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Leo is a Nexus Champion; a real one.
At first he went in full disguise, looking for the chance to practice against opponents who wouldn’t hold back. Then he went because of the money he’d win, and the thrill of it all. Now… he guessed it was a combination of the previous things with the added bonus of the cheering crowd. Their adoration filled his blood with something fiery. It was enough to melt the ice from his nightmares. It made him genuinely smile and feel like his old self again.
He needs this.
“And that’s why you need me, Big Mama.” Leo grins wide and smug, standing between the Owl and the yokai with the hood and mask. “Your crowd hasn’t cheered this loudly since I convinced you to let my dad fight that one time.”
Big Mama’s eyes glow red, still currently in her human form. “Don’t pull my leg, turtley-boo, I know how your fizzy-wack brain works.”
Leo just grins wider. “I wouldn’t even know which leg to pull. So, let’s skip to the part where we make a deal. You keep quiet about this to my family, and I’ll keep bringing in the dinero.”
Big Mama stares. Then, she grins. “Okay, blue one. Let’s make a deal.”
✨
Leo has downed five opponents. He’s breathing heavily, slightly lifting his mask to wipe sweat and blood from his face before settling it back in place. He never killed, but that didn’t mean he didn’t take or deal nasty hits every once in a while. And these fights had been particularly exhausting.
The updated mask resembled the one Big Mama’s assistant wore, except it was black with red lines. His hood and clothing were white, covering his shell and plastron. He wore full arm bandages, black pants, and armored shoes. It made his movements more difficult, but that was also part of the challenge he craved. It was something new, and that alone made it worth the effort of getting used to being fully clothed.
The crowd’s screams were a dull buzz in his head, his blood racing as he lifted a fist for them while trying to catch his breath. At least he was done now. He could clean up then portal home and collapse into his bed before his brothers woke up. Leo finally finding sleep and chasing it through an entire day wasn’t unusual, and it was one of the only things keeping his cover from being blown.
He begins to shuffle away toward the exit, waving to his fans. The speaker overhead buzzes to life and a pit opens in Leo’s stomach. He knew Big Mama well enough to know this wasn’t going to be good for him. The announcer’s voice rang out. “Congratulations to our newest Champion, Hoshi! But wait… there’s a surprise challenger entering the ring, and they are fast! ”
Leo whirls around just in time to see the white mask and gold claws aiming for his face. He jerks back, the claws barely missing his mask, and regains his footing. Not fast enough. They’re already lunging in, and Leo loses his balance. They knock him down, pressing his shell to the soft dirt underneath them, and pull a clawed hand back. It rushes for his face, but he puts his weight into his feet and pushes off the ground hard, tossing them over his head and narrowly missing his face again.
He rolls into a crouch, single short sword drawn again, and watches as the Assistant lifts two daggers. Leo huffs. “Why are you here?”
They begin to circle each other, both of them standing a little higher and remaining poised for battle. Leo senses the slight shift in their weight and is ready when they dart in for him again. He dodges, parrying the first blade strike and twisting out of reach of the second. “Hellooo?”
When they don’t answer, Leo chances a flick of his eyes up to the suite Big Mama sat in to watch the fights. She’s leaning against the railing, her chin resting on the backs of her folded hands, watching. He’s tempted to give himself away by teleporting next to her and demanding answers.
But there’s no time. The Assistant is in front of him again, their strikes measured, sure, and practiced. Every jab has the potential to be deadly or debilitating, and Leo’s mind has to zero in on focusing or he knows he’ll not only lose, but possibly die. He can’t let that happen; not after how hard he’s worked to get here. He will not waste this precious time he’s spent getting stronger by losing now.
He feels his eyes narrow, his breathing steady, and his heartbeat fills his head. He enters a “zone” he rarely used to find, but one he’d come to know well in recent weeks. It was a place where he was best able to read movements and think one to three steps ahead. He’d done his best to find this mental space since the invasion; he refused to freeze up anymore.
One dagger goes for his throat while the other aims for his side. Leo dodges both, body flowing around the blades before lunging in and tackling the Assistant to the ground. With a quick slice to one wrist and a sharp twist to the other, he gets them to drop their weapons and shoves them down into the dirt. He points his sword at their throat and glares up at Big Mama.
Before he can declare his victory, the Assistant pulls something from her pocket and slaps it on the ground. A salmon-colored portal opens under them and drops them directly into Big Mama’s arena suite behind her spot on the balcony. Leo adjusts his landing so the yokai is still stuck under his blade, glaring down at their impassive mask. Big Mama turns and enters the room, waving for one of her workers to close the curtains.
“Well done, little Blue.”
