#catbowserauthor

Leo's got so many qualities that I either find extremely admirable, or I relate to super hard (or both).

One of the biggest things that draws me to him is his unwavering responsibility. This guy takes accountability for his actions, he always takes his duties seriously, and he sees his commitments through to the end, no matter how difficult they get. I really respect and admire that. His sense of honour was one of the first things that drew me to him.

But I also really love how humble he is, particularly in the 03 show. There's a whole compilation video that, while it's mostly intended to be humorous, has him admitting that he doesn't know or have the answers to every situation. 03 Leo is not above admitting his limitations (at least in certain areas) and I find that incredibly refreshing when so many other early 2000s protagonists are cocky and kinda big headed.

He never hesitates to lend a hand when his friends and family need it - whether it's pitching in to help April peel apples, or helping Mikey train for his big match. No task is beneath him, and he doesn't lord his position as leader over his brothers.

I love his strong moral compass, and his integrity to follow it even when doing so would be a disadvantage to him. That's the takeaway I get from the City at War arc - that Leo will stand up for and do what he believes is right, even if no one else will stand with him. And I adore that of him.

He's incredibly thoughtful, and so mature and well mannered and respectful. I just want to sit and talk to him for hours about deep, philosophical subjects.

That doesn't mean I think he's perfect, of course. His perfectionism and tendancy to be hard on himself are qualities I unfortunately know all too well, so I can absolutely empathise with him on those.

And, it sounds ironic, but I actually like him more because he's got flaws. He's not some pinnacle of perfection that would be impossible to match. He's mortal. He's flawed. He doesn't win every fight. He doesn't always make the right decision. He doesn't always say the right thing. He's not perfect, and that makes him so much more relatable than if he was.

I love his BroTP with Usagi. I love how he finds a kindred spirit in this ronin from another world, and the two of them just become instant best friends in a manner of minutes.

And I love Michael Sinterniklass as his VA. Peak performance!

As for the others, I'm not familiar with all versions of the Turtles, so I can only answer for the ones I know.

2007:

Tbh, this Leo is a bit more cocky and self centred than I'd prefer, but I think that's the point of the movie; to show how none of the brothers are at their best when they're separated so fundamentally. He's an interesting look into how a Leo without his family as his purpose could descend into a rather selfish and narrow minded point of view.

I still like him, though, and I think he's still fundamentally a 'Leo' at heart. He's introspective, he's trying to do the right thing (or what he sees as the right thing) and he takes his responsibilities seriously.

Bayverse:

Similar to 07 Leo, I don't really like the direction they took him in these movies. The Leo I know and love would never dream of saying things like "I'm better than you" or "There's only one opinion that matters in this family: mine".

That said, I still appreciate that he is dedicated, disciplined and determined. He's just not the Leo for me (and that's ok).

Batman vs TMNT:

I like this Leo quite a bit. He definitely strikes me as a bit more of a teenager than the others above, but his commitment and cause still come through. I like the fact that, similiar to 03, he feels a bit more like he leads from within the team, rather than above*/separate to his brothers.

(*I don't mean 'above' as in he's better than them, BTW. I mean it as in he's physically distinct from his team, leading from the front rather than from the group. Like he's their general and they're his right hand men. And yeah, I prefer versions where Leo is equal to his brothers, despite being their leader. )

Splintered Fate:

Full disclosure: I am not good at this game 😅 Rogue-like brawler games aren't really my style, and it strikes me that this game would be a lot more fun to play co-op than solo.

That said, I really like this Leo. He strikes me as very similiar in personality to 03 Leo, and Dominic Catrambone does a great job as his VA with his mix of youthful optimist yet serious, dedicated leader.

I like how he's always so earnest, with just the right amount of cheesy dork that we all love Leo for 😂.

Rise:

I deliberately saved this Leo for last, because he's a huge departure from what I think of as a 'Leo', to me at least. I actually resisted getting into Rise for a long time because of that (which was absolutely my bad).

Don't get me wrong: I don't dislike him. And I can see where people are coming from with saying that Rise Leo is a lot like classic Leo, just without the crippling responsibility, unwavering honour and stoic attitude. But, for me, those are what make Leo Leo. Those are some of the biggest qualities that I love him for, so for them to be absent or buried deep in Rise Leo makes him a very different character to me.

(I tend to mentally refer to him as Leon or Nardo, as a result. A distinct entity from the Leo I know. )

I've come to appreciate him as his own character, though. He can be funny, charming and an absolute menace. He's still got Leo's strategy and self sacrifice, I'll give him that. And I do love how physically affectionate all the Rise boys, but especially Leo, are. That's a very big plus for me.

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Whew, that was a lot 😅

I'd love to know your opinions, too.

