#mikey screams and cries and yells

[turtle-steverogers]

steve is the type of person to have no fear in picking up bugs and spiders and looking down at them with a pleased smile and a tiny little, “hey, little buddy...”

bucky thinks it’s the most endearing thing ever, even if he won’t get within ten feet of the bug

[psychologicalwarclaire]

Yelling

A small Mikey rant

They were yelling again.

Mikey didn't even know what it was about this time. He just knew that Raph was mad and Leo was mad and no one was stepping in to pry them apart.

Mikey used to.

He used to step in and diffuse the situation. And if that wasn't enough, he'd start to cry. That used to do something.

Because when he cried, his brothers would stop their fighting and calm him down. Then they'd sheepishly realize things had gotten out of hand and apologize.

But that was a long time ago.

Leo and Raph didn't seem to care about Mikey's tears anymore.

They screamed over his sobbing. They shouted over his pleading. Raph's eyes, sparking with red, didn't see Mikey's eyes sparkling with tears. Leo's twisted mouth spouted harsh words that squeezed Mikey's heart.

"--NOT WHAT I SAID, LEO!"

Mikey whimpered, curling into himself. His brand new subway car room was nowhere near thick enough to block out the sound. Did they have to argue in the most open part of the Lair?

Did they have to argue at all?

They shouldn't be yelling like this. It was stupid. It was always stupid. And they didn't seem to see just how stupid it was.

Mikey could.

Mikey could always see both sides of the argument.

Mikey could see that Raph was just frustrated but still cared for Leo SO MUCH. Mikey could see that Leo wanted independence and didn't UNDERSTAND that Raph was just trying to keep everyone safe. Mikey could see that they were both too stubborn to compromise.

Mikey could see their family tearing apart at the seams.

Mikey could see everything.

And if anyone saw the same things he did, they didn't seem to care.

They were yelling again.

And Mikey couldn't stop them.

They were yelling again.

And it was getting louder.

They were yelling again.

[itjazzbicch]

The Finish Line

Pairing: Timeskip!Manjiro Sano x Fem Reader 

Summary: Continuations of The Grim Future:

Tracking down Chifuyu and trying to leap back to the past to fix the horrible future that the reader is in, she's completely thrown off track when Mikey follows her without her knowledge, assuming things and she leaps back from Mikey's touch instead of Chifuyu, she doesn't expect the past she lands in, nor the future she finds...

Warnings:  Manga Spoilers! Slight swearing, Use of a gun (in other words someone gets shot), a MxF slap. It is Bonten Mikey in the beginning! (But that's about it!) The rest of this fic is so sweet I swear!

Word Count: 2.7k 

It took some sneaking around, but in a relatively short time, I tracked down Chifuyu. He owned a pet shop in the city, and I had to lie to Mikey, but I needed to see Chifuyu.

There was no way I could live like this. Yes, I was with Mikey, but he wasn't the Mikey I knew. I didn't know exactly what I had to do in the past to change our future, but I knew that this wasn't meant for us.

The store Chifuyu owned was impressive, and it was nice to know that my friends did something with their lives. I didn't want to approach him directly as just being there had my emotions running wild, and when I saw Chifuyu step out of the back and to the register to help one of his employees, an exchange of glances was all we needed.

The longer I stared into his eyes, the more tears I felt swelling up. He nudged his head toward the backdoor, so I rushed outside to meet him in the alleyway.

"Y/N, it's about time I ran into you-"

"Chifuyu-" I panted, silencing him as tears streamed down my face, shaking in the knees as I cried, "I need to go back. I need to go back now."

"Why? I know that we couldn't save everyone, but-" Chifuyu was only confused but quickly learned why I was panicking as I cried harder:

"It's so much worse than you think, Chifuyu."

"Try to calm down, okay?" He was only trying to help, holding my shoulders and trying to help ease my cries so I could talk, "Just tell me what's going on."

"Have you heard of Bonten?" I didn't need to ask; the expansion in his pupils showed that he knew of Bonten, nearly breaking down completely against him as I whispered, "I'm second in command of it. Mikey is the leader, and they all do such horrible things. How did this happen, Chifuyu? How did I fail again?"

"Oh my gosh," He whispered in shock, holding me up as I collapsed in his arms, looking up to him:

"Please, Chifuyu-"

"Hmm, this is what you've been hiding from me, Y/N?"

Fear never struck me as hard as it did when I heard Mikey's voice behind me; I whipped around to see Mikey and Sanzu behind him.

"No, Mikey! This isn't what you think!" Panicking, I fell to my knees, even bowing to him to show that I wasn't lying, "It will sound crazy if I tell you the truth, but I'll do so if I have to, just please-"

"Shut up," He growled, leaning down to snatch my wrist and pull me away from Chifuyu, "Sanzu-"

"I got this," Sanzu snickered, my heart falling as he pulled out a pistol with a silencer, making me scream out:

"No! Mikey! PLEASE-"

Before me or Chifuyu could react, Sanzu had already pulled the trigger, crying so hard that I couldn't breathe as Chifuyu's body fell to the ground.

"Oh my god-" I choked out, trying to break Mikey's grasp, "Chifuyu!"

"You've been acting weird, suspicious too," Mikey murmured, gripping my wrist even tighter, pulling me so we were face to face, never seeing such a dark look in his eyes, "You think I wouldn't find out?"

"It's not what you think!" I yelled out of sadness and anger, trying to break free just for him to slap me.

I never knew Mikey's strength till then. My head was ringing as I dropped to the ground like a ton of bricks, just from a slap. As much as it hurt my heart and made me cry even worse, I needed to save Chifuyu, crawling to his body, but before I could reach him, Sanzu snatched me by the shirt:

"We have to get out of here. Think you two can handle this somewhere else?"

"Oh, we will," Mikey growled, my hand smacking Sanzu away.

"No! No! No! No!" I sobbed, screaming one last time as Mikey took my hand, "Mikey, stop!"

"So, how's she ride, Y/N?"

Huh? What happened? Where was I? To go back to the past, I needed Chifuyu, but for some reason, it happened when Mikey held my hand.

"Hey! Be careful! You're swerving!"

I was on a motorcycle, and that voice; it was so familiar. Looking to the left, I saw short, black hair flying with the wind. They finally looked at me, and it was Baji?! But he was younger.

Still accelerating, I stared at him in shock. It was really Baji. Not paying attention to the road till he yelled out:

"Y/N! Watch out!"

"What?" Looking ahead of me, I slammed right into a telephone pole, hitting the ground hard.

"Are you okay?!" Baji came to a screeching halt, parking and running to my side.

The pain wasn't even that bad. I picked myself up and stared at Baji, shaking because it had already been so long since I last saw him on Bloody Halloween.

"Say something! You're weirding me out!"

"Hey, what happened?!" Kazutora. He pulled up next to Baji's bike, running over to check on me, "Y/N crashed?!"

"Yeah, and she won't talk!"

"B-Baji. Kazutora-a-" This was real. I went back much further than twelve years and, with them in front of me, live in the flesh. Looking at my reflection against the metal pieces of my bike, I was much younger, too and I just started bawling, "Baji! Kazutora!"

"Let's get her checked out," Kazutora recommended, helping me stand. I hugged them tightly, like I'd never have that chance again.

"C'mon Y/N. I think you hit your head," Baji exclaimed, trying to pry me away, so I nodded, limping over to his bike:

"O-Okay."

The crash wasn't that bad. I could tell that I wasn't injured or anything, but they were all so confused as to why I wouldn't stop crying.

In the hospital bed, I kept trying my best to calm down, but if I was this far in the past, how would I be able to fix things and go back to the future? Was Mikey my pathway back now? I had so many questions, overwhelmed with more emotions as I heard another old, familiar voice:

"You said that she won't stop crying?"

"Yeah, but nothing's seriously wrong with her! Just a few scratches," Baji was explaining something to that voice, shaking again with silent tears flowing as Shinichiro walked through the door into my hospital room:

"Maybe she's just upset about her bike."

Shinichiro didn't even cross my mind. He was alive too. Trying to help me with a soft smile:

"Hey, girly. It's not like you getting into an accident. You ride better than all the boys!"

He was only trying to raise my spirit, but I started sobbing again, holding out my arms:

"Shinichiro!"

He was such a kind soul, hugging me and reassuring me, "Hey, don't cry. You're okay, and that's what matters. Don't worry about your bike either. I'll fix it. It'll look like nothing ever happened to it."

"T-Thank you," I panted, needing to breathe just to freeze again as Draken came in next with Mikey:

"Y/N! You, okay?"

Picking my head up, my eyes locked with Mikey's, and I could feel this zap between us.

"The doctor said she's okay. She's just a little spooked," Shinichiro explained, standing and patting my head, backing up as Mikey ran and hugged me.

I was going to run out of tears with all the crying that I was doing, trying to keep my whisper to Mikey as quiet as possible:

"Do you remember?"

"I do," He whispered back, swallowing a breath as he was fighting tears of his own, too, "I remember everything."

Squeezing him hard, I was shaking like a leaf, and Mikey noticed everyone's confusion, whispering quickly:

"Relax. We'll fix everything. I promise."

Finally, I grew a grip on myself and stopped crying. It did feel good to know that everyone I cared about was alive and that I had one more chance to make things right.

Knowing that I probably wouldn't get another chance, I didn't want to live through another hellish future after all the ones I'd already gone through.

Since we were young and Toman wasn't formed yet, Mikey and I decided to create Toman again, but this time, bringing everyone, even the people we were once enemies with. This wouldn't be a gang, more so, a path. A path to a better future, where we all do something meaningful with our lives. No more violence and death.

It took a long time, but we got everyone we needed on that path, standing alongside Mikey as the time finally came, his voice commanding out:

"Toman is now disbanded!"

Everyone was confused by this, but that quickly faded and led them towards the light of a bright future as Mikey encouraged:

"Go on and live your lives to the fullest. Accomplish your goals and dreams. There is more to life than we think. So please, think deeply about these words, and most importantly, don't let me down."

Something in my heart made me feel so good inside as they all saluted Mikey one last time, going their ways, smiling brightly as some talked about what they wanted to do in the future. Chifuyu wanted his pet store, Smiley and Angry wanted to open a ramen shop. Mitsuya planned on becoming a fashion designer.

I wanted to see all those dreams come true more than anything in this world, gazing at Mikey as I heard him sniffling:

"We did it, Y/N."

"Yeah," I sniffled back, wiping my eye, "I'm pretty sure we did."

Nodding and offering his hand to me, my heart started racing. We truly did not have anything to fear about, but I was so nervous.

"I know what you've gone through, Y/N. I wouldn't do this if I didn't know we'd succeeded."

"I agree, but it's just so scary to me still," I admitted, taking a deep breath before smiling softly, "Even so. Even if I have more to do, I'll do it."

"You've done it all," Mikey smiled, tears of happiness falling down his cheeks, "I'm sure I'll see you as soon as you get there."

"C'MON! YOU'RE SO CLOSE!"

My gosh, why was it so loud?!

Covering my ears, Draken was standing next to me, wearing a headset and yelling. In front of me, a wire fence and motorcycles were racing. We were at a race?

"YEAH MIKEY!" "YOU GOT THIS MAN!" "MIKEY! MIKEY!"

