#TMNT fan fiction

[nerdgal27]

Story Behind the Painting

Mikey and Me

Summary:

(Part 3), (It Happened Again Part 2), and (Don't Want to Talk).

Wether best friend, family, or in this story's case both. There are times when one would do anything to keep the darkness to protect the light and innocent.

Tags: Depression, Substance Abuse, and Flashbacks.

Mikey and Me

I am not much of a morning person. Would much rather roll in these sheets and hide from the sunshine. Maybe sleep Sunday away. Yeah that sounds wonderful. If a foot wasn’t digging into my back, dammit Mikey. 

Roll from one dead side to the other. Block myself from the brownstone windows. Warm by the sunrise. Breathe in the fresh cool air float, the familiar smell of turtles. Slide my hand out from under the covers. Cold hand in search of warmth. One pinky touches large fingers. The large fingers intertwine mine, drowning my hand in his large palm. Open my eyes, golden yellow rays beam behind me. Between thin lace curtains casts  the bedroom in sunshine and floral shadows. White dust floats in the dry air. 

A mutant turtle sleeps before me. Snug under a mess of covers. Brush the top cover from his head. Unveil, and cascade his green skin in the warm glow. How his soft splash of freckles  mottle his skin. No mask on, nor needed for now. 

From how much he wears his orange mask. I wonder how soft his skin is. In this light, the floral shadows. The most beautiful morning I ever woke up to. One hand drowning in Mikey’s warm hold. Slip a free hand from under the cozy covers. Feel the massive bed head hair under my head. Careful and slow not to wake him. Stroke his sweet face, indulge in curiosity. Soft, delicate, and angelic.Who would ever think someone who eats chewed up gum off of the subway, would feel like this. Caress his cheek, his temple where the mask hides. Enjoy this. 

“Can I stay with you tonight?” 

Past Mikey whispers in my memory from last night. 

The lone turtle then. At my staircase, his fingers fumble each other as his puppy dog eyes ask the same question. His sleeping self now. Fumble fingers, quiet and holding mine now. How can I say no? But eventually questions will need to face reality. 

Can’t stay in this bed forever reality says. I’d say stay in this bed and watch Mikey sleep forever. Oh well. Innocent tight grip on my palm. Deep sleep breathing warms my smile. Lean in so quiet. Can’t resist it, I press my lips on his dear forehead. Watch his cheeks curve a smile even in deep slumber. 

Don’t ever stop being you Mikey. 

Alright. Up I get, much as I don’t want to. Leave the turtle snug in my bed. That is tucked in a brick corner. Don’t have to worry about him rolling off. 

Search through the maze on the bedroom floor. Uniforms from work, socks with no mates. I can relate to them. 

Ah ha! Bright orange fabric burns in the sun. Pull it out from the pile of clothes. A bright orange hoodie. The color that gives me a craving for apricots. Old stains litter the color. Over stretched collar, and sleeves worn by time. A bright white kitten cartoon on the front. Now in the color of creme from the sun. Take the old thing in my hands. Put it on top of the tank top. Gotta grab the collar, take a big whiff. Hmmm, home. Been so long. 

Step into a mix match pair of fuzzy orange and pink socks. To fight against the cold wood floor. Too early to be cold. Leave heaven in the bedroom. Out I go to reality. A small brownstone apartment. Creaky wooden floors, and old paint chips cabinets. Matches my selection of found used furniture. 

“Is everything okay Mikey?” 

My past memory self asks. 

Think back to all of it as I begin the day of making coffee. 

Mikey and I in the kitchen then over a cup of coffee and orange soda. Last thing I needed is a caffeinated Michelangelo at 1 am. 

“You know we can talk about anything.”

Memories dance on in my mind, as I dump the sweet bliss of coffee grinds in the filter. 

Think about everything last night. The dim kitchen lights that I haven’t fixed yet. My best friend for a turtle at the island counter. Bathed in that golden glow. Take a seat next to him. How those heavy eyes look away, deep down in the open soda can. A rare sight for someone who smiles in their sleep. My pinky brushes his. Let those large turtle fingers wrap around my small human hand. Palms rough from 15 years of battle after battle. On quiet nights light these. His thumb strokes my hand ever so gentle. 

“Can we talk about it in the morning? I want to be with you, like old times.” 

The reality me would have told him no and sort this out. Tomorrow is an early work shift. Yet, in the warm light. Bright green complexion is sheet white. His wrists clench quiet shivers his quiet hold. Matches the quiver of his small smile. Think back to his fading faith glimmering in the night. 

Lean in, same as always Mikey dips his head. Lean forward, his forehead meets my lips in the middle. Ease his quiet shivers snuggle into my shoulder for a starved embrace. 

Whisper to him, “Our times will never be old, Mikey, we can talk whenever you're ready.”

Old times. I miss them too. But this is life now. Have an apartment, a job. It’s not the greatest, the boss needs to take a chill vacation. Either way it keeps my apartment lights on. I’m happy about it. 

An old apartment in the warm sun. Create light for my dingy kitchen. Give my hanging plants some needed sunshine. Gonna have to ask Donnie when I can transfer these new herbs to my herb garden. A metal shelf in the living area, about half full of my collection. Hey, if there’s a way I can cut grocery costs in half, I’ll do it. 

Phone vibrates beside the coffee tin. Turn the phone over to see the screen. Speak of the devil. 

9:30 March 28, Donnie: Hey, Sweetheart. 

Just like old times. His nickname for me. 

Me: Mornin to U too Dee, those hangin planters r really workin.” 

Bubbles float on a white and purple screen. Set it on the counter. Press the hot water button to brew the coffee. Let the smooth aroma of rich coffee take me back to when I was little. When this smart turtle used to put coffee in my toddler mug. 

9:35 

Donnie: What’d I tell you, I’m a genius, they shouldn’t be ready to move for another couple weeks.

Me: Thanks genius

Bubbles float on the purple screen again. Boy must be busy working on something. Like that has never happened. Swear, if he didn’t have four brothers to keep him busy. Donnie would turn into a science crazy hermit. The kind that requires warning labels. Least some of us are still home. 

Take a look around my apartment. Squishy in size. Living room has enough size for one couch, one apple box coffee table, and a TV on my black shelf. Empty and quiet. 

9:40 

Donnie: Is Mike with you?

Run back to the kitchen. Fill my mug before the coffee machine drowns itself. 

Me: Yea he is asleep. Did something happen? 

Donnie: No 

Head over to my breakfast nook. Set the hot mug down on the bistro table. 

Me: Dee

Donnie: Nothing happened

Wow that text came fast. Nothing stops the brainiac’s work. Not even me. Not for a while anyway. 

Donnie: He misses you, that’s all, this is a big change

Oh, I see. 

Me: It’s a big change 4 me, when R U going to help me build those plant shelves U told me about?? 

Bubbles float. Hold the mug close in my hands. Inhale the memory of Donnie’s smell. His warmth then. 

Donnie: Soon, Sweetheart, I promise, it will be like old times. 

Bubbles float under Donnie’s message on my phone. A picture pops up. In a slender olive green palm. In a cool computer screen light is a rubik's cube. 

After all these years. He has that old thing. Hope he never throws it away. 

Donnie: I love you Sweetheart. 

Take one strong sip of coffee. Send Donnie one more text. I set the phone back into its place in my pocket. Relax in my chair, look out the large bay windows. Close my eyes to songs of pigeon wings fluttering by. The Mighty River of a city rushes. Feel the warm sunshine wake me. The streets are full of people below. Look back to my kitchen before me. No stove making smoke signals. Not a single orange skewered by a Sai. Nor the clashes and bangs of a family. Yet they say they are ninjas. An old kitchen. Quiet, clean, and bright in the sun. This is my life now. 

Warmth touches my back. No need to turn. Two freckle hands slither out between my arms. Wrap around my midsection. A soft cheek melts into my shoulder. Old life nuzzles me. 

