Before I begin, I'd like to say the art on the cover is not mine, it belongs to a different artist. It was made by classy-thief on tumbler I encourage you to go check out their art. Okay, so today I'm going to be revisiting a fan fiction of mine that actually isn't that bad. It makes no sense in the universe, but I figured I should write it down. Note, this isn't co-written by AI, the wi-fi is out. If it wasn't then I wouldn't be reliving this nightmare. I think it took place after the ROTTMNT movie. I'm going to do a bit more improvising/making it better. It was told from the perspective of Leo? It's like a royal AU. This one includes Ava, my female OC. It started with Leo becoming king for some reason, so I figured I would start with how exactly he would become king.
"Eeeeew, are we on Staten island?!" Leo exclaimed, covering his nose. His brothers embraced him, sobbing with relief as the portal to the Kraang prison closed.
"We thought you were dead." Mikey said, rubbing his cheek against Leo's.
"It's okay… I knew you could do it little bro." Leo noogied Mikey affectionately. He froze. "Wait. Where's Ava?!" He looked around. Ava, his best friend, his… Well, his crush. Right before he was about to die in the prison, his final thought was how he never got to tell her how much she meant to him. She wasn't here.
"I- I don't know. Raph, didn't you grab her?" Donnie asked.
Raph shook his head. "I-I tried to grab her but she slipped out of my hands when we fell. She- she used her shield, so she might be okay."
"We need to find her!" Leo staggered to his feet, falling back down as pain stabbed through his legs. He summed his swords, using them to pull himself to his feet, using them to move.
"Leo, stop! We're in no condition to look for her. You can barely stand, our arms are burned, Donnie's shell is wounded, Raph's eye is hurt, and the city is in ruins…" Mikey said, grabbing his arm. "It's okay. She's strong. She can make her way back to the lair. And she has those… those things! Those candy things that heal her wounds."
"Only a little, and from that far-" Leo protested as he collapsed once more. His entire body burned, every movement cut him to his core. The Kraang king had beaten him raw.
"Donnie can send Sheldon to look for her. We need to rest." Raph picked Leo up. Leo went limp, too tired to argue with their logic. Maybe they were right. Maybe everything would be okay. Maybe she would be okay… Maybe she would be there when he could tell her.
* * * *
"Breaking news! The mutant menace of the city has been reported to be seen in tunnels below Brooklyn…"
Leo opened his eyes to the voice of a woman on TV, some kind of reporter. He was… fuzzy? His eyes focused on an IV next to his bed. Donnie sat in a chair, his soft shell wrapped in bandages, his forearms covered with a gel seeping into his skin as he read one of Leo's Jupiter Jim comics. "Did I miss the landing script?" He joked, trying to laugh. His throat was dry, causing him to cough.
"LEO! GUYS HE'S AWAKE!" Donnie jumped to his feet, calling into the sewers. His brothers rushed in, all of their forearms with the same gel Donnie had on his. Raph's right eye was bandaged with a gauze over it. His brothers ran to his bedside, relief over their faces.
"Hey, what's wrong? It's okay guys. Geez, how long was I out?" Leo asked with a chuckle. His brothers exchanged looks.
"...Nardo… You've been out for a week…" Donnie said. Leo stared at him, processing.
"...I've… Been out…for…?" He trailed off, the gears in his head working overtime. "WHAT?! WHY DID NO ONE WAKE ME?!" Leo panicked.
"We tried." Raph said. "You wouldn't wake up. Not even when Donnie tried his smelling salts."
"By the way, you owe me 50 dollars. Smelling salts aren't cheap." Donnie said in his usual, emotionless way.
"DON'T YOU EVER SCARE US LIKE THAT AGAIN!" Mikey hugged Leo tightly. Pain shot through Leo's body.
"AGH! Not so rough!" Leo reminded, clutching his side.
"I'll get more painkillers." Donnie said, going out of the room.
"I'll get Splinter! He's been so worried." Mikey rushed behind Donnie.
"I can get you some water and pizza. Your voice sounds horrible." Raph remarked, following the rest of his brothers.
Leo was left in the room, confused. When he looked over, he saw the old TV moved to his room. On it, the news. The reporter, Jessica, spoke of the Kraang attack. However as he watched on, he realized the reporter was talking about him and his brothers. But not it a good way. "Witness reports on seeing green creatures with shells and their own colors in clothing, their shorts and masks. Footage from an abandoned factory security cameras indicate that they were in cooperation with the cult, the foot clan. More security footage across the city reveals the cult themselves were killed during the alien invasion. Theorists may wonder if they are attached to the 'Mutant Menace' events happening a few months ago."