Mikey really should give up all the surface walks he enjoyed in December leading up to Christmas and New Year’s, when topside was so magical and blanketed in a winter wonderland of snow, and so many more places were open to him to roam as it drove many inside, away from the cold. Seems like something happened during them every single year. Turtle luck running true to form, as Raph would say. But nooooo. He’d gotten underfoot Don in his lab at a monumentally bad time, and the purple-banded turtle had - literally! - chased him out with a blowtorch. It didn’t mean he had to go annoy Raph in retaliation, but he’d been embarrassed and needed to change the attention to something other than his huge fail, so he’d prickled at Raph instead. It seemed the bad mood throughout the lair was catching, though, as Raph had fallen into old habits and the names he called him felt less than loving and more honestly mean. He supposed it was only his own fault that Master Splinter had suggested he go for a walk to get out his extra energy (Master Splinter’s kind manner of telling him he was annoying and needed to reset his attitude).

If the day just hadn’t started out like that, he never would have run into the Dragons out causing havoc when there wouldn't be many others to catch them. Of course, then, the Purple Dragons would have gotten away with it, but Mikey was having a difficult time caring about this considering his current situation. He’d interrupted the shakedown of the pizzeria owners, hopefully giving them time for backup to arrive before the gangsters came back, but at the cost of somehow getting his shell cornered in a Purple Dragon warehouse. He’d thought he was leading the four gangsters on a merry goose chase - feeling oddly benevolent due to the season, just trying to distract them rather than give them all concussions and broken ribs - but it turned out, he was the fool Raph claimed. He ran straight into their trap, screaming and having to dive behind some crates as he walked in on no less than fifteen Dragons pointing guns at him. Mikey had to scramble to the wall, seeking out some ninja-tastic shadows to disappear into. He’d only managed to get partially to his goal of a window he could exist out of when a sharp-eyed gangster noticed and drew attention to his movements.

Too far away from the window, he’d had to drop back to the ground and cower there, hoping any stray bullets that made it through the crates would be caught by his shell, trying to come up with a Plan B. Finally, the shooting petered out, and Mikey moved before he could really think about it. He leapt up on a crate and made a wild jump for the window, getting close enough to scramble up and through it just before the shooting started anew. Down had the Purple Dragons, now with backup, that he’d been running from in the first place. “Shoulda just kicked your butts,” he murmured and fled upwards. He picked a floor that looked dark and broke through the window there, literally crashing back into the building.

Mikey paused for a moment to listen for anybody else on the floor, but fortunately heard nothing. Pain was blossoming in his leg. He kept that in mind as he limped down the hall and slipped into a room far away from the one he’d broken into. The room had a closet in it that would do. He grunted and groaned and he rearranged some of the cabinets and other furniture in the room to hide the closet from view, hoping none of the Purple Dragons knew the layout enough that they’d realize. Then, he slipped into the closet and pulled out his shell-cell for some light to take stock of any injuries.

He hissed at the blood on his legs, but further investigation revealed just how lucky he was. He’d been grazed three times, but no bullets had actually hit him. He felt up his carapace and arms and even face, just in case, but thank shell, it was just the bullet grazes. Two in his left thigh and one in his right calf. And shell, now that he was aware of it, did it hurt. Holy shell, that burned, and he could already feel the ache settling deep into his bones. The bad leg breaks he’d suffered years ago during their showdown with Shredder and Karai did not help. He already suffered recurring pain in his legs, especially during this weather, and he suspected this was probably gonna put him out of commission for a few weeks.

Mikey didn’t usually carry around bandages or anything useful like that. He took his mask off and - with gritted teeth, managed to get the mask to cover both the grazes in his thigh. His calf would just have to wait. He put his hand over the calf wound and fiddled with his shell-cell. Obviously, he needed some help getting out of here. Buuuut… This morning’s events were still weighing on his mind. “Stupid, stupid, stupid,” he murmured to himself, lightly tapping the back of his head against the wall, mindful of making too much noise and drawing any wandering Dragon. If he’d just read Don’s mood better this morning, then he never would have gotten himself into this trouble. If he’d just left Raph alone or asked him to play a video game instead of bothered him, he’d never gotten himself kicked out of the lair. If he’d just dealt with the Dragons instead of playing games, he wouldn’t have gotten himself injured again. (And BOY did he hate having to lay around and rest his legs. He was too restless for that, even with as lazy as he enjoyed being!)

The best course of action was obviously to just call in all of his brothers and get this sorted. But… Mikey was really tempted to just sit here and wait things out instead of having to risk ticking off Don or Raph again. The logical part of Mikey knew his brothers loved him and would immediately put aside their petty grievances to make sure he was okay. But the emotional part of Mikey couldn’t deal with it right now. Waiting out the Purple Dragons in a Purple Dragon warehouse obviously wasn’t any sort of plan. There was only one turtle Mikey felt up to seeing right now. One turtle who would want to bring in their brothers, but who often caved to Mikey’s moods and whims when he realized how serious it was. There was one brother who always made Mikey feel safe and loved. He’d have to risk it and just try asking Leo for help and hope he wasn’t dragging his brother into more trouble than should be handled alone.

