It wasn’t fair. It just wasn’t fair!
Leo sniffled as he stayed curled up in the rain, grateful that it washed away his tears. He was near the lake, as he often was these days. It had been years since Donnie had been home properly, years since Leo had his twin back.
How much longer did they have to wait? How much longer would Donnie have to be a prisoner of this stupid curse?
They had made no progress in saving Donnie. Even after finding the symbol on the bottom of the lake and finding Donnie’s recordings, they were still no closer to getting him out! Even Barry was at a loss. This was old magic, older than Barry or even Big Mama. Yes, Leo had been begged for her help, worked in the Battle Nexus for months while she gave him access to every library and book and scroll in the Hidden City. Still, he found nothing.
How much longer would Leo have to be this useless?
“Why so sad, my child?” A deep voice croaked from behind him. Leo jumped and looked around. He hadn’t heard anyone approach, just the ruffle of feathers of a bird in flight. Wait, a bird?
The crow who perched above him was like nothing he’d ever seen. Its piercing red eyes stared down at Leo with sympathy and the dark aura that pulsed around it echoed with power. A familiar sort of power. The same power as the Lake, as the curse.
Leo was enamoured instantly. Maybe this bird had a solution.
“I have a question for you, child.” The crow spoke and Leo couldn’t look away. “What is the reason for your tears?”
If the crow had asked Leo anything two years ago, he wouldn’t have answered or he would have made some stupid joke. Even a year ago, Leo would be curious but guarded. But Leo had gone too long without his twin, he’d been left uselessly on the sidelines for too long. He wasn’t even needed for portals anymore since Barry set up the permanent gateway. This bird was a chance to save Donnie. Leo’s instincts had never failed him when it was important like this.
So Leo told the crow everything. About the Kraang, about Donnie’s plan to hide the key, about the lake and how much Leo and his family were suffering. About how much he missed his twin and how he would do anything to get him back.
By the time Leo was done, he felt drained and dizzy. It was like once he had started talking, he couldn’t stop. The relief of finally giving the whole story, of being honest about how much he was struggling and not hiding it behind jokes or dealing with it alone in his room, it was freeing in a way Leo didn’t realise he needed.
“I can help you, my child,” the crow murmured, having hopped down from the branch long ago to perch on Leo’s shoulder. He rubbed his beak against Leo’s cheek. “I can give you the power to save your brother from the Lake’s corruptive influence. If you can retrieve the treasure it hides, your brother will be freed. If you bring the treasure to me, I can reverse the spell on him entirely, bringing him back as he was before the lake ever touched him.” That sounded like a dream come true, more than Leo could have ever prayed for.
“How do I do it? He’s become so strong since the Lake took him,” leo asked softly. His head was swimming with possibility.
“Drink this.” A small blue vial was dropped into his hand. “It will let you match him in skill and strength.”
Leo studied the vial. Rationally, he knew that he shouldn’t take it, that he should take the vial back to Barry or Mikey and get it checked. But Leo was done being rational. Rational had gotten him nowhere.
Without any further hesitation, Leo downed the potion in one gulp. A strange feeling flooded through his system, one of warmth and safety, of being deep in the earth and yet high in the sky. It was beautiful. He was beautiful. He was powerful.
Music started from nowhere, echoing around Leo as he panted from the intense feelings running through him. He knew instinctively what he needed to do.
“But I don’t know how to dance!” He cried.
“That is alright, my child.” The crow was back on his branch again. Leo found his arms raising by themselves and he raised up to stand on his toes. It felt as natural as breathing. He moved slowly with the music. Plié. Arabesque. Pirouette. Ciseaux. Fouetté. Leo closed his eyes, smiling as the music guided him in ways he didn’t know he could move. “I will teach you.”
Swanatello and Crownardo have infected my brain