“I’m starving.” 

“Morning starving.” I smirk on his freckle cheek. 

Squish the coffee sloshing inside me, he retorts. “Hey that’s my thing.” 

Take a sip of coffee, “And now it’s mine.” 

Set of arms recoils around me. Leave my shoulder cold. He opens the fridge. 

“No bacon for you then.” His shell faces me. 

Wait a bit for him to dig through. Swish the coffee in the mug.

 I answer his mutter, “And no bacon for anyone.” 

A turtle steps back. Hand clutch onto his plastron chest. Take heavy breaths, he gasps. “You, no bacon? Are you loco homie?!” 

“I know, I’m shocked too, it's been a couple weeks since my last pay cheque.” I answer.

And who knows when my next one will come in. 

“You’re Boss still giving you a hard time?” Mikey closes the fridge. 

An armful of something. Nothing stops him and his empty stomach. 

Get up for the second cup. I pause, stare down at the endless black liquid in the pink coffee mug. See my tired self ripple in the black reflection. 

I answer, “Not anymore, he switches the schedule pretty much to whatever he wants, I’m on casual for now, till something else pops up.” 

“New York, what a place.” 

“Work, what a concept.” 

He holds up my few selection of eggs. I answer his silent question. 

“No, those are normal, they won’t explode powder this time.”

Mikey raises an orange eyeridge, “last time you told me that, I had glitter in my shell for 4 weeks straight.” 

Chuckle at the old memory years ago. To prove him wrong I crack them on the pan for him. 

Murmur in the calm quiet. “See, no ninja smoke, nor glitter.” 

Soft shift of Mikey’s feet squeaks the old hardwood. He snorts, “Or ghost pepper powder ninja smoke bombs.” 

“That was one time.” I snicker. 

“My face still burns.”

“That was for the rubber spiders in my bed, you goon,” I giggle, “I can’t go to bed without checking the covers, because of you.” 

Toaster wires twang. Shake the proof of my old glitter prank out of his shell. 

Mikey chuckles, “Worth it.” 

One more person is here besides me. Another to make noise. Bring more light into the apartment. Hear their feet scuff on wood. Have someone help me clean. It’s nice. 

“Mike?” 

No answer. Place the dry dishes back in their cupboard. 

Dry the next, I ask, “Is everything going okay home- I mean the lair?” 

Freckle hands take the dry plate from me. He turns away. 

“Same as usual.” 

Awe come on buddy, there’s more than that. Toss the towel in the pile of laundry yet to be done. 

Wait for him to turn. Sometimes a look is needed for Mike to talk. This time Mikey doesn’t look. Nose points to the old pink mat. 

“The guys pick on you again? Did Donnie explode anything?” I ask on. 

Nothing. Turtle frame leans on the counter behind him. If only he smiles, the way he always does. Then the sunshine wouldn’t be the only thing that shines. 

Leave the sink. His three finger turtle hands lay dormant. Take his hands. Even now with great effort. Human hand can only hold his fingers. 

“Can we hang out today?” He asks my hand. 

Human thumb strokes the back of his hand. I murmur, “I would love that Mikey, but you have to remember it’s daylight now, and your brothers know where you are.” 

No need to ask who. Answer his quiet question.

“They know you’re safe with me, no one is coming unless you want them to.” 

Please let me see his eyes. Let his hand squeeze mine. Mikey whispers under his breath. “Just want to be with you.” 

Maybe that’s what is needed. No need to rush things. Nor chase anything away. The same way as it always has been. Hand in hand. Close our eyes. Lean forwards our foreheads touch. Warm each other, lean on each other. The apartment is quiet, and I am not alone. 

“Have any of those spiders left?” 

Life my gaze to him. We pull back. 

“No but I have these,” His hands pull out a handful of water balloons. 

Pull on a pair of jeans. Turtle follows me over to a window in the bedroom. A wonderful view of the next door apartment wall. The morning sun fades above the city buildings. 

“You know, Mike, this place does have a fire escape.” 

Lead him to the destination outside the bedroom window. On one window faces the main streets. Another faces the alley. In Between the black metal bars of the staircase. The two of us smirk. 

Mikey gives me his baby blue eyes. Narrow in an evil grin. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”  

“Always.” 

Open the window. Ladies first, his hands boost me to climb out. Wait for him, take his hand to pull him out. The turtle doesn't let go. Does he want to hold hands to climb the stairs?

He reads my mind. “We don’t need to climb that.” 

Of course we don’t. Throw me on his shell. Bind my arms around him in a death grip. Ignore his chuckle. One hop after a flip, and a hoist. Up on the roof. Wooden water tower, ducting systems. The only thing that is missing. Is them. I miss this. 

After endless hours of throwing water balloons at the innocent people down below. Watch them scream, shout, and laugh in cold water. Some may or may not have glitter and glue. No wonder so many become villains. 

Look over the edge down to a busy sidewalk. Wet sidewalk dried by the midday sun. Where dozens of people murmur. 

Tie off the balloon I ask, “This is the last one right?” 

Mikey’s hand waits for me to hand the balloon to him. Quiet, He mutters, “Yep.” 

His smile is here. Looking at me. This is the first time seeing him in daylight. Freckles burn in the light. A gentle breeze sways the clothes lines all around us. Sways his orange mask tails. A flame in the sun. Is it his smile? 

Reach the balloon to him. He ushers my wrist as well. Watch the balloon fall to its next victim. Neither one of us watches who the balloon hits. A turtle and human sit mid daylight together on a roof ledge. 

“Tessie?”

Hand holds human wrist. Run a hand over fair skin. Over old memories. Ones forgotten. Some are not. 

Stroke his thumb over dark bruises. Both of our freckle faces meet each other. Read each other’s silence. 

Slip my hand away, “I’m okay, it’s old.” 

A free green hand. Comb the long strands back. 

Soft words feather darkness, “You told me you were going to be okay, we made a promise didn’t we?”

A quiet nod. 

He takes both of my hands in his.

 Mikey asks, “Are you safe? Does anyone follow?” 

Pull the orange hoodie sleeve over the bruise. I chuckle, “Nope, just coffee machines falling apart on me.” 

Silence. Skin and shell shifts Mikey closer. Drown me in his shadow. Sinks my eyes further to my own hands. Draw along the old cracks that scarred this old building. 

A gentle push, he whispers, “Are you sure, that’s what happened? We don’t keep secrets, remember.” 

Stroke his hands, I murmur, “Mikey? What’s going on buddy?” 

He shrinks back. “Just want to know if you are okay.” 

Reach for him again, “Not just that, I know you why came over,” lift his chin to see me, burn the sun in my eyes, “did you think I wouldn’t miss you at all? We made a promise.” 

Nothing. Revert his focus. This is not the turtle I know. Please don’t change who he is. He slips away. No hop down the fire escape. He climbs down. Leave the fun. Hide from whatever sunlight there may be. 

Old memories mimic new. For as long as I can remember. I follow Mikey. Shell to me, saunter down the empty stairs. Back inside, the window curtains waltz in the slow air. Crawl back inside the bedroom. No turtle in the bed. Wander out to the kitchen. No turtle in the fridge. Out in the cold quiet living. Brown cold brick. One lone poster decorates the house. Green curtains drawn. Cover the room in floral shadows. One single blanket. Pink, fluffy, and covered in cartoon cats. All wrapped around a green ball of shell. 

No need to say words. Yells, whispers or anything. Not unless we break what we have. I’ve already caused enough damage before. Know what lingers in this apartment. A dark bitter blackness. 

Not now. Mikey is here. Curled alone in a ball in a dark corner of the couch. Only one person is allowed to do so in this apartment. Or deserves to be left like this.