Even having made that decision, Mikey still struggled with picking up and actually calling Leo. He told himself it was to keep his hiding place secret when he opted to text his big brother instead. ‘Plz, plz, bro, i need some help but i SWEAR it’s rly not that srs. just my usual stupid self makin bad decisions. PD warehouse, 20-30, guns, 6862 bleaker. i have NOT been shot. i need some minor medical help. im on 5th fl, rm 534 in a closet. plz tell me u can handle by urself???’ Typical of his brother, Leo’s response was immediate. ’15 minutes away. Hold tight.’ Leo hadn’t promised not to bring anyone else, so Mikey would just have to hold his breath and see what happened now. Fifteen minutes Leo was taking wheels instead of walking. The odds of him getting out of the lair on his own if he was driving were slim. That gave Mikey 15 minutes, plus however long it took Leo to either beat the Dragons or just sneak in to sneak him out, to stew in his negative thoughts. Mikey usually considered himself rather positive and emotionally stable, but there were definitely times where he got in his own head and doubted himself and his abilities. Even winning his Battle Nexus trophy, one among his many accomplishments, wasn’t always enough to keep the self-doubt from creeping in.

His internal clock told him he didn’t have much longer to wait when the ruckus started downstairs. He strained his ears to listen. Was that the shellcycle? Oh, no way Leo had gotten that out without Raph knowing or tagging along. That was Raph’s baby. Donnie had made it look all pretty and shiny, but Raph had actually built that bike from the frame up and got it running himself. Nobody touched it without Raph’s explicit permission. He winced, but a deep exhaustion had settled over him. What was he gonna do anyway? Roll out of the window away from the rescue he’d called?

The roar of sounds floors below him did not last long. He and his brothers did not mess around when one of them was hurt. “You’re kidding,” Mikey muttered, finding the strength to sit up, as the sounds of the shellcycle drew closer, and he realized the driver was navigating the machine up the stairs directly to him.

“Mikey!” Mikey heard his name called faintly over the sound of the motorcycle. Mikey imagined Leo (for the voice was definitely Leo’s) spotting his janky camouflage, and the shellcycle cut out. The metal cabinets groaned as they were moved, and light flooded over Mikey. “Hey, bro,” he grinned up at Leo, trying to appear more okay than he was feeling.

“Mikey,” Leo breathed out, kneeling and hugging Mikey before doing anything else. Mikey was too shocked to hug him back. “You said you weren’t shot,” he said, frowning, having - of course - already taken stock of the bloodstained mask around his thigh and his bloody hand pressing lightly to his calf.

“‘M not. Grazed.”

Leo tsked, but it wasn’t in a lecturing manner. “Lemme see,” he said softly, removing loads of medical supplies from his belt. Leo had always been a good field medic, his anxiety and innate sense of responsibility driving him to know at least basic first aid. His trip to Japan and the Ancient One had greatly elevated his knowledge, and he’d come back with an understanding of herbal remedies, poultices, and a far more robust skillset in medical treatment that had saved all their lives on multiple occasions. Leo started with his calf, which had no covering to help the bleeding, which had become sluggish but hadn’t stopped. Mikey sighed and just let Leo work. His touch was firm but gentle and that alone eased Mikey’s pain. “How’re the legs?” Leo asked while he worked, astute as always. “And don’t say fine.” Mikey bit back his retort of “they are fine, though,” and opted for honesty instead. “Probably need to skip out on training for a few days,” he said.

If it were Splinter here, he might have encouraged Mikey to try moving, suspecting he was being more lazy than honest in his self-assessment of his pain and ability, but Leo merely nodded. “Done,” he said. “You’ll take a week minimum,” he commanded, and Mikey nearly cried in relief. They all had a bad habit of pushing through injuries and delaying their healing. It was nice when they had the time to not let each other fall into those bad habits. He finished applying some sort of salve to Mikey’s calf, which had a pleasant cooling effect that relaxed Mikey enough that he closed his eyes as Leo started in on his thigh.

Mikey was so relaxed at Leo’s ministrations that he’d lightly dozed off, and he startled awake when Leo began gently probing at his arms and neck. “Just checking you for anything else,” Leo murmured. “Go back to sleep.”

“‘M up,” he complained. He wanted to say that he had checked himself out, and he was otherwise fine, but there was no arguing with Dr. Leonardo once he had started.

“Are you ready to move, then? I’d like to get you out of here and settled at the lair.”

Mikey let out a huff of air. The lair. Where everyone else was. Where they’d have questions and comments. But all he said was, “yeah.” He started to heft himself up, but Leo lightly batted at his hands. “I got you,” he said, and then Mikey was squeaking as Leo adjusted his arms around Mikey and lifted him up bridal style.

“I could have walked five feet!” Mikey squealed, seeing how close the shellcycle was parked.

