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Leo regained consciousness slowly, his head pounding, his body aching, and found himself suspended above the ground, his arms angled slightly above his head, stretched to their limit. His legs were bound similarly below him, the pink and oddly fleshy material keeping him strung up like a pig going into the slaughterhouse, wrapped tight around his ankles.
He wasn't surprised to find more of the organic material wrapped firmly around his body, seemingly keeping him in place. His throat bobbed as he swallowed thickly, trying his best to ignore the subtle, nearly non-existent shifting of his binds.
It took him a few moments to gather his bearings, his mind foggy and scrambled, slow to put his memories back together.
-
Their mission to retrieve the key from the Foot had failed. The Kraang had escaped the Prison Dimension and had been taking them down quickly and efficiently, somehow locking away their ninpo.
Then Raph had called for him.
Splinter was down, and they needed to retreat and regroup to come up with a new plan. Casey, who had been nearby, made it clear that they might not get another shot at stopping the Kraang, and Leo had been left with an impossible choice.
Raph had taken charge, ordering Donnie to get them out of there as Leo stood frozen, watching as the escape pods encased each member of his family, presumably taking them back to the lair.
His eyes had locked onto Casey's just before he was carted away, and he made his choice. This could be their only chance, and Leo was willing to take whatever risk necessary to prevent Casey's future from becoming their reality.
He wasn't leaving until he got that key.
He recalled how he had darted out of his escape pod, trying desperately to get a hold of the key before any more of the Kraang, or whatever other horrors lay waiting within the Prison Dimension, could escape.
He had been successful, at a cost. He found himself on the ground at the mercy of the Kraang, frozen as the pointed and no doubt sharpened limb rushed towards him. Then Raph jumped on top of him, shielding him with his own body.
The appendage had struck, breaking the carapace of Raph's shell, and Leo couldn't help the disbelief that had entered his voice when he called out to his older brother.
Raph had looked up at him, a pained yet determined grimace twisting his face, before he raised his arm, his escape pod button grasped securely in his hand.
Leo's stomach had twisted, his heart clenching painfully in his chest as he realized what Raph was planning on doing, before his eyes narrowed sharply, his jaw clenched tight in his resolve.
No.
Leo had caused so much trouble today. Had put his brothers, his family, heck, the entire world at risk all due to his mistakes!
He wouldn't allow Raph to pay for another one.
Before Raph could complete the motion of pressing the button onto Leo's plastron he acted, quickly thrusting the key, the only salvation they had, towards him. His brother acted on instinct when he grabbed the item, giving Leo the chance to take the button from Raph's hand, before pressing it firmly onto the snapper's plastron, sliding out from under his older brother's large form.
He had stood up, his arms reaching behind him to firmly take hold of his katanas as he dropped into a battle-ready stance. Out of the corner of his eye, he managed to catch a glimpse of Raph's horrified and broken expression, the snapper crying out his name in despair, seemingly attempting to get the button off of himself, before the pod enclosed around him completely.
The Kraang didn't give Leo the luxury of making sure the pod made it out of the warehouse safely, attacking him with ruthless precision and a seemingly relentless drive to cause him as much pain as possible.
It was the most dangerous game of cat and mouse he had ever played.
Despite the odds, and with his ninpo seemingly being inaccessible, he had managed to stay standing for longer than he thought possible before they managed to beat him down and restrain him.
To say they were angry when they found out he didn't have the key to the prison dimension was a massive understatement.
It was only due to the lead Kraang - or Kraang prime, as he's taken to calling him - ordering his siblings not to kill Leo, to instead bring him with them as he was sure they could put the slider to good use, that he had even survived the encounter.
Leo's memories after the fight were foggy, and he was sure that was due to the fact that he had briefly blacked out due to the pain he had been in. After all, the Kraang weren't exactly gentle when transporting him wherever they were going, his wounds being jostled at every turn.
-
Right. Now he remembered.
His memories definitely explained his current situation, and why he felt as though he had been run over by a truck.
The feeling of being watched had him searching the room, his eyes roving over the various bits of Kraang material, before landing on the Kraang where they stood on the second floor.
Before he could even register what was happening, his brain having trouble keeping up with the situation due to what Leo could only assume was a concussion, the sister Kraang had traveled down the material holding his right arm.
One of her limbs wrapped harshly around his throat, while the other grabbed his face in a bruising grip.
"Disgusting." She growled, her grip growing marginally tighter.
Her eyes seemed to bore into him, searching for any potential weaknesses.
"I doubt you're what anyone would call the definition of beauty, so I don't think you have a right to talk." He couldn't help but snark.
