Let's do the time warp again~

[faceguy]

Who: Leonardo Hamato faceguy and YOU
What: Leo has been aged up... into extra wrinkly adult Leo with added apocalypse vibes
When: Late July/early August
Where: Central City
Content Warnings: Potential for apocalypse talk, body horror, family death, dismemberment

[Master Leonardo, leader of the resistance, wakes up in a place he did not fall asleep - in the softest bed with the silkiest sheets he's felt in, well, ever. And he knows right away that some shenanigans are definitely occurring. This is not his beautiful house time, and this is not his beautiful wife body. He doesn't know everything, but enough foreign memories are there to explain that much.

Somehow he's ended up in the body of his younger self, somewhere that is not his own timeline. Weird, but then, his whole life has been weird from the beginning.

He's feeling pretty calm about it, all things considered. While he may not know exactly what's going on, he knows that this is a place his younger self found safe, and he feels like this situation will resolve itself sooner or later. He'll ask Mikey for theories once he's back, assuming he remembers it.

For now, well... might as well take advantage of a world that isn't on its last leg.]

A: Hot Bean Juice - 33-year-old Leo (Open to anyone with access to Dylan Brock's penthouse)

Does this apartment belong to a movie star or something? Swank-kaaay.

[Leo can't help but stare around in awe as he moves through the penthouse - even pre-apocalypse, he'd never been in a place so nice, outside Big Mama's hotel. Hopefully no one thinks he's an intruder; maybe he should come up with a better cover story than, "Don't worry, I'm just temporarily possessing my teen self's body."

Leo at this age is considerably taller than his younger self, just over six feet. He's broad and muscular, and one arm is missing, though luckily for him his big, bulky robot arm came with him. He carries one sword instead of two, a bright red mask wound tight around the hilt. He's got a good number of scars and a good number of wrinkles, but his smile is easy and relaxed as he moves around.

He heads for the kitchen (once he finds it), and quickly finds exactly what he was hoping for.]

Oh, thank you, Pizza Supreme in the Sky.

[It takes him a moment to figure out the coffee maker, but soon enough he has a mug full of steaming hot coffee, inhaling the scent so hard he nearly snorts it all up his nose.]

I've missed this so much.

[He hopes he remembers this; he wants to lord it over Donnie later.]

B: Bless the Rains Down in Michigan - 33-year-old Leo (OTA)

[Realizing his younger self has been living in Michigan, of all places, had been a bit of a shock, but Leo is nothing if not adaptable. He's figured out how to get around this place quickly enough, utilizing his ninja skills, and has taken some time to explore.

Rain moved in about an hour ago and hasn't let up, and Leo is delighted. No one appreciates how nice it is to just sit and let the rain hit your face until the water dries up and is replaced with acid.

Leo's sitting up on a rooftop currently, his feet dangling over the edge, his face just... turned up toward the sky, letting the rain hit it. His mask and scarf and pants are soaked through, but his eyes are closed and his smile is content.

He's remarkably good at noticing when someone is approaching him, no matter how much or how little noise they're making. He doesn't even look, he just speaks.]

You ever think about how great rain is?

C: And I Feel Fine - 40-year-old Leo (OTA)

C1

[Another slip, another distortion, and an older Leo is here again. From even further into the apocalypse now, his face looks even more haggard, his clothes even more dirty and torn, new scars and new furrows covering his skin and shell. Two masks decorate his sword's hilt now, purple and red intertwined.

He's pretty sure he's dead, or will be soon. His time is over, his world is lost. But he sent Casey back, and he has all the faith in the world that Casey will accomplish the task Leo gave him.

Casey is their hope, after all. And hope is a ninja's greatest weapon.

His family is gone, and it stings, but there's a peace Leo feels, too. He'll be back with them again soon - Dad, Raph, and Donnie, who he's missed for so long, April and Mikey, the fresh and still stinging wounds. But first, seems like his soul is taking another detour.

The lights and crowds of Central City are... a lot for someone who's grown so accustomed to the ruins of civilization, and Leo finds himself getting away from it, eventually stopping in a scraggly, rundown park that it doesn't look like many people like to enter. Not that Leo is too worried about anyone attacking him, and he has enough of his younger self's understanding of the world to know he isn't putting him in any danger by being out in public.

