Dagger From the Mirror (ROTTMNT/TMNT 2012 Crossover Fic)

Her Name is April O'Neil

Hamato Leonardo was quite perceptive.

He had to be. When you were the leader of a team of teenage ninjas, having a keen sense of intuition was vital. It was life or death. He had to be able to look out for his brothers and always be aware of his surroundings. At any moment, someone could be lurking in the shadows or aiming an arrow directly at their heads. Under their feet there could be a wire, just waiting to trip them and set off an explosion. Their enemies were just waiting for the moment Leo let his guard down.

It didn't matter whether they were on a mission to save the world or sitting at home playing video games; Leo was always on the lookout. He slept with his swords by his bedside, he ran with an ear out listening for the slightest sign of danger, and he always made sure he knew where the nearest escape route was. This planning had saved his team's lives before, so he didn't plan to stop anytime soon. Leonardo was always listening for danger.

And it was exactly this cautiousness that told him something was off.

Leo glanced back at the edge of the building where he stood with his brothers. The four were discussing something about a new comic that Mikey was reading, but Leo had long since drifted out of the conversation in order to focus on the sound he knew he had heard. While his brothers may not have noticed the quiet breathing from of someone standing on the fire escape below, he did.

Now, this would not have bothered him usually. People could do that if they wanted to, Leo didn't really care. They were low enough that they couldn't look over the edge of the roof to see them; all they could hear was their voices. If these random New Yorkers wanted to listen to their stupid conversations, then Leo figured they could have at it—even their actual plans of attack against the Kraang and Shredder probably sounded like pages from a new novel or the hottest new TV show. The worst that had ever happened from that was some old guy yelling at them for being "rowdy teenagers" staying up too late "on a school night". That had made all of them laugh, and the man threatened to climb up there and call their parents. Mikey and Raph wanted to lean over the edge and beg him not to call their parents just to freak the guy out, and Leo had almost let them. Keyword: almost. Even he was disappointed when he decided they should just leave.

No, Leo wouldn't have paid the person on the fire escape a second thought. But he heard them hold their breaths after, and after sparing a subtle glance behind him, he saw the person had climbed up a bit and was peering over the edge of the roof.... watching them, before ducking down once again to stay hidden. This wasn't just a random New Yorker wanting some air.

They were being watched.

"That doesn't even make logical sense!" Donnie exclaimed, holding the comic book in his hands. He pointed to the creators' names on the cover, "Whoever Jenna Brown and Gerard Santos are, they don't understand anything about science at all. None of the science in this comic makes sense! It's all gibberish!"

Mikey ripped the book from Donnie's hands in an instant, and hugged it to his chest tightly. "You take that back! This story is a work of pure genius and Dr. Tobias is even smarter than you!"

Raphael laughed as Donnie fumed, and the two broke off into a more ridiculous argument over whether Dr. Tobias' explanation of his shrink ray made any sense. Raph watched in amusement, and glanced over to his older brother.

"Hey Leo, are you seeing this? They-"

He stopped when he saw the serious expression on Leonardo's face. His eyes widened when Leo very subtly gestured behind him, and silently mouthed something that made him do a double take.

"We're being followed."

Now that Raphael was aware too, Leo quickly started to formulate a plan. With a few quick hand gestures and another look sent to his brother, Raph got the overall message. He quickly mumbled something along the lines of forgetting his T-Phone at home, faking his annoyance, and then disappeared off the opposite side of the building. The youngest brothers continued their discussion.