Second Chance AU - The Gumbus/Al Be Back
Okay, these episodes are...well, one of them is fun. The other? ...We'll get to that.
The Gumbus:
Okay, big first change is that Leo obviously doesn't think ghosts are fake anymore. April was literally possessed by Gram-Gram and they all saw the spirits of Hamatos past. He can't deny it. Of course, Leo also knows that the Gumbus isn't real and has to reconcile that with Mikey.
Leo: It's just...ghosts are the spirits of people who loved us, right? So I don't think they'd stick around haunting and scaring people. The love didn't die with them, you know? So ghosts are real, but not scary haunting ghosts that haunt the Stop and Shop.
Mikey: ...Huh.
Leo is also perfectly willing to comfort Mikey in his pillow fort so April is dragging them both off for ghost hunting! Mikey feels better when he realizes he'll get to brag about a solo adventure with Donnie's two favorite people. (It's Donnie, we know he plays favorites.)
Since Leo has his past memories, he's more aware of what's going on and trying to figure out how to maybe wrap this up early so they can go home (and maybe not make a new enemy.) He also dodges the mop attack and accidentally slices it in half.
Baxter Stockboy: Hey! You're paying for that!
Leo: Sorry!
When the chains show up, Leo reacts first and just pulls Baxter out of the way. So no weird turkey thing because Baxter can't get away. (A good way to prevent the Gumbus from showing up because Baxter can't pull off his scares while he's being watched.) Mikey tries to talk to Baxter about the can-stacking (and maybe try and do a collab) but Baxter is just salty.
Of course, when the Gumbus does show up, Leo just reacts and slices its head off, revealing it's a robot.
Mikey: Wow Leo! You were right about bringing your sword!
April: How'd you know that would work?
Leo: (knew because of memories) Uh, mystic sword? So mystic might work on a ghost and if it was real, sword works?
Baxter: My Gumbus! You're paying for that too!
They get away with the footage and Baxter swearing revenge, and Mikey then goes to brag to Donnie about his solo adventure. Donnie declares a 'Twin Night' in revenge.
Al Be Back:
...I'm gonna be honest, this episode is just plain weird. But unfortunately, Albearto still exists so we have to go through with it.
Okay, first change, Splinter gets to be part of the band! Second change, Sunita is in charge of the band and she has a vision so their whole thing is a lot more cohesive and everyone is a little scared of her. Third change, Leo...isn't part of the band. You know, he doesn't think he's good enough?
So while everyone prepares for their gig, Leo is suddenly hit with a flashback of the Albeartos and runs off to take care of it. Unfortunately, he's caught spying on the bears so they unleash their connection early. Leo remembers the main Albearto going after the control tower and tries to cut him off, but doesn't manage to stop him from taking control of everything. And since Leo messed things up, he's the prime target. So he starts getting chased by a bunch of animatronic bears.
Unfortunately, this gets the attention of his family, who see Leo getting chased and everyone goes on the offensive. Leo apologizes for not stopping it and ruining their gig and no one really cares because the payment for the gig was a bunch of free pizza so this was mostly fun for everyone.
(Look, I literally cannot figure out a real reason why they formed the band in canon, so this is my answer!)
Sunita takes charge once again, telling everyone to get all the animatronics to the stage! Splinter grabs the mic and enthralls the bots with his amazing opera singing, allowing the boys and April to do their work. Once everyone is in place, Sunita explodes.
Everyone mourns her sacrifice after some screaming (except Leo because he knows what's going on), and then Sunita easily reforms her body and orders everyone back on the stage because they have a gig to finish! The boys and Splinter perform to the cheers of Leo, April, and Sunita, and it actually sounds decent! And then they all go for pizza.
