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"It was like a switch."
Back when they were tots, after the most recent incident where Raph got "weird", he remembers Mikey asking what Raph felt in those moments.
"It's like- it's like if Raph had a big pile of blocks," his brother frowned, trying to put things into words, "Like if Raph tried to keep the tower up but the blocks are all weird and almost falling."
Raph fiddled with the front of his shirt, pulling on the ratty fabric at the hems, nervous about being put on the spot and having to talk about something uncomfortable.
"And I get so confused and lost, and everything is scary and too much and—"
"—And then the blocks fall and spill all over?" Donnie tried to finish his brother's sentence.
"No," Raph admitted. Earning the curious gaze of his three brothers.
"The blocks fall into place."
Leo didn't understand at the time what his big brother had said, but it wasn't all that important at that moment. What was important was comforting Raph and assuring him he wasn't alone, no matter how many incidents he had.
Now, things started to make sense.
They had fallen into a strange portal while dealing with some goons. Nothing really out of the ordinary, a couple of smart guys had decided stealing from Big Mama's private vault was a good idea.
But to no one in the family were the similar circumstances lost. With no lack of hesitation, they decided to cooperate with Big Mama this time. If what was stolen was something similar to that Key, they needed to be in the know.
In hindsight, it had been something similar; the goons had felt trapped, and in their desperation, they activated what looked like a Scepter, pointing directly at Raph. Leo tried to deflect the attack with a portal, and that's when things started to go horribly wrong.
Whatever that was messed with his portal enough to change its color to a sickly pink while making it grow in size and strength, sucking his family inside.
Now they were trapped in a New York he was sure wasn't theirs, his brothers were nowhere in sight, and his connection to his Ninpo, his family, felt as thin as a thread.
The only thing currently keeping him from losing his marbles was April's steady presence at his side. Luckily, they had landed close to one another, and her resolve to find the others was a steady rock he could fall back on.
Leo was starting to hope things could only improve, and then turtle luck decided to laugh in his face.
A crazy lady ambushed them while trying to patrol the city in search for the others. She introduced herself as Agent Bishop, claiming she was sent by her superiors to investigate the recent mysterious power outage in the city.
"Of course, it was a mutant behind all of this," She spat the word with a serious tint of distaste that reminded him of Barry's more evil alchemist days.
"Listen, lady, we don't want any trouble." Said April, putting herself in front of him. Probably noticing the way the Lady glared at Leo.
Bishop gave them an open-toothed smile. "That's a shame, I do. I have been dying to test the latest model."
And she had not come alone; in a moment, dozens of robots surrounded them in a circle.
"I suggest you get out of the way, little girl," she spoke directly to April. "It's not worth risking your life for the likes of them."
April looked at her dead in the eye and tightened her grip on her bat, still shielding Leo from her gaze.
"Very well, I tried to grant you mercy." And she turned back, instructing with a wave for her robotic army to attack. "They won't give you the same grace."
Both of them held on as much as they could, but they were tired, weakened, and with no Ninpo on their side, they quickly started to get overwhelmed.
No matter how many of them he cut, it seemed like another two would take their place. He had lost count of how many robotic heads he had sliced when one broke one of his katanas, and he found he couldn't summon another one.
He was starting to get dizzy, his vision hazy, he was confused and lost in a strange world, and everything was—
Leo heard April's pained scream, cornered into a wall with her trusty bat now out of her reach.
Like an animal backed into a corner.
Raph's words echoed in his head, and he finally understood,
Something switched, and the blocks fell into place.
April likes to think she knew her brothers.
Being an aspiring reporter and a weirdo magnet, being observant was a skill she had to develop. And there were a few things on Earth she knew better than her brothers.
She knew their body language, their tells, their quirks, and most recently, their fighting style.
Leo likes to be swift and flashy, with a lot of twists and distractions. He likes to provoke his enemy, looking for windows, always playful and skillful, like a fast-paced dance.
She saw him stab the robot in front of her, right in the center of its chest.
Then the next one, and the next one, all with surgical precision, swift, fast, impersonal, and effective. He threw a broken katana right into the center of the head of one robot that had snuck behind her, pinning it into the wall.
In the blink of an eye, the wave of robots that a few minutes ago had seemed unending was dropping like flies, all without a hint of fatigue in Leo's body.
That wasn't the only thing missing, though, with her back against the wall, April observed her brother.
There was no fatigue, but also there was no cheesy taunt, no silly jokes, no annoyance at losing his remaining katana—just unsheathing sharp claws, mechanically tearing through metal and wires, no sign of concealed pain when one of the enemies managed to tear skin, no checking on April's well-being. No personality. No soul.
In that moment, April could not see any difference between Leonardo and the robots.
Both were just machines going through a task. The only variation being one was more deadly than the rest.
And now Draxum's speeches about creating the perfect war weapons seemed more than just his own delusions of grandeur.
On the roof, April heard Bishop muttering curses, desperately pushing and typing into her wrist watch, while talking on her comm. Urging her superiors to send Reinforcement, Support, anything. All while her eyes moved frantically between the screen and Leo.
She knew she was next.
The last robot fell to the turtle's knees, and he turned around.
"Leo, it's over!"
He didn't seem to hear her. He started to walk, scanning the area, without even a glance towards her.
Leonardo gave a few sniffs through the air before turning around at breakneck speed. Looking intently into a fixed point in the roof, he gave a warning hiss with claws at the ready.
She may not like that Bishop lady, she may not even deserve to be saved, but she didn't want her little brother to have blood on his hands, not when he wasn't sound to make that choice.
Think, April. How to bring Leo back from this weird, perfect soldier state?
"D-dismiss!" She shouted, and that caught Leo's attention, his vacant eyes now on her. "The enemy has been defeated." When the mutant didn't move, April took a few hesitant steps towards him. "Rest now. Soldier."
The word tasted bitter in her mouth, but it seemed to do the trick. Leo blinked a few times, lucidity and exhaustion now back on his face.
"A-April?" He muttered, wobbling on his feet. April ran to catch him, putting his arm around her shoulders.
"I'm here, Lee."
"T-the crazy lady…"
"Gone, don't worry about her," she reassured. "Can you walk? Just for a bit, until we find a place to crash."
Leo gave some experimental steps before nodding. Now with a plan, April surrounded the turtle with her free arm and started to advance.
She didn't let herself think of what had just happened; her brother needed to rest, and that's all that mattered for now.
The figure on the roof saw them disappear in an alley and sheathed his sword.
Both of them looked weak and hurt; a part of him wanted to follow.
His eyes went back to the aftermath of the fight. He wasn't around to see the beggining but he heard the scared shouts of both being attacked, and he had been ready to go and help.
And then, like a switch, the other mutant singlehandedly turned the tide of the battle. It was even able to detect him even when he was careful to hide his presence.
He bit his lips in thought. The mutant may seem weakened now, but nothing assured him that the thing he had just witnessed couldn't happen again.
For now, he would have to bury his curiosity and hopefully come back with reinforcements.
Moving swiftly through the roofs, he had to pause to remember the way back to their temporary lair.
This may not be his world, but Leo was sure of something: if that mutant proved to be dangerous to his brothers or the turtles of this world.
They will need to bring them down.