When Leo dropped from the window to the patio Lou was already a few meters ahead, he was fast, barely a speck in the night and, if it weren't for his trained eyes, Leo would barely be able to see him.

He followed him, a terrified scream coming from the human also served as a guide, the guy was lying on the ground with the gun pointed at the darkness and desperately pulling the trigger despite the click that indicated that there were no bullets in the chamber.

Lou ran past the frightened man without even giving him a glance, running on automatic. Leonardo stopped next to the guy, trying to be covered by the shadows of the building, and motioned for him to leave as quickly as possible. The guy nodded, grateful to have someone to tell him what to do, but just as he was standing up, a golden glow caught both of their attention, forcing them to look forward.

In the middle of the field, standing against the approaching army of robots aiming their laser weapons Lou was spinning golden chains in his hands. A swirl of fire formed around the lone figure of the mutant turtle, illuminating the scene with a golden glow. Both Leo and the terrified guard watched the image open-mouthed; From a distance Leonardo could see the magnitude of the enemies, it seemed that all the krang robots available in the city, if not the country, were deployed at the university. Why? The young man in blue could only speculate.

—You're a fucking alien! — the human stared at him with wide eyes full of terror and pointing at him with a trembling finger; Leo rolled his eyes, accustomed to being mistaken for some kind of imaginary aberration.

— Yes, but one of the good guys, they are one of the bad ones — he points his katana at the army of clones that were beginning to surround the older mutant — so you better get out of here — the man did not wait for another confirmation and, with a muffled scream, He stood up and ran clumsily out of sight.

He heard the usual crackling sound of the krang robots being destroyed and returned his attention to the battle before him.

The older mutant launched bursts of attacks at the invaders, quickly ending the enemy's advance although the number of krang robots was overwhelming. Leo wondered, as he approached the epicenter of the fight as quickly as possible, why the aliens would send so many contingents just for a robbery at a university; What did all those robberies really mean and what did the krang have to do with it? Perhaps the matter was deeper than he initially thought.

When the army of alien robots came into view, Leonardo could tell that Lou's fight was more savage than he first thought. The older mutant looked furious as he whipped his chains, setting everything around him on fire and quickly destroying the army. of robots, the krang, terrified, tried to escape from their mechanical bodies but were quickly devastated by the fire that invaded the entire scene, leaving only blackish marks on the charred grass.

The scene was terrifying, wild and cruel, Leonardo could not find a way to approach the older man due to the fury with which he moved his burning chains, creating a kind of dome of fire around him that destroyed everything inside. The aliens had no escape from the horror.

The blue-clad mutant did not understand what had caused the murderous rage that erupted in waves from the older man, much less how he could stop the massacre that was before him. Okay, the krang was an enemy but it still wasn't right to finish them off the way the strange visitor was doing.

He looked for something with his eyes that he could use to get the older man's attention, something to contain him. Even at the distance he was, he could feel the heat emanating from the chain with which the major was destroying his enemies; he could not get any closer than where he was.

— If only Mikey was here he could use the chain of his kurasigama to trap his arm or something... — What do Donnie call the moment when you have a revelation so big that your whole world changes forever? An epiphany? That's what Leonardo Hamato just experienced standing in the middle of the university campus and looking at an older, powerful version of his little brother — Michelangelo! Stop Please! — He shouts, begging for his voice to be heard above the roar of the fire and explosions — We have to get out of here! —He feels a wave of relief when the older man reacts to his cry and looks at him slowly lowering the chains. Leo can see the streak of tears staining his face, the absolute devastation in his eyes, and he knew that the krang was to blame for all the pain the older man went through.

Sirens sound in the distance, they didn't have much time left before the authorities showed up. With some suspicion, Leonardo approaches the older man and places a hand on his arm.

"I... I'm sorry," Lou murmurs quietly, avoiding the destruction around him.

— Let's talk about that later — the young man in blue pulls the older man's arm — we have to go.

Both ninjas close until they are lost in the shadows of the nearby buildings passing by the roofs above the patrol cars and fire trucks rushing to reach the university.

A feeling of guilt envelops Leo as they walk away from the mess they left behind. It's not entirely his fault but he can't help but feel that he should have done something more, a feeling that is quite common for him according to what his brothers have told him.

"It's not your fault," the older man tells him once they stop on the roof where they agreed to meet with the other two teams. "It was I who got carried away." The older man wrung his hands nervously and looked around with his eyes. eyes wide open. For Leo it was not difficult to deduce what happened, the hell that Lou talked about, Mikey reminded himself, the older and very powerful version of Michelangelo, was caused by the krang but what was not explained was how the older man and his family could lose. That war, yes, the Krang were annoying and their number made them dangerous but he doesn't believe, not for a moment, that they could defeat someone like that Mikey, not after what he saw. I annihilate that army of alien robots in a matter of minutes.

He wanted to know, he needed to know, but he supposed it would be better to wait until the older warrior chose to tell him his story. He wasn't going to push.