Shinichiro. Baji. Pah. Kazutora. Mitsuya. Takemichi. Everybody. Everyone was here. Quickly looking at a sign, this was the Grand Prix, and as the bikes raced by, I just knew it was Mikey, in black and yellow, neck and neck with another racer, trying to get to first place and win.

We actually did it! The happiness took over me, with tears and a smile, jumping as Mikey started to get the lead, and I started screaming:

"YOU'RE GONNA WIN IT, MIKEY! YOU CAN DO IT, BABY!"

Right as I got out my last word, Mikey crossed the finish line, and I jumped for joy, screaming and cheering, shaking Draken:

"HE DID IT!"

"HELL YEAH!" Draken yelled back, Mikey coming to the pitstop, and we all started losing it. There was confetti, bottles popping, all of chanting:

"MIKEY! MIKEY!"

Once Mikey was parked and had his helmet off, he ran to me, hugging me tight and spinning.

"That was so awesome!" I smiled, finding his gaze, and as he smiled back, he started sniffling.

He didn't need to say anything. I knew that he realized that I was back for the last time. No more time leaping. No more struggles. Just us, our friends and family, together with no more worries.

It was obvious how much his blood was pumping, everyone whistling and cheering as his lips smacked into mine.

It took a long time to get to this point, but for the first time, I felt true happiness. Kissing him back, I didn't want to stop but hurrying to back away and squeal as they dumped a keg of water over him, presenting his trophy.

I hurried to take out my phone and take pictures as Draken put Mikey on his shoulders while Mikey raised his trophy high, everyone coming down to celebrate with him.

The sight of all of us together was something I'd never forget.

Not much later, things settled down so Mikey could handle the business aspect of the race. There was a party planned too, so till it was time to go, I talked with Emma and Hina, my smile not leaving my face for even a second.

"It's time to party!" Hina was chanting and dancing with Emma, everyone leaving the stadium, offering my hand to Mikey:

"Ready to go celebrate some more?"

"Oh yeah," He smirked, holding my hand and watching everyone go, "I'd like to talk to you first, though."

"Oh," I wasn't sure what he wanted to discuss, but I agreed, "That's fine."

"Follow me," He instructed, leading me to the racetrack.

There were so many tire marks, and I'd never been on a racetrack before, so I was in awe as he led me to the field in the middle, admiring him:

"I knew you were good on a bike, but I can't believe how fast you were going. It was awesome, Mikey."

"I got skill," He smiled back at me, and it was the first pure smile I'd ever seen from him; a little nervous as I asked:

"So, uh. What did you want to talk about?"

Taking a few steps, his back facing me, I could hear the emotions that he was fighting:

"I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. I wouldn't have won that championship either."

I had a gut feeling this would get emotional, my heart skipping and beating harder as he continued:

"You have gone through so much. I put you through so much. Every future you saw, I kept choosing the wrong path, did so many horrible things, and despite all of that, you still loved me the same. You never gave up on me."

"Of course not," I sniffled, tears forming as I saw the ones in his as he turned to look, "I've always loved you, Mikey. You went through hell every time I leaped. That wasn't the real you. I wasn't going to stop till I changed that. Even if there are more challenges for us in the future, I'll never give up."

"I know, but don't worry. I know there are no more challenges for us," He smiled through his tears, coming to stand before me, "I only need you to know how much I love you for that, and I need to know one last thing."

"Yes?" I wasn't sure where this was going. I nearly fainted as he got down on one knee, pulling out a diamond ring from his pocket:

"Marry me, Y/N?"

I had to cover my mouth to stop the cry that almost shot out of me, crying as I nodded frantically, fanning my face with both hands as I gladly accepted:

"Yes! Yes, Mikey!"

Taking my hand and putting on the ring, he quickly hugged me, kissing me hard and squeezing me into a warm embrace.

Hugging his head, I wanted to stay there and kiss him forever, but I needed to breathe before I passed out, both of us heaving but smiling as I whispered:

"I love you, Mikey. So so, much."

"I love you too-" He smiled back, eyes shooting up towards an exit in the stands as we heard a sharp, echoing squeal:

"GUYS! GUYS! MIKEY JUST PROPOSED TO Y/N!"

Hina and Emma. They must've been looking for us and saw what happened.

"DID YOU SAY YES?!" Hina yelled out; Mikey and I laughed at first, but he picked me up as I yelled back:

"I SAID YES!"

"WOOO!" All the guys came over too, cheering and yelling:

"BOUT TIME!"

That made me laugh even more, snug in Mikey's arms, our future secured and only great things ahead of us.  

2023 © itjazzbicch — do not repost or translate my work. Likes, reblogs, and comments are always welcome 

[phoebepheebsphibs]

HERE WE GO.

Angst time, baby.

@tmntaucompetition @boots-with-the-fur-club @daboyau

CW: Injury, blood

Prev || Next || Illustration

April's eyes widened when she saw it all happen. The glowing golden chains that ignited, the room turning into a tornado, the ground cracking and breaking as if an earthquake would devour them, the crevices and miniature canyons that formed - also glowing gold - erupting and spewing what she could only assume was something like mystic magma. It was as if every natural disaster was happening at once.

"Is he trying to kill us?!" April shouted. She'd meant it as a figure of speech, an exaggeration. She didn't yet realize how right she really was.

"Get to the other side!" Karai yelled over the roaring wind. "We'll try to surround him!"

The two girls started circling the tiny warrior, who kept his hands held out as long golden cracks started to form from his fingertips, slowly but surely. Flakes of light peeled off of him and danced away. He felt nothing. He said nothing. His stone cold expression was chiseled into his face like the statues from his namesake. The chains circled around him, rings of fire that lashed out at whoever came near. The hand had long since been dropped, and it scuttled away into the dark room Mikey had broken into before.

Karai lunged at him, shouting a war cry. Mikey's head snapped towards her. A series of chains shot at her, coming in so fast they would pierce her flesh straight through if they got a direct hit. But Karai never let that happen. Instantly, her hands burst into green flames, the shapes of swords that covered her fists and forearms down to the elbow. She slashed, shattering the first chain into pieces. She swung again, twirling for momentum and thrashing relentlessly, turning each chain into shards, destroying every link. Mikey's eye twitched, he growled at her. He thrust both hands towards her, she danced and dipped and dodged every advance. Mikey waved his hand and an army of chains came towards her as the ground underneath her broke into two pieces, causing her to lose her balance. One chain was too fast for her and it struck her in the arm, cutting her sleeve and slicing her tricep. Blood spurted, and she cried out in pain. The other chains made their advance, wrapping around her legs and stomach and neck, pulling tight and suspending her in midair as she began to choke. She clawed at the chains, straining to pull them away and let air back into her throat.

"Michelangelo... Mikey... this isn't you!"

Mikey closed his fist.

The chains drew tight, cutting off her airways completely so that she couldn't even speak. She gasped and coughed, fighting for her life as the burning mystic energy sizzled against her skin.

Mikey grinned maliciously. He couldn't see who he was choking the life out of. But honestly... he really didn't care at this juncture.

"APRIIIIIIILLLL O'NEIIIIIIILLLLLL!!!!"

Mikey didn't even have time to turn around and see the banshee screaming girl who teleported on top of him. With his mystic chains focused on Karai, he'd left himself all but defenseless. April wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him in a choke-hold and hoping to get him to pass out.

"Snap! Out! Of! It! Don't make me kick your mystic butt!"

Mikey screamed with fury and threw his elbows back. One hit her in the stomach, the other smashing her in the face, breaking her glasses and colliding into her nose with an audible CRACK!

April went flying. She hadn't taken into account the differences between her Mikey and this Mikey. Her Mikey was 70lbs soaking wet with almost no muscle mass and not at all the kind to pull a move like that, whereas this one was INCREDIBLY STRONG and TWO YEARS OLDER with MUCH MORE FIGHTING EXPERIENCE.

Karai had managed to get herself free during this time, and as soon as April was incapacitated, she lunged again. Mikey saw her coming, and reached out a hand. His chains wrapped around his gram-gram and bound her arms to her sides.

"Mikey! Stop this! It's not real, none of this is real!! You're stronger than this!"

Mikey's expression slowly fell. His eyes were lost, glazed over in gold and amber. His barred teeth, his snarl softened and calmed. He no longer looked angry. He looked... devoid of all feeling.

"I know I am," he responded, his eyes slowly turning from gold to that horrible shade of sickening electric blue. "Let me show you how much stronger THAN YOU I am."

Mikey's chains changed colour. The cracks in his hands - which had now reached his elbows - changed too. The deep glow and burning from the ground followed suit. The magic sparkles in the air. The whole world seemed to follow the cue, and everything went blue.

Karai was brought close to her "grandson", who gently raised his hand, opened his palm, and blew. Instead of the flakes that came from his disintegrating hands, there came the spores.

Karai, not realizing what this Mikey was now capable of until it was too late, didn't get a chance to hold her breath.

Mikey flung her into the wall, Karai's head smacking into the drywall. Stars floated overhead as her vision was filled with black spots. Once the ringing in her ears quieted, she slowly got back up.

She was not in the same place she had been before.

Karai knew these green skies, the tentacle plants that sprouted all around, the debris and the enormous glowing orb chained to the spot in front of her. But the lock was broken, her sword in her hand, and her father slowly creeping towards her.

Each footstep made a horrid clank, klink, clunking sound as a mechanical laugh echoed throughout the Twilight Realm.

"No... No... this isn't real. I know this isn't real. I shan't be afraid of a bad dream..."

"Is that what you think of me, my daughter?"

That voice... it wasn't the Shredder's. It was Oroku Saki. It was her beloved father. His voice was broken, choked up as he tried to escape from the steel that kept him prisoner.

"F...Father?"

"Please, my dear," he begged, forcing his hand through the chestplate, desperately attempting to free himself. "Please... do not give up on me! I know I've made mistakes, but I am still in here! It is not me that does these things, but the armor! I'm trapped! A prisoner!"

"F-Father... I'm coming, Father, I--" Karai froze. "No... no, it... it isn't real. You're not him."

"Why do you condemn me to eternal torment? Why do you leave me in this godforsaken place, why do you personally deliver my execution? I love you, I did all this for you! Please, do not leave me here to suffer... I'm so sorry for all the pain I caused you, I know I have done so much to hurt you... I... perhaps I do deserve to stay here. But not by your hand, you don't deserve to be stuck in this hellscape with me. Flee, now, while you can!"

"Stop," Karai begged, tears streaming down her face. "Stop using his voice. Stop showing his face. I did what I had to, he was going to--"

"I was going to kill your family," Oroku finished. "I remember that... I remember setting the villages ablaze. I remember tearing their houses down... and... I remember your face," he wept, reaching to her as he finally stepped out of the armor, "I remember the look you gave me when you saw what I had become. Worse than the Foot Clan, worse than the marauders that drove me to this, worse than the oni that I made the deal with... worse than all of it. I truly am a monster, the look you gave me let me see it all... it was nothing like how you used to look at me..."

"Stop it, please," she begged, falling to her knees, her strength slowly giving out. She wished she could fight this, as she had told April to fight before... why was it so hard now?