"Eugh, it's talking to me!"
The sister Kraang physically recoiled away from him, her grip remaining strong and steady even as she shifted, moving towards his left arm before leaning towards his face, covering the lower half of his head.
"I should tear out your tongue."
Leo found himself freezing at her words, all his thoughts zeroing in on the appendage still wrapped firmly around his throat. For a moment he found himself entertaining the idea of sinking his teeth into the limb wrapped around his mouth, before another voice rang throughout the room.
"Forgive my sister."
The Kraang prime walked into the room, his position made clear when the other two quickly made their way to the floor, bowing before him.
Leo had but a brief moment to appreciate that he was no longer within the hold of the sister Kraang, before Kraang prime once more spoke, moving closer towards Leo.
"She has a bit of a temper. And being in prison for a thousand years hasn't done her any favors."
The Kraang paused in front of Leo, as he found himself lowered toward the ground.
"How an insignificant creature such as yourself managed to sneak the key by me without my knowing so is intriguing. Enlightening." The Kraang mused, an underlying sense of amusement lilting his voice.
"Tell me, do all your companions share similar traits?"
A sick feeling settled within Leo at the Kraang's tone. He had been subjected to enough of Donnie's experiments throughout the years to know what the Kraang was really asking, and Leo would rather die than bring intentional harm upon his family.
When he stayed silent, glaring daggers at the Kraang, the creature simply hummed.
"No matter. They'll all succumb to the Kraang, as is the natural order of things. The strong conquer the weak, and the weak will do as I please." The Kraang shifted closer. "Now, where have they taken my key?"
Leo raised a brow, the glare falling off his face only to be replaced by a smirk.
"It's no wonder you got trapped in the prison dimension." A laugh escaped his throat despite the situation, ignoring how the Kraang's face twisted into a look of rage.
"For someone claiming to be the superior species, it's surprising that you can't seem to keep track of something so detrimental to your plans." His eyes locked with the Kraang, challenging. "It's pathetic really."
So maybe goading the Kraang wasn't a good idea.
Yeesh, if his brothers were here, he'd definitely be getting scolded.
Thankfully they weren't, and he was pretty sure he was currently under the influence of a concussion, thus, he thought he was a little justified.
"A rare misstep. Once I retrieve the key from your comrades, I will bring forth the mighty Technodrome, and you will witness the true power of the Kraang."
Leo wisely decided to keep his mouth shut this time, keeping eye contact with the Kraang even as he stared him down.
"It won't talk." The sister Kraang purred. "Let me kill it."
Her tentacle-like limb thrust upwards, stopping mere millimeters from his throat, making him recoil backward. He swallowed thickly.
"She's right, y'know. As much as I love hearing my own voice, I highly doubt my puns would be appreciated by a group of talking raisins."
Where was his self-preservation when he needed it?
The Kraang seemed suspiciously pleased by his answer, a deep laugh rumbling within it's chest.
Okay...maybe he was wrong about the Kraang's sense of humor?
"You don't have to talk." The Kraang said, a sadistic smirk settling onto his face. "I'll look myself."
Never mind.
Kraang prime's limbs rushed towards his face, wrapping firmly around his head.
It hurts!
It hurts!
It felt like his head was being crushed, his body straining against the material currently holding him still.
His body shut down after the Kraang invaded his mind, forced into revealing the place he and his brothers called home.
-
He had been moved again, but he was unable to get a good look at the place due to how blurry his vision was. The small and stubby Kraang had done something to him, making his body lethargic and uncooperative.
Then there had been an odd weightless feeling surrounding him, almost as if he was floating in a pool of water.
Consciousness came and went, his body unable to handle the near-constant influx of pain. Brief flashes of wakefulness gave him a distraction from whatever was happening to his body, unable to see the changes yet feeling in his gut that something was wrong, though he was never awake for long enough to try and do a mental check of everything that felt off.
The aches and pain remained, unsurprisingly. He doubted they'd tend to his injuries, especially with how he had put a stop to their plans, and this was probably their form of retribution, not that Leo found himself caring much.
While he didn't appreciate the pounding in his head, the throbbing of his bruises, nor the sting of the many lacerations and gashes he had received while fighting the Kraang, they did prove useful in helping keep him grounded.
He'd take the pain any day if it meant that he wasn't forced to drift in this eternal inky blackness for who knows how long.
He had long since lost his sense of time. For all he knew it could have been days since his capture.
With nothing else to keep him occupied he couldn't help but wonder about what his brothers were doing.