 In pink and orange socks, given to me on Christmas from this special turtle. I climb down the platform steps. Weave around the coffee table. The shelf garden gives the room a fresh green smell. Controversial to the dark bitterness that darkens the room. Take a seat next to the fuzzy pink and green shell bundle. 

Whisper. “Mikey…” 

Silence. Fluffy white clouds roll over the golden sun. Hide away all the warmth of the morning before. Drape us in a cool gray shadow. 

“I know…what happened.” The fluffy bundle mumbles. 

Shade claps into black. Words shatter thin glass nerves. Fingers tingle, vibrate. Feet fizzle numb. 

“H-how…I-I…no nothing happened”- 

“I know everything, something did happen” Softness bitters a sharp growl. 

Uncurl himself from his tight ball. Cold ice shrinks me to look away. No, they swore they wouldn’t say a word. For his sake I never want him to know. He wasn’t there for any of it. How could he know? 

A free open apartment space all around us. Could get up and run from this if needed.Yet I am frozen where I sit. So close to his ice cold freeze. 

Memories of a storm roars. 

“That my boss is a jerk,” I smirk old news, “Most bosses are like that Mike”- 

“Stop hiding Tessie”- 

Heart leaps from the couch. Heels spin to run. Hands snatch mine. 

“Wait, wait, hold a sec.” Grip pulls me back. 

Heart thumps out all words in my throat a short scream. Run, scream all thoughts. Hide, shivers all joints. My turtle best friend. His gentle palm softens around my wrist. Yet this cold shiver. Clam all limbs to run forever. 

“…. P-please…” A child who died so long ago whispers, “L-let me go.” 

The child who found the other dead. His hand hugs mine, squeezes his plea. 

“I’m sorry sissy,” stops the pull, freezes the cold distance of what feels like miles apart.

Couch hinges creak behind. A shadow drapes over me. So many have curled me into a ball. Ready for what’s to come. This one, so many times before when I was small. 

Soft words reach nerves, “You’re alright,” 

Green freckle arms, Mikey’s arms slide around me. Drown out the cold in his warmth, he whispers, “breathe with me.” 

Wait for nerves to shiver, to breathe. His warmth turns me to his chest, to his racing heart to listen to mine. 

“It’s okay,” Michel whispers, “you’re safe.” 

Silence. Why am I like this? Why can’t I just be normal? Every training spar, loud bangs, every click of the coffee machine. It’s always like this.

“I found it all in the garbage this morning.” 

Oh no, that was supposed to be gone before he’s awake. The bottles, the evidence, all of it. How could I forget that? How can I be so stupid? Of course he knows it all. No one was supposed to know. Especially Mikey. 

The turtle pulls me from his warmth. Enough for his palms to lift cheeks up to his sweet blue gaze. Those big round eyes. Burns bright in the midday sun almost as radiant as his permanent smile. All tucked away in the shadow. Nothing can shade away the sweetness in his gaze. 

“I don’t have any more if you’re wondering.” I mumble. 

“Good,” His cheek nuzzles my forehead, “We never keep secrets.”

Think back to when that rule was made so long ago. Nudge his cheek in a nod. 

He asks, “Why did you leave us?” 

Both of us sink back down on the couch.

 I explain, “it was time, I couldn’t stay refuge forever.” 

“But you weren’t, you’re not a refuge,” Mikey sinks his eye level to mine, “did the guys ever tell you that?” 

“Mikey, they’ve been looking for my family since day one.” Curl into those old thoughts. Close them away in these hands before me.  

Fold himself on the couch. Follow him. Lay side by side. One head on the other's thigh. 

Chin on my thigh digs, “I never looked.” 

“No,” I slide the pink blanket back over his shell, “You didn’t.” 

Green fingers fiddle with the elastic band of my socks. “We promised no matter what you and I will stay together, what made you want to leave?” 

Snuggle under the blanket and his soft skin. I answer. “For this, we are above service in broad daylight, it’s what we’ve dreamed of, another kitchen to blow up, we just spent a whole morning pulling pranks on other people other than the guys, said we would visit each other all the time…why haven’t you, Donnie, or Leo, or Raphie? I tried to call you.” 

Darkness clouds baby blues. Drops to the colorful butterflies on the blanket. Hand on my shoulder slides away. Hold onto the little butterflies. Should’ve known. 

“You weren’t ready to let go, that’s why you won’t return my texts” Green muzzle hides. I take his limp arm, hold it so soft “We were never siblings to begin with, you found me, remember.” 

Tears well, soak orange mask, he shivers. “But you were mine, you were ours, so tiny in my arms. I knew you were mine. For once I had someone who thinks my pranks are cool, can speak Donnie, can out punch Raph, and talk sense into Leo when he goes leader serious,” 

“You were small too Mikey,” I add in, holding his hand, “we’re only a few years apart, from different lives.” 

More tears fall with his words and clench teeth, “And that life threw you out to the street, they left you to die. How can someone be so cruel? They didn’t know you.” 

Both human hand and turtle hand lock together. 

Smile at the thought. 

“You never left me, none of you did, you saved me my friend, you didn’t know me then either. Raphael and the others were right to look for my family. To find a solution to give me a normal life,” lost in a fog of water, heat burns all. Swim through the water, find my orange clad turtle, “Mikey, you were the one that gave me that normal life, let me make a normal life up here for all of us.” 

Crystal clear blue eyes ripple in the waves. Green complexion red as mine. Our muscles are as weak as each other. Both of us sit up from our ball. 

His round innocence. Sweet, angelic as his soft face. He trembles under water. “S-So…you didn’t leave…B-because you hated us, or something we did? T-thought you were done with your old brother.” 

Hands travel up from his arm. Freckle skin soaks in the sun and tears yet to fall. In this cold looney living room. Sunshine seeps between the curtain shadows. Shine more golden light inside. 

“Mikey, there will never be a time where I hate you, this is the next stage of life to come, would never leave you for good. Want you all of us to be a part of it. Nothing has changed, what has changed is where we are.” 

Cheeks curve in a smile. A hand on his cheek. He takes the back of my hand. Hold it still for him to snuggle into my palm. Two green hands, hold both my cheeks. Warm thumbs rub the hot tears aside. Same way he always has since day one. 

I chuckle, “there were so many times, so many pranks I’ve wanted to punch the daylights out of and have, you were always there for me, my best friend, and a brother I’ve always wanted to have.” 

A wet tongue licks a cow lick on my already messed up hair. Send gross shivers down my spine. To run to the closest thing to a shower and drown in. 

The orange turtle doesn’t let me go. Mikey chuckles, “Least I have you.” 

“Always.” 

Lean forward and our foreheads meet. Lean on each other. Arms join as well. Wrap each other in a tight embrace. Leave each other's foreheads to our cheeks, dig out noses into each other's shoulders. What may seem so unusual to the real world. Perhaps ugly or wrong. Maybe my life may have been different without him. I don’t care what my life would have been. This is my life now. 

Michelangelo the freckled turtle in orange. Surround me in his warmth and love. His own sunshine. 

No matter where life takes us. Where we may be. Whenever there is a street that needs to be terrorized by pranks. Or to text and call a bunch of brothers to build a garden shelf on walls. When the time comes when we grow older and wiser. Maybe families of our own. Or just us still on and on. There will always be, 

Mikey and me.

[yki-dolls]

Next chapter time hurray

This time with ✨art✨

:)

Please read it thx xoxoxo

At any rate aww look cute baby torts

Pixel art Commissions

[aquietwritingcorner]

Jungle Adventures, Movie References, and Leo’s Exasperation

@tmnt-write-fight for @celestiall-ghost

Title: Jungle Adventures, Movie References, and Leo’s Exasperation

Prompt:  Mikey and Leo are stranded in the jungle (any iteration)

Fandom:  TMNT 2003

Word Count:  6090

Author: aquietwritingcorner/realitybreakgirl

Rating:  T

Characters: Leonardo, Michelangelo

Warning: NA

Summary: All Leo wanted was a couple of hours discussing some books with April. Instead, thanks to Mikey playing with April’s puzzle box, he and Mikey are now lost in a jungle in another dimension, with no idea how to get back home. If they get out of this, he just might duct tape Mikey’s hands to his shell.   