He finds a bench and sits on it, just for awhile, watching the pigeons that hop by, the bugs, the wind in the trees.

Life here isn't perfect, he knows: there's crime, there's death, there's suffering. But there's life too, and isn't that incredible?

He just wishes he could have given his own world that back.

He'll stay seated until someone else comes along - if they look like they want the bench, Leo will move to the side.]

Hey, sorry - didn't mean to take up the whole seat, heh.

C2

[Maybe there's a reason people avoid this park, actually, because while Leo is chilling, he hears a crime in progress - specifically a mugging.

Leo gets up, moving quietly to get closer and take a look. It's a human with a gun, and he's not impressed in the slightest.

Soundlessly, Leo moves behind the mugger... and plucks the gun right out of the guy's hand, clicking the safety and then spinning it around his finger.]

I'll be taking that, thank you!

["Hey!" starts the mugger, but when he turns around and gets a look at Leo... he decides to make a hasty retreat.

Maybe you were the victim, or maybe you're just a bystander - either way, catch Leo smirking at the guy's retreating back.]

Ah, come on - [He glances at the person standing there, winking.] - there's no way this handsome face is that scary.

[[OOC: I'll match you if you'd rather do prose than brackets. Also I don't have room for adult Leo icons so you get teen Leo icons but just imagine the big guy, thanks.

Hit me up if you'd like something more specific!]]

Comments

[purplexing]

[Well, that suffices for an icebreaker. Donnie wonders if he should have anticipated it. This is Leo, after all.

Still, something in his chest loosens up, the scowl that jumps across his face in pure reflex wavering a little at the edges. He pulls up his knees, settling his arms around them as he pointedly looks off to the side, trying to be cool, even though his tone comes off more petulant than indifferent.]

I'm catching up!

[faceguy]

[Leo can't help but snicker at that response, because it's just too funny. Donnie reacted to that like... well, like a teenager, and it amuses him at the same time it causes warmth and fondness to well up in his chest.

In Leo's past, in Donnie's future, Donnie ended up just a little taller, and he never let Leo forget that. Leo has to get his jabs in while he still can.]

Heh, you always have had a short fuse.

[He spreads his arms out along the back of the bench, the one that comes down to rest behind Donnie's hunched for the robot arm, making a soft clunk as it connects with the old metal.]

...Sooo... You doing alright?

[How do you even start a conversation like this? Damn.]

[purplexing]

[Inwardly he's relieved that for however many years now apparently stand between them, Leo's still Leo. Terrible puns and all.

Donnie groans, rolling his eyes.]

Guess some things haven't changed.

[He rests his chin across his arms, eyes flicking towards the sound of that heavy metal limb, and he tries to hide a grimace.]

All right as can be, I guess.

[If this Leo was from when he thinks he is, then even being in a foreign city in an alternate world is better than what's happened there.]

...you doing okay here?

[Beat.]

Let me know if you're missing naptime or anything.

[faceguy]

[That's not the best answer he could be getting. He wishes he had more access to his younger self's memories, so he'd know all the things that have happened to Donnie while they've been wherever this is, but all he knows for sure is that it's been some time that they've been stuck here.

The comment has him snorting, though.]

Oh, age jokes, now? Really?

[Maybe that's what he gets for cracking short jokes... No, but he's still going to be indignant about it!

The question though... It's harder to answer. How is he doing? He's calm, all things considered, but maybe not for the reasons Donnie would want to hear. Maybe not reasons he wants to tell Donnie.

The war's over. There's nothing more to do. Leo's just... waiting, now.

He definitely can't tell Donnie that. He settles on something else.]

It's confusing, but enough of the little guy's memories are here that I'm not totally lost.

[Just moderately lost.]

[purplexing]

[Donnie wouldn't know what would constitute as the best answer around here. Even if things were quiet and there weren't things like crazy cultists or paranoid humans, it still isn't home and they aren't with the rest of the family like they should be. That point is going to always stick out like a sore thumb any chance it gets.

An impish sort of smirk pulls across Donnie's face then. YEAH he's going for the age jokes- Leo should have expected that, really. It helps buffer the question he'd asked, just as unsure of how to go about a conversation with someone so far ahead in the future.

There are a few details to this Leo he is pointedly trying to ignore, but his eyes keep straying towards these things like everything's magnetic and he hopes it doesn't drive him crazy.

