ROTTMNT - Casey's Revenge

An Extra slice of Pizza

Casey shot up, nearly throwing himself off the bed in the process. His hand managed to grab the bedpost before he could fall. Swinging him around but ultimately keeping himself upright. Casey took a moment to steady his breathing and take in his surrounds. Still in his room, still in the past or new present, still safe. He paused. His old sensei still dead in another time branch where the krang were victorious.

The thought made his body tense up, a shiver running up his spine. Just as he'd inhaled a deep breath Leo barged in. "Hey Casey!" He shouted with his usual energy.

The sudden break in cased Casey to lose his grip on the bedpost and plummet to the floor with a thud. Casey winced and pushed himself up. When he glanced up at Leo he was scratching the back of his neck in either regret or confusion. Casey wasn't sure which.

Leo moved over and leaned over him, offering his hand. "Gee sorry, I was just coming to tell you April brought pizza."

Casey felt embarrassed at his overreaction and quickly tried to cover it up. "Oh, yah sure. I'm always up for a slice." He replied while taking Leo's hand and pulling himself up to his feet, dusting himself off even though there wasn't a speck on him.

Leo tilted his head slightly. "You ok Casey? You seem extra jumpy today."

Casey quickly put his hands up in defense. "I'm good, promise. Just not used to relaxing that's all. Grew up mostly needing to be constantly alert for the krang."

It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either. The last thing Casey wanted was to admit he was having nightmares weeks after the krang had been safely locked away in the prison dimension. At least two of them were. The female krang boss had been hauled off to who knows where. Not knowing was unsettling enough. Casey knew that this Leonardo wasn't the sensei he'd grown up with and admired, but he still felt the need to prove himself. Especially if there was no way of ever seeing his old sensei again. The idea stung. Casey frowns, part of him wishing he could've just died honourably beside his teacher.

"Casey?" Leo asked, pulling his from his thoughts.

"What? Oh, right the pizza. Well come on, we don't want it to get cold." He quickly said and heads past Leo to the door.

Leo grabbed his arm before he could leave. His face serious which was rare to see until the krang had brought that side out in Leo.

"You sure you're ok? I know I'm not 'your' Leo, but you can still talk to me."

Casey could feel his thoughts begging to just spill out, but he forced them back with a smile. "I'm fine sensei." He still wasn't ready to stop using the title.

Leo still looked unconvinced, suspicious almost, but he accepted the answer and released his arm. Casey left the room as quickly as he could while acting normal and heads to the kitchen.

Mickey was busy helping April cut the pizza into even slices for everyone while also keeping Donnie and Raph from stealing an extra slice. Casey took a chair and sat down at the table. He heard Leo catch up and sit down beside his brothers. Casey tilted his face the opposite way. He didn't understand why he felt the need to hide his face from his sensei, but he guessed the worry might show if he made eye contact. His actions weren't helping to waylay his sensei's suspicions.

April performed a trick of spinning the plate on her finger like a basketball before passing them out to each human and turtle. Donnie attempted to swipe an extra slice from a passing plate, but it was quickly stolen back by Mickey. Donnie let out a frustrated growl, but it quickly faded as he accepted he busied himself with explaining his new experiment idea. Raph was probably the only one with the attention span to listen to the rambles.

Casey listened as well. Glad for something else to focus on. However April pulled his attention away as she sat down beside him with her little pet Mayhem on her lap. Mayhem stole a piece of pizza out of her hand and gulped it down with satisfaction. April had come to accept the mischievous behavior and simple grabbed another slice for herself.

"Your parents are ok with having that little guy in your home?" Casey had to ask.

April shrugged, "they weren't sure about him at first but now they love this little guy as much as I do." She explained while giving Mayhem a squeeze. She gave his little head a kiss before noticing the amount of pizza slices left of Casey's plate. "Better hurry or the guys will eat those for you."

Casey followed her gaze down to his plate. "Guess I'm just not hungry."

"Not hungry for pizza?!" She exclaimed like he'd just committed the greatest offence, "you must be crazy. You feeling ok Case?"

Casey's composure snapped. He banged his fist on the table. "I'm fine! Why does everyone keep asking if I'm ok?" He snapped.

April leaned away from him in surprise. "I only asked the one time."

Casey snapped out of it quickly, but only then did he realize that the rest of the table was staring at him in stunned silence. Casey heated up in embarrassment over his outburst. He quickly stood up, nearly knocking the chair over and fumbling to catch it and right it again. He stepped back from the table, knocking the chair over once more with a clang that made him flinch. "Excuse me, I need some air." He quickly said and turned to leave. Casey could feel his sensei's gaze on him as he rushed out onto the train tracks and heads for the surface hatch.

Hours later Casey found himself sitting on one of the nearby rooftops. Legs dangling over the edge, swinging back and forth, restless. He'd tired himself from pacing the rooftop surface. He felt horrible about his outburst earlier. It was completely uncalled for no matter how much his nightmare had unsettled him. He didn't feel ready to go back and apologize yet.

Casey pulled his legs back up and hugged them close to his chest, resting his chin on his knee. He was so lost in his thoughts he didn't hear the footsteps approaching until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Casey flinched and craned his head back to see his sensei looking down at him. "Sensei? What are you doing out here."

Leo sat down beside Casey, leaning back on his hands. "This is where I used to come when I needed time alone. I made a lucky guess that future me would've shown you this same spot. Guess I was right."

Casey frown and opened his mouth to speak but Leo cut him off.

"Don't worry about earlier Case. We all know you're probably going through a lot right now. A time branch change is no doubt a big adjustment. Just don't think you have to do this alone, I made that mistake and you saw what happened. You have all of us now. Take all the time you need, but just know any of us are here when you need to talk, ok?"

Casey stared at his sensei in silence, stunned at how much the last couple of weeks had changed him from when he first met this version of Leo. Finally he spoke. "Ok. Thank you sensei."

Leo gave him a wink and stood up. "Ready to head back? I'm sure the guys saved you a slice."

Casey nods, "yah, its cold out here"

Casey followed his sensei back towards sewer hatch. He felt better but still had a nagging thought he wasn't ready to bring up and ruin the moment.

Were they really safe as long as one krang was left in this time branch?