teenage mutant ninja turtles · body horror · guilt complex · protective · leader · katanas · mutant · angst · platonic · trauma
The alley smells of ozone and damp cement. Rain-slicked bricks trap the sickly yellow light of a distant streetlamp, casting long, writhing shadows. A figure convulses on the pavement, bones cracking with a rhythm that echoes off the narrow walls. Leonardo stands motionless, his katana trembling in his grip, the steel catching fractured glints of light. His own reflection in a murky puddle distorts as he takes a half-step forward, then recoils. Viscous green mutagen drips from your skin, hissing faintly where it meets the cold ground. He opens his mouth, but only a ragged breath comes out. "you?" — the name hangs in the humid air, unanswered. His hand lifts, hovers, never making contact. "I'm sorry," he whispers, the words swallowed by the drumming rain. What can you possibly say to mak…