Notes:  I didn’t mean for the references to keep coming, but they sure did!  

ffn || AO3

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Jungle Adventures, Movie References, and Leo’s Exasperation

If there’s one thing that you should always remember, Leo thought to himself, it’s that you should never, ever let Mikey play with shiny objects unsupervised. Especially if that shiny object is a small puzzle box that will transport you and him to another dimension.

Leo took a step back towards Mikey, his swords held out defensively in front of him. They were in some sort of jungle, with all of the humidity and strange flora and fauna that one thought they might find in an alien jungle. Honestly, Star Trek wished they had thought up some of the animals they’d seen here. There had been some truly bizarre creatures.

If only that had been their only problem.

All Leo had wanted to do today was to head up to April’s, brew some new tea she had found, and spend a couple of hours discussing a book that she had recommended and lent to him. Master Splinter had encouraged him to do so, saying it would do him some good to relax. He’d been about to leave when Mikey had asked to come with him and turned the puppy dog eyes on him. Seeing how it was clear that Mikey had already gotten under both Raph and Don’s skin, Leo gave in, big brother instincts taking over.

Reluctantly, he’d allowed Mikey to come with him. Mikey promised that he’d absolutely stay out of their way and be no trouble at all. Leo had been doubtful but had given him a chance to prove it. That had been a mistake, as Mikey had occupied himself with April’s puzzle cube—and accidentally activated it when April was out of the room.

They’d landed in an alien jungle, full of blue-green foliage, towering trees, high humidity, no idea how to get home, and sans the most qualified turtle to figure it out. Needless to say, Leo was not happy, and Mikey had known that he was going to be in trouble—as soon as they found their way home. With no idea of what to do, they’d picked a direction, started walking, and hoped for the best.

Leo should have known better than to hope for the best.

They had, in their search for a way home, quite literally stumbled into a village of turquoise-skinned people. These people hadn’t taken too kindly to having two giant turtles—if they even knew what a turtle was—stumble into their home. Instead, they had almost immediately taken up arms, and Leo and Mikey had decided that their best chance of survival was to book it back through the jungle.

Of course, that had worked about as well as most of their plans initially did, and now they were surrounded, angry natives on all sides of them, with decidedly deadly looking weapons held towards them.

“If we get out of this,” Leo said, “remind me to tape your hands to your shell when we go to April’s again.”

“If we get out of this, I’ll voluntarily let you—look out!” Mikey jumped in front of him, nunchucks whirling as they deflected a barrage of tiny darts.

Well, that wasn’t good.

“Okay, new plan,” Leo said. “Forget playing nice. We’re taking a page out of Raph’s book and forcing our way through.” There was no way he was going to let them get caught by those darts. There was no telling what the natives would end up doing to them if they caught them.

“I don’t like that plan very much,” Mikey said, eyeing the group of twenty or so turquoise-skinned people around them.

“Neither do I,” Leo said. “But I don’t think we have much of a choice.”

He darted forward, with no warning that the natives could see. Mikey, though, saw the tells and he moved forward at the same time, nunchucks whirling. Leo did his best not to kill or seriously injure anyone, but he and Mikey needed to escape. The natives were fierce fighters, though, and did their best to avoid or block his blades with their own weapons. Mikey’s weapons, while still just as potentially deadly, tended to be less instantly lethal as Leo’s, and Leo could hear the yelps of the natives as they had hands smashed and ribs broken.

And then, suddenly, there was an opening, and they were rushing through it, taking swipes at anyone who tried to stop them, and ducking to avoid the darts, letting their shells take as much of the barrage as possible. The small darts did nothing but ping off of them, and the two of them ran, bowling over anyone in their way.

Of course, that didn’t stop the natives from giving chase. Mikey and Leo ran as fast as they could, but Leo could tell that something about it was off. The natives kept up, but they didn’t seem to be trying to stop them. In fact, Leo suddenly realized, they almost seemed to be herding them.

Oh, that definitely wasn’t good.

“They’re directing us!” he called out to Mikey.

Mikey leapt over a fallen log. “Something tells me it’s not to the next portal home!”

“Probably not.” Leo’s mind was whirling through possibilities. “We need to ready for anyth—”

Leo cut off as soon as he realized what “anything” was. It was a ravine. Or a small canyon or maybe a gorge? Don would know the exact terminology for it. But that wasn’t important at the moment. The fact of the matter was, they were coming up on a large, long crack in the earth, as wide as two of the alleyways they normally jumped put together.

“Leo—” Mikey said.

“Jump!” he said, putting on a burst of speed.

“What?” Mikey said, even as he sped up to catch up with Leo.

Leo sheathed his swords and reached into his belt to pull out his shunto spikes.

“Jump and be ready to catch yourself!”

Mikey shot him a look that clearly said he thought Leo was crazy, but he didn’t argue. Instead, he put his nunchucks in his belt, took out his spikes and ran on.

The natives were clearly surprised when, instead of slowing down, the two turtles sped up, practically hurling themselves towards the ravine. They started slowing down, trying to keep themselves from going over the edge and watched as Leo and Mikey poured in every last ounce of speed they had and flung themselves into the air.

The jump was terrifying. It was a long drop to the bottom, and if they didn’t make it across, a very painful landing was in store for them. Mikey was slightly ahead of Leo, he the faster of the two, and Leo watched as his angle curved, clearly not going to make it to the jungle on the other side. But the two of them still managed to have enough momentum to get them to the opposite wall. Leo saw Mikey hit it a split second before he did, smacking into it hard, and scrambling to find purchase on the wall. He dug his spikes in, but the wall was crumbly. It took a few terrifying seconds for him to find purchase, and then look to see if Mikey had as well. His baby brother looked a little pale but was clearly secure on the wall.

Shouts came from the other side, and then the sound of darts. With that motivation, the two began climbing, scrambling up the cliff as fast as they could. The crumbling rock made it difficult, especially for Leo, who was just a bit behind Mikey and had to make sure that the wall wasn’t going to crumble further from where Mikey had dug his spikes in, but they made it to the top. Mikey got there first and then turned to pull Leo up. For half a second, they sat there, looking across the ravine at the natives. One shot some sort of arrow at them, and Leo decided then and there that it was time to leave and disappear into the jungle. He finished standing up, and pulled Mikey along, both of them disappearing into the foliage on the other side.

“Keep going!” Leo said, not even stopping to catch his breath. “Let’s put as much distance between them and us as we can!”

“Right!”

They forged on ahead, not even trying to be stealthy as they ran. The goal was distance, not hiding, and Leo watched as Mikey pulled ahead of him. Then again, Mikey always had been the fastest of them. But had he always been that fast? And why was it getting harder to breathe? Leo pushed himself harder, trying to catch up to his brother, but for some reason he just couldn’t seem to go any faster.

And then his leg gave out.

He crashed to the ground, hard enough to rattle his brain for a second. He heard Mikey skid to a stop.

“Leo?!”

Leo pushed himself up on his elbows, trying to get his legs under him even as Mikey practically threw himself at Leo’s side.

“Leo’s what’s wrong?” Mikey’s hands hovered over Leo, clearly not sure what to do.

“My leg gave out on me,” Leo gasped out, still trying to catch his breath.

Mikey immediately moved to look at Leo’s leg. “Uh-oh,” he said, and Leo felt a slight pull. Mikey came back into view, one of the small darts in his hand. “Uh, I think I might know why.”

Leo stared at the dart. Well, that wasn’t good. Mikey was so in trouble when they got home.

“Help me up,” Leo said.

