Remember [Book 1]

15 - Michelangelo

As soon as Leatherhead got up and roared, I quickly took a step to the side. He charged forward not a moment later. I could have been crushed! Thankfully I wasn't. But because of my movement, my scary friend charged right to the others.

"Leatherhead!" I shouted. Maybe he could have heard me?

Everyone ducked out of the way, Mikito screaming in terror. Donnie wasn't fast enough because he bumped into Naomi. She fell in the water. Leatherhead snatched up Donnie's face and looked at the scattered team. I froze up as he turned to me. Guess he didn't hear me...

"He's having a nightmare!" I gasped, waiting for him to move again.

From under Leatherhead's palm, Donnie cried out, "That makes two of us!" He was really struggling. My poor brother!

"Kraang!" Leatherhead snarled.

He went toward Leo and Mikito. She screamed again and jumped in the water after Naomi. Leo jumped to the side, onto the wall and over the bigger mutant. Leatherhead swung Donnie around to try and hit him. He missed. All the while, Donnie was screaming in terror and pain.

"Let him go!" Naomi snapped. She was still in the water. Leatherhead looked at her and hissed. The lizard gulped and stared right back but kept in her spot.

Suddenly Raph jumped up on Leatherhead's back and clung on to his ridges. I think Donnie told me those were scutes at some point. Either way, my brother had a hold of my friend and was struggling to hang on. Leatherhead was reaching back with both hands, even if one still had poor Donatello.

"He's your friend, Mikey!" He shouted at me. "What do we do?!"

"Rub his belly!" I answered back. "He likes that."

"What--" Raph started to ask but was caught by Leatherhead's free hand and thrown across the pool. Mikito and Naomi ducked under the water. Naomi went to go help him.

A single roar took my attention away from them and back to Leatherhead. He was staring at me. He tossed Donnie to the side finally, making the tallest Turtle grunt with pain. Gritting my teeth, he jumped on the wall and crawled over the pool like a giant spider. I took a step back, just barely jumping into the pool. He grabbed me with the hands he had Donnie in and picked me up without much trouble. His other hand raised up, his claws rather threatening. I cringed and whined, "Leatherhead...!"

He froze. I paused and looked at his eyes. The secondary membrane moved aside, showing his kind eyes. I smiled relief.

"Michealangelo?" His deep voice echoed through the walls of the sewer pool walls. With a gentle movement, he set me down. "My friends!" He looked up as my brothers came up. Mikito and Naomi got out of the pool and groaned. Naomi's clothes were soaked. "Oh no..." He grumbled in an apologetic manner. "I got angry again, didn't I?"

"Yes!" Donnie raised his voice in an exasperated tone. "You did it again! Why do you keep grabbing my face? What is wrong with my face?!"

"Would you like an alphabetical list or a descending order of grossness?" Raph asked him. Donnie glared at him while Mikito giggled.

Leatherhead turned his attention to the girls and growled lowly, "Who are these two? They were not at your home last I was there."

"No," Leo answered him. "But they're okay. We honestly wondered if you knew them." Leatherhead shook his head. "Well... We tried," Leo muttered.

"Another reason we came..." I started. "Where did you find the Power Cell, Leatherhead?"

"We know you took it from the Kraang..." Leo continued. "But we... uh... may have... lost it?" I noticed Leatherhead's secondary eyelid membrane go over his eye again. "To the Kraang."

The alligator's jaws opened suddenly and he roared. I jumped toward Mikito and Naomi and pushed them back in the water as Leatherhead charged forward. I didn't see who he got because all I saw was bubbles and green. We surfaced and Leatherhead had Donnie's face again.

"Leatherhead! Calm down!" I screamed at him.

Naomi groaned in pain. "My ear..."

When he did, it was safe to crawl out of the pool again. This time, Mikito stayed by me. Good to know I was the one she trusted around Leatherhead. Then again... He did listen to me more.

Breathing hard, Leatherhead grabbed Donnie's cheek with his free hand and pulled gently. "These are your friends, Leatherhead..." He paused then looked at us. "I trust that you did everything you could to stop them from taking it."

"Actually," I started. "We--"

Naomi wrapped her arm around the back of my head and put me in an arm lock. She gave me a noogie while Raph continued, "Yes, that's completely right. We did everything we could to stop them." Naomi let me go and glared at me. I rubbed my head with a frown at her. What was that for?

Leatherhead sighed, letting Donnie go. Leo stepped up. "We need to know where they may have taken the Power Cell, Leatherhead."

"All I remember is this sign," he answered Leo. Using a claw, he knelt down and scratched in the concrete the sign he remembered. It was a pentagon with six other pentagons around it.

Donnie took a picture of it too use for later.

We all looked back up at Leatherhead. Leo nodded, "Thanks, Leatherhead."

"Any time, my friends," the alligator grumbled kindly. "Please get the Power Cell back..."

"We will," Raph smirked. "We could use some Kraang butt to kick after that embarrassing loss."

"And I am sorry that I do not know your female partners," Leatherhead continued, gesturing toward the two. Naomi straightened up with a frown, like she was a little offended.

Mikito shook her head with a smile. She even walked up to Leatherhead and set one hand under his and the other on top of the same one. "Don't worry, Leatherhead." She was bearing the brightest smile right now. I couldn't help but smile. "I'm sure we'll know our pasts soon enough. Right now, though, we need to help you and ourselves with that Power Cell!"

Leatherhead looked at his hand covered up by Mikito's and gave a smile. He placed his other hand on the top of hers and nodded his thanks. The pink bandana bearing Turtle grinned and let go. She came back over to the rest of us and smiled.

Without much left to say, we waved to Leatherhead ans entered the pool again to head back home. Naomi fell behind again as she took side routes to get air. Mikito swam by me and I looked at her occasionally.

Mikito may not know who she was, but she didn't let it falter her attitude. She was so cheerful and very strong on the inside. Maybe she would make a good ninja some day. I smiled again. That would be great.