph closed his mouth and Leo kept talking.
“This time, we do it together.”
He stuck a hand out. A peace offering for his past mistakes.
A promise to do better. Be a better leader.
An apology.
Raph grasped his little brother’s hand, a look of pride on his face. He was proud of Leo.
“Alright, big man. What’s your plan?”