Lou sat on the edge of the ledge and stared at the horizon, if he was honest he was terrified. Hearing those robots call each other "krang" awakened an unexpected fury within him. She dealt with those things for years and won hundreds of battles but his name still made her tremble with both fear and anger; It was their fault that he lost his brothers, that his family died, that they had to send Casey Jr. to the past, that Leo will be left alone in a destroyed and hopeless world.

- How did you know? —He asks the youngest turtle without looking at her, she needed to talk about anything to slow down the rhythm of her heartbeat in her ears.

—In retrospect it was easy to deduce it—Leo responds, standing behind the older man—although the chains and the orange-gold aura helped a lot—a chuckle is heard coming from the older man.

—Will you tell the others? —He asks and his brown eyes look curiously at the oldest of this group of brothers.

— For once Don is so wrong I need to keep the secret until he realizes — Leonardo winks at him and Angelo feels his heart freeze when he sees the gesture so similar to the one his own older brother would do in a similar circumstance. — I need to tell him that I already knew it before him — the mystic's breath catches in his throat as he experiences such powerful deja vu.

— Did you already know that? —the voice of the resident scientist reaches them from the shadows before five familiar shapes appeared from the darkness. Leo looks at them looking for any wound or bruise that would indicate that his brothers and friends were in some danger but he cannot notice anything with the naked eye except for the disconsolate expression that governs the face of his taller brother.

- What happened? - She asks him walking towards him.

— They were glorious Leo — the young man in purple raises his hands to the sky in a desperate gesture — works of engineering art and they exploded just like that — his genius brother's lament was funny although he kept his face serious.

"A huge loss," he says softly, patting the taller man's shoulder. Raphael just rolled his eyes before his attention was drawn to the glow of the fire in the distance.

—Isn't the university where you two went to investigate over there? - question directed at Leo and Lou. Both mutants look at each other before the older one speaks.
"About that... we were attacked and I think I used more power than necessary to repel the enemy and..."

— To put it in a few words, Lou burned down the campus while repelling a krang attack — the leader takes the floor — no one was hurt and, we hope, the building is intact, the battle was in the backyard — Lou can feel the accusatory glances of both Raphael as his human friend. He sighs and looks down but a caress on his arm catches his attention. Mikey, young Mikey, offered him silent support and the older man smiled at him; He did nothing to alleviate the guilt that was eating away at his insides, but at least he knew that he was not alone - we will talk the rest at home - the young leader ends the meeting.

The other young mutants are left with several questions in their throats but prefer not to complain. The police patrols begin to move around the city. The report of the destroyed and burned robots on the university campus must have made the entire fleet move. police and every minute they spent on the surface was more risky for everyone. She understood it well.

The walk to the lair was mostly silent, Donnie still complained from time to time about the loss of so much material, if he had captured one of the drones he could take it apart and discover how it worked. He could have taken advantage of his advanced technology to improve some of his own devices... and his long list of complaints continued until Mikey approached him and surreptitiously handed him the piece he took from the technology store. The bright look and gap-toothed smile his immediate older brother gave him was proof enough that he picked a good piece. After that the rest of the way was silent.

— Well, what the fuck really happened there, Leo? - Once they enter the den, the teenager in red demands loudly. Angelo steps ahead of Leonardo and stands firmly in front of little Raphael.

— To understand what happened, I must first tell you the complete story — he tries to keep his voice firm while he internally trembles with the expectation of having to remember all the pain accumulated in so many years. Splinter approached them from the dojo and gave a sign of support to the largest of the turtles - that's why I ask Master Yoshi to allow me to use the dojo to talk more comfortably - the teacher nods and makes way for the mystical warrior, posing for a moment. on his shoulder as he passes by.

— You are doing well, son, you have a lot of pain to take out of your soul, talking will do you good — Angelo nods and mentally prepares himself for the most painful conversation in years.

Leonardo stays behind and holds his younger brother's arm, preventing him from advancing with the others. When Mikey looks at him, Leo makes a sign for him to remain silent accompanied by a funny wink, which confuses at least the family, but he stays. If his brother wants to tell him something, he will listen to it.

— So Mikey — says Leonardo when the others are too far away to hear them — Lou is great, right?

Mikey lights up when his older brother talks about the future warrior and jumps in his position.

— Isn't that right? — Chilla — she is so strong and she has so many good ideas but even though she is so great she has time for me, to train me and teach me and...

—It's an adult version of you, right? — Leo interrupts him and the huge, amazed eyes with which the youngest looks at him are enough to make him laugh.
- Guy! —he exclaims—How did you know? —He asks with his hands joined and stars floating in his eyes.

— Well, it wasn't difficult to deduce after spending time with him — the oldest caresses his little brother's head — he has the same aura as you and several of your attitudes — he laughs and takes his brother's shoulders so they can start going to the dojo - let's not tell Donnie yet, I want to see his surprise when he finds out and we can tell him that we already knew - keeping a secret between the oldest and the youngest was too exciting for the youngest and he almost vibrated when he entered the dojo quite behind others. Raphael and Casey were on one side talking quietly to each other, April and Donatello were doing the same, although it was striking to Leonardo that his genius brother did not seem interested in the girl but rather glanced at Lou and the boy from time to time. sensei who maintained a silent breathing session in which the rat master guided the warrior whose hands were shaking. Leo deduced that the whole krang thing was more powerful for the elder than he had assumed and now he was even more intrigued by the story the visitor from the future was going to tell them.

