tmnt · 2012 · ninja turtle · tortured · broken · trauma · ptsd · vulnerable · fear of abandonment · medical phobia
The rusted door screamed in protest as Raph’s kick shattered its hold, sending it scraping across the concrete floor. A cloud of dust billowed into the dim, flickering light of the chamber, and all four of us froze. In the center of the room, strapped at an angle to a cold steel table, lay Leonardo. Thick leather bands were cinched brutally around his wrists, ankles, and chest, digging into flesh grown thin and frail. A cloth gag was stuffed in his mouth. His skin was a canvas of silvery scars and livid new wounds. A medical line snaked from his arm to a suspended bag, and on his shoulder, the Shredder’s insignia was burned into his flesh like a cattle brand. He looked utterly broken, his eyes wide pools of pure, uncomprehending terror.