Liz: A TMNT Story

Chapter 8

(Leo's P.O.V.)

I shaded my eyes with my hand as I watched bursts of light erupt all over the city, each one bringing another citizen safely back to New York. I turned to grin at Raph, who was still twirling a sai in his hand. Raph smirked, putting out the other hand for me to slap in a high three. We did it. We actually did it! The portal had unmutated the humans, and zapped the Kraang back to their own dimension. Now, the only thing left to deal with was... Karai.

My smile faltered, as I stared out over the rooftops of the once-again bustling city. We'd find a way to get things completely back to normal. Eventually. I plastered a grin back onto my face, turning to my brothers.

"Alright, guys," I started, "Let's get out of here. Splinter, April, and Casey will be waiting."

Donnie perked up at the mention of our red-headed friend, and we took off over the rooftops, whooping occasionally in celebration. Mikey flipped onto a water tower and jumped off with a huge smile, and I laughed. I glanced over at Raph, who smirked and began to sprint ahead even faster, trying to gain some distance on me. It was nice to see my brothers back to their normal selves, not the depressed group they'd been during the invasion.

But all that was over now. At least now that we'd defeated the Kraang temporarily, we had way less to worry about. A genuine smile crept onto my face, and soon we were back at our makeshift hideout-- the abandoned Antonio's pizzeria. People had crowded out into the streets, and I gulped a bit nervously. Were they still in there?

I let out a small sigh of relief as I glimpsed Casey in the alley behind Antonio's, jumping into a manhole and sliding the lid back on.

"Over here!" I heard Raph shout to the rest of us, and I turned to see my brothers jumping down into a side street. I made my way after them, as Donnie pried off the manhole cover. We slid down into the sewers, trudging through the tunnels, until I spotted markings on the wall. I slowed to a stop, fingering the scorch marks, and kneeling to examine the marks on the ground.

"Yo, Leo, what's the hold up?" Mikey exclaimed, as he stopped in his tracks and turned to look at me.

"Is it just me, or too these look like Kraang lasers?" I asked, pointing to the mess of holes in the wall and floor.

Donnie stepped closer, analyzing everything, as usual. "They're all centered around a certain spot," je decided, gesturing to an area not far from us. Raph walked over, peering around for any evidence of what had happened.

"Why would the Kraang shoot at something down here?" he wondered out loud, picking up a broken piece of robotic suit. I frowned, asking myself the same question, before I caught sight of something glowing in the corner.

I inhaled sharply as I stepped closer, staring at the shattered mutagen canister, with only a few drops left inside.

"Guys," I began, "I think we have another mutant on our hands."

The tension in the air as I said that was unbearable.

"Do we know what it could be?" Mikey questioned hesitantly, glancing around the group worriedly.

I turned in a full circle, looking at the bits and pieces of trash and Kraang tech, until I saw a tattered sweater... or, what was left of a tattered sweater. I hurried over to it, picking it up warily and turning it over in my hands. It was navy, with singed holes peppering it all over. My stomach dropped as I thought, Whoever was wearing this must've been... shot. Multiple times.

Why did this jacket look so familiar? I racked my brain anxiously, trying to come up with an explanation to why I recognized it, but my mind was completely blank. I tossed the sweater to the side, hoping no one had seen me studying it, since I somehow felt like I should keep it hidden for now.

"We can't worry about that right now," I finally muttered, "We've got a lair to clean up."

Everyone nodded their heads solemnly, and restarted our journey to our old home.

----- Time Skip brought to you by the news that Nickelodeon is making seasons 4 and 5 of TMNT!!!-----

"There you are!" April exclaimed as we jumped over the turnstiles into the lair, "We were starting to think you'd never come back here!"

I half-smiled, looking around at the wreck of a home we now stood in. Raph groaned in frustration, then went into the kitchen to grab a broom. Donnie raced over to check if his lab was still in check, and Mikey volunteered to clean our rooms. I took hold of the broken pinball machine, pulling it back up and managing to plug it in. It plinked momentarily, but my excitement disappeared when it died again. I sighed, standing back up and going to join Raph in cleaning the deactivated robots out of the living room. A thick layer of dust covered everything, and I could hear April's repetitive sneezes as she dusted off the dojo.

Suddenly, a shout came from Mikey, in the other room. Everyone jumped as Mikey came running out, his face pale.

"G-Guys," he kept pointing toward my room, "Th-there's something-- or no, someone,-- or, I don't know if it's a thing or a person, b-but it's... it's..."

"Spit it out, Mikey!" Raph shouted in irritation.

"J-just..." Mikey stumbled, "Come here. You gotta see this."

I quirked a 'brow' and followed Mikey, with Raph right behind me. We reached my room, and I heard frantic scuffling from behind the closed door. Everyone froze, and I carefully turned the knob and threw the door open, wishing I hadn't put my katanas in the other room.

A figure scrambled to the corner, trying desperately to hide herself, and covering her face with her green hand. My eyes continued to widen as I saw the webbing between her fingers, and the tail wrapping around her protectively. I couldn't see most of her face, but I knew she was crying. Tear stains streaked down her cheeks, and more leaked from her closed eyes.

Mikey kneeled a few feet away from her, reaching a hand out to try and comfort her, saying softly, "It's okay, we're not gonna hurt you."

The lizard girl finally opened her eyes at me, and picked me out of the group, staring at me with startlingly beautiful grey eyes. I could never forget those eyes, but I had to hold myself against the doorframe as we stared at each other.

"You," My voice was barely above a whisper as I recognized the girl from the rooftops 3 months ago.

A different light came into her eyes: no longer entirely fearful, with a bit of... hope. "Hello, Leonardo," she rasped.