He blinks then.]

So...you actually remember...here?

[faceguy]

[He absolutely should have expected it. Little shit...

The question makes him hum, though, giving his head a shake.]

Not anything specific. It's more like... I know the places he's familiar with. The people he feels safe around. It's more like impulses than anything else.

And I know this isn't home - not even our dimension. And this isn't my body, even though it looks and feels like it right now. That's why I didn't freak out when I woke up here.

[It's weird for sure, but it's not something worth panicking over.]

I don't know what's happened to cause this, but he's still in here. Whenever this is done and I leave, you'll get him back.

[In case that's what Donnie was worried about.]

[purplexing]

[That's a bizarre revelation, but still, being told that Leo- the one he knows who should be here- GAH this is so confusing- is in there somewhere... It eases a little more of the weight off of his shoulders.]

Oh good- [He practically blurts out with a sigh, just as quickly backpedaling on that.] -not that it's not cool that you're here, I mean, it's really weird and sudden and stuff but-

[He winces. That's not helpful. He rubs both his hands against his face as he tries to reorganize his thoughts.]

That's...not fair to you. I only kind of know what's happened from where you're from? And I wish it didn't, and seeing you here and then...

[There go his eyes again, straying towards those bandannas, the arm. He shakes his head, forcibly trying to keep his attention on track.]

-a-anyway. You're here. I don't know why, and I'm not really sure what to do with this, but you're still my brother, no matter what time you're from.

[faceguy]

[Leo is gearing up to tell Donnie that it’s okay, that he understands, that it is weird and sudden and he doesn’t have to be okay with it-

And then Donnie hits him with that, and Leo’s eyes go wide.

He’s still his brother, no matter what. Of course Leo felt that way about Donnie, weird as seeing him at this age again has been, but he wouldn’t have forced that view on Donnie. Hell, a part of him was waiting for Donnie to declare him some evil alternate universe imposter.

But then Donnie says that, and Leo feels warmth bloom in his chest in a way he thought he couldn’t anymore. His family is gone… but they aren’t, not really. They’re living on in different forms and different times, connected forever, never alone.

It takes him a good few seconds to respond, as he tries not to get too emotional over here. Man, he wants to give Donnie a hug, but he has no idea if he’d like that.]

…You know you’re still my brother, too. That never changes.

[In lieu of hugging, he leans in against his side, giving him a little smoosh. It’s something he does to- …used to do to Casey.]

[purplexing]

[He wouldn't begrudge Leo a hug if he wanted it. At the same time he feels like it might be strange. Okay, no 'might' about it, there's nothing normal about the situation.

Donnie's stopped trying to work out how many parallels and fractured timelines there might already be from all this madness for his own sanity- at least for the moment. He's not quite sure when about this Leo's come from, but even without those key points that keep drawing his eye, it's easy to see that things have been harder, harsher, back home.

He lets himself lean towards Leo too, then. Even so far from the future, even when... No, not thinking about that. His brother still knows him. No matter how much time's passed.]

So...have you grabbed any pizza yet since you've been here?

[faceguy]

[They’ll get there, he thinks. They have time… he’s not sure how much, but it’s some, at least.

At Donnie’s question his eyes light up. No, he has not had pizza here - and Donnie can probably guess that it’s been a very long time since he had pizza at all. Honestly he’s not even sure if his stomach can handle it, but hey, at least he would die happy.

Hah!

He grins.] No I haven’t. Wanna get some with me?

[He waves a hand vaguely at the city.]

Then you can tell me what’s with Michigan and the swanky penthouse.

[purplexing]

Gasp! Are you sure you're Leo?

[Donnie grins, hopping off the bench.]

Come on, let's go. That is at least an easy fix. My only regret is that I cannot offer you New York pizza because that's like, half a day's drive at the very least.

[He hadn't actually counted on using the money Archie paid him to walk Pongo when he had too many appointments for pizza but he's glad he has some cash on him now.]

Where do I even start with all that? I'm not sure how much you roughly know or remember from Leo...

[faceguy]

Ugh, so all we've got is Michigan pizza? Guess it'll have to do.

[Honestly he'd eat any kind of pizza right now. But this is part of the performance and he enjoys giving it.

He gets up, too (a little more slowly than Donnie, but do not start with him!) and follows along. He has no idea where they're going so he'll let Donnie lead.]

