Chapter Text
“Casey, when you’re done saving the world, do me a favour. Grab a slice!” said Leo, shoving Casey back into the time portal.
Leo felt at peace for a fraction of a second knowing that Casey would do what needed to be done and would finally, finally be safe when it was all over.
That peace was jolted out of reality the instant he felt himself being yanked back by his scarf. Leo lost his footing and glanced back in time to see Casey disappear into the orange portal, his fingertips brushing Leo’s scarf.
Leo was enveloped by the portal, falling shell over heels back into it. Leo felt the warmth of the portal envelop him and saw the portal close the instant he was all the way through. Gravity was yanking him somewhere but he couldn’t tell what was up or down anymore. It was just a void of warm soft orange. Leo closed his eyes and just let himself fall. He felt the pulse of magic, of Mikey’s magic. It felt like him, and as Leo fell it felt as though Mikey was hugging him tight and falling with him.
He fell for what seemed like forever, and at the same time not long enough. Leo hit the cold damp ground with a thunk. It wasn’t a heavy fall, but the impact jarred his injuries and Leo winced. Slowly Leo eased himself into a sitting position, trying to keep the pressure on the wound at his side. With his eyes adjusting to the dark around him Leo could start picking out where he was. He was in the sewers, not too far from their first home. The one that Shredder had destroyed.
Suddenly Leo sat up straighter. It worked. It worked!
The sewers hadn’t all stayed intact once the Krang started invading. Their second home managed to last a few years, but this part of the sewers got destroyed in the first couple of weeks.
“Mikey you fantastic magical genius!” said Leo with one of his first genuine smiles in years. It dimmed for a second as he remembered what this chance had cost. Leo blinked away his tears and ignored how his chest tightened. He didn’t have time for this. It wasn’t about him. They had to get the key.
Leo put back on a small smile and turned to the space next to him, “Come on Casey let’s find my brothers.”
Leo’s voice died down to nothing when he saw that the sewer around him was empty and the only sounds around him were the soft running of water and his own breaths that were growing harsher with every second.
“Casey?” Leo called out again, louder this time, “Casey, answer me!”
Only the sound of water reached his ears.
Holding his prosthetic up Leo cleared any other information on the hidden screen and brought up Casey’s tracker. The screen beeped, but nothing showed. Casey’s tracker couldn’t be found according to the system.
His breaths started getting harsher and he could feel it in the wound on his side. Leo closed his eyes and clenched his fist forcing out a harsh breath and dragging one in, he did this two more times as he clenched and unclenched his fists. His nails scraped against the material of his pants.
Leo pushed back against the wall of the sewers and forced himself to stand, using his sword as a crutch.
Leo didn’t have time for anything else. He had to find his brothers and make sure the invasion was stopped. Casey was a tough kid. He could fend for himself for a little.
They had gotten separated when they fell through the portal. Casey disappeared before he did. Casey was probably just late. Or Leo was early. It didn’t matter. Casey would be fine.
Leo did not let his thoughts wander to the fact that Casey could be hurt, that his tracker could be damaged. That Leo could already be too late again.
Using the wall to support himself Leo started walking down the sewer towards their old home. It had been thoroughly destroyed by Shredder and the Foot, but Leo was pretty sure they left some medical supplies there and Leo needed to patch himself up before he passed out from blood loss. He wouldn’t be able to stop an apocalypse or find Casey if he was dead.
Making his way through the dark sewer halls Leo made it to one of the lesser used entrances to the old Lair. If Leo remembered right this one shouldn’t be obstructed by debris. Leo stepped into the Lair, then immediately whipped himself back around against the outer wall, his eyes wide. Leo looked at the other side of the sewer hall for a moment, then he took a breath and peaked around the corner. The Lair, his first home, was lit up in its warm welcoming lights. From Leo’s place on one of the upper levels, he could see that it was intact. There was no evidence of the Foot or Shredder ever having been here. There were some cracks and scorch marks in the walls from Donnie’s machines and large cracks from when Leo dared Raph to see how far he could throw a weight.
Leo stopped breathing.