"I remember how you used to smile when I entered a room. How you laughed and giggled when I would pick you up and spin you around. How you only ever cried at night, when you were awoken from a nightmare, but I was always there to comfort you. Now... I'm the nightmare, aren't I? Have I... have I lost you, my dear one?" he asked, his eyes blurring over with saltwater as he finally reached her, kneeling down beside her and wiping away her own tears.

"Īe, otōsan, anata wa watashi o ushinatta wakede wa arimasen. No, father, you have not lost me." She looked up at him, reaching for him, for his embrace. "I still love you. I still miss you. I will never stop fighting for you..."

He smiled so brightly, opened his arms to hold her close again.

The armor reacted, its claws extending and reaching forwards to grab him, screaming and begging for his daughter to save him as he was pulled back into his demonic prison, forced back into the armor.

"NO!" Karai screamed, jumping up. She just got him back, she couldn't lose him again!!

Karai leapt forwards, summoning daggers of green fire and throwing them all at the metal monster.

"Release him!"

"You'll have to destroy me," the Shredder growled low. "That is what the fates have cast for us, daughter. Either you will die by my hands, or you must kill your father. I shall not give him up."

"Neither shall I!" she screamed, jumping into the air to fight the Shredder, her father weeping inside as he begged her to save him or else save herself.

The Shredder pounded his fists against the cracking ground, the portion he was on getting lifted into the air as the rest broke away, sonic waves like giant ripples throwing Karai off balance and pushing her back again. She couldn't get close to him... she couldn't save him...

She looked back up in desperation, hoping she could find some way to defeat him. The Shredder held his hands out, summoning chains of mystic blue and fire and... wait a minute...

This wasn't her father in the armor anymore.

It was Mikey.

The Dark Armor slowly faded into golden dust, revealing a new bearer of the mystic armor as she watched the alternate version of her great(x14) grandson become the thing she'd sworn to stop at all costs. His chest coated in metal, his head covered by the wicked headpiece, his hands wrapped in long gauntlets with claws, silhouetted by an amber cape that billowed and whipped in the whirlwind around them. The cracks had made their way up to his shoulders now, his hands completely engulfed in the glow as he continued to destroy himself. He was a dark mystic warrior... the next Shredder.

Whether by luck or the work of the spores to further ignite her fear and devastation, Karai happened to glance behind him. Into the room he'd broken into, where Leo was meant to be kept. And she saw him, the blue ninja, sitting slumped on the floor, eyes open but unfocused, glowing a vibrant blue. Against the blue glow, she saw dark vines and roots wrapped around him, circling his neck and chest and arms, keeping him in place. What was holding him? She couldn't tell from this distance, from the darkness of the room contrasted by the furious flames in this hall now. But the door was open, and the room was solid and hidden and it kept prisoner all who entered.

Karai knew what she had to do. And she hated that this was the only solution, the same one she'd come to many generations ago...

"April!!" she shouted loudly.

...

April slowly came to. Her head ached, there was a long bloody streak pouring from her nostrils. She gradually forced herself up, her arms shaking and straining. Her head felt like it weighed a hundred thousand pounds...

She vaguely registered someone calling her name. But there was so much wind and wildfire and crackling of lightning...

"APRIL!"

That got her attention. She snapped her neck so quickly that it audibly cracked, the muscles shooting pain up and down her nape. Karai was yelling at her, trying to explain something.

"April! Go find the others!"

"What?!"

"Go get the others! The other Raphael and Donatello, and go find our family! Get the others, it's up to you! I have to stop this!"

"But how? What are you going to do?!"

"There's no time!! GO! HURRY!!"

Karai ran back a few feet and knelt down, preparing to leap one more time. Underneath the soles of her feet, green ninpo activated - fire like from a jet engine exploded, causing her to take flight and shoot towards Michelangelo.

"KARAI!!!" April screamed, realizing too late what her plan was. "NO!!"

He didn't even have time to summon a chain.

She crashed into his chest, knocking the wind right out of him. Karai immediately wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight, even twisting the back of his sash around her wrist - so that they were tied together, no chance for escape.

Karai blasted off with the young adolescent, flying the two of them into the room with Leo. April watched as the chains followed their master, getting sucked in with him and the last Hamato martyr, all the devastation ceasing in the process. At the last second, April managed to catch sight of Leo, who "watched" it all with sad and sleepy eyes, held in place by a... what was that...?

April was closer to the door than Karai had been, she could see it much clearer than her.

And inside... she saw Leo, held down by the clutches of a terrifyingly large mushroom. It was three - no, FIVE times his size, with a giant glowing eyeball in the center that stared at her menacingly.

Karai and Mikey disappeared into the abyss, the door promptly slamming shut and locking behind them, claiming two more prisoners.

And April was left alone.

KKkkkrrrsssshhh-- "Clean up in hall 221B, Bakers district, please."

April stared at the devastation left behind by the other Mikey. She shakily got to her feet, blood and sweat and tears dripping from her face as she sluggishly came to the realization that it had been a trap right from the start. Finding the hand so easily, getting into the hive mind, her vision leading them to Leo and straight into this ambush.

And now... the hand and the mushrooms had Karai and the alt. Mikey. She... she didn't know what to do now.

She had to find the others, and fast.

[ju1cyfru1t]

Rise! Leo and Rise!Mikey watching their S/O perform!

This one is for all the theater kids out there 🤺

fluff! :D contains swearing

Rise!Leo x gn reader, Rise!Mikey x gn reader (separately)

not proofread. also I wrote this like 2 months ago 😭

They somehow convinced April to sneak them into a private booth just to see you perform!

Leo

- ok this mf is definitely a theater kid of some variety have you seen him??? ANYWAYS

- If you didn’t get a part you wanted he is just as upset as you if not more so, -> “ugh, she got that part over you? they weren’t even that good!”

- this bitch pulling up to the show rocking the “I love my hot gf/bf/partner” shirt (JK or am I)

- he could not care less what part you have. A lead, supporting, ensemble? He’s literally cheering the loudest out of the whole audience

- “WOOOOOO! YESSSSS! THAT’S MY (GIRLFRIEND/BOYFRIEND/PARTNER)!!!”

- Made the whole fam come and I mean the WHOLE FAM. he is embarrassing them.

- Raph has to keep telling him to SHUT UP and try to stay unnoticed

- best hype man 10/10 will tell you all of his favorite parts (every part that you were in)

- would yell at Donnie to watch you and pay attention if he so much as checked his phone

- Splinter finds the show very delightful, he doesn’t get out much.

- Obviously Leo bought you roses. What kind of boyfriend would he be if he didn’t?

Mikey

- YOUR #1 FAN

- would really want his family to come and support you too

- Also does not matter what part you are playing; a lead, supporting, ensemble. you only have 1 line? he is basically SCREAMING when every scene you’re in is over

- he’s bruising his damn palms from clapping so hard

- probably cried; he was just so proud 😭

- video taping your songs/scenes or literally whenever just any time you’re on stage

- if you have one, he bought you a bouquet of your favorite flowers. If not, some homemade cookies or brownies! OR BOTH HE IS SO PROUD I CAN’T STRESS THIS ENOUGH

- would come to EVERY SINGLE SHOW (poor April)

- Does not CARE about your cast mates. sure, they were good too, but he only saw you on that stage.

- Will tell you how beautiful you looked under the stage lights

- HYPES YOU TF UP. MAYBE A LITTLE TOO MUCH-

- Will not shut up about how amazing you did to you and his brothers + April

[tangledinink]

Chapter Six of I'm Sorry, Teenage Mutant What Now? is up! Read it on ao3 or below the cut!

[ prev ]

Donnie was getting a bit tired of hearing his baby brother scream bloody murder from up the stairs. And, dammit, you would think that they would be used to it by now, with just how vocal Mikey could be. But he was also pretty sure there would never come a day where he heard Mikey scream and didn't immediately start running in that direction.

The loud crashes that followed shortly after were fairly motivational as well.

Taking the steps two at a time, Donnie sprinted up the stairs from the Lair, skidding to a halt at the top. They had to cling to the railing to avoid completely falling over, their knees threatening to give out for just a moment as they gawked at the scene in front of them. As if echoing the very state of him, the entire house seemed to shake from the force with which his father was slammed against the drywall, the towering form of some alien stranger pinning him in place and snarling.

"You have them? They've been here the entire time?!" The intruder cried, the sound of family pictures falling from the walls and shattering against the hardwood harmonizing with his howls. Move. Move. Do something. Move your legs! Donnie's internal monologue hissed at them furiously. But their body wasn't responding. 

 Vaguely, he heard shouting and footsteps from upstairs. But he couldn't take his eyes off his father, whose back was pressed up against the wall, held forcefully in place, but with his feet finding footing against the drywall regardless, arms braced firmly out in front of him to hold his assailant at bay. For just one second, his eyes met Donnie's, and they could see his ferocity twist into panic for just that brief moment. 

 "Purple! Get your brother into the basement! Now!!!" He bellowed, twisting his body sharply to slam his leg into the side of this-- man? Creature? In front of him, the force of the blow sending him stumbling to the side, allowing Hamato Yoshi the space to wrench his way free and launch a strike of his own.

 Donnie's eyes flashed over to his little brother, pressed up against the wall, and his terrified expression was enough to get their legs to begin working again, darting over and grabbing Mikey by the wrist. 

 "What the hell happened?! Who's this!?"

 "I don't know! I don't know! He just-- They just started fighting! I don't know!" Mikey gasped out, not even looking at Donnie, their breath tumbling out of them in panicked cries. Donnie's eyes snapped around to follow the sound of a horrid crunch-- their dad's foot connecting with the side of the stranger's head-- before turning back to his brother.

 "Come on!" He hissed, yanking at his brother's wrist, but Mikey yanked back.

 "But-- but Dad!"

 Oh God. Why was it him? Why wasn't it Leo or Raph? Why weren’t they here to handle this? He was way past overwhelmed, their heart hammering in their ears, their chest aching, their head buzzing. Jesus christ. Were they dying? They were pretty sure the world was ending. They couldn’t hear. They couldn’t breathe.

 Their father wheezed loudly at a blow to his chest, staggering backward, but staying on his feet, immediately surging forward in a counterattack.

You know martial arts. You've been studying martial arts since you were five. Why aren't you moving?

 Their dad's fist connected with the man's jaw, but the second blow was countered, his fist caught in the stranger's hand and used to toss him aside, narrowly missing the coffee table. 

 Dad said to get to the basement. He said to get Mikey to the basement. You have to protect Mikey.

He was still on the ground, but he lunged to sweep the intruder's legs out from under him when he approached, leaping back up to his feet.

You could help. He needs help. You could help him.

There was blood on his dad's face now.

You've never been in an actual fight before!

"Dad!" Leo yelled as he reached the bottom of the stairs, April and Raph following suit, all three bristling with horror. But Leo didn't hesitate the way Donnie did. Leo didn’t freeze up or second-guess. Leo didn't even think for a second-- he lunged.

 "Blue!" Their father screamed.

 Everything was happening too fast. Donnie could barely see anything. His eyes weren't working. His ears weren't working. His lungs weren't working. 

