HEY, KID, YOU'RE   A LONG WAY   FROM NICKTOONS!

Some TMNT stuff was always meant for grownups.

Page 1

[Leonardo's eyes are closed. As he speaks, they open.] My name... is Leonardo. [Leonardo is shown at weapons practice against the other three turtles.] And what my brothers don't know about me often shows up in the shadows of my dreams and memories. Or just when I'm alone... [He is seated on the floor as he begins meditating.] ...and thinking about things. Secret... things. Secret Spirit

Page 2

[Leonardo's eyes snap open.] Leonardo "Whoa..." One time, when it was just Master Splinter and I, he said... [Leonardo is seated on the floor across from Splinter.] Splinter "Art is a box you fill with your feelings. Do you understand, my son?" Leonardo "Yes, Master. I think so..." Leonardo "Only in truth, I didn't get it then. I thought I did. But that's what happens when you're young..." [He slices a bucket filled with painting supplies.] ...and dumb as I was then. But...

Page 3

[The scene returns to the practice session.] I get it now. What my secret is about. What my brothers don't know about. Leonardo "Hyah!" The "big brother." The "protector" of the family. [The four turtles are shown in suits.] Like we're the mob or something. "Leonardo Turtlini." Hardly.

Page 4

I mean, yes. I do stress the importance of our training. The hard side of our yin and yang life. But why? Why do I try so hard? [A panel shows a watchful Splinter.] Harder than our master and father would ever ask? [One of the Turtles holds his head as Master Splinter holds up his walking stick.] Why do I put out more effort than anyone, anywhere, would ever call for? Working sometimes harder than all my brothers put together? [Leonardo contemplates his sword.] Why? Well... I'll tell you now. What no one else really knows about. I do it, at least in part...

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[Leonardo is leaping and smiling, sword extended.] ...Because it's fun! [Leonardo is shown covered in bandages.] Not all the time, sure. Sometimes it's hard, and it hurts. A lot. [He smiles as he swings his sword.] But there are other times... When I land a strike just right. The perfect katana or wakizashi slice. [Leonardo runs through the woods.] Runner's high for a warrior's life. [Leonardo bests Donatello during their spar.] This is what my bros don't know about me. Why I go so hard on them sometimes. My secret longing is for them to join me...

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...To join me over the walls of physical limitations... [Leonardo climbs a brick wall.] ...Through new doors of our perceptions. [Leonardo faces a closed door.] And yet, the question remains. Perched like a bird, here in my brain. [He looks at a sheet of paper with a large question mark on it.] Is it masochism? [Leonardo meditates.] Or pure wisdom? In the silence and stillness, I listen. And what the little voice in my head says is...

Page 7

...Follow your bliss. [Leonardo walks through the lair carrying a book.] Follow it. I know it was Joseph Campbell who first said this. He tells it to his students. [A closeup shows the book's title.] It's in his book, The Power of Myth. Follow your bliss. It makes sense. He was a wise man. And I am a...? [Leonardo turns a door knob.]

Page 8

[Cut back to Leonardo with his brothers.] Raphael "Come on Leo. Do we have to do it again?" Michelangelo "Dude! Come on. Cartoons are on!" Donatello "We do it again, and then he says that we have to do it one more time. And then one more time after that!" A turtle with a secret. Working hard to get it out. A turtle with a secret... [Leonardo's brothers ready themselves again.] ...For now. Leonardo "HYAAAH!" The End.