Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle One-Shots

Ringmaster Turner

Requested by: ILoveBeingATurtleonao3 on AO3

TWs: Mentions of kidnapping and torture

Notes: I have never been to a circus, so I apologize if anything isn't right with it

Leo and Donnie were having a lot of fun. Leo convinced Donnie to go out with him into the Hidden City to go watch a circus then get some pizza. Donnie wasn't one for the circus (partly cause he's never actually been to one), but he figured it would be fun and plus, Leo really wanted to go with him.

"Why couldn't you have brought Mikey?" Donnie had asked.

"Because we never hang out one on one anymore," was Leo's response.

Donnie accepted that and moved on. They took their seats, both nudging each other with a laugh.

The circus started, drawing the attention of the Disaster Twins. Donnie was immediately sucked in, finding the way that the acrobats moved to be fascinating. Leo knew that Donnie was going to enjoy this.

—

The circus ended and the two left their seats. Donnie insisted that they meet the ringmaster and some of the performers before they went and got pizza. Leo chuckled and agreed, happy that his brother had had a lot of fun.

Leo held Donnie hand after picking up that Donnie was a little nervous. While Donnie had made a face, he didn't pull his hand away. Leo's hand was cold, but comforting.

"Hello," Leo greeted when they got to the ringmaster. 

"Hey. Did you two watch the show?"

Donnie nodded. "We did! It was absolutely amazing!"

"I'm glad. I'm Ringmaster Turner."

"I'm Leo, and this is my twin brother, Donnie."

Ringmaster Turner looked the two up and down. "You two seem like you'd fare well in my circus."

"Oh, we're not interested in joining the circus. We just wanted to meet you and a performer or two."

"Hm. I still think you two would do good. Here, follow me and I'll take you to meet my best performers."

"Hell yeah!" Donnie cheered.

—

"Here you are," Ringmaster Turner said as he gestured to a full cage. He unlocked it. "Go ahead and say hello."

Leo and Donnie shared a look, both getting a bad feeling. 

"Uh, I think we should get going. Can't keep our family waiting, ya know?"

"Didn't you want to meet my performers?"

"Well, yeah, but we just remembered that we're supposed to meet our family somewhere, so—"

Ringmaster Turner narrowed his eyes and pushed the two in. "You two are mine now. You will do as I say or there will be severe consequences. You hear me?"

"Fine." Donnie glared right back at him. "What kind of performances are we doing?"

"I haven't figured that out yet. But don't worry. You two will have your place in my circus by nightfall."

"Greattt," Leo grumbled. "I'm so blaming you, Donnie."

"Scoff. How was I supposed to know that he would cage us?"

"I don't know! Just do something!"

"What do you want me to do? You're the leader, not me!"

Ringmaster Turner smirked as he left. He knew exactly what those two could do for him. The two clearly argued a lot, so he could use that for his advantage and make them fight to the brink of death.

And if they didn't cooperate...

Well, they'd learn the punishments soon enough.

—

Raph tried once again to call Leo, but got a few rings then was sent to voicemail. He knew Leo's phone was on because it was ringing, so for whatever reason, Leo was unable to answer. Raph knew it wasn't cause they were still watching the circus, that ended well over two hours ago. Leo didn't care about if he was eating or not, he would answer the phone.

Meaning, something was going terribly wrong for Leo not to answer.

Donnie wasn't surprising. It was a fifty-fifty shot on if he answered or not, so Raph wasn't too worried when Donnie didn't answer his or Mikey's calls.

What did freak him out was Leo not answering or sending a text to tell him that he wasn't in a spot to call.

"Are you able to get ahold of them?" Mikey asked yet again.

"No. Are you?"

Mikey shook his head as he pocketed his phone. "No. I'm getting really worried."

"As is Raph. It ain't like Leo to not answer his phone. An' they would've said somethin' if they were gettin' held up at Run of the Mill. They're both good at keepin' us in the loop."

"I know! I'm going to try calling April to see if she knows something."

"Good idea."

—

Well, this most certainly was one of the worst months of the twins' lives. Every other night, they had to fight each other. If one of them refused, the other was still sent out to do acrobatics or something along that line while Ringmaster Turner punished him.

Punishments ranged from not eating to emotional abuse to physical abuse. Leo was often kept underwater to the point he would almost drown while Donnie would get violently shocked. Both were underfed and terrified. 

Donnie wasn't allowed to wear his battle shell, which meant that his soft shell was exposed to the world. His forced fights with Leo often left his back bleeding and sore and covered in ugly looking scabs. 

Leo hated that Donnie couldn't wear his back protection. He didn't like how it left Donnie an anxious mess. The battle shell wasn't just to protect the soft shell Donnie had, it was also a comfort item. It put a nice pressure against his back at all times and made sure that Donnie was warm.

Despite how much the two wanted to go home, they had began to accept that this was their new life. That this was their new home.

They had grown to accept that they may never get away from Ringmaster Turner.

And... that was okay.