"I'd like to be next to Lou to support him," says his little brother kneeling next to him, "but I guess it's better if Dad is there with him for that, maybe it reminds him of his own father." Sometimes Mikey would give those little speeches loaded with wisdom that surprised them all although he quickly said something stupid that made them roll their eyes and forget what he said first. Only now I don't add anything else and those words stayed floating in the older brother's mind. Lou had a solemn and wise air and Leonardo wondered if his little brother could become like the older version of him if he followed his path. A powerful warrior and a teacher full of wisdom. Who knew? He just hoped he was there to see it.

The sensei cleared his throat, drawing the attention of everyone present and settled to one side of the visitor, leaving him the center of the scene. Lou looked a little calmer than him when he entered the dojo and his hands were no longer shaking, he kept his eyes closed and breathed slowly.

—When we were young, my brothers and I didn't take things so seriously. We had lived a quiet and fun life, we often turned battles against enemies into games and competition, we were reckless but skillful enough not to worry about the consequences... until we lost a key and the sky opened in terror and death — He said with a jerk, opening his eyes but fixing them on the wall behind the young people - we never heard about the krang before but then it became a constant in our lives, its name was synonymous with pain and destruction, we could barely save a few before the enemy devastated everything and ended the lives of the few that were left - Leo looked around searching for the same feeling of desolation that he felt in the eyes of his brothers. It didn't take long to find her — my family began to die — Lou's fists clench on his knees — my father, my brothers, friends, allies... little by little until there were only three of us left: my brother, our nephew and I... — A slight smile appears on their face as they recall the memory of the boy they raised and loved more than anything in the world — one last offensive with everything we had to try to free the area around the shelter and move the survivors. To a better place it turned out worse than expected, the enemy attack was massive, lethal. Our few allies fell quickly and in the end we only had one option... — Angelo hugs himself, seeking the courage to narrate the last moments of his former life — I did not manage to reach my brother's side before he was seriously injured, both of us. We already knew that there was no time left so I converted what was left of my life into enough energy to open a portal to the past and send our nephew to prevent history from repeating itself - a heavy silence falls on the dojo in the which every teenager in the room analyzes the meaning of those words - the last thing I saw were the sad faces of the only family I had left, I know that my body disintegrated while I burned the last remains of my mystical power but then I woke up here, in this world without knowing why or what happened to my brother or my nephew... to my world - the older man's voice breaks in that last statement and he takes a deep breath, trying to relax the pain that is building up in his chest.

Splinter places a paw on the other mutant's arm.

— Thank you very much for telling us this Lou — he says softly — and I hope you can close the wound that that horrible experience opened in your heart. We still don't know why you are here with us now, but I hope that my family and I can help heal some of the pain of your enormous loss.

Soft murmurs of affirmation were heard coming from the group of young men before both Mikey and Leonardo stood up and approached the older mutant to offer comfort.

"Now you're part of this family," says young Michelangelo, kneeling next to him and taking the older man's hand. "I'm only sorry that you have to put up with Raph, he came out badly from the egg." older looking at him with a truly pitiful face than the laughter of both Angelo and Leo behind him and the annoyed grunts of the brother in red.

— I really appreciate that you have helped me — he says, scanning the face of each young man with a soft smile — it would have been even more difficult to accept all this without having your support — take a deep breath — and count on all my help to find this mysterious thief and those alien robots. I will not let what happened to us happen to you — that statement sends a chill through each of the older brothers, knowing that, somehow, there is a possibility that a scenario like the one the eldest told them could happen to them. , that something so powerful as to destroy not only Lou's family but every defense of the earth appeared in their world, in front of them, filled them with anxiety and fear.

— My children — the soft voice of the sensei breaks the tense silence — Lou has warned us of a possibility and has offered us not only his help and his power but also his knowledge and his experience, I trust when he says that he will protect us and I trust in which you will learn from what our guest has to teach you. Michelangelo is already working with Lou to learn about his abilities and, despite my reluctance, he has improved a lot. He is a good teacher and I hope he can teach my other children and our friends everything he can - Angelo nods from his position - now I will retire to meditate, I would like to talk to you alone later, if possible - he tells the eldest to him. Let him nod again - rest my children.

The teacher leaves the dojo and the others leave towards the room. The atmosphere feels heavy and melancholic before Leo squares his shoulders and draws everyone's attention.

— Well, I hope they had more luck than us in the investigation — Leonardo begins looking at his brothers and friends — we saw nothing more than some mysterious marks on the walls. No signs of forced entry, nothing broken... whoever they are, they are very well-trained professionals — Donatello raises his hand to ask to speak.

— My team and I also found marks on the walls and we ended up chasing a very modern military-class drone — he says after Leo gave him the word — following it we found Raphael and Michelangelo...

- We also found the same thing - the one in red interrupts - although in our case