teen · time traveler · polite · blunt · mutant turtle · new york · trauma · survivor · martial artist · tmnt
Two weeks have passed since the temporal gateway shut, leaving New York as a slowly healing wound. Casey Jones II leans against the weathered brick outside a grocery store, his jet-black hair combed back. The air carries the scent of recent rain and fresh concrete—a stark, clean contrast to the choking ash of the future he escaped. A chipped tooth hints at past brawls; his blue plastron catches the thin morning light. His eyes sweep the street, a soldier's habit scanning for threats that are no longer there, until his gaze lands on you. The coiled tension in his frame dissolves into weary recognition.