LEO - POST MOVIE

[semilethal]

[ nobody asks where april found the van. some mild criminal activity feels irrelevant in light of the day they just had anyway, and they couldn't exactly walk all the way back to the lair.

not with leo like...this. not just leo either; raphael couldn't hardly hold his head up, hunched and clearly wearing his 'i'm the eldest and i won't complain' face as he cradles leo so carefully on their way to the van. mikey's hands and arms won't stop trembling, even when he twists them together and presses them to his plastron. donatello is sore all over and his skin and shell feel raw, like someone rubbed him down with sandpaper.

and leo's quiet. leo's too quiet.

so there they are in the cargo van, raph tucked toward the front with a leg stretched out for mikey to use as a pillow to doze upon. april and casey sit up front, throwing concerned glances over their shoulders as often as is safe while april slowly weaves the vehicle through the half-destroyed streets toward the nearest access point. splinter sits near the doors as their only other capable fighter, though he keeps his tail curled around leo's uninjured ankle.

and donatello, he's stripping off his gloves because he's going to have to touch his brother to get a better idea of his injuries, and his skin doesn't feel like his own and that'll interfere with his judgement. the fewer layers between he and his brother, the more accurate he can be. ]

Alrighty Leon. Look alive, let's...let's diagnose.

Comments

[semilethal]

No time for sleep, Nardo! [donnie exclaims before cracking open his first of what will probably be many monsters as their family filters in] Science waits for no man.

[and then, detachedly, calmly, donatello explains to their family that leonardo will require surgery to repair a herniated disc in his spine. splinter's face goes carefully rigid and raphael reaches out blindly before his hand finds michelangelo, who clutches tearfully as he stares between his brothers in horror.

casey, for the most part, looks vaguely concerned about the rest of them, but not necessarily about the procedure itself. he even chips in to explain that donatello was one of the resistance's lead surgeons for a while when they were short doctors, and that he has every faith in donatello and leonardo for this.

donnie doesn't comment beyond a simple 'thank you,' but his voice sounds a little surer after that, like he'd finally found a blanket in a cold room.]

This is a very common and very doable procedure, [donnie closes out with, though it is common neither for mutant turtles or teenagers, but whatever.] Worse comes to worst? Dad seduces Big Mama while we sneak into her medical facilities and rob her blind.

[neonleon]

Rob her of what?

[Breezing right past 'Dad seduces Big Mama' because that is not something he wants to think about. Whatever Donatello gave him did only take the edge off, and he's feeling it more keenly as he shifts to lean forward a bit, actually feel like he's a part of this conversation instead of just a problem in the room to be solved.

Quick as he moves, though, Splinter's hand is gently on Leo's shoulder and carefully shifting him to lay back again. Their dad looks from him to Donatello.] (What exactly would you need from her?)

[semilethal]

[shh leo, those who didn't try to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the world are talking. donnie even also puts a hand on him to keep him still, the opposite side of splinter] Drugs, surgical instruments, sanitization chemicals. My cleanroom is set up for mechanical precision work, not biological.

[neonleon]

[The INDECENCY!! The audacity. Leonardo lays there with one cheek puffed out a bit while they keep him in place. It doesn't take another second for Sheldon to get the picture and slowly loop a restraint around Leo's shoulders to keep him there.

Their dad puts a hand to his chin in thought, stroking his beard.]

(I will see what I can do. There may be some... Favors I can cash in.)

[However that goes, Leo (and from the looks of it, Mikey too) doesn't want to know what that entails.]

[semilethal]

[yeah donnie either.] Great, thanks Dad. Tell me nothing of your plans.

[MOVING ON] Anyway, for the rest of you... [sighs. pinches the top of his muzzle] I need you to...to wait on Leonardo hand and foot. So he doesn't get up at all.

[neonleon]

[Splinter nods and motions.] (Orange. Come with me.)

[Both Casey and Mikey look a little unsure at each other before moving to follow. Splinter grabs for April as well, likely to take her topside and get her back to her parents. Which leaves Raph and Casey to watch Donnie and Leo, who is positively fuming on that cot/hammock. For his part, Casey at least looks less nervous than he has so far. Helping Leo is something positive he can do.]

I can get things myself just fine.

[Even though Casey is wondering how much Leo will let him.] (I really don't think you can right now, sensei.)

[semilethal]

Yes, sensei, if you insist on moving I will keep you sedated until your procedure. [honestly he would kind of enjoy it]

(Donnie, we'll watch him.) [and raph hovers over leo because he, unlike casey, is not cowed by this wiry little shithead being irate about doctor's orders. he might get so annoyed with him that he'll want to just break leo's spine and have donnie fix the whole thing, but he won't actually do that.

so he. folds his arms and looks down at leo sternly.] (You're not movin' from that bed, Leo, not 'til you're good.)

[neonleon]

[Leonardo's expression goes completely flat looking up at the three of them.

Then tilting his head back to address the other presence in the room.]

Hey, Shelldon, you can go vertical and horizontal flying right?

(Uh. Yeah, duh. Kinda the basics of flying around.)

[And Leo looks back up to the others.] So. Just fly me up so I can get things from cabinets and everything else. Can get it myself.

[semilethal]

Your shoulders need to stay flat against that bed or you could shift your spinal column. [HOLDS UP A NEEDLE] I'll do it! Medically induced comas are nearly risk-free these days, I read an article of a study!

[ah ok uh, raph picks up purple brother because it looks like the monster hit and now he is a lunatic] (Really Donnie, we got this! Why don't you uh, work off that Monster and then go take a nap?)