“You’ll stay off your legs as much as possible,” Leo said firmly. “Besides, I won’t tell. I’ll even let you limp through the lair for your dignity if you promise to actually rest.”

Mikey rolled his eyes. “I’ll hold you to that,” he said. Normally, Mikey didn’t have any issues being coddled and cared for, but he didn’t want the others worrying too much about him when it really was fine, and he was mostly just feeling down emotionally. Sure, his legs hurt, but he’d walked on worse - like when they were broken.

Leo settled Mikey on the front of the shellcycle and situated himself on the back. Mikey realized he’d done it so Mikey wouldn’t have to spend much energy clinging to Leo’s back, even though it would make maneuvering and seeing the road extra hard for Leo. Warmth for his brother and shame for how he’d brought about this situation washed over him. He kept uncharacteristically quiet throughout the ride - even down the stairs that rattled the bones in his legs around and made him want to hurl - sighing in relief when Leo pulled up to an empty garage. “Raph pissed you took the shellcycle without him?” he asked as Leo parked.

Leo paused, then quirked his mouth. “Raph doesn’t have to know everything that goes on,” he said, and Mikey couldn’t help the burst of laughter that brought out from him. That was cut short when Leo once again refused to let him stand on his own. “I said you could limp through the lair. We’re not in the lair yet.”

Mikey grumbled complaints, but more for the spirit for grumbling than actually meaning it. As the elevator neared the lair entrance, Leo cautiously set him down but kept a firm hand around his shell. He was clearly going to help support Mikey to his room.

“My son! What has happened?” Sensei said, nearly immediately after they stepped out of the elevator.

“Just a little mishap causing old injuries to flare up, Sensei,” Leo responded for him. “Mikey’s fine. He just needs plenty of rest.”

“Michelangelo, you will tell me if you need anything,” Master Splinter ordered.

“Yes, Master Splinter,” he said faintly, concentrating on taking one step after another.

The exchange drew Raph’s attention away from the TV. Mikey pretended not to see Raph raise his eyebrows at Leo or Leo’s responding negative head shake. “Guess our halfpipe competition will have to wait,” Raph said without getting up. His way of letting Mikey know he was there for him without having to explicitly saying it.

“Sure,” Mikey snorted. “Kick your shell later.”

“We’ll see,” Raph said lightly without any real fire.

Mikey collapsed onto his bed with a groan as soon as he was close enough to hit it without falling onto the floor. Leo awkwardly followed him, mothering him into bed by lifting Mikey’s legs to place them softly on the mattress. “You need more pillows. I’ll be right back.”

Mikey waved him off without opening his eyes. Minutes later, what felt like a mountain of pillows and blankets landed on top of him.

“Oof,” he said, muffled under the pile. He could imagine Leo smiling in amusement from the other side of the pile as he began rearranging his items.

“You want the lights off for a while?” Leo asked, once he’d built a fort of pillows around Mikey and under his legs so they were slightly elevated.

“Yeah,” he said tiredly. Leo flicked the lights off, and Mikey sighed, expecting Leo to leave him alone for a while. Instead, Mikey startled as the bed dipped down. He opened his eyes to find Leo climbing over him. “Uh, what’re you doing?”

“Sleepover,” Leo said simply, settling on the other side of Mikey, taking one of the extra blankets he’d brought in to cover himself with. He and his brothers hadn’t slept together in ages. “What for, dude?” he asked, confused. “I’m fine. Just tired. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“I worry whether I have to or not. Do you want me to leave?” Leo asked seriously, sitting up on his elbows to get a better look at Mikey’s face.

Mikey only needed a moment to think. “Well, no,” he said, wondering if he was blushing. Honestly, after today, he could use some cuddles. “Okay then,” Leo said, as if that settled it. After a moment, Leo snuggled closer, throwing an arm over Mikey’s chest.

They sat like that for a while, just listening to each other breathe, as - not for the first time - Mikey wondered if his oldest brother had mind reading powers. Mikey had a million versions of questions about self-validation that hung on the tip of his tongue that he forced down. Testing Mikey’s mind reading theory, Leo asked, “Mikey…?”

“Yeah, bro?”

“You know I love you, right? Like, just as you are. Annoying onion breath while I’m trying to meditate and everything?”

Mikey giggled at the memory that brought up. “Yeah, Leo,” he said softly. He did know that.

“And getting in a bad spot or needing help in a fight sometimes doesn’t make you incapable or stupid? You’re an amazing ninja, Mikey. We all get into scraps we need backup for, and there isn’t always a right answer in the heat of the moment.”