They could still see, however, in slow motion, this strange man's body snapping around, away from their Dad, turning instead towards his brother, his twin, his arm lashing out to meet his assault. Calculations tumbled through Donnie's head. Leo's entry angle was wrong, he was moving too fast, his arm wasn't in the right position, he couldn't block, his head was open, his throat was open--

 Out of the very corner of his eyes, Donnie saw a small streak of yellow dart inside through the still-open front door.

 And then the stranger disappeared in a flash of blue light.

 So did their dad.

---

Dully, Yoshi recognized that he was no longer in his own house. He recognized that his sons were not here any longer. He recognized that they had been moved, teleported away, and his entire body seemed to fizzle slightly with the leftover touch of mystic energy. But all of this was a gentle echo bouncing around in his skull, as inconsequential as a single raindrop.

 Because the one thought that dominated his mind, the single, roaring thunderstorm pulsing through his body, sending him flashing forward at a speed that surprised even him, was all-encompassing.

 "Stay away from my sons." He snarled, his own throat staggering painfully with the force with which he screamed out his warning, his hands flashing forward to grab Draxum by his throat, snatching fistfuls of his hair, and slamming him into the ground-- flinging him bodily away from the space Leonardo had once occupied. 

His entire body ached, all his muscles lit on fire and his joints actively wailing in protest to each movement. His face was hot with blood, he recognized, but it didn't matter much to him right now. He would sooner die than allow Baron Draxum to lay a finger on any of his children.

 He could hear Draxum hiss as he dragged himself back to his feet, quickly shifting back into a fighting stance that echoed his own. He barely allowed himself half a moment to glance around, taking note of the new terrain. Where were they...? Was this the Hidden City? He could recognize the skyline off in the distance. How did they get here?

 A furry yellow creature snarled weakly at Draxum's feet, clearly injured but jerking forward to attempt to bite the alchemist anyway. Draxum dismissed it quickly with a swift kick, sending the small yokai tumbling to the side in a scuffed heap. Yoshi curled his lips with disgust, leaping forward once more. He hardly even had to command his body. He had trained to fight for nearly his entire life. It knew what to do even without him.

 He could hear Draxum's harsh breath even over the sound of his own, even over the sound of each impact, repeatedly striking out only to be blocked by the other, and blocking his attacks in return. A bitter laugh worked its way from his throat even as another frontal assault was shut out, forcing him to dance backward, recalculating his entry point.

 "Prison has treated you well, Draxum!" He cackled. "I see your mystic powers have faded."

 "Still enough to best you," he growled in return, but Yoshi noted an absence of vines at his feet, foliage failing to furrow up to the surface and aid in the battle. Thank god.

 "You have no business with me and my family!" He spat.

 "Those turtles are mine." Draxum surged forward, and Yoshi just barely managed to dodge his well-timed kick, biting back a curse. He couldn't keep this up for much longer-- not at this pace. He suddenly regretted not keeping up with his fitness and training regimen once his acting career was no longer considered a priority. 

"They are children," he snapped, his eyes darting around frantically as he dodged a series of wild blows, ducking out of the way as he took rapid inventory of their terrain. 

 There, over there. The dry patch. We have to get there.

"They're my life’s work!" Draxum hissed, and Yoshi grit his teeth, his mouth set in a scowl. Oh, this was going to be unpleasant. 

 The glass of his assailant’s mask was already cracked. He just had to finish the job. Yoshi shut his eyes tight as he pitched his entire body weight forward, the front of his skull smashing into the surface of the helmet with a horrid crunch. His entire body groaned in protest as stars danced in front of his eyes, whiplash turning his stomach while shattered glass fell to the ground around them. Almost immediately, the wind was knocked clean out of him when Draxum's fist swung into his gut-- an instant punishment for leaving himself open. The world seemed to slow for just a moment before he went flying backward with the force of the blow.

But the opening was intentional. 

Though the world was reeling around him, he steeled himself, twisting his body in the air just enough so that he could find his feet again on impact. And the impact wasn't going to be fun. It would be happening any second now, he noted, and he wasn't planning on enjoying it. But he would land where he needed to be. 

 A choked cough wrenched its way from his body as he bounced across the hard ground, forcing his body to right itself before gravity dragged him back down again. It was not a good back feel. Or ankle feel. Or body feel, just, like, generally speaking, and he lurched once he was finally on his own two feet again, his vision spinning, briefly threatening to overtake him.

 Adrenaline was a powerful drug, however, and he stood his ground. His teeth bared and his stance firm, even as Draxum approached, his fangs split in a smile and his gaze predatory. Yoshi shifted slightly, feeling the loose, sandy dirt beneath his feet shift.

 That's right. Come closer.

 "Ready to admit defeat, Lou Jitsu?" Draxum laughed, mockery dripping from each word, his stance rigid and smug, as though the fool thought he had already found his victory. 

 What an idiot.

 "Not yet," Yoshi muttered, rolling his knees ever so slightly, the side of his foot digging into the dry earth. He twisted his entire body hard to one side, kicking his leg out in a wide arc, and all at once a rippling cloud of dust took to the air, blinding Draxum, forcing him to stagger backward as he choked. 

 By the time the dust cleared, Lou Jitsu would already be gone. 

---

Leo had been expecting a collision.

 He expected pain. He knew that his footing was off. He knew, even as he was doing it, that his attack was sloppy and reckless. He would never move that way in a tournament. So why was he now? What was wrong with him?

 He had left himself wide open. And he was expecting to be punished for it.

 But the impact never came. 

 He stumbled slightly, in the space where the stranger had once been, just barely managing to catch himself and avoid toppling over. He looked around, dazed, tilting his head from side to side and checking over his shoulder. There was this ringing in his ears that swallowed up everything.

 "... Dad?"

 Mikey screamed again, but this time it sounded less like fear and more like grief, which only made Leo's heart rate spike even higher.

 "Dad?!" He repeated, a bit more frantic this time, spinning in a few circles. "I-- Dad?! What happened?! Where did Dad go?! Who-- who was that guy?"

 "I don't know!" Mikey wailed. "He just-- He just came to the door! He knocked on the door, so, I, I answered, and-- I didn't know! I'm sorry, Dad came, and they just-- I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn’t know!"

Donnie's knuckles were pale from how hard he was hanging onto Mikey's arm, and he was staring intensely off into the middle distance.

 "Where'd Dad go!?" Raph demanded, thundering the rest of the way down the stairs. April stayed frozen on the spot, fumbling with her pockets.

 "I don't know-- I-- he was right here, I--" 

 "He just disappeared!" Mikey cried.

 "He didn't disappear. People don't just disappear!" Leo protested, his voice strained. "He was here. He was right here, there-- there has to be a logical explanation, I--"

 "Mom?" April's voice cracked as she held her cell phone up to her ear.

 "Who the hell was that?! They-- they've gotta be nearby! They can't have gotten that far!" Raph insisted, his tone quickly growing panicked. "You check the house, I'm gonna check outside."

 "What was that light?! Why was there a light? It was-- it looked like electricity or something!" Mikey whimpered.

  "Mom, are you home? S-someone just, just broke into The Hamato’s apartment. I don't know! No, I'm fine, they're gone. But I-- I don't know what to do--"

 Donnie still wasn't moving. Leo basically ran through the apartment, throwing open every door that he could find, resisting the urge to fucking open cupboard drawers. He had to be here. They had to be somewhere, they couldn't just be gone. Their dad couldn't just be gone. He had just been looking at him two seconds ago! He just heard his voice!

He had just heard his voice screaming his name. It was still on loop in his brain. His blood was still on the floor, for fuck's sake. He couldn't just be gone.

"They're-- they're not outside," Raph called, his voice cracking, jogging back through the front door. 

 "Who the hell was that guy?! What was he-- was he wearing a costume or something? Did any of you recognize him? He had-- he had, like, armor on, and, and facepaint, I think? Or. Or a mask--" Leo stammered, stumbling his way back into the living room, clinging to the door frame like it would hold him up, like it would make the world stop tilting around him.

 "He had fangs. Like-- like sharp teeth." Mikey whispered. 

 "Why is there a guy in movie make-up showin' up to fight Dad? Is he-- did they know each other? Like, from acting, or something? I don't-- why else would he be here!?"

 There had to be an explanation. A reason. Something that he was missing that would explain everything and show him how to fix it, like, right now. Leo wracked his brain, running blindly through every possible scenario he could conjure and praying that he would trip over an answer as he did so. 

 "He just. He just showed up, and, and he started screaming for Lou Jitsu." Mikey said, holding out a hand helplessly, as if trying to reach for something, grab for something, and then burying his fingers in his hair instead, yanking at his locs. "He was-- he was asking for... for something. He said Dad had it-- I think? Looking for... for 'them.' For someone?"

April hung up the call with her mother, punching three digits into the keypad and holding the phone back up to her mouth. "Hello--?" 

Raph stiffened, his mouth halfway open as he stuttered for a second. A look of dawning horror slowly spread across his face as he paled.

 "... Was he looking for us?"

---

"I am telling you, he is out there right now!" Yoshi insisted, just barely resisting the urge to slam his hands down on the police desk in front of him. It was more out of concern for his bruised and battered body than it was out of respect if he was being honest.

 "Look, sir, I understand, but what do you want me to do? Go running out there myself and comb the old train yards for him?" The purple Yokai in front of him scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in his chair slightly, looking way more irritated than he had any right to be. Yoshi grit his teeth.

 "YES!" He hissed. "Yes! You! Your coworkers! Every officer you have-- go look for him! He cannot have gotten far, and this is an incredibly dangerous criminal--!"

 "Okay, okay. Look. We will do everything we can." The policeman insisted, holding out a hand as if to dismiss or quiet the other. "I just need you to fill out this report for me, and everyone in the Hidden City is gonna get the BOLO, okay? We'll look for him. We're looking for him. He's Hidden City's Most Wanted right now! Just... I need the paperwork. Alright?"

Yoshi sighed deeply, his shoulders slumping. He had never in his life felt so old.

 "Fine." He muttered, reluctantly taking up the offered pen and beginning to fill out the required forms. Ridiculous, long, difficult-to-read forms... He walked into it feeling defeated, resigned to his fate, but the longer he slogged for it the angrier he became, his frustration building up over and over again. 

 Baron Draxum was out there right now. For all he knew, this very second he was putting into motion some plot to go after his sons again. His sons-- who were no doubt terrified at home, with no idea where he had gone. His sons who were sitting ducks should Draxum turn right around and return back to their apartment, who had no way of defending themselves properly against him...

 And he was filling out a glorified questionnaire!?

 He completed the form. He gave it to the officer and thanked him for his time. He politely declined the suggestion that he seek medical treatment, and he walked out the door, the way he had come in some twenty minutes ago. 

 His bones themselves ached, as did every bit of him layered atop. He had run all the way here. He wasn't sure how far it was, or how long it had taken, but it had felt very, very long. It was the most cardio he had done since his body pillow brand was still in production. At least the bleeding had stopped, and, miraculously, nothing was broken. 

 It had been a long time, but he knew what a broken bone felt like.

 He walked about a block away from the police station before he sat down wearily on the curb, burying his face in his hands and sighing deeply. What now?