Great. Once again, they were being framed for acts of kindness. The difference from now and a few months ago was that a few months ago they were just trying to prove they wanted nothing but good things in the city, and this time they were fighting an alien invasion to protect the world from the apocalypse.
That, and Ava was't… SHIT, WHERE WAS AVA?! Leo struggled to get out of his bed, pain flaring through his body. He grabbed his IV, yanking it out. He could walk a little easier, although it still was extremely painful. Donnie came into the room just as Leo was at the door. "Oh my god! Nardo what are you doing?!" He grabbed Leo by the arms, pulling him up. His other brothers came into the room, Splinter behind them as they saw the commotion.
"Ava! Where is she?! Did we find her?! She's in another room right?!" Leo asked frantically.
"...Blue, you must sit down." Splinter said, helping Donnie guide him to one of the seats in the room. Donnie grabbed Leo's IV, bringing it over. He gently took Leo's arm, stretching it out and inserting the needle.
"What- What's wrong?" Leo's brow wrinkled in worry.
His brother's faces darkened. "...My son. Purple searched all the security cameras he could, sent Sheldon to search the entire city, along with all of his tech… We found one single piece of footage… Of Ava hitting the ground, her shield shattering as she hit it." Splinter said slowly. Leo's mind shattered, his world crumbling around him. He felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest. Like the floor beneath him was shaking. He couldn't feel his legs, not just because of the painkillers Donnie was injecting into him. The world became blurry, his ears ringing. "...Rest… the morning…" Leo could only catch a few of the words Spilter said as he helped Leo to his bed.
"No… No I- it can't- Show me the footage!" Leo insisted, sitting up.
"Are you sure?" Donnie asked. Leo nodded. A few minutes passed as Donnie tapped away on his Ipad, pulling up the footage. He turned the footage to Leo. A red ball of Ava's magic, hurtling towards the ground. Just as it hit the ground, the shield shattered. The small shockwave that came from it shook the camera, causing the camera's lens to crack. The footage went black.
"...She's… dead…" Leo realized aloud, his voice cracking. Mikey hugged him, trying to offer a semblance of understanding.
"My son, I am… So sorry…" Splinter said solemnly. The room went quiet, the silence unbearable. The atmosphere was crushing on Leo's shoulders.
He chuckled. "If- If Ava were here she'd say something like- like 'why the pale face? Well, more of a Celadon'..." Leo laughed halfheartedly.
"Leo? It's okay to be sad." Raph said worriedly. "You two were close, you were practically inseparable."
"I'm fine. Casualties were expected in the plan." Leo remarked, putting on his usual mask of a nonchalant smirk.
"Blue, do not hide your-" Splinter started, reaching out to grab Leo's hands.
"Can we just move on? What happened while I was out? How come the people on the news are upset? I mean, other than their usual drama." Leo asked.
"Um… Well it seems the people of New York, and the world, blame us for the Kraang attacks. They've been searching for us." Donnie explained. "We've had to move multiple times. At first we would move somewhere and move back after the searches, however they started to place cameras and guards everywhere they searched. It's only a matter of time before they find us. Sheldon is searching the lair for cameras as we speak."
"Wh-?! How many hiding spots do we have left?!" Leo asked worriedly. His brothers exchanged glances. "What? How many? Is it bad?"
"This is our last spot." Mikey admitted.
Leo paused, processing for a moment. "Wh-what?! Where are we going next?! Wh-what about April's apartment?!"
"Already done." Raph said.
"Seinoir Huesos'?" Leo asked.
"He told us never to hide there when the police nearly discovered the hidden entrance." Mikey laughed, trying to brighten the mood.
"...Where… Where will we go next?" Leo asked quietly.
"Maybe… Maybe they won't find us?" Mikey suggested.
"Why wouldn't they?" Donnie asked, tone bleak. "They won't stop, not until they find who destroyed New York. And the culprits are currently in a mystic prison in a pocket dimension."
"Maybe if we explain-" Mikey tried suggesting again.
"Their humans. Not everyone is as nice as April. And when they find out we exist, what's stopping them from looking for more mutants? We could doom our entire race just by letting them find us!" Donnie snapped, pinching his nose. "We can't just- Micheal, I know you believe in the good of humanity and that everyone will accept us and not question anything, but that- That is clearly not the case. They blame us. They blame us and it will not change."
"YO DUDES!" Sheldon flew into the room, his claw holding a broken camera. "Found this thing in one of the entrance tunnels. Think we're in mad trouble dudes."