“You’re not allowed to call me that.” Leo spits, standing up but keeping his sword pointed at the Assistant’s throat. With his free hand, he pushes the mask up on top of his head and drops the hood. “ This wasn’t part of the deal.”
“It was for some wizzy-knacker extra excitement.” She says casually, reaching for a cup of tea a worker is holding out for her and taking a seat on the long sofa near them.
Leo huffs a laugh of disbelief. “If you think I’m that stupid after all this time, then you’re not paying close enough attention.”
She ignores the jab and takes in the scene before her. “Oh, let them up, they won’t attack you now.” She says, waving a hand dismissively in their direction as she sips her tea.
“Fine.” Leo grumbles, stepping back just far enough to let the Assistant stand up, but keeping his sword drawn. “Okay, spill, what was this about?”
She takes her time finishing her drink before leveling her gaze at Leo. “I know I can’t keep it from you, so I’ll be forthright. It was a test.”
“For?”
“For me, baby Blue.” She ignores the grumbling from him at the name and continues. “I want to make you a full-time employee. Our previous agreement still stands, of course, but you’d also get the benefits of a regular paycheck and being my main headliner. No longer will you be a little warm-up for the big fights. You’ll get a snizzy-snazzy suite for lodging and won’t have to worry about fighting aliens ever again.”
Leo stares, blinking slowly. Then, he tips his head back and laughs. “That’s funny! There’s no way this is a real offer.”
“It is.”
Leo stops laughing and just levels a hard stare at her. “No, it isn’t. I refuse.”
“Pray tell, why are you refusing?” She sets her cup on the seat beside her, and while she looks like she’s sitting casually, Leo can sense the danger there. Leo may be faster but she was bigger and he was in her arena. He could portal out, sure, but if he didn’t time it right, they’d either follow him through or his brothers would see he hadn’t been home, and that was something he couldn’t risk. Not yet. He didn’t want this freedom, this thing that was only his, revoked so quickly.
“Not part of the deal.” Leo tips his head to the side, keeping the Assistant in his peripherals as his eyes stay on Big Mama. “I’ve fought my battles for the day. I’m going home; our original contract still stands.”
The spider-yokai’s woman’s glow red, and she reaches up toward her cloaking brooch. “I think you’ll find it’s bumbly better you accept.”
Leo tightens his grip on his sword and takes note of the shift in the Assistant’s stance. “No.”
She makes a low sound and presses the brooch. Mystic energy swirls around her as she shifts into her yokai form. The Assistant rushes in and Leo takes a deep breath before letting his senses take over. He keeps back to avoid the masked yokai’s claws reaching for his arm. Big Mama yells to her workers not to let him escape, but Leo is already moving.
He zips around the workers, their moves clumsy and slow. He had just come from the arena, and his reflexes were sharpened from weeks of fighting near non-stop. They were no match for him in this state.
Except for one , apparently.
Something snags the back of his hood, yanking him back. Leo drops his weight and twists, lifting his arms as he does. He lets go of his sword too as the white top slides off his body, taking the mask with it. He pops up out of the crouch quickly, hooking his heel around the sword’s grip and pulling it into his hand just in time to bring it up and block the Assistant’s dagger.
They’re in the hallway now, Leo trying to run while also keeping an eye on the yokai tailing him. They kept up with Leo easily… maybe a little too easily. “What are they feeding you here?” He exclaims, barely dodging another grab for him. “Wait, don’t tell me. Probably fast food . Get it?”
They didn’t say anything, but their next missed hit left deep claw gouges in the wooden hallway wall. Touchy , Leo thought. He had to make an opening to go home. He was good enough at portaling now that he hoped he could show up a few blocks from the train tunnels instead of inside the lair.
He just had to get rid of Big Mama’s right hand. Metaphorically. And the best way to do that was with sudden, blunt force.
Leo shifts his weight, surprising the masked yokai as he changes from defensive to offensive in an instant. His body dips low under the curve of the dagger, and Leo flips his short sword and brings the pommel up and across their face.
They finally cry out, head jerking to the side, and the mask cracks . In fact, two jagged, long lines split from the jawline all the way up to the top of the white and red design. Four large chunks chip away, revealing their face.
Her face.
Not only that, but a very green face, with three thin teal stripes crossing vertically down her eye. She was glaring, already trying to regain her footing.
But Leo wasn’t one to waste an opportunity, even mid-processing. He whirls, makes a portal, and jumps through just as Big Mama and her goons come thundering down the hall after them. And, of course, in his hurry, he lands directly in the middle of his home, right in front of his three brothers from where they sat waiting on his bed.
Immediately they swarm him but Leo’s mind is taking pieces and putting them together. Before he answers any of their questions, Leo grabs Raph’s arm and says, “I think… we have a sister.”