Were they looking for him? Trying to rescue him? Knowing Raph he could take a guess at how a rescue attempt would go. The last time they had attempted to rescue anyone it had been Mayhem and April, and that certainly hadn't gone well.
Leo felt his body shift, though he had no control over himself at this point. A part of him knew he should be panicking, should be trying to figure out how to take back control, but whatever fog was currently clouding his thoughts made him feel weak, unable to gather the strength to even try. So, he drifted, trapped within his own mind with only his thoughts to keep him company.
-
His body was moving.
When he had first become aware of the odd feeling of his body moving without him, he hadn't realized what was going on. His eyes, which had been closed for quite some time, took a second to adjust, and when they did he found himself wishing he could go back to staring into the void.
His brothers, his family, were standing in front of him, and despite how much he tried to move, to call out to them, his body wasn't responding.
His body felt heavy, an unfamiliar weight resting on different areas of his limbs. The feeling of his tail shifting behind him, longer and thicker than it should be told him that the changes he had been feeling had definitely modified him somehow.
He could only hope the changes weren't permanent as his right arm raised, allowing him to briefly study the warped appendage.
His arm was covered from forearm to wrist in the Kraang material, wrapping around his shoulder. Where his hand should be now rested a long blade that stopped just above his ankle, the blade itself seemingly following the curve of his forearm.
Said arm had shifted to rest just below his hip, his body having shifted into what he knew was a battle stance.
His eyes darted around, searching for something, an objective Leo was only vaguely aware of, before locking onto April's bag.
The key to the prison dimension rested inside the bag, taunting him.
Nobody had a chance to react before he darted forward, jumping just before he reached April and Splinter before twisting his body and slamming his new tail into them. The two went flying away from him, slamming harshly into the ground, both Donnie and Mikey quickly rushing to their aid.
Leo could only watch on in horror as he stooped down, a clawed hand wrapping around the key.
"Surprise." A familiar voice rumbled behind him.
"What did you do to my brother?!" Mikey's pained voice rang through the room, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.
Donnie and Raph were both silent, eyes locked onto Leo, their faces twisted in horror.
Leo couldn't stand to watch this; he wouldn't just stand by and allow himself to harm his family.
"Improved him." The Kraang had stopped somewhere behind him.
"Leo!" Desperation rang through Raph's voice, his arm outstretched as if reaching for the slider, before he was forced back as a large Kraangified...was that a train car? Burst from the ground in front of him.
Even as he turned his back on his family, his body moving closer towards Kraang prime, Leo could hear as they were surrounded, screeches ringing from various parts of the room.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Leo had stopped the Kraang from getting the key, and he refused to just hand it over.
His body froze just as his hand started stretching forward, his grip tight around the key even as his body started trembling slightly, trying to complete the motion of handing it over.
The Kraang's smug grin fell, his eyes narrowing in contempt.
"Even under my control, you remain a pest." The Kraang growled, stepping towards Leo. "Fighting is meaningless and will get you nowhere. You belong to me, as will every creature to exist on this unevolved planet. You will do as I command."
The Kraang paused, glaring into Leo eyes even as he remained where he was, his hand still gripped tight around the key.
The uncomfortable feeling that had been with him ever since he first started feeling his body going through these changes intensified, the urge to give the key over to Kraang prime growing almost painful as he continued to resist.
The fog from before was starting to cloud Leo's mind, the meager control he had managed to gain slipping from his grasp as he was forced back under.
The last thing he heard was the cry of his name, before everything faded away.
-
If Leo was learning anything from this experience it was that he hated being helpless. Sure, it wasn't entirely his fault, and he never asked for the Kraang to turn him into a...whatever he was now. He supposed Kraang zombie would work, all things considered.
....
Whatever.
The point still stood that he hated that all he was able to do was watch as his body stood obediently next to the Kraang, where the creature sat atop what looked like a throne.
Talk about conceited. And he would know, not that he'd ever say so out loud.
From what Leo had been able to gather after he had woken up from his impromptu and forced slumber they were on some sort of ship, looking down at the destruction of New York.
His home.
A feeling of guilt and anger coursed through him, his thoughts spiraling. If he had just listened to Raph. If he hadn't been showboating like he always does, then maybe this wouldn't have happened.
This was on him. And apparently, all versions of Leo were screwups, based on the future Casey came from. After all, no matter what timeline it was Leo would always be Leo.
He lost himself in his self-loathing, forced to watch as the consequences of his actions befell his city. He didn't think anything would ever make up for all the pain and suffering he had inadvertently caused.
At this point he definitely didn't feel like he deserved any forgiveness.
But...
He was going to do his best to try and earn it. He couldn't just lie down and give up.
