Chapter 3: It's Me

It was night now and all the crew members were exhausted. Up on deck Ivan was busy supervising a few of the crew workers when Max called to him.

"Hey Ivan, there's a satellite call waiting for you!" He shouted. But Ivan glared at his friend.

"Max we're launching. See these submersibles going into the water?" He said and pointed to the devices tied to the cranes. But Max kept on smiling.

"Oh trust me buddy, you definitely wanna take this call." He grinned. Ivan sighed, knowing he wasn't going to get out of this.

"This had better be good." He said as Max passed him the phone.

"You might have to speak up 'cause she's kind of old." Max added.

"Oh great." Ivan groaned. "This is Ivan Lucas. How can I help you Ms..." He trailed off, and turned to Max for a name.

"Jones, Leonarda Jones." Max replied.

"Ms Jones?" Ivan asked with a bored tone.

"I was just wondering if you had finally found the 'Heart of the Ocean' yet Mr Lucas." Leonarda's voice said on the other end of the line. Ivan turned to face Max with wide eyes.

"Told you you wanted to take the call." Max smiled.

"Alright you have my attention Leonarda. Can you tell us who the man in the picture is?" Ivan asked.

"Oh yes. The man in the picture is me."...

The next day Leo and her grandson Kane were given a helicopter ride straight to Ivan's research ship on the Atlantic. But back on the ship people were having doubts on Leonarda's claim.

"She's a goddamn lair! Some nutcase seeking money or publicity! Like that Russian babe, Anesthesia!" Wes shouted to Ivan.

"They're inbound!" A crew member called to them when he spotted the copter. "Hamato Leonarda died on the Titanic when she was 17, right?" Wes asked. Ivan nodded. "If he had lived he'd be close to 100 by now." Wes added.

"119 next month." Ivan clarified.

"Ok, so he's a very old goddamn lair!" The other human glared angrily. But Ivan still walked towards the landing pad as the ship drew closer. "Look I've already done the background on this lady all the way back to 1916 when she was working an actress. An actress. There's your first clue Sherlock." Wes spat. Ivan just shook his head at his friend's arrogance.

"She moved to Manhattan in New York, punched out a kid named Kya, now she's a grandmother and great-grandmother." Max added.

"And everybody who knows about the diamond is supposed to be either dead or on this ship, but she knows." Ivan argued back. When the copter landed the crew started unloading Leonarda and Kane's bags.

"Doesn't exactly travel light does he?" Wes commented.

Soon Leo was helped off the ship with her walking stick and her grandson.

"Ms Jones, I'm Ivan Lucas, welcome to my ship." Ivan smiled. Leo smiled back and shook the human's hand...

About an hour after their arrival Leo had already put all her luggage away and was looking over her photos from when she was younger while Kane unpacked his own things.

A sudden knock on the door brought her back to reality.

"Yes?" She called and Ivan and Wes walked in.

"Are your stay rooms alright Ms Jones?" Ivan asked with a smile.

"Oh yes, very nice." Leo assured as her grandson was finishing unpacking. "Have you met my grandson Kane, he takes very good care of me." She smiled.

"Nice to met you sir." Kane smiled before turning back to the half empty bags.

"Can I get you anything? Is there anything you'd like?" Ivan asked in a friendly voice.

"Yes." Leo stated as she stood up. "I would like to see my painting."...

It didn't take that long to escort Leo down to the lab. There she stared quietly at the painting in the tank. She closed her azure blue eyes and the memory of that painting being painted flashed back into her mind. She could still remember lying on her back as those gorgeous emerald eyes kept glancing repeatedly from the paper to her. Ivan's voice brought her back to the present.

"Louis XVI wore a fabulous stone called the Blue Diamond of the Crown. It disappeared in 1792." He said. Ivan picked up a picture of the Heart of the Ocean and showed it to Leo. "The theory is the diamond was cut into a heart that was known as the 'Heart of the Ocean. Today it'd be worth more than the Hope Diamond." Ivan explained.

Leo huffed in amusement. "It was a dreadful, heavy thing. I only wore it this once." The old mutant turtle smiled at the picture.

"So do you really think that this is you Grandma?" Kane asked in disbelief.

"Oh it is me, Kane. Wasn't I just a dish?" Leo chuckled and turned to Ivan. Ivan smiled at the old woman.

"I tracked it down through insurance records. An old claim that was settled under terms of secrecy. Can you tell who the claimant was Leo?" He asked. If Leo answered this correctly then it would pretty much prove she was who she said she was.

She just smiled at the human.

"I should imagine that it was somebody who was, or knew somebody, named Slash." She replied. Behind her the crew members all smiled excitedly, as that was the right answer.

"That's right. It was Lord Slash, the steel tycoon." Ivan smiled. "The claim was for a diamond necklace he bought for his new fiancee, you. A week before he rode on Titanic." He added. Leo sighed a little and looked to the floor.

"It was filed right after the sinking, so that means the diamond had to have gone down with the ship." He said and then turned to the painting. "See the date?" He asked the two turtles.

"April 14th, 1912." Kane read out loud.

"Which means that if your grandmother is who she says she is she was wearing the diamond the day the Titanic sank." Wes piped up.

"And that makes you my new best friend." Ivan smiled. He then led Leonarda to another table nearby. It was covered from top to bottom with old accessories that were either broken or faded with age. Leo gasped slightly and with a shaky hand lifted a sliver hand mirror off the table.

"These are some of the things we managed to recover from your stay room on the Titanic." Ivan said.

"This was mine. How extraordinary! It looks almost the same the last time I saw it." Leo muttered in disbelief. She turned it over and gazed at her reflection through the slightly crack glass. "Hm, reflection has changed a bit though." She sighed and placed the mirror back on the table. He then picked up a black silk choker with a blue peril in the middle. She traced her fingers along the crack peril in slight sorrow.

Ivan slowly knelt down beside her

"Are you ready to go back to the Axiom."...