 What could he do? What options even were there? He couldn't very well just return home and pretend like this had never happened. He knew Baron Draxum would come back. He could hope, of course, that the Hidden City police would apprehend him soon, but... What if they did not? Could he really afford that kind of a chance?

 He couldn't just allow his children to sit in oblivious danger like that. 

 But then what was the alternative? Go into hiding? Return to a life hunkered down in the sewers? Tear his family out of society and bring them back to isolation, living alone underground? How could he possibly do that to his family? Every single day he watched the joy that they found in simply living, and saw the potential that they had to do whatever they wanted with their lives-- potential so bright and potent that near everyone he met felt compelled to comment on it. Mikey has a dance recital next week, he thought to himself. And Donatello had not stopped excitedly talking about their upcoming robotics competition for months now. They hardly went even a day without seeing April or another one of their friends. 

He and Raphael had begun discussing college. 

Even just thinking of his children losing the life they had made him want to weep. Truly, the only thing stopping him from curling up on the asphalt and crying was his need to focus on the problem in front of him, his brain moving too fast to allow for tears. 

If he started crying, he knew he would not stop. It was not the time for that. His family needed him.

He could not ignore this threat... But he could not throw away his sons' lives, either. They had something good. His sons had something good. He had to protect it.

Yoshi inhaled deeply, picking his head up and resting his elbows on his knees. His jaw set in a deep frown, he scanned the streets, before finally he settled on a bustling tent just down the block, tucked in with the many other stalls, shops, and stone statues that made up the hidden city, all dramatically lit by a combination of flashing neons and massive bioluminescent mushrooms. “Luxury Simurghs,” the sign advertised proudly, and true to its word, several massive feathered creatures lazed idly outside the business, their bridles tied to nearby posts, a driver milling about nearby.

 “Excuse me,” Yoshi called as he approached, holding out a hand to hail them down. “I need to get to the Battle Nexus. How much is the fare?”

---

"Look, I’m telling you, they’re out there right now! They couldn’t have gotten far!" Leo insisted, just barely resisting the urge to throw his hands up at the police officer in front of him. It was more out of concern for his shaking knees and unsteady footing than it was out of respect if he was being honest.

 "Look, I understand. I know this is difficult, kid, but what do you want me to do? Drop everything and go running out through the city myself looking for them?” The policeman responded, looking way more irritated than he had any right to be. Leo grit his teeth.

 "YES!" He cried. "Yes! You! Your coworkers! Your coworker’s coworkers! Your friends and family, your dog, your LinkedIn connections, I don’t care-- just go look for them! Please, they’ve gotta be close by, and our Dad is hurt, there’s no way he wouldn’t be home by now if he wasn’t--!"

 "Okay, okay. Look. We’re doing everything we can." The policeman insisted, holding out a hand as if here were calming a spooked horse. "I just need you to answer a few questions for me, OK? And everyone in New York is gonna get the BOLO. We're looking for them. We’ll find your dad. I just need some more information to help us.”

Leo sighed deeply, his shoulders slumping. He drew his arms in around himself, hugging himself tight and suddenly feeling very small, like a child who had been scolded by their teacher.

 "Fine," he mumbled. “Just-- tell me what you wanna know.”

“Okay. So, the intruder came in the front door, at about eight-forty-five. You said he had a mask?”

“Yeah,” he bit out, swallowing hard. “He had, like, uh… It had glass on it, like, on the front, so you could see his face? But I think it was tinted. And there, was like… gold or bronze around the edges, I guess, and there were these big horn things coming out the side.” 

The officer nodded along, taking a few notes down as they spoke. “And did you get a good look at his face? Any discernible features?”

Leo hesitated. “He had… uh. Kind of a long face, I guess? Like… angular. I don’t know. I didn’t get a super good look at him.”

“Mmm-hm,” the officer frowned a bit. “Maybe your brother…?”

“Mikey already talked to you.” Leonardo snapped, immediately bristling, a flash of protectiveness lighting through his chest again. Mikey had hardly been able to get through his own interview for how much he was weeping the entire time, barely able to get the breath to stutter out words. 

“Right,” the officer said, and Leo could see how the corners of his lips twitched a bit. “Well, we’ll just wrap up a few questions and paperwork, okay? Do you know where your neighbor went?”

“She’s in the kitchen,” Leo muttered, his brows furrowed. April’s mom, (Carol, some far-off voice in his brain provided, her name was Carol,) had gotten here about thirty seconds after April called her, and had quickly taken control of the situation, much to Leo’s relief. He was pretty sure she was still answering questions and filling out police forms and emergency custody papers. Leo didn’t think he had ever seen so many people in his house in his entire life, what with all the cops, the social workers, the detectives… There hadn’t even been this many guests at his ‘I Was An Extra In An Episode of Gossip Girl Premiere Party.’ And he had invited a lot of people. 

Swallowing dryly, he watched as people hustled and bustled through the room, pulling anxiously at his sleeves. Mikey (still in tears,) and Donnie, (non-verbal,) had long since retreated back down to the Lair with April after they were permitted to leave the scene, but Raph still lingered, talking to a different officer across the room. Frowning, Leo waited until he was alone before wandering over in his direction. He swore his feet were moving on their own.

 “Hey,” he said.

 “Hey,” Raph echoed, and his voice sounded sore and wrung out, all the moisture squeezed from it. “You holdin’ up okay?”

“Oh, yeah. Totally.” Leo muttered, frowning a little, and then frowning further when Raph’s eyes darted away. He didn’t mean to be a sarcastic shithead, this just… sucked. “What about you?”

“I’m fine,” Raph said. Uh-huh. Liar. 

“Did your cop actually tell you anything useful, or just ask a bunch of stupid questions?” Leo hummed. “Because mine was totally worthless.”

“Not really,” Raph admitted. “Just said they’re… lookin’. Or they’re gonna look. I mean,” Raph laughed nervously. “I mean. Technically, it ain’t even been an hour yet! Dad could be comin’ home any minute now.”

“Right,” Leo said, though he both knew neither of them believed it.

“Right,” Raph echoed weakly, the forced smile falling back off his face. Leo swallowed the lump in his throat quickly, looking down at his feet.

“My guy said that April’s mom is gonna… stay? Until Dad gets back?” He ventured, almost hesitantly. 

“Yeah. Yeah. They said, uh, that the O’Neils would have. Uhm. Emergency custody, or something. Just. Uh. Until this gets sorted out, and stuff. So that’s good.”

“Yeah,” Leo said, nodding a tiny bit. His grip on the edges of his sweatshirt sleeves tightened, repeatedly smoothing his fingers over the soft fabric, pressing it tight between the pads of his fingers. “... Did you know Dad had a will? With… emergency custody arrangements?”

“... Nah. I didn’t.”

“He’s not that old.”

“Yeah, I know, Leo, but, I mean, Dad is… He probably just wanted to be cautious. I mean. Just in case something… bad happened, or something. He is a single parent ‘n all.” Raph defended, shooting a sidelong glance at Leo.

Leo immediately fled from the eye contact, looking down at his sneakers instead, his shoulders hunched. “Yeah. Probably,” he said.

What Raph was saying made sense. But his stomach still turned like something was really, really wrong.

“... How’re Donnie and Mikey holding up?” Leo finally asked after a long, heavy beat of silence between the two.

“Could be better,” Raph muttered, and Leo winced a bit. That meant ‘not good.’

“Think anyone’s gonna care if we head downstairs? We already answered all their questions. My guy said they were just finishing paperwork and stuff,” Leo said, nudging his brother slightly, ‘cause he knew that if he was anxious to check on the other two, his older brother had to be about five times as bad in that big head of him. Raph hesitated a bit and then nodded stiffly. 

“Yeah. They can come find us if they need us,” he muttered, slowly turning his back on all the lingering crowds of adults, as though he was waiting to see if anyone was going to stop him, before leading the way down the stairs to the Lair.

 The good news, Leo immediately noted, was that Mikey was no longer weeping. No, he had tapered down into very soft sniffles and hiccups, practically curled up in a ball in April’s lap, his face hidden against her shoulder. It took Leo a little bit to spot his twin, but eventually, he caught sight of them-- all the way across the room, pressed up into a corner, his back on the rest of them. April glanced up at Raph and Leo’s appearance, visible relief washing over her expression. Her face said, thank god you guys are here. There’s only one of me.

Leo watched his older brother all but physically flounder for a second, clearly torn, before Leo finally nudged him with his hip.

 "Go squeeze the shit out of Mikey. I've got Donnie." 

 Raph frowned a bit. "You sure?"

 "Yeah. I've got it," Leo repeated, not waiting around to listen and see if Raph had any further concerns or protests, heading off in the direction of his twin.

 Donnie wasn't collapsed in a limp little ball like Mikey was. He was stiff and sharp, his shoulders held square and firm, all his limbs tucked in on himself and held there awkwardly, facing the wall and staring it down like it owed him money. It didn't look like it could possibly be comfortable, but to be fair, Leo thought that about a lot of things that Donnie did. There was no trembling, no shaking, no sniffles or hiccups or sobs. They were just still.

 Very slowly, as though he was afraid he would spook them and scare them off, Leo moved to crouch and sit down next to them, getting settled on the cold concrete floor. For a good minute or so, they simply sat together, just the three of them-- Leo, Donnie, and the silence. 

 "Hey Don," Leo said quietly, and received no response. But that didn't really surprise him. If he wanted a reply, he had to give them something more tangible to hold. He knew that Donnie didn't have the grip to hang onto the smooth surface of small talk or vague prompts right now. They needed something straightforward. They needed something that required an answer.

 "Did you get hurt at all or anything?" He asked. That should work. Uncomplicated, objective, based in fact. If he was being honest, it was what he wanted right now, too. 

 It took a minute, but finally, Donnie moved, (Leo swore he could hear their muscles untense, creaking and grinding and unsticking, like opening up a window that had been painted over,) his hands uncurling from tight fists so that they could sign instead.

 'No.'

 "Good," Leo whispered, because he didn't know what else to say. He was tempted to switch over to sign language as well, but with the way Donnie was sitting, their face practically shoved in the corner and Leo slightly behind them, with the way their eyes wouldn't focus on anything, he got the feeling that it wouldn't be very effective right now. "The police are almost done. They should be gone soon. They said they're just finishing up paperwork and stuff, I guess. And the O'Neils are gonna stay here with us until Dad's back. So we don't gotta go anywhere or anything."

 Donnie didn't respond. They didn't make a noise. They didn't move. There was no change in their posture, no change in their expression, no change in their eyes. But Leo swore that he could feel their relief.

Of course, Donnie would refute such a claim. They had run multiple experiments as kids to test theories such as 'twin telepathy' or 'shared senses.' (Looking back, Leo was pretty sure it was just an excuse for the others to repeatedly hit him with a big stick, and Donnie had just wanted to see if he was dumb enough to fall for it. Unfortunately, he was.) And, okay, no. They couldn't feel each other's pain. Leo wasn't capable of finishing Donnie's sentences, he couldn't magically sense where Donnie was or if he needed help, and they had no telepathic or mind-meld abilities. 

 But they were twins.