He stood in awe at the Lair, his home. He was a fighter, he was trained to always be on the move, to always be ready for action, but in this second he couldn’t. The Lair sounded alive, he could hear the hum of the pipes and Donnie’s ventilation system. He could hear the sound of people moving and caught snippets of familiar voices. The tension in Leo’s shoulders dropped and he finally breathed. This was what it truly felt like to come home. He felt the warmth in his chest and the beginnings of a soft smile forming on his face. For a second, just a second, Leo thought he could feel the welcoming warmth of Mikey’s magic hanging over his shoulders.
Taking another breath Leo took his first tender step into his old home.
It was exactly as he remembered it from before Shredder's attack. Every crack, every drop of paint. Leo looked down from the second level hearing people talking in the living room. Leo’s heart ached to see them. It sounded like his whole family was there. But he needed to patch himself up first. This was before Shredder had destroyed their home so there was at least a month before the invasion, probably more. Leo had time. He could patch himself up then he could find out when in time he was and search for Casey. He could probably give his brothers some tips on dealing with the Shredder before he appeared too.
With a solid plan in place, Leo silently made his way across the Lair to the medbay. He stuck to the shadows and kept track of the people in the Lair. They all stayed in the living room, it was probably movie night and everyone was probably arguing over what to watch.
After ensuring that the medbay was empty Leo slipped inside and locked the door, then he got to work. Leo turned on the surgical lights and took a look under his hand. The side of his plastron was pierced and the wound went between a few ribs. It was deep, but Leo was unsure how deep. Leo grabbed all the equipment he needed, sat down on the medical cot and pulled down Donnie’s scanner. Leo let the scanner work while he positioned the mirrors, repositioned the light, put a thick piece of cloth between his teeth and got started on flushing out and disinfecting the wound. Leo gritted his teeth through the pain and tried desperately not to flinch.
The scanner beeped and Leo glanced up to see the results. The wound was deep, but somehow nothing too vital was hit. Mostly. A vein was nicked but a clot had already formed. Thank whatever forces for mutant healing.
Once Leo was satisfied that the wound was clean he inspected it himself using the mirrors. The wound was deep but not long. It was a piercing precision strike, one intended to kill him in one shot. But Leo had managed to move and grab the Krang’s tentacle with his prosthetic hand before it hit anything vital then severed it with his katana. Damage was done, but Leo could probably get away without having deep dermal sutures.
Leo prepared the needle and thread and started to pull his side back together. It was quick and precise. Leo had many years of practice under his belt, stitching others up and stitching himself up. Once it was tied off Leo padded the wound and stuck it in place with medical tape stuck to the edge of the hole in his plastron. Leo wanted to put plaster over his wound to reseal his plastron up, but he had to make sure the wound didn’t become infected and also needed to remove the stitches. He would take a bit over a week to heal, if he didn’t do anything too strenuous. Finally, Leo wound gauze around his torso to ensure everything was held in place.
Leo needed to replace some of the blood that he’d lost. Fortunately, each sibling had a couple of bags of their blood in case of an emergency. Easing himself up from the medical cot Leo collected a bag of his blood from the fridge. He really needed to eat something to help with his blood loss and some fluids would be good. But he couldn’t mix blood and IV fluids. So before Leo sat back down he filled a cup they had by the sink and took a big swing, then refilled it and sat it next to the medical cot. Leo sipped at the water as he set up the blood transfusion.
Leo was as careful inserting the needle as he could be, but he was inserting it into the crook of his left elbow and he had to use his prosthetic hand. As brilliant as Donnie was, he could never get it to be as great at fine motor movements as Leo’s own hand. He usually used his left hand for stitching and IV insertions. But in this case, he’d have to do his best. Leo took a steady breath then found the vein and inserted the needle. It wasn’t as smooth as he’d liked but it was good enough. He tapped the needle in place and sipped the water again before he lay down.
Leo let some of the tension leak out of his body. He could hear the faint sounds of movement in the main area of the Lair and familiar voices. This place felt like home and it was something Leo hadn’t felt in years. Leo closed his eyes, intending on only having them closed for a moment but before he knew it Leo felt himself almost fully submerged in sleep and Leo didn’t see a good enough reason to stay awake. Everything was fine. He was early. He could get some rest.