Leo was definitely no stranger to needing rescued, and Mikey knew that didn't say anything about Leo’s skills. Leo was the most dedicated of them all and their leader, which is why their enemies tended to go after Leo with more veracity than the rest of them. But Mikey couldn’t think of many times Raph or Don had really needed to call for backup. “Don avoids fights when he’s alone; he usually steps back and calls the rest of us instead of rushing in by himself or else he might have made more backup calls. And Raph calls for backup all the time. He just usually calls Donnie because he’s just fought with me, and he thinks I won’t know if he calls someone else,” Leo said, starting to seriously worry Mikey about the mind reading thing.

“No way,” Mikey said. How come he’d never realized that.

“Yes way. Don’t tell them, but Don and Raph both have tells that make it obvious when it happens.”

Mikey sat with that a moment. “Do I have a tell?”

Oh, he could feel Leo’s grin, even through the pillows. “No, of course not,” Leo lied.

Mikey snorted. Let Leo have his secrets about how he knew when they were lying or sneaking around. He was the leader. It was good for him to know those things. Mikey let the silence settle back over them. Sleep pulled at him. There was something he needed to say before he drifted off. “Thanks, Leo,” he whispered. Leo hummed and soothingly rubbed his hand up and down Mikey’s arm. Mikey let the exhaustion win.

'18

The animation, character design and voice acting in Rise are superb. What I especially love about the Rise boys, though, is how openly affectionate they are with each other. Even "I'm scared of togetherness" and "uncomfortable with emotion" Donatello regularly gives his brothers affectionate headpats and reassuring touches. I just adore how often and proudly they hug each other! More of that, please!

Bayverse

This was a fascinating take on the Turtles, for me. The designers really seemed to lean into the 'Mutant' part of TMNT, in a way no other version had or has. I think it would be fascinating to explore their unique biology - like bullet-proof shells and accelerated growth - more, in ways the relatively short runtime of the movies didn't allow for. What unique complications might their mutation result in, that other versions of the boys wouldn't have? If they look like that as teenagers, what kind of giants would they be as adults!? Also, I'm not sure I've seen any other version really dig into how the boys would be treated as monsters by human society in the way Out of the Shadows did. I'd love to see that really explored in depth.

'07

For an almost 20 year old movie (isn't that scary!), 07's CGI holds up remarkably well, especially for the Turtles themselves. I love their designs in this movie. These are how I expect 3D mutant ninja turtles to look and move. And the rooftop fight scene is peak animation - the lighting, the rain effects, the choreography of the fight, everything! Plus, the Whump-fan in me gets chills every time Leo gets captured 😅

Batman vs TMNT

I've got to give special mention to the Batman turtles. The whole movie is very pro-Batman, but the Turtles are handled pleasantly well, too. Mikey in particular is an absolute delight! I couldn't help smiling whenever he was onscreen. And I loved how much fun the animators clearly had when animating the turtles in particular. Oh, and Batman's Rogues Gallery taking the mutagen and all turning into different animals (and a plant)? Chef's kiss! Cobra Joker is an excellent character design.

Splintered Fate

The only Turtles game I've played, and I'm not very good at it 😅 I definitely think it would be more fun as couch co-op than played solo, but I digress. The character designs have a nice blend of 03 and IDW (I especially like what they did with Karai's design), and the voice acting is really good. Dominic Catrambone is a new name to me, but I found myself really enjoying his version of Leo.

'03

Saving the best (imo) for last, where do I even start with 03? There's so much to love about this show! The character designs in S1-5 are peak, all of the voice actors are superb (the 03 boys are my favourite voices for the turtles, hands down), and the overarching storylines are gripping and compelling. Plus, 03 Leo is far and away one of my favourite characters of all time.

If I had to choose just one thing to love about the show, though (besides Leo), I would have to say the more serious writing of S1-4. I love how weighty and grounded so many of the stories feel, and how they weren't afraid to shy away from more heavy subjects like ptsd. Yet, despite it all, the 03 boys kept their honour and compassion. I'm not ashamed to say that 03 Leo was something of a role model for me, growing up.

Plus, it hadn’t even sprinkled even a little bit of snow yet! Michelangelo had a hankering for some ice skating and Christmas music and holiday movies, and everyone just seemed so darn cranky! He walked the sewers, kicking a rock along, and dragging his skateboard behind him. He’d thought maybe ripping the sewer pipe would help cheer him up, but he couldn’t even get up the energy to actually get on the board. Instead, he took some space, and wandered alone in his thoughts, getting deeper and deeper into his little negative spiral. Maybe none of his pizza creations or ideas had actually panned out and his brothers were just tired of pretending? Maybe April hadn’t really wanted to hang out with him and had make up an excuse rather than have to deal with his annoying and un-serious personality? Maybe he wasn’t joking with everyone else but was just kidding himself all along. “Bummer thought, bro…” he murmured to himself, as he walked mindlessly along.

When he returned to the lair long after night had fallen, no one paid him any never mind except for Master Splinter, who waved a dismissive hand at him and grunted as he wandered listlessly to his bed. Even though it was early enough that no one else was resting - not even Leonardo, who always went to bed early so he could make early morning training - Michelangelo burrowed deep under his blankets and let himself drift off into an uneasy sleep.

