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Leo had always known, somewhere deep in his bones, that his family attracted trouble.
Not just the normal kind that came with being mutant ninja turtles in New York City. Something deeper. Something inevitable.
He'd felt it first in meditation, watching the threads of fate weave around his brothers like gossamer strings pulling them toward danger.
And after everything, almost dying on Shredder’s ship, watching the Foot Elite tear through April's home, seeing his family scattered across dimensions during that nightmare of a night with Ultimate Drako...
...It was clear that something kept drawing catastrophe to them, like moths to flame.
His time in Japan only confirmed what he had already suspected.
The Ancient One had given it a name during his training in Japan - en, the invisible bonds that connected all things. More importantly, he'd learned about Tong, the manipulation of this connection.
But it had taken a while to reconcile these concepts with the brutal reality they faced each and every day. The way violence found their family over and over again.
The way it had found him now.
The lab's fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting harsh shadows across the steel examination table. His wrists ached where the restraints bit into them, but that pain was nothing compared to what was coming.
He could see it in Bishop's eyes as the agent approached, syringe in hand.
This wasn't going to be easy. How long it would last, how significant the damage - he didn't know. Had no way of knowing. No way of warning or preparing. Not really. Because that went against the fundamental laws of the universe itself.
So he had just moments to brace himself.
Don't beg. That's the line, Leo decided. He always set one when he woke up in places like this.
Sometimes it was no information given, no matter what. Sometimes it was silence. Sometimes it was holding back tears.
You had to have something to hold onto, some small victory. One line you wouldn’t cross, to keep you sane. Because everyone broke eventually - broken bones made you curse, suffocation made you panic, electricity made you cry out.
"Now this," Bishop held up the needle, studying the viscous liquid inside with clinical detachment, "This is a particularly interesting formula. My own creation. The last test subject begged for death within hours."
Don't beg.
Leo's heart thundered in his chest, but he kept his expression neutral. This wasn't random chance or bad luck.
This was gravity - the cosmic weight of their existence drawing violence and pain toward them like a black hole draws light.
But he could work with gravity. Could use it.
If someone had to be strapped to this table, better him than Mikey with his bright laugh. Better him than Raph with his burning heart. Better him than Donnie with his brilliant mind.
Because when the weight of inevitability had started settling over the city, he'd doubled his patrol routes. Taken the most dangerous sectors. Made sure he was the first one out, the last one home.
Not looking for trouble. But when trouble came looking, he made damn sure it would find him first.
And it had.
Bishop's footsteps echoed as he circled the table. "Let's see how you handle this one."
He silenced the voice in his head, screaming for him to stop, begging for respite, to not have to do this.
Not again, not again, not again. Please not again.
He silenced it because he didn't have a choice. Not really. He couldn't unlearn this. Couldn't let his family go through this, knowing he could have taken it himself. Because he could take this.
The needle slid into Leo's arm.
Fire bloomed beneath his skin, spreading through his veins like molten metal. He clenched his jaw against the first wave of pain. Don't beg. Hold that line.
He focused on his breathing, on the discipline that had kept him alive through previous sessions.
Every moment of agony was proof that his brothers were safe. Every new experiment was pain they wouldn't have to endure.
His muscles began to spasm, each contraction feeling like barbed wire being dragged through his flesh. Sweat beaded on his skin as he fought to maintain control.
Keep it together.
Taking the hits was only one part of his fight. Because he had to stay strong enough to recover. Had to be able to get back up at the end of this. His family needed him functional, not broken.
But that was later.
And right now, it hurt. God, it hurt.
The first cry tore from his throat as he arched off the table, restraints creaking with the force of his convulsions. The sound echoed off the sterile walls, raw and animal.
Bishop's satisfied smirk swam in Leo's blurring vision. "Fascinating reaction. The muscle contractions are even more severe than in the human trials."
Leo couldn't respond, too focused on riding out the waves of agony coursing through him. His body wasn't his own anymore - it belonged to the drug, to the pain, to Bishop's curiosity.
But his mind was still his.
Even as involuntary whimpers escaped him, he wouldn't plead for mercy. One small victory. One piece of himself kept safe.
It wasn't much, but it was enough to build on later, when he needed to put himself back together.
Some things were inevitable. Violence would find them. Pain would find them. Death would try to find them.
But Leo could control who it found first, and how he faced it.
He was the leader. The protector. The one who had spent years honing his spiritual awareness until he could feel the threads of fate pulling at them.
So he stayed watchful, stayed ready. Prepared to step in the way when necessary.
Another spasm wracked his body. He couldn't hold back the scream. It echoed off the walls, joining the chorus of his previous cries. But still, he didn’t beg. Even as his body betrayed him.
Bishop's voice cut through the haze of pain, "Full cellular response within minutes. Even better than projected."
Good, Leo thought deliriously. Focus on me.
Just leave them alone.
He didn't know how long it lasted. Time lost meaning when every heartbeat brought fresh agony. But eventually, the drug began to fade, leaving him trembling and soaked in sweat.
Bishop made his notes, already planning the next test. But Leo had won this round in the only way that mattered - his brothers were safe.
The gravity of violence had found him instead of them.
He would endure whatever came next. Would position himself between his family and danger, would take the hits that couldn't be avoided, would accept the sacrifices that necessity demanded.
Because some things were inevitable. But who paid the price? That was a choice.
And Leo would choose himself. Every damn time.
Even as Bishop prepared another syringe, Leo felt a grim satisfaction. The universe could have its pound of flesh from his clan.
But it would have to go through him first.
He closed his eyes and waited for the next wave of pain, focusing on his one remaining line of defense. Don't beg.
For now, that was enough to keep him sane. Enough to ensure he could heal, could fight, could protect them again tomorrow.
It had to be enough.