“Just so long as you promise not to strangle me,” Mikey said, already working his way under Leo’s arm and hauling his brother to his feet.

“No promises,” Leo said.

The two started moving again, Leo trying his best to keep up. But as they continued, he found himself leaning more and more on Mikey. His head was swimming, but he wasn’t sure if that was from the dart itself, or because it was getting increasingly hard to catch his breath.

“S-stop,” Leo said, and felt Mikey immediately oblige him.

“What?” Mikey said.

“I need—I need to rest,” Leo said.

For a moment, Mikey didn’t move, although Leo could tell he was looking around.

“Okay, Leo. We’ll rest in a second. But first let’s go this way.” He tugged Leo with him, eventually settling him in the hollow of a tree. “Just… stay right here. And, uh, I’m gonna borrow this.”

Before Leo could say anything, Mikey reached out, took his mask off, and then stepped back, pushing a few giant leaves in front of where he had sat Leo down. The coolness of the shade felt good to him, honestly, and he tilted his head back a bit, still breathing heavily. It didn’t take Mikey long to return, and when he did, Leo’s mask was soaking wet. Mikey gently put it on Leo’s head, not pulling it all the way down, but keeping it on his forehead.

“What?” Leo said, halfway opening his eyes. When had he closed them?

“You’re hot, Leo,” Mikey said. “And something tells me that’s not a good thing.”

“Mm.” Leo didn’t feel like arguing. In fact, the longer he sat there, the worse he felt. Mikey kept going back and forth, wetting Leo’s mask and bringing him water to drink. Leo’s head felt dizzy, off, and it became hard to keep track of things. He felt uncomfortably hot, and his mouth stayed dry. He lost track of time—not that he had any idea what day or time it was in this world anyway.

“Come on, Leo. Drink a little more,” Mikey said shaking him out of his stupor.

Leo groaned. “…When we get home… ‘m gonna put you through so much trainin’…”

He vaguely heard Mikey whine something, before the world started to fade out again. When it faded back in, he heard voices, and he tried his best to open his eyes and focus. He couldn’t see much beyond the leaves that Mikey had hidden him with and he didn’t want to risk interrupting any plans that Mikey had—and he was capable of them, if he wanted to be. He just wished he could make out what they were saying.

The leaves were pushed back, and Mikey was suddenly there, pulling Leo up and out. Leo’s head swirled, but he managed to see enough to realize that they were surrounded by teal-skinned people. He tensed, and made a grab for his swords, but Mikey caught his arm.

“They’re not the same, Leo!” he said. “They can help us. I think. Either that, or they just want to keep us. I’m not sure.”

Leo shot his brother a look.

“I know, I know!” Mikey said. “But it’s better than nothing!”

The teal-skinned people were quickly cutting down what looked like saplings of the giant trees that were around them, and pulling leaves, vines, and smaller plants, as well. It didn’t take long before they’d constructed a hand-carried stretcher—a litter—and Mikey was helping Leo onto it. He took Leo’s swords before he did though, carefully sliding the straps on and making sure they were secure. And with that, they were off.

The jungle really was beautiful, in its own way. The trees had a more purplish undertone than anything Leo had ever seen on earth, and the leaves a sort of blue-ish color to their green. Mikey actually blended in pretty well, even when he was near to Leo. Even the orange of his bandana made sense here, looking like some of the brightly colored flowers that hung on vines.

Leo raised a hand towards Mikey, and his brother was immediately there.

“You need something, Leo?” Mikey asked.

“How… did you find them?” he asked, gesturing to the people.

“Oh. Uh, well…” Mikey started out, clearly a bit reluctant to tell the whole story. “You see, I went to get more water, and I heard some noise. So, I went to look. And I saw our other blue-skinned buddies attacking some women. And, like, they were fighting back, but it wasn’t a fair fight at all. So, I kinda jumped out of the leaves at them, and joined it. Anyway, the ladies tried to take me with them, but I managed to get them to understand that I needed to leave to get to you. So, I left. But when I came back to the river again, there were a whole lot of them there. And with a lot of charades and Pictionary, I managed to get them to understand that you were sick. I think they have an antidote, but it’s back at their village. So, they kinda insisted we go with them, and I figured its better than what we’ve been doing.”

Leo blinked at him. Of course, Mikey would end up being friendly with some of the natives and figure out how to communicate with them.

Leo sighed, feeling dizzy again. “…I suppose so,” he agreed.

He wasn’t sure exactly how long the journey to the teal people’s village took. Time was still hard to keep track of, and by the time they got there, Leo was fading out again.  When he woke up, he was laying on his plastron on some sort of woven mat, a thin pillow of some sort under his head and bowls of some sort of incense around him. He groaned and moved to sit up.

“Leo!?” Mikey was at his side in a second but pushed him down. “Hang on, hang on, don’t move yet!”

Mike whistled, and Leo blinked, still trying to make sense of what was around him. Within seconds a teal-skinned man and a few younger looking people hurried over to them. Mikey gesture at Leo, and Leo looked up at the man from where he lay. The man nodded, then seemed to mime to Mikey to hold Leo down.

“Mikey, what—” Leo said, but that was all he got out before Mikey was putting pressure on him.

“Sorry, bro, this’ll only take a moment,” Mikey apologized.

“What will only take a—OW!” Leo felt a tug as something that felt like a needle was pulled out of him.

In fact, several were pulled out of him, and Leo grit his teeth as they were. There was more talking and gesturing that he couldn’t quite see, and then he felt hands on him, spreading something where the needles had been, and wrapping what he could only assume were bandages around them. He was tense, not liking this, but he said nothing, only shooting Mikey a look that said he would be demanding answers after this was over.

Mikey just nervously grinned at him.

After a few moments, the ministrations ended, and the assistants and the man got up to leave, making some sort of gesture towards them. Mikey returned it, and they left, leaving the two turtles alone. Leo stayed there a moment, then took a breath, and began to push up. Mikey quickly moved to his side helping him to turn over and sit up. Leo’s head still felt off, but he felt a lot better than he had earlier.

“Alright, Mikey,” he said, looking around. He was in some sort of open-air hut. “Where are we?”

“In the Teal People’s village,” Mikey said, reaching for what looked to be a cup of some sort. “You passed out again, but they brought you here. I showed them the dart and they took it, and came back and took these needles and, like, stabbed you in twelve places, like acupuncture or something, and then lit these incense bowls. It’s been, like… I dunno. Maybe a few hours? They brought me some food and then something I could draw with, so I sort of drew out what happened to us.”

Leo shook his head. “Well, at least I’m feeling better.” He looked out beyond the open-air hut and saw the people seemingly going on about their day, although a few kids were clearly curious about them. “Why aren’t they afraid of us?”

“Uh… I think they think we’re some kind of jungle spirits or something,” Mikey said.

Leo looked sideways at him. “Jungle spirits? Like what? Some… some ghost of the jungle or something?”

Mikey laughed. “Nah, that’s too dramatic. But, like, if I’ve got this right, our whole ninja skills and the way I can sort of blend into the jungle better, they seem to think I’m a part of it. And you’re like… I dunno, some other kind of nature spirit or something.”

“Fantastic,” Leo deadpanned.

Mikey nudged his shoulder a bit. “It’s not all bad! I drew April’s puzzle cube, and they recognized it. One of them pointed in a direction, and I think he was saying that there’s a big one of those that way. So, we might can use it to get back home!”

Leo frowned. “Maybe. But Donnie was the one who figured it out last time. We don’t have him here.”

Mikey frowned. “What else can we do, Leo?”

Leo took a breath in. “Not much. It’s our best option, so we’ll go for it.”

“Yeah, okay,” Mikey agreed. “But after you rest. I think the doctor guy said you might not feel good for a bit.”

Leo frowned. “I’ll rest the night. But in the morning, we leave.”

Mikey nodded. “Yeah, okay. I’ll let them know.”