Not now.
Not when his family was out there, trying to fix another one of his messes.
-
Something was happening. The ship had started going up at some point, though it didn't seem like Kraang prime was aware of what was going on just yet.
So, his brothers had come up with a plan. But what...
Oh.
Oh.
The solution to all their problems had been right in front of him this entire time!
Of course!
Sending the Kraang back to the prison dimension should be no sweat compared to fighting them head-on!
As he lost himself in thought, different variables and strategies filling his mind, he didn't notice the familiar figure entering the room until Kraang prime spoke.
Refocusing on the situation unfolding before him, he watched as his older brother stood tall before the Kraang, demanding he hand Leo over.
A deep chuckle reverberated through the Kraang's chest as he motioned Leo forward, the slider stalking forwards until he was positioned in front of the snapper.
Raph's stance was defensive as he stared him down, eyes hardened with determination and resolve.
"Leo..." The snapper paused; his tone remorseful. "I know you're in there somewhere...you have to be."
Leo's tail thrashed behind him as he stared down his brother, his eyes subtly shifting as he unwillingly thought up a strategy on how to take down the much larger turtle.
"I'm bringing you home."
Leo rushed forward, dodging under the arm Raph had outstretched to try and parry his feigned blow. He swung his bladed arm towards the back of Raph's knee, grazing the area as Raph quickly dodged.
The snapper looked surprised, his eyes wide with shock as he tried frantically to defend himself against Leo's unrelenting attacks.
With each blow Leo managed to land the slider became more and more desperate to gain control of his body.
He couldn't let this continue. Raph would never use his full strength against him, and Leo knew that if push came to shove Raph wouldn't be able to bring himself to cause Leo harm, not in the state he was currently in.
Especially with how injured he already was. If this fight dragged on...
He refused to kill his brother.
He wouldn't!
Leo leapt over Raph as the snapper attempted to grab a hold of him, landing lightly on his feet behind him.
When he twisted his body around once more, using his momentum to swing his bladed arm towards Raph's exposed back, he fought with all he had.
His arm stopped just before it pierced Raph's shell, his body trembling.
"Ra..ph." His voice was strained, but coherent.
Raph, who had turned around at some point, looked stricken. Surprise, but most importantly, hope, shining in his teary eyes.
"Leo?"
A loud bang sounded from behind him, an enraged snarl reverberating throughout the room.
"Enough!"
The sound of a mechanism shifting briefly distracted him, before grunts of effort from both Mikey and Donnie struggling behind him reached his ears.
"Mikey! Donnie!" Raph's attention settled on whatever was happening behind the slider, his eyes wide and panicked.
"I order you to end him!" Kraang prime roared.
Leo's body moved just as Raph shifted as if to race forward, his concentration being briefly broken.
The snapper didn't have any time to dodge as Leo lunged forward, his clawed hand swiping at his face.
Horror and dread settled within his gut as his claws sunk into the flesh around Raph's right eye, his brother crying out in pained surprise as he reeled backwards.
Leo didn't give him the chance to get very far.
Leaping towards his brother, he twisted his body in the air in a move similar to the one he had performed earlier on April and Splinter.
His tail struck the snapper's plastron, sending him sprawling on the floor.
Stop.
He leaned over his downed brother, swinging his arm. Raph was barely able to catch the blade before it pierced his plastron, hovering right over his heart.
Stop!
Stop it! He didn't want this!
"Leo...please!" Raph's voice was strained as he fought against Leo, trying desperately to prevent the blade from coming any closer than it already was.
He's managed to control himself twice now! He knows he can do it again! Focus!
Come on! Raph's life was on the line! His family! His friends! All their lives were on the line!
Come on!
"I know you're in there! I can see that you're fighting alongside us! Mikey! Donnie! We're all here Leo! You just have to push a little more!"
A strained roar erupted from his throat as he tore himself away from Raph, an intense pain rocketing through his head.
Kraang prime wouldn't take control of him again. Never again.
"Come on guys! If Leo can beat this creep, then so can we! Together!"
Color burst all around them as they each regained their ninpo. A feeling of warmth settling within his core as his ninpo reconnected with his brothers.
Orange.
Purple.
Red.
Blue.
Their rage coalesced amongst them, and as Leo felt his ninpo burn away the fleshy material clinging to him, his body finally feeling like his once again, he thought he saw actual fear shine in Kraang prime's eyes.
They were back, baby!
As Leo stood with his brothers once again, their familiar presence filling him with a sense of safety and home, he knew that somehow, they'd be okay.
He had a lot to make up for, but, for now, it was time to kick some Kraang butt!