Chapter Text
When the light from the explosion faded, revealing a damaged time window, there was no sign of the Turtles, Master Splinter, or Serling. The loss of Cody's nanny-turned-butler was perhaps the most distressing part of the whole surprise attack from Viral. The Turtles leaving was like extended family going home after a long visit.
Serling being gone meant losing his near-constant companion, going back to before Cody could even form memory.
He couldn't even use the time window to peek into the Turtles' time to see if the robot had been sent through after them, because part of it was in pieces and other parts were melted slag. Cody's shoulders slumped as he stared in dismay at the destroyed time window, where the last of his (non-criminal) family had just disappeared.
Suddenly he felt even more alone than he had before the time-displaced Turtles were accidentally brought to his time.
Before he could decide if he wanted to curl up against the still-smoking time window and indulge the steady prickling of his eyes, an odd humming sound slowly grew in volume. Turning away from the destruction in his lab, Cody grabbed a small, handheld taser from the lab bench and ran toward the sound. Once he was out of the lab, he could clearly hear it was coming from the direction of the living room.
Cody skidded to a halt in front of the decorative water fountain he'd had installed against one wall after Master Splinter had marveled at one during an outing. The old rat had taken to meditating near it sometimes, when he wanted to be near the family more than he wanted solitude for a deeper meditation.
Now, a strange blue-green glow was pulsing from the water. As Cody watched, a lazily-spinning oval of luminous water broke off from the fountain and hovered just above the floor.
Then, with a soft hiss of sound, a backlit figure stepped through the glowing oval of water. A portal, Cody belatedly realized.
The figure was wearing a straw hat with a wide brim, tilted down to obscure their face, some kind of bulky blue tunic with a belt, and loose black pants. But most importantly, Cody could see they were armed. The silhouettes of two swords were clearly visible across the intruder's back.
Cody moved to the side so his body hid the hand holding the taser. He may have already lost the advantage of surprise, but he could still hide that he had a weapon.
The portal swirled behind the trespasser for a few more moments before fading away.
Then the figure tilted its head up and smiled warmly at him.
"Hello again, little ninja," Leonardo greeted him.
The first thing Leo did, after revealing his identity and greeting him, was reassure Cody that Serling was okay and would be returning to him in a couple months.
"He was invaluable at April and Casey's wedding. So…I guess he was supposed to be there?"
"I guess that makes sense," Cody mumbled, cupping his chin with one hand while pocketing the taser. "Though I wonder if it proves the Novikov self-consistency principle, or if it's one of the predestination theories."
Leo's fixed smile and expression said he clearly wasn't following, but didn't want to admit it.
Actually, now that Cody was looking closer at Leo's face, he suddenly noticed wrinkles where there hadn't been before. Scars he hadn't had before going through the time window. And was he taller?
"Wait, how are you here again?" Cody asked suspiciously.
Leo grinned and pushed the hat off his head to hang over his shell. "The normal way, this time. I'm about a hundred years older than the last time you saw me."
With a gasp, Cody rushed closer to examine him. "You're still alive?!"
"Mutant turtles are apparently very long-lived."
The implications suddenly hit him and Cody stepped back. "Wait… That means you've been alive this whole time," he said slowly, voice growing quieter with each word. "You…why… Why didn't you…"
"Why didn't I visit sooner?" Leo gently finished for him.
Cody swallowed back the lump in his throat and nodded.
Rubbing a hand over his head, Leo sighed. "Don explained it decades ago, you'll have to ask him the details. I think it boiled down to: seeing you sooner would've caused a paradox. And paradoxes are bad."
"They are," Cody confirmed.
"Right. So we had to stay away until after the time window incident." Leo spread his hands and smiled sadly. "If it makes you feel any better, we missed you terribly."
"A little," Cody admitted, ducking his head with a sheepish smile.
Leo chuckled and gestured him closer, arms wide and inviting. "C'mere, little ninja. I waited a hundred years to see you again."
Feeling the prickle of tears again at the offer, Cody slowly took a step forward before suddenly flinging himself at the older turtle. Leo let out a soft "oof!" as the teen impacted against his plastron, but quickly wrapped his arms around Cody and held on tight.
"I thought I'd never see you again," Cody choked out, voice wet. "Not in person."
"I know, I'm so sorry we couldn't visit sooner," Leo murmured, rubbing a hand over his back. If he could feel the growing damp patch on the front of his tunic, he kindly didn't mention it. "But we can be here for you now."
It took a moment for the words to sink in, but when they did Cody pulled back just enough to look up at him. "'We'?"
The tender moment was interrupted by the sudden bang of a door slamming open behind Cody. It was followed immediately after by a voice shouting, "How the hell did you beat me?! You weren't even in the same dimension!"