Leaving was not as easy as they thought. The people wanted to make sure that Leo was alright first, and they insisted that they stay for a feast and through the night. The days and nights here seemed to be longer than on Earth, but it was what it was, and the doctor checked on him, clearly not pleased with his progress, and insisted that they stay longer. Considering that Mikey and Leo needed their help, Leo relented, and they stayed. Finally, after three days, the villagers loaded them with supplies, and a small contingency of them headed out with Leo and Mikey. It wasn’t exactly how Leo wanted to go, but it had to do.

Admittedly, it turned out to be useful. The natives showed the turtles some more of the wonders of the jungle as they traveled. Fruits that could be opened to show tasty water within them. Animals that tasted good roasted over a fire. Something that was sweet like honey, although not made by a creature that would have been classified as an insect back on Earth. Even when the jungle presented its dangers, in the forms of swarms of bugs that ate anything nearby, hidden caves to fall in, and large predators, the group worked together. Mikey and Leo certainly proved themselves to the Teal warriors, further cementing the idea of them being spirts or gods in their heads, no matter how much the two turtles tried to deny it.

Finally, after four long days, they stood in front of a large ziggurat, its steps steep. They’d had to negotiate with some aquamarine-skinned people for passage, but they seemed fascinated by Leo, and some stories from their Teal-skinned friends as well as a demonstration of Leo and Mikey’s own prowess seemed to have gained them passage.

Of course, the passage had come with some delays of their own. The aquamarine people had insisted that Leo and Mikey go through an extensive cleaning process, almost like a purification ritual, and had afterwards painted their skin with symbols and lines and adorned them with some clothing and jewelry. It had taken at least half a day, but it had, eventually, been done.

The Teal warriors hadn’t gone through the same rites, and now stood just a little way back from the base of the ziggurat watching. Leo and Mikey both glanced back at them.

“Aren’t you coming?” Mikey asked gesturing towards the stairs.

The reaction was instantaneous. They took a step back, gesturing no rapidly. Leo and Mikey looked towards each other again, and then Leo bowed to them, Mikey following suit.

“Thank you,” Leo said. He held the bow for a moment, and then both he and Mikey straightened, Mikey giving them a wave and a smile, and the two of them headed up the stairs.

The stairs were steep, and there were a lot of them. It was almost exhausting climbing up them, and by the time they got to the top, both brothers were tired, hot, and thirsty. Leo sat down and reached for his legs, massaging his calves.

“I never want to do another climbing workout again,” he said.

Mikey flopped over on his shell. “If I even hear a commercial for a Stairmaster, I’m gonna flip,” he complained.

The two took a short break, taking the opportunity to eat and drink, and then forced themselves to their feet and inside the opening of the temple that sat at the top of the ziggurat. The building looked remarkably similar to the one on the wasp world, or, at least what they could recall of it. This one wasn’t covered in wasp eggs, though, nor any other kind of eggs. The place looked well-kept and decorated, and there in the middle of the center room, was the giant version of the puzzle cube.

“So… any ideas?” Leo asked as he stared at it.

Mikey shook his head. “Nope,” he said.

The two stared at it for a moment, before Leo walked forward and put his hand on it. Like the one on the wasp world, it was heavy and solid. Moving it would take both of them, most likely.

“Donnie and April used some sort of math algorithm to figure out the other one,” Leo said. “Something about a… Fibonacci sequence?”

“Do you have any idea what that is?” Mikey asked hopefully.

Leo sighed, his shoulders drooping a bit. “Nope.”

“Me either,” Mikey said. He ran his hands over the giant puzzle cube, peering at it.

Leo slowly walked around it, trying to remember what it was that April and Don had done. Unfortunately, he’d been less focused on the puzzle cube, and more focused on fighting the queen wasp. He was three-fourths of the way around it when he saw something catch Mikey’s attention. He watched as his brother leaned in, peering at something on the cube.

“What is it?” He asked, making his way over to Mikey’s side.

“Look—they’re hard to see unless you get your head at just the right angle, but I remember seeing these in a notebook Donnie had. They’re symbols.” Mikey gestured at a place, and Leo tilted his head.

“I don’t see—” he stopped as he caught the faintest sight of something, although it was hard to see. “It’s like it’s almost not there.” He frowned a little. “What’s this residue that’s near it?” There was a whitish substance near it, almost like leftover paint or powder. He ran a finger over it, some of it flaking off as he did.

“Hang on, I got an idea!” Mikey said. He went over to one of the bowls that was nearby, peering in it before he moved on to another one. Finally, on the fourth one, he seemed satisfied and came over with it, grabbing something that looked similar to a paintbrush.

“What are you doing?” Leo asked.

“Okay, so I was reading this comic, right?” he said as he moved the brush around in the substance. “And in it there was this abandoned alien ship. The humans went on it, and they were attacked, and all sorts of stuff happened.” He started painting the substance on the place where he’d seen the symbol. “Any way, long story short, there were all these warnings about things left on the ship, but, like, these aliens saw colors human’s couldn’t and they’d written them all in that color and so the humans couldn’t see the warnings until something splashed on one of them that made it show up.”

“And you think that maybe that’s what that white residue is. This stuff, put on it so that the symbols will show up,” Leo said.

“Maybe!” Mikey said. He stepped back, putting the brush back in the bowl and looked at where he’d painted it. “But nothing seems to be happening.”

Leo frowned. “Hold on. I might have an idea now.” He went over to one of the braziers that had been set up, a fire burning in it, and brought it closer to the puzzle cube. Carefully he tipped it over just enough that the fire was close to the painted area. And when he did, the symbol started to glow.

“Alright, Leo!” Mikey cheered. “How’d you know to do that?”

Leo grinned at him a bit sheepishly. “Remember that scene in National Treasure where they use heat to reveal the map on the back of the Declaration of Independence?”

Mikey laughed. “See? Movies are good for you!”

Together Mikey and Leo worked on revealing the symbols on the giant puzzle cube, Mikey painting them as he saw the symbols easier, and Leo bringing and setting up braziers and torches to keep the sources of heat close. When they finished, they took a step back, looking at the device.

“…Now what?” Mikey asked.

“Good question,” Leo said. “I guess the next thing to do would be to figure out if these symbols can help us.” He frowned. “They look familiar.”

“Yeah…” Mikey frowned. “I think… I think Don had some of them written down.”

“I think you’re right,” Leo said. “I remember him calling April, excited about something he had discovered about her puzzle cube.” He shook his head smiling a bit. “We were going to watch Star Trek VI together, but he got so excited that he completely forgot about it. He apologized later.”

Mikey snorted. “Yeah, that sounds like Donnie.”

“I went over to them later… I might remember some of the symbols,” Leo said, frowning.

Mikey shrugged. “Let’s give it a shot!”

Carefully, he and Mikey maneuvered the device into the first configuration of symbols that Leo remembered, fairly sure that Donnie had said that it was the way he’d worked out setting it up to get them home from the wasp dimension. It didn’t work. They tried another variation of it, but again, there was no luck. After about ten different tries, the brothers sat down, taking a break.

“I don’t get it,” Leo said. “I’m positive that first order was what I saw.” He let out a frustrated huff. “I remember him saying it was like a code or an address that could get people from one place to another.”

“Maybe it’s like the Stargate.” Mikey said. Leo looked over at him. “You know��you’ve got to have a gate address, right? But it only works if you’ve got a point of origin, cause then it knows where you’re connecting from and to.”

“Actually,” Leo said slowly, “you might be onto something. Because I remember Don saying something about how he thought one of the symbols was linked to April’s puzzle cube.”

“Which one?” Mikey asked.

“The first one. It was first on the ones he had listed for our escape from the wasp world. But it came last when he was talking about going to the other world he and April had visited.” Leo frowned. He had not been happy to hear that Don and April had gone off on their own like that, but it had been over and done with by that point.