In the morning, he was also the last one up. He kept peeking over his blankets, trying to convince himself to get up and do something with the day, but his body just didn’t have any interest in complying. It was a new day, sure, but what did that change? He was still that same annoying turtle pushing his Christmas spirit on the others when they didn’t want it and messing up the most perfect and hard to mess up food there was. Why bother getting up when there was only disappointment in store for him? So, he peeked out from over his blankets to check on the others every now and then, but no one bothered him, and so he didn’t bother anybody either. Even though he’d spent the day in bed, he still drifted back to sleep earlier than anybody else.

The next day, Michelangelo woke up to a bodaciously delicious smell! His beak wiggled, drawing him comically forward to sit up, his blanket cocoon forgotten. As if compelled by some higher power, he hopped out of bed and followed his sniffer to investigate. He found Leonardo in the kitchen, humming to himself and surrounded by trays and plates of sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies. “Whoa, dude, where’s the bake sale?” He felt lighter already, and meant the words in jest. Well, and partial seriousness. It was a lot of cookies!

“Michelangelo!” Leonardo turned, a grin on his face. “You’re up!” “Yeah, dude, it’d be impossible to sleep through these sweet smells.” He risked reaching out to grab a sugar cookie, waiting to see if Leonardo would slap his hand away. Instead, the turtle in blue smiled indulgently, and Michelangelo shoved the whole cookie in his mouth at once before his brother could change his mind. “Mm, scrumptious!” he said. It was only good manners to compliment the chef, even if it meant spitting crumbs all over the place.

Leonardo wrinkled his beak and laughed. He set down his trays to come fling a friendly arm over Michelangelo’s shoulder. “It’s good to hear you laugh, bro. I’m glad you like the cookies. We have a couple more trays before we’re ready to decorate. You wanna help out?” “What? Of course!” Michelangelo brightened, accepting the apron that Leonardo seemed to produce from nowhere. He loved baking with any of his brothers, but especially Leonardo, who had the most patience for Michelangelo’s high demands in the kitchen and didn’t mind being bossed around until Michelangelo was satisfied with his experiments. “So what are we baking for, dude?” he asked, as he tied the apron around himself.

Leonardo gave him that look he gave when he thought the answer was obvious. “You, of course! Here, why don’t you choose what shapes you want for this next batch of gingerbread? I think I have enough house pieces, but we definitely need more gingerbread men, turtles, trees, snowmen, and the like!”

Michelangelo sidled up to his brother, bumping their hips together lightly before taking over rolling out the gingerbread that Leo had been working on. Leonardo gave him an affectionate rub on the head before picking up the oven mitts to check the cookies in the oven. “Really, dude? I thought no one was ready for Christmas decorations?”

“Pshaw!” Leonardo dismissed, taking the tray out of the oven and setting it on the stovetop, swapping it with a tray of unbaked gingerbread house pieces. He began moving about cookies on cookie racks to make room for the new batch. “That just means everyone needs the Christmas spirit even more, right? Besides, you’re ready for Christmas decorations and activities, right?” His brother had such a simple way of putting things that didn’t feel so simple, sometimes.

“Well, yeah, but I don’t want to be annoying about it,” Michelangelo admitted, staring hard at the gingerbread dough, as he forced it out to the thickness he desired. Beside him, Leonardo stopped moving, staring at him.

“You’re not annoying, Michelangelo,” he said seriously. “I hope you weren’t taking it out on yourself just because everyone else was grumpy.”

Michelangelo shrugged but didn’t give a verbal answer. Leonardo gently grabbed his hands, stopping his cookie manipulations, and turned Michelangelo to face him. Leonardo looked him deep int he eyes, not letting go of his hands. “You’re not annoying, Michelangelo,” he said. “Sometimes other turtles might get annoyed, but that’s up to their own temperaments. It’s not some inherent characteristic of you. You know we appreciate when you lighten the mood? You know that I appreciate when you lighten the mood and bring the cheer, right?”

Leonardo’s eyes stared right through him, and Michelangelo couldn’t find it within himself to disagree. The ice around his heart cracked, and he grinned, splitting his face. “Aw, dude, no need to get so sappy,” he laughed, but he hugged his brother back when Leonardo pulled him into a deep hug and held him there. They stood, hugging and swaying together for a few minutes until Michelangelo initiated the hug break. “We’re never gonna finish these cookies if we don’t work on them, dude!” he chided lightly. The kitchen was serious business for Michelangelo.

Leonardo grinned back at him, drawing him in once more to kiss the top of his head in that way that made Michelangelo feel loved and taken care of. “Yes, sensei!” he responded, and returned to his cookie racks.