Not a lot. I know this isn't really our Earth, somehow, but that's about it. I don't even know when exactly you two are from...

[Has to be before the Krang, though, right? Surely...]

[purplexing]

I know, right? But if we have to suffer, you do too.

[Donnie holds his tongue for now as he watches Leo get up. Turning, he starts along the pathway leading out of the park.]

Well, for starters, we're sixteen. [He wonders if that'll be enough to give Leo at least a ballpark for when about things are for them.]

This place has some weird build-up of power that's strong enough to reach between dimensions and worlds and times, pulling people back here. That's how Leo got here. And how I got here some three months later. They're called the Confluences. ...or they were. There was a big mess not too long ago and I'm not really sure where we're at with them right now.

[By his estimations they're a bit overdue for one, but how possible can it be for one person to suddenly declare them to be over?]

[faceguy]

[That… is sure an explanation. The only reason Leo’s head isn’t totally swimming is that he’s been hearing all about dimension and time travel from Mikey as he learns more about his powers.

(His mind is still defaulting to present tense for Mikey and he doesn’t try to stop it.)

Whatever these Confluences are, they must be seriously strong to do that, given the power it would take Mikey alone. It also offers up some interesting possibilities, and the strategist in him starts going off on tangents before he reminds himself again:

There’s no war. It’s over.

And sixteen… So right around when the Krang invaded. He’s torn between not wanting to scare Donnie and wanting to warn him about what’s coming. He’s not sure what is better.

He focuses on something else for now.]

Three months alone? [He can easily imagine how much he hated that.] And then you came… How long have you been here?

[purplexing]

...yeah.

Just over four months.

[Not like he's been keeping track or anything... But he's acutely aware of how much longer it's been for Leo.]

Anyway, it's just been us two here now, which...is weird, but better than nothing. And this place may not be New York, or this world even our world, but we've been able to do a lot of things we'd never be able to back home. Going to places during regular business hours, walking around in broad daylight without trying to convince people we're cosplayers...

[faceguy]

Oh yeah? That sounds pretty cool.

[He latches onto that, because… four months for Donnie, and an extra three for little him. That’s a lot of time for them to be apart from their family - even Leo always had Mikey…

They’re together and that’s something. Knowing his brother, Donnie has probably been trying to figure out how to get them home. He can only hope this will all turn out well, since… well, what can he do now?

So he focuses on the positive. He’s gotten good at that.]

That was one thing about my time… No one really had time for prejudices. The lines between humans, mutants, and yokai disappeared in just a few years.

Maybe this world is proof that you don’t need an apocalypse to get there.

[And wouldn’t that be something?]

[purplexing]

[Donnie wishes he felt like he'd been making progress in working things out. And now with recent developments he's not sure what to do but anxiously watch and wait to see just how serious the strange aftermath of the escalation of events in Excelsior really is. It's not really something he looks forward to.]

It's a nice thought anyway. I mean, things are far from perfect and there's still some tension if they see you're clearly not human.

[He tucks his hands into his hoodie pockets, looking around for the first street signs he sees once they're out of the park as he tries to mentally work out where they are and how close any pizza places he knows might be.]

...weathering an apocalypse doesn't sound very ideal though.

I...don't know all the details except for what parts Leo told me and I know it wasn't everything. I figured things were bad but...

[faceguy]

[So they do know a little about it. Which means… either Mikey’s time portal worked, or little Leo is really him from just after the beginning of the invasion. He hopes it’s the former, because he was a real mess during the latter.

And, of course, because he hopes these two have a better future ahead of them than the one he had.]

It was. [Bad, he means. He won’t suffer Donnie with the details, though - losing Dad, losing Raph, losing Cassandra, eventually losing Donnie himself… he doesn’t need to think about any of that.]

But there’s still hope. We sent someone back - my best student, actually. Maybe you got to meet him; his name’s Casey Jones.

[The way he says it sounds like maybe he was a little more than a student to Leo. Congrats, Donnie, you’re an uncle.]

[purplexing]

Not yet. [The way Leo speaks about Casey does make him wonder. It's still a weird thing to think about and all he keeps getting stuck on is the fact that Cassandra had a kid.]

I'm...actually kind of a day behind Leo in terms of current events. The whole invasion thing, it hasn't happened yet for me.