“So, what we need to do is find out what the symbol for this cube is!” Mikey said.

Leo nodded. “Spread out. Let’s see if we can find it recorded anywhere. If we think we see a hint of it around, let’s paint it and try to see it.”

They spread out, examining the puzzle cube and the room from every angle they could find. But after a few hours, it was clear that they were coming up empty. Leo stopped in the middle of the room, frustrated. There had to be a clue! They were so close! He looked down at the floor, for a moment, before rolling his neck around to stretch it out. He let his eyes unfocus, the slightly different colors of the floor blurring as he tried to clear his mind. He was missing something, he knew it. But what?

And then, Leo started. He snapped his eyes back in focus and looked around him at the floor. Glancing around, he jumped up to a corner of the room and braced himself to hold him up.

“Uh, Leo? Watcha doing?” Mikey asked, looking up at Leo like he’d lost his mind.

“Finding our origin symbol,” Leo said.

Mikey blinked at him, and then hopped up into another corner, staring down at the floor with Leo. “Holy movie references, Batman, it’s just like the library scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade!”

“Exactly.” Leo said with a grin.

The two turtles hopped down and quickly went back to the giant puzzle cube. Making sure they had everything they needed with them, they set all the other symbols again, and then, after quite a bit of turning and twisting to get everything lined up just right, managed to figure out how to click the last one in place.

The device lit up, glowing, and Leo and Mikey reached out to each other, neither of them willing to even risk a separation.

“Think we gave it the right address?” Mikey called out.

“I hope so!” Leo replied.

There wasn’t time for more conversation as the device sucked them in, pulling them through it. Leo could only hope that they had gotten the symbols right, and that they weren’t about to end up some place worse.

And then, with an abrupt shift in senses, and a very hard and loud thump, Leo and Mikey crashed to the floor. Leo’s head was still spinning as there were shouts around them, and the sound of feet running towards them. Mikey groaned, and Leo pushed his brother, trying to get him off of him.

“Leo! Mikey!”

“My sons!”

“Guys!”

“Get off of me, Mikey—I don’t need your butt in my face,” Leo complained.

Mikey rolled off of him, and Leo sat up, only to immediately have April hugging him tightly. He looked over to see Splinter already looking over Mikey. He knew that he was next, their father not going to be satisfied until he looked them over himself. Leo hugged April back, even as the others rounded on them.

“Leo what happened?” Raph said, clearly taking in the body paints, the jewelry, and the clothing. “April called, said that you and Mikey had disappeared, but that her puzzle cube was on the ground.”

April let go of him, moving on to Mikey, and Splinter was right there, looking Leo over as well.

“Mikey was messing around with April’s puzzle cube, and somehow set it off,” he explained. “We ended up landing in some sort of jungle, got mixed up with some unfriendly natives, found some friendly ones, got led to a temple with one of the big versions of the puzzle cube, had to go through a ritual to get to it, and then figured out how to use it to get back home.”

“Yeah, it was crazy!” Mikey said. “We had to jump over a canyon, Leo got shot with a poisoned dart—”

“What?” Don exclaimed, rushing over. “Where?”

Leo showed him where on his leg as Mikey continued, both Don and Splinter examining the area

“—the friendly natives gave him some sort of acupuncture to cure it—”

“What?” Don repeated again, practically hissing it between his teeth. “Where?”

Leo pointed to the carefully re-bandaged places on him. Immediately his father and brother set about unwrapping them and examining them.

“—the natives thought we were jungle spirits and gave us a feast, then we walked through the jungle for days and ate a bunch of other stuff, and the hiked up a bazillian steps to get to the top of a zig-zag pyramid—”

“Ziggurat,” Leo corrected, wincing as Splinter pressed on one of the places.

“—and used movie references to figure out how to get home!” Mikey finished with a grin.

“To be fair,” Leo said. “Stargate is a TV show.”

“It was a movie first, bro,” Mikey shot back.

“But we both know you weren’t thinking of the movie when you made that reference,” Leo said.

Don let out a huff, interrupting both of them, and sat back. “I’m… going to have to process all that later. Right now, to my lab, both of you, I’m doing blood work to make sure you’re both alright.” He stood up and shot them both a hard look. “And I mean right now.”

Raph reached down helped Leo to his feet, while Casey helped Mikey to his.

“I will fetch some water and soap to clean the markings off of them,” Splinter said. He turned to get it, and then paused. “Regardless of how you are back, I am glad that you found a way to return to us, my sons,” he said.

“How long were we gone?” Leo asked, letting Raph keep a steadying hold on him, even though he didn’t need it.

“About a day,” Casey said. “Donnie was trying to figure out how to figure out where you guys went the whole time.”

“A whole day?” Mikey said. “Maaan, I missed the Justice Force marathon!”

Raph reached over and lightly whacked him on the back of the head. “Maybe that’ll teach ya not to mess with things, then!”

“I doubt it,” April said amusement and relief both present in her voice.

Leo just shook his head and let out a sigh. It had been a crazy few days for them, and he was currently resigning himself to being a pin cushion for an overly stressed and sleep deprived Don. It had been quite an adventure and, admittedly, the jungle had been beautiful, and the people there interesting. But for all that happened, and all of the beauty of that jungle, he was more than happy to finally be back home.

“Ow! Donnie!” Mikey yelped.

“Oh hush,” Donnie chastised him. “It’s what you get for sending you and Leo off on an accidental adventure. Now sit still and stop complaining.”

Leo smiled to himself and leaned into Raph. Yeah. It was good to be home.

[sweetheartturtle2007]

Sure darling, this is sooo cute 🥺

-----------------------------🩷----------------------------

-----------------------------🩷----------------------------

You've know the boys for a very long time by now, they save you from getting robed one day and ever since then they became friends with you.

All of them had something that always make you smile and comfortable. Donnie with his long explications about everything always kept you entertained, Mikey cooking and drawing with you was always fun, raph teaching important stuff about self-defense and responsibility and Leo just being Leo around,Spending time with them was always better than being home alone. They loved your company so they never complained.

You loved to draw and you had a cute lil sketchbook with you almost all the time. The boys were always curious about what you were drawing (especially Mikey since he's the artist of the family), but they didn't want to invade your privacy so they never asked.

Until one day in particular, where everyone was at the living room preparing everything to watch a movie, you wanted to help but they insisted on you staying still in your sit while they prepared everything, after all you were a guest. With nothing else to do you pull out your sketchbook and started drawing. You stayed focus on the paper while you could hear the boy running around in the background, they really did feel like family, your family and you loved that. You were so entertained in your paper that you didn't notice the boys sneaking up behind you.

"what chu drawing?" Oh that voice and that mocking tone was obviously Leo.

You almost let out a scream of surprise, you sometimes forgot they were ninjas.

"what are you guys doing behind me?!"

"Sorry, we couldn't help our selfs..." Mikey said.

"were just sooo curious about you drawing."

"I'm not, I was just trying to resonate with them into leaving you alone"

"yeah sure dons, you wanted to look too"

They started a little argument, seeing them like this wasn't pretty for you so you decided to stop it.

You opened your sketch book and show it to their faces. They felt silent as they looked at the drawing, you were getting anxious, thinking they didn't like it.

"that's amazing!" They said all in unison.

Oh what a relief.

"That's us!, why didn't you show us earlier?"

You stood silent for a moment but then decided to speak up.

"well you see, ever since I met you guys, you always make me feel comfortable, you guys are like a family to me, you know....you're like my siblings and I never talk nor show you the drawings because I didn't know how you guys will react."

"Awww that adorable lil one, you obviously can call us your brothers" Leo put an arm around your shoulder"

"yeah! I'll be super fun to have a new sibling to spend time with!" Mikey hugged you

"I'll obviously accept, as long as you're not annoying" donnie said with a smile as he patted your head with his metallic claw (the one that comes out of his plastor)

"you were always like a sibling to us young one" raph hugged you as well

"Thank you guys, thank you" you said happily, this was going to be such a very welcoming family.