Michelangelo’s dexterous hands made quick work of the cookie cutting. He and Leonardo fell into a routine of Michelangelo cutting and filling up trays, while Leonardo placed trays in the oven, took them out, stacked cookies on racks, and loaded his brother up with empty trays to fill. Soon, Michelangelo ran out of dough, and he grabbed the ingredients he saw laying out for icing and decorating all the cookies. “So you really don’t mind Christmas festivities this early?” he checked again. He felt better, but sometimes he just needed validation to make sure.

“Of course not! It’s fun doing this, especially with you,” Leonardo responded. “And everyone else needed it, too. They just weren’t ready to admit it.”

“Speaking of,” Michelangelo said, “where is everyone else?” He’d been having so much fun baking with Leonardo, he hadn’t even realized how quiet their home was.

Leonardo grinned mischievously. “You’ll find out any moment here!” “Ooh, tell me the surprise, dude! I wanna be in on it!”

But Leonardo didn’t have to say anything because just at that moment, the door burst open and the chatter of Master Splinter, Raphael, Donatello, and April hit him. “Michelangelo, you up?” Raphael called out.

“In here, dude!” Michelangelo said, peeking over at Leonardo to catch him fiddling with cookies, testing their coolness, and still grinning mischievously.

“Great!” Donatello called back. “I told Raphael you wouldn’t sleep through this. Now he owes me testing out my next two inventions!” Michelangelo laughed over Raphael’s good natured groans as everyone crowded into the kitchen. “What’s this?” he asked, seeing everyone loaded up with bags of all kinds.

“Merry Christmas, Michelangelo!” April said cheerily. “I’m sorry I missed decorating, but I brought those decorations you wanted for the house, plus the guys got decorations for your gingerbread houses and cookies.”

“Yes, we thought might have a bit of a competition for who can decorate the best cookie and build the best gingerbread house,” Master Splinter pitched in, clearly planning on besting them all at this activity, as he did so many others.

Some of the bags were shuffled out of the kitchen as his family peeked through them and separated out home decorations and cookie decorations. Michelangelo beamed. It seemed there were many hours ahead of them of Christmas fun to be had. When his icing was the thickness and consistency he wanted, he was gonna bear hug Leonardo so tightly, he'd squeeze all the air out of him. “Merry Christmas, Michelangelo,” Leonardo whispered to him, passing him by to help set up decorating stations for everyone. It was uncomfortably warm from the oven being on so long, but Michelangelo didn’t mind. It was the perfect start to the holiday season.

********

Meanwhile, in another universe, in another time, a very similar family was having a very similar experience, showcasing the bonds of this strange family surviving through space and time and keeping them together no matter what, a rarity for all but the most connected of family or friends.

********

---

   Even though it had been years since they first started to come here, the novelty of the farmhouse never seemed to wear off for the little mutant family.

   Maybe it was the fresh air. Maybe it was the soft grass beneath their feet. Maybe it was the wide-open spaces that they could move around freely in, without constantly having to worry about who might see them. Maybe it was the regular access to sunlight that their reptilian bodies craved so much.

   The future of 2105 had been similar in a lot of respects. But while they did miss Cody and Starlee (and, ok, maybe Serling, sometimes), nothing could beat the privacy of their retreat in Northampton.

   Raph and Donnie were engrossed in tinkering with an ancient tractor that Casey had found in the back of his grandma’s barn. The man himself was busy picking up groceries in town. April had taken their four-year-old daughter for a walk with Grandpa Splinter to the orchard. They were hoping to find some early apples to turn into a pie for dinner. And Leo had sat himself out on the grass to bask – or, as he claimed, meditate – in the summer sun.

   That left Mikey with the farmhouse all to himself. With no one within earshot to tell him to keep it down, he’d cranked his music up to full blast and danced to his heart’s content. Not to brag, but Mikey had some incredible moves, if he did say so himself. Why, he could have gone pro, if it wasn’t for the whole ‘mutant turtle’ situation. Alas, the world would be forever robbed of his creative vision.

   It was pleasantly cool in the farmhouse with the windows open and the electric fans Don had installed going. Still, it wasn’t long before Mikey had built up a healthy sweat. As the last song ended, he decided it was time for a well-earned break and a cold drink.

   Mikey grabbed a towel to mop his brow as he entered the kitchen and strode up to the fridge. Was the day warmer than he’d been expecting, or had his workout just been a bit more intense than he’d realised? Either way, he was parched, and some ice-cold juice sounded heavenly right about now.

   He was just pouring himself a second glass when he heard a thump from the back door. He turned, expecting it to be Raph barging in with his usual disregard for property, or Donnie misjudging the width of the doorframe as he tried to haul his latest project inside. Or maybe even Casey, back early from the store and juggling far too many bags at once.

   But it was none of them. To his surprise, it was Leo.

   Aside from Master Splinter, Leo was the last one any of the family would expect to be clumsy and heavy footed. Ok, there was that one time with the landmine in the sewers – and didn’t Leo wish his brothers would forget about that! – but normally their fearless leader was as graceful and fluid as a rolling river.