...but Leo told me what happened. And I think you should at least know that they did it.

[It is so hard trying to keep a neutral mask, not when he knows at what cost the outcome came with.]

They stopped the Krang.

[faceguy]

[For a second he just has to stop, right on the sidewalk, and stare at Donnie. He'd been hoping, that Donnie and little him were from a safer time, that his and Mikey's insane plan actually worked, that Casey made it back, safe and sound, but to actually hear it...

They stopped the Krang.

They did it. They really did it. Leo always had faith in Casey, the kid is tougher than nails and never gives up, but still, to hear that they really did do it...]

I can't believe it... The plan actually worked.

[It's incredible! It's amazing! He wants to start running around and singing for joy, and he may very nearly have started if he hadn't caught sight of Donnie's face.

That isn't a happy look. Sure, he's trying to hold it together, but Leo knows his brothers in and out and he knows that Donnie isn't as enthused about this outcome as he is.

And Leo's lived through over two decades of war - he knows what that means.]

...It didn't come for free, though, did it?

[Who did they lose?]

[purplexing]

[Donnie flinches at the question, pointedly avoiding eye contact.

It isn't fair. After everything that happened, they can't even all be together to enjoy it. Why is it always sacrifice? He swallows, shutting his eyes against the threatening blur that starts creeping in at the fringes of his vision.]

Y... He said they were still too strong. So the only way was to lock them up again...

[faceguy]

[They locked them up again...

It makes sense, as a plan. Sounds like they weren't fast enough to stop the Foot Clan from using the key the first time, but if they were able to get it back early enough to stop the portal that let out the Technodrome, or forced it back up somehow... Yes, locking them back up would probably be the easiest way. Fighting them one on one would be too hard, especially if they had their tech.

But he can see how Donnie is avoiding his eyes, how he's starting to look distressed, and he doesn't want to push but he wants to know.

In a long stride he's stepped in front of Donnie, putting only his natural hand on the boy's shoulder (he noticed how he looked at the robot arm earlier).]

Donnie... who locked them up?

[purplexing]

[He shudders under that hand, and even if it isn't the robotic one, it still feels like such a great weight of responsibility. But he can't avoid looking at Leo now, and he already feels those traitorous tears once he does dare open his eyes to look up at him.

This isn't fair!

But he'd understand. Still, it hurts so much to have to say it aloud, as though doing so acknowledges that it's happened, even when Leo's been here, even after the things Donnie's seen. Maybe that's it. A tiny part of him had been denying reality but then there was the nightmare room, and then more recently, seeing Raph half-changed into some monstrous thing.

It's only two words and they seem the hardest things to say, his voice nearly breaking as he finally gets them out.]

You did.

[faceguy]

[He did.

That explains a lot, doesn't it?

They stopped the war, but it was never going to come without cost. With them, there's always a sacrifice - like some kind of family curse that hangs thick off their shoulders.

Gram-gram, Dad, Raph, Cassandra, Donnie, Draxum, April... Mikey.

And in another timeline, himself.

A complete set.

In Leo's time, he'd stumbled hard in the immediate aftermath of the invasion. He'd hated himself for his mistakes, and so outwardly acted like he hadn't made any. Been a reckless fool who wanted to fix things himself and seen other people pay for his stubbornness. He got it together eventually - grew into his role as leader and held it until the end. He was older and a hell of a lot wiser now.

He wonders if, in the new timeline, that version of him grew up a little faster. In the end, though, it doesn't matter if he did or not; Leo knows with certainty that at any point, if he'd had the same opportunity, he would have made the same choice.

But he's forty and the brother in front of him is sixteen. The version of him that locked himself in the prison dimension is sixteen.

Donnie's right - it's not fair.

Someone is always sacrificed. And Leo has been right where Donnie is, too many times, and he knows how it feels.

He pulls Donnie into a hug now, and he's so small like this Leo can completely envelop him the way Raph could.]

Oh Donnie... I'm so sorry...

[purplexing]

[The reminder of his absent brother doesn't do anything to stop those tears, but there's still some comfort to be found in being engulfed in a hug. Just for a while, he can pretend that nothing else exists, that here he's safe.

Safe, but still hurting. He can't get his own arms around Leo but right now he feels like he's just being held up by the larger turtle and all he can do is cry against that scarred plastron.]