"but I'm obviously gonna be your favorite right?"

"LEO"

Yeah, a very welcoming one.

-----------------------------🩷----------------------------

Here it is darling, hope you liked it, sorry if it's a but rushed but I'm preparing myself for a vacation and I was busy, hope you like it tho ! @baileypie-writes

[zoniks]

Live laugh love Leo angst fics ❤️❤️😢

[leoandraphssoulmate]

The Worst Part is Not Knowing

A TMNT Short

LeoXFem!Reader

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You wrapped your arms around yourself, staring out at the rain. It was coming down in heavy sheets, obscuring the street below. You sighed, wondering when it would finally let up. You were tired of the gray hazy days and long cold nights. You were so ready for the sun! To feel it on  your face, your arms, your shoulders. Silently, you pressed your hand to the window, saying a silent prayer for your beloved. Nights like these made you nervous for him and his brothers. The rain made it easier for bad men to hide in the shadows. Leaving your extended family vulnerable. 

You glanced at the clock on the small nightstand next to your bed. 1:00 a.m.. He was late. He normally stopped by around midnight. Your apartment was conveniently on his route back towards the lair. The cup of tea that you made him sat chilled by the window, steam no longer rising from its center. Your heart skipped a beat as you tried to shove away the hundreds of negative thoughts that threatened to pull you under. You refused to believe that something had happened to him. To any of them. He must have got caught up with something. Maybe a robbery? A mugging?

You smirked to yourself, remembering how you met him, once upon a time finding yourself in an alley at the end of a gun. You remembered how calm and collected he had been when he rescued you and so very sweet. The fact that he was a 6 foot mutant turtle absolutely meant nothing to you. He was taken aback by your nonchalant attitude. So much so that he felt comfortable enough to introduce himself to you. 

“My name is Leonardo.” His brilliant blue eyes sparkled as he looked you over. “But you can call me Leo.” He smirked.

Leo. The most beautiful name in the world.

Slowly, his brothers introduced themselves as well. 

That was five years ago. 

How time flies! Especially when you finally find where you belong. Over the course of those five years, you found yourself down in the sewers more than you ever thought possible. Leo wanted you to move in with him, but you just weren't ready. Now, staring out the window, you regretted that choice. What if something did happen? You quickly glanced at your cell. Should you call? What if he’s in the middle of a fight? Would it distract him? Making something inadvertently happen to him? Your gut twisted and squirmed. Now was the time when you really hated that Splinter didn’t have a cell phone. 

Your mind whirled. Who could you call? Casey? You looked at the clock again. Would he even answer? You licked your lips, walking over to your phone. You slid your finger over Casey’s name, your breath hitching as you waited for him to answer. 

“Y/N?” His sleepy voice came over the line. 

“I’m sorry, Casey. I’m having a bit of a hard time.” You explained. 

“What’s going on?” He asked, more alert. 

“It’s Leo. He’s late. He’s never late!” Your emotions began spiraling out of control. 

“Hey, Y/N! Calm down, hun! I’m sure he’s ok! I haven’t heard anything from the guys. I’m sure they’d call if he wasn’t ok.” He said, his words soothing your mind.  “I’d call you if that ever happened.”

Tears stung your eyes. “I didn’t think about that.” You said softly.

“Tell you what. Let me give Raph a call and I’ll call you back. Ok?” He said. 

You nodded. “Yeah. Ok. Thank you, Casey.”

“Sure thing! Be right back!” He hung up, a buzzing sound filling your mind as you pulled the phone away from your ear. 

Seconds felt like hours as you stared down at your phone, your eyes fixed on the time. 1:30am.. You squeezed your eyes shut, intense dread filling your gut. “Please be ok!” You whispered harshly. You were definitely going to insist that you at least be able to text him while they were out on patrol from now on! There’s no way your heart could handle another night like this! Your hand absentmindedly squeezed your phone as you sat down on the edge of your bed. “Come on, Casey!” 

“Hey.” Leo’s voice suddenly drifted across your bedroom.

You instantly stood, your phone falling to the floor as you locked eyes with him. “Leo.” You whispered. 

He took a few steps toward you, the base of his shell dripping as he left wet footprints on your carpet. “I’m sorry I’m late, Y/N.” 

You thought you’d be angrier at him, that you’d sling a few biting remarks, but the truth was, you were just glad he was there and most importantly that he was OK! You shook your head slightly, a few tears falling down your cheeks. Without another word you ran to him. You wrapped your arms around him, your pajamas soaking up the rain from his plastron. Leo sighed, wrapping his arms around you as well as he kissed the top of your head. 

“We need to come up with a better arrangement.” You said as you pulled back to look up at him. 

“I agree. Does this mean you’ll move in with me?” He smirked. 

“Among other things.” You sighed, leaning up to kiss him. Just behind you, your phone dinged. You didn't need to look to know it was Casey texting you that Leo was in fact quite alright.

@leosgirl82 @thelaundrybitch

[whyamiheretumbled]

fanart of that one fic, alta under da cuta ✂🔪

[zee-rambles]

What?

What?

WHAT!?

You mean to tell me that all those Pee-paw fanfics are now CANON!?!?

Rise fam! Don’t you dare give up! There was a time when NOTHING ROTTMNT related was included in TMNT media. The fact that it’s now part of 40th anniversary comic AND there is a new story, means something!

[indieyuugure]

Episode 3 of Fading Fantasies! Happy ending guys! I promise!

Previous: (4) Episode 2

Next: (4) Episode 4

See all...

[dysfunctional-doodle]

“It’s not a choice, it’s a lifestyle!”

A very quick comic about my hc that 2003 Mikey is the most reckless out of all of them and frequently comes back from solo missions looking like he was dragged through Shredder’s stronghold when he was only supposed to be getting milk lol. I mean, have you seen Christmas Aliens? His attention span is lethal.

-> Commissions || My Kofi || Tip Jar :) <-

(I do sketches, character sheets, digital art and comics)

[sarathrwizard]

Misunderstood Love Part 4

Their all worried about you Dee! :(

Last <> Next

[nerdgal27]

also drop the a03 tag plz

Bare with me I am still learning lots about Tumblr so I’m not sure if the link will work. Plus I don’t have a lot on AO3. I do have a full book of TMNT called Prevail. There’s winter mountain landscape artwork of TMNT from the book Prevail. But I’m not sure where to post it or if it is worth posting at all. It is something I worked hard on for multiple years and made lots of artwork based from it.

[yki-dolls]

Right sorry I haven't posted anything on here for ages and sorry this chapter is like 2 months late or something I've had a right time of it, enjoy Night also having an awful time

[aquietwritingcorner]

The lone tot has treats for you! Good luck in the comp

@tmntstorycomp and @littlemissartemisia Ask directed to Sanctuary, a 2003 story.

Ms. Morrison came to a stop as she felt something small bump into her. Or more precisely, someone small. Raphael and Donatello had left her standing near a wall with Lucy, her cat, while they did... something. She still wasn't sure what, exactly. But they had promised to come back to her, and she believed them.

But now, however, it seemed that someone else had found her. Someone child-sized, it seemed. Lucy didn't seem bothered by the person, so Ms. Morrison carefully crouched down.

"Hello," she said, reaching out a hand towards where she thought the child was. "I'm Ms. Morrison. Where are you, dear? I'm blind, so I can't see you."

Hopefully this child wasn't here alone.

[daflangstlairde-art]

The cover art I drew for my fanfic Stranded Lullaby on ao3, from the series I Still Feel Alive. Leo gets stuck in the Prison Dimension a little longer than in canon, with the unexpected company of Future Leonardo.

Also first real post woop woop

[blackbogmire]

something's lurking...