 It was just... their thing. They weren't just basic bitches like everyone else; they were twins, they were special. Leo adored being a twin. Any time they did icebreaker games at the beginning of a new school year or training camp, Leo knew exactly what his fun fact was gonna be. When he and Donnie were together, Leo took joy in just being around them, of getting to be the visible half of a pair. And when they were apart, he always looked for any opportunity to casually mention his twin in conversation to try to spark a reaction. So that people could go, oh god, there's two of them?

And to be clear, their Dad had never been the type of parent to treat them as twins. They didn't have matching names or anything. Never were they dressed in similar clothing or identical outfits. They were never 'The Twins,' they were 'Leo and Donnie.' Two separate people living separate lives. But that didn't stop it from being a part of them. That didn't mean that 'twin' wasn't something that Leo held onto as a piece of his identity.

 'Dad told me to bring Mikey to the Lair.' Donnie signed. 

 Leo frowned a bit, opening his mouth and then closing it again. "... And?"

 'I didn't.' Donnie's face tensed, a folded crease forming between his eyebrows. 'I didn't do anything. Dad was getting attacked and I didn't even move.'

 "Dee," Leo sighed, his breath leaving his chest all at once. "Come on. What were you supposed to do? Everything was really fast! I mean, that guy was literally in and out of our house by the time I could get down the stairs--"

'You moved.' Donnie's motions were quick, harsh. 'You helped.'

"Helped?" Leo bit out an angry laugh despite himself, running his fingers through his hair exasperatedly, tugging at his curls. "Oh, yeah, big help I was! They could literally put that in the Hall of Martial Arts Fame for 'worst opening move ever.' Do you consider 'embarrassing our father and his dojo franchise by getting throat punched' to be helpful? If so, then sure, I was super helpful."

Donnie stayed quiet for a second, frowning, examining Leo's face as if he were searching for something.

 'You weren't.'

 "What?"

 'You weren't throat-punched.'

 "Well, I should have been." 

 'But you weren't.'

 Leo bit the insides of his cheeks.

 "... Yeah. Guess not."

 Neither of them said anything else for a while, because what was there to say? 'So, anyway, what's your running theory on why our Dad straight up disappeared in a flash of neon light like this is a goddamn Jupiter Jim film? Wanna compare notes? I'm thinking maybe 'kidnapped by fairies,' any thoughts?'

There was this lump in Leo's throat that he did not want to be there, and he screwed his eyes shut, focusing on the pressure he created there instead of everything else in the universe right now. It wasn't working.

 Donnie had never been a hugger. Even when they were younger, he really didn't like being touched or grabbed by anyone outside of his family, and even his dad and brothers had to learn not to push their luck when it came to physical affection 'cause Donnie liked what he liked and that was it. And the worse his headspace was, the narrower the field of 'acceptable touch' became. 

 Leo knew that their headspace was definitely not good right now. 

 His wasn't either. His was really not good. 

 "Dee," He found his voice again after a bit of trying and winced at how it kind of quivered ever so slightly at the end. "Are you... like. Hard no-touch right now, like, none at all, or--? Like. I mean. It's-- it's cool if you are, I just--"

 After several long, heavy beats of silence, Donnie shook their head a tiny bit.

 Leo scootched a bit closer to Donnie, hesitating for a second before very gently tucking his head down to rest against Donnie's shoulder. He moved slowly, watching, waiting to see if their brother would flinch or try to stop them-- purposefully giving them a chance to take it back and pull away. But they didn't. Leo's shoulders sagged as he settled, and eventually, Donnie leaned into him back, his body tilting in his direction, meeting the gentle, reassuring pressure with their own. Leo burrowed in just close enough to hide his face in the thick purple fabric of their hoodie, tucking himself away and letting Donnie hold a tiny bit of his weight for a while as he did the same for them.

Leo loved every member of his family. They were close, closer than most, and had been ever since they were little. And he would be the first to admit that Donnie and he didn't always get along. They were both too competitive for their own good and took way too much joy in getting a rise out of the other. They fought often, and between that and their busy schedules, they would sometimes go days at a time without so much as speaking to one another. 

 But Donnie was his twin. They had been conceived together, for god's sake-- they had always been there, every single step of his life, and there was something reassuring about that, somehow. Leo had never really had to face anything on his own because he had come pre-packaged with a partner. 

"Purple, may I speak with you for a moment?" Their Dad's voice had both boys' heads popping up slightly in response, looking up from the video game they were currently occupying themselves with.

Donnie's head bowed back down quickly enough, only giving a short nod. Leo recognized that Dad probably wanted to talk to Donnie alone, without the video games, but he also recognized by now that Donnie probably either didn't or just didn't care. Either way, Leo wasn't gonna point it out. Dad seemed to think about it, but then let it go, kneeling down next to them.

"You're doing very well in school, Purple," Dad said, and Donnie nodded a little. This wasn't news for anyone in the room.

"Your teachers are very impressed. Your classes are pretty easy for you right now, aren't they?"

Donnie nodded again, and Leo rolled his eyes a little bit. Yeah, whatever. Show off. Donnie always acted like everything was so easy, Fractions were not nearly as simple as he made them out to be!

"What would you think about learning some harder things? New things?" 

This caught Donnie's attention. Their head bobbed up again.

"Your teachers think you could skip a few grades. And begin taking some more advanced classes," their father continued. "That would be fun, right?"

Leo's heart climbed up into his throat as he listened in. Wait, skip a few grades? As in, like... take classes with other kids in some other part of the school? Without him? He blanched a bit at the thought of being left behind. But... but they went to school together. They took classes together. If Donnie took different classes, then who was Leo gonna sit with at lunch? Who's fruit snacks would he steal? Who would help him cheat on math quizzes? If he wasn't in class with Donnie, then who would defend him from dodgeballs in gym class? What would happen if Donnie had to touch something he didn't like if Leo wasn't around to do it for him...?

 "... What about Leo?" Donnie asked, and Leo looked over at him in surprise. "Could he come, too?"

"... No," Dad said slowly, his brows furrowing a bit. "Leo would stay in the second grade. But you would still see each other every day after school, just like you do Mikey and Raph."

Donnie had lost interest in the conversation. He looked back down at the screen again, re-engaging in their Pokemon battle once more and turning his energy back to beating up Leo's poor Wartortle.

"If Leo can't come then I don't want to."

Sometimes, Leo felt guilty. Like he had held Donnie back somehow. They had figured out the hybrid-schooling model that Donnie still did today a bit after that, and Dad later said that he was glad it worked out that way. That he wasn’t so sure about Donatello skipping grades, that he wanted Donnie to have a chance to ‘make friends his own age’ and ‘socialize…’ But still. When people called his brother a ‘genius’ they weren’t kidding around, and he often wondered where Donnie could be by now if he had skipped those grades. If he had enrolled in some advanced math and science academy, had steamrolled ahead with no hesitations or holds barred...

But he would have missed them if they had.

They were close, the two of them, in this weird, mismatched sort of way. Leo recognized that. But on nights when he couldn't sleep, sometimes he would think about what things were like when they were little. They were inseparable back then. A teacher had tried to sort them into two different groups for an activity in kindergarten once, and Donnie had screamed so loud that they got calls from neighboring buildings. Leo couldn't help but look at the two of them, back then, and then compare those memories to them now.

And there was this gap. There was this space between them now that hadn’t been there before, and Leo wasn’t sure when it had formed. Donnie wasn't far. They were still within arm's reach, even. But there was this distance between them that hadn’t been there once, and though most days it didn't bother him, some days Leo couldn't help but look at the distance and wonder how much bigger it could get. What would that gap look like in five years? What about in twenty?

How much further away was Donnie going to go? He was smart. He was gonna go places, Leo had known that ever since they were tiny. There was no way he was going to spend the rest of his life standing in one place, within Leo's easy reach. And Leo, if he was being quite honest with himself, had no idea where he himself was going yet.

He would never say this out loud, never in a million years, but... Leo needed his family. A lot more than they needed him, he figured.

He sighed softly, wrinkling his nose, pressing a bit closer into his brother. 

Their Dad had better come back soon.

---

Whoever said ‘time heals all wounds’ was an optimist and a fool.

Time changed wounds, that was certain, shifted and molded them, but heal? Yoshi wasn’t so sure. Despite the many years gone by, each time he found himself back at the Battle Nexus, it made his stomach flop and his chest ache in about fifteen different ways. Most of them unpleasant. It felt like somehow time failed to touch this place. Each time he came back, it seemed like the only thing that had changed were the names on the flyers, endlessly cycling from one champion to another. Even the faces of the guards didn’t seem to change. Not that it really mattered. So long as they knew well enough to let him in to see Big Mama when he demanded it, he didn’t especially care.

He and the employee who escorted him didn’t speak, which was just fine by him. He wasn’t exactly in the mood to talk. The long, winding stone hallways that they wandered through were cold and familiar, and even now, he could hear the distant cheer of the crowd. 

He didn’t need an escort. He knew this place well enough that he could navigate on his own. But he didn’t want to waste his breath arguing. It had, admittedly, been a long time.

The last time he had been in this place was nearly a decade ago.

Hamato Yoshi had approached the Battle Nexus, panicked, floundered, and turned back around to re-gather himself around the block about five times now. Each time, he would eventually settle himself down, wringing his hands anxiously and smoothing his whiskers, talking himself up once more and telling himself, ‘this time, I will go. I will just walk in. It will be fine,’ only to turn around at the last second and retreat again.

Yoshi didn't understand why this was so difficult. Was this really what did him in!? Of everything he had faced in his life!? This was the thing that left him cowed-- seeing his ex?!

To be fair, it was his ex who had kidnapped him and held him as a hostage and forced him to fight for his life as a source of entertainment for yokai for over a decade... and he did look a bit different than he had the last time he had seen her, which certainly didn't do anything to strengthen his courage. 

Do it for your sons, do it for your sons, do it for your sons... He chanted internally, taking a few long, deep breaths. This was the only way forward, and if he wanted this to work, (which he desperately did, both for his children's sake and, admittedly, for his own as well,) then he was going to have to man up and go talk to his ex-girlfriend.

What's the worst that could happen? 

No, actually, don't think about that. 

His next approach was not aborted. He marched up to the guard at the (least populated) entrance of the Battle Nexus, wearing all the faux confidence and swagger that he could possibly muster. 

"I am here to see Big Mama." 

The guard seemed unimpressed, raising one fuzzy eyebrow and giving a soft snort of doubt as he looked down at the other. Yoshi so dearly missed being 5'11". 

"Right... Do you have an appointment?"

Come on, Yoshi. Stretch those acting muscles. "I am quite confident that she will want to see me, appointment or otherwise." He insisted coolly, taking care to keep his posture relaxed.

"Uh-huh." The guard said, all but scoffing down at him. This would be so much easier if he didn't look like a damn rat, Yoshi thought dejectedly. If he were still himself, he would just be able to walk in. No one would even think to stop Lou Jitsu from waltzing into the Battle Nexus! The hired muscle pulled a walkie-talkie out of his belt loop, one hand on his hip as he spoke into the device, never taking his slitted yellow eyes off of their guest.

"Big Mama? There's a rat out here to see ya'. Says you'll want to talk to him."

There was a beat of silence before a staticky, but familiar, voice chimed from the other end, making Yoshi's heart-rate jump embarrassingly. 