   “Wow, Leo,” Mikey smirked, raising a brow at his brother in the doorway of the kitchen, “All that sun seems to have burned the ninja training right out of your head.”

   He was expecting a glare, or perhaps a humourless laugh in response to his jibe. What Mikey was not expecting was for his brother to groan and clutch the doorframe as if he was going to fall over if he didn’t hang onto something.

   Mikey was at Leo’s side in a flash. “Woah! Take it easy, bro!”

   Now that he was closer, he could see the sweat beading on his sibling’s forehead. And when Mikey grabbed his arm to guide Leo over to sit in one of the kitchen chairs, he could feel how weirdly clammy his brother’s skin was.

   “Dude, you’re way too hot!” Mikey didn’t even make a joke about the fact that he was the pretty one, thank you very much, “Have you drunk, like, anything since breakfast?”

   Leo could only manage a faint shake of his head but quickly abandoned that to screw his eyes shut in the telltale wince of a headache. His breathing was far too shallow for Mikey’s liking, and Leo’s pulse under his hand was rapid but concerningly weak.

   “Hold on. Let me get you some water.” Part of Mikey worried that if he let go, Leo would topple headfirst off the chair. But he was able to keep his balance with the help of the table while Mikey dashed to the sink, filled a glass, and hurried back to his brother’s side. “Here you go. Slow sips, now. April will kill us if you barf all over her clean floor.”

   Leo didn’t react to the joke, but it did give Mikey an idea. The lino floor was somewhat cool underfoot, and the kitchen was currently on the shaded side of the house. If he dragged one of Don’s electric fans in here, the breeze should help to bring his brother’s temperature down.

   “Keep drinking, Leo. I’ll be right back.”

---

   “You really think you can get it running again, Don?”

   “Oh, easy. The real trick will be figuring out an alternative fuel source for it. Old engines like that were built to run on a much more lead-based gasoline mix than we have nowadays. I’ll have to tweak the-”

   Raph and Donnie pulled up short in the doorway to the farmhouse kitchen. Leo and Mikey were sprawled out on the floor at their feet. Leo had a damp cloth over his forehead, and an electric fan blowing cool air on his skin. Mikey was propped up at his side, happily chatting away as he read one of his comic books out loud.

   “Uh, guys?” Raph cleared his throat.

   “You ok?” Don added, a note of concern entering his voice.

   Mikey put his comic book down and looked over at them as if it was the most natural thing in the world for their two brothers to be lying on the kitchen floor in the middle of the day. “Hey, dudes. How’s the tractor?”

   Leo scooped the damp cloth off his forehead and propped himself up slightly so he could see the others better. “We’re fine,” he answered, though he sounded slightly fatigued, “I just spent a little too long in the sun, so Mikey was helping me to cool down.”

    “Mikey?” Raph couldn’t resist raising a sceptical brow, “Being responsible? You two switch places today, or something?”

   “Ha ha,” Michelangelo shot back, sarcastically.

   “How do you feel now, Leo?” Don ignored them both in favour of kneeling by his stricken brother and checking him over, “Any nausea or dizziness?”

   Leo allowed him to fuss, knowing it would help to ease his mind. “Not anymore. I’m feeling much better now.”

   Mikey was pleased to hear his brother’s familiar, confident tone coming through again.

   “That’s good,” the worried pinch to Don’s eyes eased somewhat, though it didn’t fade entirely, “But I’d still like to monitor you for a few hours, just to be safe. We may be built to bask in the sun, but even we can get over hot.”

   “You’re telling me,” Leo groaned as he tried to sit up properly, “Can I at least get up off the floor, now?”

   Donnie considered it. “You seem steady enough. Just take it slow and stop if you start to feel woozy again.”

   He and Raph slowly helped Leo to his feet, careful to make sure he was balanced before they let go.

   “Man, Fearless,” Raph huffed, but there was no bite to his tone, “Who’d have thought too much meditating could be bad for you?”

   It showed how much Mikey had been worried for him that he didn’t immediately stick up his hand and yell “Me! I did!”.

   “At least in these temperatures, anyway,” Don agreed, “We might have to implement some kind of buddy system if we know we’re going to be out in the sun for a while.”

   Leo didn’t argue. “Good idea,” he mumbled, still looking somewhat drained. His brothers noticed immediately.

   “How about a movie?” Donnie suggested. Leo could rest on the couch while they kept an eye on him, without him feeling too self-conscious. Hopefully.

   Everyone agreed. Raph followed Leo to the living room, trying to look like he wasn’t hovering in case his brother stumbled.

   “Ah yeah!” Mikey punched the air happily, “This calls for some brewskis, broskis!”

   “No alcohol,” Don shook his head, seriously, “It heightens the risk of dehydration, and makes it harder for your body to regulate it own temperature. But fluids in general are a good idea.”