[neonleon]

[HEY THAT NEEDLE IS UNNECESSARY. HE IS LEANING VERY MUCH BACK ONTO THE BED.]

Yeah, I don't want him doing anything to me until he's had like - minimum six hours sleep!

[semilethal]

[yeah raphael is removing this mad scientist from the immediate area and handing over leo's care to casey, who...is probably not the best person to hand it over to, but their options are limited. donnie would chew through casey like a kraft single]

(They're just worried, sensei.) [casey watches raphael and donnie a bit warily, but still pats leo's shoulder gently] (I've seen you roll over and get up from far worse. ...I mean, usually.)

[neonleon]

Hm. Thanks for the vote of confidence.

[He's still so annoyed though. He is perfectly capable of taking care of himself. But Shelldon isn't letting that strap across his shoulders and chest up so Leonardo is stuck like this.]

Ready for this to just be over with.

[semilethal]

You'll be on your feet soon.) [what can he- ah, an anecdote! a more heartwarming one, to help his master cope.] (I mean, back when I was ten, you fought off three Krang robots and a whole swarm of drones with a broken tibia and a concussion! This is nothing.)

[neonleon]

[Leonardo finally just rests his head back fully, Sheldon adjusting so he can face Casey.]

...A whole swarm when you were ten, huh.

[Future-Him really does have it together. Not that he doesn't like Casey, sometimes he just says something that's right on the line of comforting and horrific.]

Hey. Back before, in the tank. You started to say something and then we had to stop. ...You were going to tell Donnie and Mikey they died in your time, weren't you?

[semilethal]

[what's not comforting about the way you fought tooth and nail to survive despite terrible injuries]

(Wh-) [casey glances out make sure raphael and donnie are still out of earshot, concerned. it didn't come up again and it felt unnecessarily cruel to mention it, so- well, so only leonardo knows.] (...I was. It felt like I was lying to them, trying to get everyone to understand the danger without the consequences.)

[neonleon]

...Yeah.

[He can't help how his hands clench into tight fists at his sides. Unable to freely move no matter what he does because Shelldon's got some clear directives.]

Up to you if you wanna tell them. But... I wouldn't.

[semilethal]

(I'm not telling them.) [immediate answer. probably more obvious than usual that future leonardo wasn't just casey's master, he was practically his father.] (Besides, that's not a future that's going to happen anymore thanks to all of you.) [casey offers leo a half-smile, fiddling with the edge of leonardo's blanket.] (Why make them worry over something that'll never come to pass?)

[neonleon]

[Yeah, he's starting to pick up on that through the painkiller and everything else and has no idea how to feel about that particular line of thought. He just watches Casey with that nervous smile.]

...Right. Exactly. [Nevermind that everyone dies eventually, something they'll all have to come to terms with. But at least this way they didn't die fighting the Krang for thirty something more years.]

And in the meantime, we keep looking out for each other.

[semilethal]

[nevermind that in the future, making it to 40 is a miracle] (So that means you'll stay still and let us take care of you?) [INNOCENT BLINKING]

[neonleon]

[Leo just. Stares up at him, from where he is currently still strapped down to the bedcot.]

Casey, I dunno if you've noticed, but I don't have much choice in the matter right now.

[semilethal]

(I'm sure master Donatello won't possibly keep you trapped here the entire time, Sensei!)

[somewhere in the bowels of donnie's lab he shrieks "I CAN REBUILD HIM" as raphael chants "no no no DONNIE no-" and then, a mighty crash]

(...he trusts you, I think.) [casey is just CLINGING to that optimism. a huge victory has just turned this boy onto his head; either that, or he recognizes that someone has to do it and the other occupants of the room are otherwise engaged.]

[neonleon]

[Leonardo is watching the direction Raph carried their very enthusiastic scientifically inclined brother to.

He really hopes they can hide the rest of that case of energy drinks before he comes back in here. He really really hopes Donnie crashes and sleeps for a few hours before trying to do anything to him.]

You didn't really get to be around Donnie in the future much, did you.

[semilethal]

(Things were a lot different when you guys were older,) [casey admits, also gazing at the back of the lab in apprehension. apparently he knows enough about donnie because he just. slides off of his stool and heads over to the case of monsters donnie left on his counter and takes them out of the lab.] (Help me find a place for these, Sensei?)

[neonleon]

[Leonardo just sighs through his nose. Shakes his head gently - he still can tell there's something not quite resolved in his skull, even just that gentle action makes his vision strain. But he is so relieved that Casey figured out what he was hoping.

though.... Leo's eyes shoot back at Shelldon behind his head.]

Yo, Shelldon, can I trust you not to snitch?

(Uuuuhhhhhh kinda depends I guess?)

Cool, close enough. Come on.

[Leo starts having Shelldon float him out of the lab and down the hall. he's giving vague short directions to lead Casey, and hopefully not make it quite so obvious where they're going. But they end up at Splinter's room. It is, for the moment, thankfully empty while he's out talking to Big Mama.]

Not a lot of places Dee won't tear apart when he knows I'm hiding something from him. But under Pops' bed was the only place I could count on that he'd never look.

[semilethal]

[casey is halfway under splinter's bed (and not commenting at all on the mess, since he has crawled through worse in his life, if barely) when another unholy shriek comes from donnie's lab that sounds suspiciously like, "MY MONSTERS"

casey wiggles out as quickly as possible at that] (They're really back there. Sensei, do we need to hide you also?)