"Afraid I'm a tad busy at the moment. Tell them to toddle off, please." 

"You heard the boss," the goblin yokai grunted, crossing his arms over his chest, taking an intimidating step forward as if to try to start herding his guest away. Yoshi bristled a bit. It wasn't as though he were afraid of this guy, quite confident he could make quick work of him if he so pleased... but he also knew there were about five hundred more versions of him scattered about the facility, and he didn't especially want to make a scene. 

He groaned in frustration, burying his burning face in his hands for a moment. Was this really what he was reduced to!? Oh, how he had fallen from grace! 

"Fine! Fine. Tell her... tell her that her… Snuggle Muffin Beefcake is here."

Honestly, the guard had no right to blush at him back. Yoshi wasn’t necessarily proud of his methodology, but eventually, after some flurried back and forth and some more private walkie-talkie conversations, he was finally allowed entry into the infamous Battle Nexus.

Yoshi grumbled softly to himself as he trudged through the familiar halls of the Nexus, his tail dragging on the cold stone behind him. The guard who was escorting him, to their credit, did not even bother to look back at him as he shuffled his feet and fussed anxiously. The trip up to Big Mama's luxury box felt longer than it used to be. But he had a feeling that this was just nerves.

"Wait here. Don't touch anything." The employee said shortly, holding the door to the private viewing box open just long enough for Yoshi to shuffle in, before closing it firmly behind him with a dull thud. Yoshi grumbled under his breath, squaring his shoulders, straightening, and then finally daring to look around. 

It looked different than it had the last time he had been here. He supposed that made sense. It had been-- what? Five years since he had last been up here? And he knew how important being in the latest fashion was to Big Mama. She never went more than six months before updating at least some part of her personal spaces, whether this be new furniture or a fresh coat of paint. 

 He wandered slowly through the place, finding everything that was still familiar, one by one. The couch had been reupholstered, but it was the same one. He recognized the tiny chip on the front left leg of it. She was still using the same crystal plates and goblets. And the balcony was nearly untouched, with the same ghostly green glass barrier and smooth stone floor. The surface was uneven, worn away from thousands of footsteps moving across it over the years. Yoshi wondered how many of those footsteps were his.

He had spent over eleven years here in the Battle Nexus, and he had spent countless hours up here. Countless hours in the fighting ring below. Countless hours in the dungeons and cells even further below that. He and Big Mama's relationship had been a bit... uh... hot-and-cold during that time.

He would piss her off and be locked in a cell underground for a few weeks. They would kiss and make up and he'd spend a few weeks lounging in the Luxury Box when not in combat, free to wander the Hidden City as he pleased. Then he'd eventually grow restless, or something would happen, he would try to escape, he'd get caught, the cycle would repeat... 

It was complicated. 

He leaned over the balcony slightly, the roar of the spectators below made his pink ears twitch. Even now, two Battle Nexus champions fought far below, their grueling battle caught in high-res and displayed on the massive jumbotron mounted above. Yoshi observed for a moment, quietly thinking to himself that his money was on the smaller, masked yokai darting about the arena. The hulking crocodile creature they were up against was certainly a formidable opponent, but his strength could not match her agility, and Yoshi could already see the exhaustion in his movements from here. He would not last much longer.

He didn't recognize either of them, but he reminded himself coldly that this really shouldn't be of any surprise to him. It had been years, after all, and even more pointedly, he had likely ended the careers of most adversaries he met in the Battle Nexus. If they survived at all. 

Yoshi swallowed those memories back down. This wasn't the time. Just as he turned away from the balcony, not wishing to observe any longer, the double doors to the room opened.

Dammit. He had really been hoping she wouldn't be in spider form. 

"Snuggle Muffin Beefcake? Where did you hear that naughty little nickname, rat man?" Big Mama hissed as she approached, her legs clacking against the floor, circling the other almost like a lioness waiting for an opening to pounce. Yoshi wasn't quite sure if this was terrifying, thrilling, or both, and he hated every option.

Charm, don't fail me now.

"From you, as we tangoed the night away, my sassy sugar badger."

"It is you!" The woman gasped, all six of her beady red eyes lighting up with joy, melting into Yoshi’s embrace. It was sweet, Yoshi just really wished that she had hands instead of insectile claws. But he supposed he did have little rat paws himself, so maybe he didn't have the room to complain. "And more fetching than ever, my fuzzy cuddleofagus…!"

The emotion in her voice made his chest all gooey, and he internally scolded himself. Weak, weak man.

 "I did not come for the trip down kidnapping lane!" Yoshi huffed, glancing slightly to the side, separating the two of them. "... I am here because I need your help."

Big Mama straightened herself once she was standing on her own eight feet once more, giving a soft little hum and smile (Or was that a snarl? A sneer? Honestly, it was hard to tell.)

"Lots of people need my help, huggypoo, I'm afraid you'll have to be just a skosh more specific about the situation."

Yoshi sighed deeply. "Okay, fine. Do you know of Baron Draxum?"

"Oh, there's not a noogin in the whole Hidden City who doesn't know Draxy by now."

"So you've heard of his arrest."

"Of course, everyone in the city is all a-fuzzy-buzz about the whole nasty business."

"Okay," Yoshi said, taking a deep breath. "Okay, so, basically, what happened is five years ago Draxum sent his gargoyles to kidnap me so he could use my DNA to create mutant super soldiers to wipe out the human race, and also I think he is a fan? But then the lab caught on fire, and there was quite a large explosion, I got turned into a rat, he made four mutant children with some turtles and ooze and probably other things, I think, and when I escaped I took them with me, so I guess now they're my sons, and also they have my DNA, so I guess they’re biologically my kids, too? And we have been living in the sewers in hiding because I'm pretty sure that he thinks that we died in the fire and I would really rather not deal with him coming after us and trying to do a whole custody battle thing, I'm pretty sure it would be messy, and obviously, he is not fit to be a parent, I mean, come on, have you met that guy? But here is the thing, living in the sewer is sort of a bummer and not really the best environment to raise four small children if I'm being completely honest, but now Draxum has been arrested and so I don’t really have to worry so much about him hunting us down or whatever, which means we do not have to be in hiding, which is great, but obviously we cannot go up to New York with... this whole situation."

He gestured to all of himself. 

The silence that followed, though brief, was deafening.

"Oh my," Big Mama finally said. "You do need my help."

Yoshi sighed deeply, feeling himself slump slightly. "Please, Gumo. They are just little boys. I do not want them to spend their entire lives in abandoned sewer tunnels all on their own."

Big Mama narrowed her eyes slightly, giving Yoshi an almost sharp look. The space between them was long and heavy before she finally spoke again.

"So you want cloaking crystals, then."

"And," Yoshi hissed, pointing a finger. "I want your word that you will leave me and my sons in peace!"

Okay, this one was definitely a smile. "I suppose that can be arranged, cuddlekins. But! It's going to cost you!" She all but giggled, tapping the tip of his nose teasingly, sending Yoshi reeling back with a loud huff.

 "Cost me!?" He snapped. "Don't you think you owe me after, I don't know, kidnapping me!? I still have not gotten an apology, by the way!"

"Oh, don't be such a Prickley Petey," she laughed, waving him off. "Business is business. And besides, you loved fighting in my Battle Nexus!"

"I most certainly did not!"

"Oh, pish-posh. I don’t want to hear that sort of taradiddle. We had such magnificent times together! Just thinking about it makes my heart get all fizzy-pop!" She sighed happily.

"You tormented me!"

"Oh, is that so?" She chirped, tilting her head to the side. "That is just the most confoundfiddly thing, because I was quite sure you were enjoying yourself in that hot tub up on the rooftop that time when we--"

"Enough!" Yoshi shouted, his face flaming. No, no, no, he was not here to get tangled back in her web! They did not have to touch on such memories! "Are you going to help me or not!?"

"Well," she sighed dramatically as she made her way over to the couch in the middle of the room, draping herself across it and pretending to consider her answer. "I suppose I could… for a price.”

That was what Yoshi was afraid she would say. He knew her deals. He had seen many poor souls fall victim to them over the years, and been on the receiving end of them plenty of times himself... And he knew that it never ended well. No one ever outsmarted Big Mama. In the end, she always came out on top.

But he had already known that when he came here. He wouldn't have ever asked her for help if he had any other choice, but it had been weeks now, and he had exhausted every other option he could possibly find. Every shady Hidden City dealer, every run-down pawn shop, every charity or old connection he could find, he had tried, and every time he had run into dead ends. No one had the resources he needed to be Hamato Yoshi again. No one had the resources he needed to give his sons a fighting chance.

 He had always known he was going to have to face her at some point. He couldn't bring his sons to the surface with a loose string like her still dangling behind him... He just wished he had been able to come here asking for less. Maybe then his knees would feel a bit less shaky.

Walking up to the negotiation table without anything in his pockets was not a good feeling.

Yoshi narrowed his eyes but then sighed softly. "What do you want?"

---

The Hidden City was carved into the earth, deep underground, and as a result, there was no moon or sun here. No stars or sky above. All the light in their world came from the massive glowing mushrooms that grew in abundance here, and the only hint at the passage of time came from the slightly cooler hue that they shifted to during the night. 

 Draxum estimated that, based on the current color, it had to be at least two in the morning, if not later. It had been several hours now since Lou Jitsu had fled from him, much to his irritation, and he had been forced to use every moment he had since on damage control.

Lou Jitsu may have escaped, but it had been quite easy to capture the little golden yokai who had brought them here in the first place. They were of little threat while still unconscious, and though he did admit that his mystic powers were still much weaker than they had once been, it was easy enough to create a hard-light structure capable of keeping the teleporting creature in one place. He would deal with them properly later. 

He had no doubt that Lou Jitsu would immediately run to report him to the Hidden City Police, and he could not risk still being nearby when they came to investigate. Once the agent was neutralized, he could work on the next biggest issue.

Where was he going?

He couldn't return to his former lab... They would no doubt look there if it was even still standing to begin with. He also knew full well that his face was likely plastered all over the city by now. He couldn't risk showing himself there, at least not until things had died down a bit. He had already pushed his luck enough as it was, boldly launching a full-frontal attack on the Hamato Clan. He recognized that he had perhaps been reckless, but what else could he have done!? All these years, he thought that his studies had all been lost... here he was, prepared to start his life's work over from scratch... only to learn that it had been stolen from him over a decade ago.

Lou Jitsu had had them this entire time.

He had been shocked to find posters up in the city with his arch-enemy’s face plastered on them. Draxum had all but thrown himself at every underground, low-life contact he could still find in the city to dig up the man’s location, making full use of the precious time he had before news of his escape broke and people began looking at his disguise with more scrutiny. A simple location potion from a street vendor in Witch Town was all he needed.

To think that the legendary Lou Jitsu was not only alive but hoarding his experiments as his own, thinking that he could trick him with simple cloaking crystals! The turtles’ mere existence on the earth brought him so much closer to his goal than he would have ever dared to dream. All he needed was to return them to his possession and unlock their full potential. And once the human threat had been eliminated, and yokai would once again be free to live peacefully on the earth, his name would be cleared, his record expunged, and he would finally be free to live in peace as well.

 He was so close. And once he had achieved his goal... this will have all been worth it. He felt this more than anything else he had ever experienced in his entire life. He always had. And if he had to give his life for the survival and happiness of yokai-kind, so be it. It was a sacrifice he was willing to make.

This thought alone was almost enough to send him straight back to the surface, to make another attempt at reclaiming his mutations right at this very moment, but he knew it would be too risky. If he was caught now, it would be much harder to make a second escape, and he couldn't afford to waste any more time. He was forced to be cautious for now, and seek shelter. And with the Hidden City off the table, this left him with very few options.

He could stay out here, on the outskirts of the city, and hope that no Hidden City police patrols found him, but he knew that this wasn't wise. The police force wasn’t exactly known for their efficiency or competence, but that didn't mean he should stay here and simply trust that no one would manage to find him. He could flee to the human world, but the very thought gave him hives. Live amongst those abominations? The scourge of this planet? He’d sooner turn himself over to the Talking Heads themselves.

He had spent quite some time now raking through every possible option, and though none of them were great... he was fairly convinced now that this was his best possible choice. Breathing slowly, he focused his energy in his core, summoning it up through his limbs and allowing it to settle and pool in his gut. Making a portal in this state was rather ambitious, but he didn't have any other reliable or subtle means of transportation, and he had very little time to waste... So it was a price he would simply have to pay.

He could nearly feel the mystic energy trickling from his fingertips like blood from a wound, his brows twitching slightly with the strain as the pitch-black swirl of magicks curled open in front of him, pushing outward like a flower bud blossoming. A soft, whispering hiss filled the air around him, the portal itself trying to beckon him forward and inside, hungry for a guest to escort, shifting the air around him. 

Draxum smiled smugly to himself, letting out a low, heaving breath. Taxing, but achieved easily enough. Even in this weakened state, he was four times the sorcerer than any other wielder in the Hidden City. He stepped confidently through the portal, allowing it to snap shut behind him as his eyes adjusted to the new lighting. 

If he was not safe in the Hidden City, and he could not bear the human world... Then he would live in between the two. 

He would admit, the abandoned sewers of New York were not the most ideal place to rest and regain his mystic power... But it would work for now as a temporary hide-out. He had much work to do.

---

"Here's what I can offer you."

Yoshi rested his elbows on his thighs, listening intently.

"I give my solemn word that neither I nor any of my employees or associates will pester you or your family. You won't hear a peep from me, snugglykins. The little turtley-boos won't even know I exist."

Okay, a solid start.

"I can also arrange to have everything you'll need to move up tippy-topside. I'm sure there will be lots of questions and paperwork, and as you can imagine, the hotel has people for precisely that kind of prickley-snitch. You'll have all the forged documents, lawyers, and helpful little enchantments you'll need to move everything along smoothly and get this sorted without any sort of tribble."

That was pretty good!

"Lastly, I can give you five Cloaking Crystal bracelets. Top of the line quality, guaranteed to last, complete with anti-removal magicks... and unlimited 24-7 tech support."

Unlimited tech support?! Dang, that was really good!

"All I ask for in return is that you return to the Battle Nexus as my champion."

Yoshi almost choked on his own tongue. "WHAT?!" He spat, spluttering and coughing for a moment. "Are you crazy!?"

"Oh, come now. I think that's more than generous." She tsked in return, crossing her forearms. "And because I have a soft spot for my cuddle muffin, I'll even be willing to take an I-O-U. I'll give you and your turtley-boos five whole years to bauble about New York together before I collect and you come back to work for me."

Yoshi gaped. "Five years!? Five years is not nearly enough time!"

"I should think five years is plenty!" She protested. "That's more than enough time to get them adjusted to all the bafflegab of the city and arrange for new guardianship."

"They're children!" Yoshi floundered. "I knew you would do this! Always has to be something in it for you!!!... My Battle Nexus days are behind me! I have made that very clear!"

"Those are my terms."

"There has to be something else you want! Look-- there will be royalties, once I get back to the surface, lots of them, I'm sure--! I can pay you."

"No."

"We could arrange a monthly fee--"

"I have no interest in your money, dearheart." She tsked. "I have plenty of money. And besides that, nothing you can offer me will be even near as much as what you'll make me when you're my fabtabulous champion again!" She grinned at him, looking almost predatory. “I don’t want your money. I want you.”

"Please. There has to be something else."

"I'm afraid this is the only deal I can offer you, flutterbum." Big Mama replied cooly. "Take it or leave it."

Yoshi balled his hands into fists, resisting a growl of frustration. How could he possibly agree to this? Even putting aside how the thought of returning to the Battle Nexus filled him with terror, he couldn’t leave his sons to grow up without a parent! How could he ever bring himself to abandon his children…?

His mind flipped through every alternative he could possibly conjure. In the time that the two of them sat together in silence in the Luxury Box, Yoshi ran through half a million different schemes, plans, and possibilities. But every single one came up blank. 

How could he bring himself to walk away from his children’s chance at a real life?

“... Eighteen years.” He said. That was enough to see Mikey through to college. 

“Eighteen? Aren’t we feeling optimistic!” Big Mama laughed aloud. “Let’s not waste our time on bafflegab, sweetheart. The highest I’ll go is ten.”

“Sixteen.”

“Twelve.”

“Fourteen.”

“Thirteen.”

“Fourteen.” Yoshi pressed. His youngest was four. At the very least, he wanted them all to be legal adults before he left. It would be easier that way. 

Big Mama stayed quiet for a bit, humming softly and narrowing her eyes. Yoshi resisted the urge to fidget in place. God, what was he doing?... He didn’t even know if she’d agree to this. Fourteen years was a long time. And he wasn’t exactly young, even now, already creeping into his forties (good lord,) would she even still want him in fourteen years?...

“... Fine.” She finally said. “But I reserve the right to begin advertisement for the eventual re-launch of your career as I see fit. Agreed?”

Yoshi blinked slowly.

She was willing to take the deal.

He took a long, deep breath, holding it for several seconds, and then let it back out.

He could not walk away from his children’s only chance at a real life.

“Agreed.”

---

The Luxury Box had changed again since Yoshi had been here last. She had replaced the couch entirely this time. The new one was red velvet. 

“Well, fancy you dropping by!” Big Mama hummed, seeming absolutely tickled by his presence. “I don’t suppose this has anything to do with that whole hullabaloo with Draxy, does it, huggypoo?”

Yoshi bristled, clenching his fists. His mind raced looking for anywhere else he could turn to besides where he currently was. But he still wasn’t finding any good answers.

“... You promised that my children would be safe. That was part of our deal.”

“Nice try, dearheart, but I do believe that the deal was that your children would be safe from me.” She corrected primly, offering him a cool smile and crossing one leg over the other. Somehow this was worse than when she was a big spider. “And I haven’t touched a single hair on the little turtleyboos’ heads, now have I?”

Yoshi frowned. He knew she was right. He knew that that had always been the deal. He just hoped that, maybe, she had forgotten…

Maybe this would be easy.

“I know you are far more connected to the city than the police are.” She employed most of them, after all. “Do you have any word…?”

“No progress yet, I’m afraid. Draxy dearest is still at large, and beyond that little report you put in, there are no leads yet.” Yoshi winced, grinding his teeth. Of course… A little part of him said, maybe she’s lying, but he knew that was just hopeful optimism. “I see you two already caught up.” She remarked with a tiny smile.

Yoshi grumbled, knowing that all the various bruises and scrapes were probably starting to turn brilliant shades of purple and blue, red and orange, slowly discoloring at each former point of contact.

“He came after my sons.”

“Hmmm. That’s a shame.” Big Mama said, not sounding the least bit concerned as she sipped at her tea. “And you just decided to pop in for a visit while you were in the neighborhood, is that it…?”

This was a game to her. Yoshi knew that. But that didn’t stop it from frustrating the hell out of him.

“... My children are in danger.”

“And I suppose you want me to do something about that, don’t you?” She questioned, throwing him a glance. Yoshi frowned but did not reply. “A bit bold to ask me for more help, when you still haven’t even paid me back for the last time.”

“Look. I have money. I have mystic artifacts! I have ancient scrolls with unhelpful glowy guys in them if you want!”

Big Mama laughed. “Huggypoo, I’ve already told you what I want.” She told him, and Yoshi’s heart sank. “I’ll tell you what,” She continued, setting her teacup down in its saucer, the china clicking together very softly. “I can make arrangements to ensure the safety of your little turtleyboos. Between my guards and my magicks, Draxxy won’t be able to touch them, and they won’t be even a nudge the wiser. And, in return…”

Her smile grew wider.

“We can move the timeline of our last deal up a smidge. That sounds fair, wouldn’t you say?”

[ next ]

[yanderederee]

Nightmares

It’s October 31st, therefore my moodiness made me write it!! I hope this is okay, I’m just sad all over again♡ final timeline hauntings.

It was that same dream again. No, calling it a dream would be too nice. It was anything but.

It was dreadful, and it felt so, so real…

It was daylight, broad daylight. You were running, even when you felt your lungs burning. You couldn’t stop. You were already too late.

Just as your rounded the corner into the construction zone, your stomach fell into a pit. Everything was moving so slowly.

Boys of black and white uniform scattered the area. Atop a bleeding Kazutora was Mikey, ramming his fists over and over into his face. Death wouldn’t be far at this rate. Yet amongst the onlookers, a bleeding Baji hobbled over.

The exact words were deaf to your ears.

A knife, raised high in the air.

“You won’t be the one who kills me.”

And with a sharp stab, into his own gut, Baji’s expression twisted with sickening pain, yet somehow still grinning. As though to say it was all alright.

The late October weather did nothing to ease the chill that froze your being still. How did this happen? Why was this happening?

“Keisuke!” You screamed with everything living inside you.

“Baji!!” Chifuyu yelled in unison, sprinting to his friends side. Unable to get in close, you felt as though you were a ghost looming over Takemichi’s form, looking on in horror.

Baji’s dying words were left with them, they were his whole world, his treasure. You couldn’t deny him that. Yet when his blurry eyes wondered to you again, his expression was unreadable. Was he happy to see you for the last time? Was he upset because you saw him like this? Could he even tell it was you?

“I’m starting to hallucinate shit.” He chuckled when the tears ran down his face. “Kei!” You yelled, and fell to your knees, crawling to his limo form. “Please… don’t-“ you sobbed out, the tears you held back were unstoppable now.

“Not a hallucination, huh…” he sighed, and reached his hand out for you. Quickly, you took it into your own. He was so cold.

“Y/n… I’m sorry.”

And that was it. All that were was of Baji left. His final words, before all was no more.

A final gutteral scream deafened all else around you, hunching in on yourself with Baji’s cold dead hand in yours.

—-just like that, you would awake to reality, the same scream ripping the silence around you.

And suddenly, you realized. You were awake. A dream? A memory, right? It felt so real! But- it wasn’t, right?

“What the fuck!” Screamed a familiar voice.

Looking around for your new surroundings, you realize you were in a familiar bedroom too, Baji’s room. Laying by your lonesome in his barely made bed. And sitting along the floor, your study materials scattered all around, Baji’s wide eye expression started back at you.

“What the hell?! What was all that about?!” He yelled back, clearly startled.

What?

Oh, that’s right, it was a dream.

No, a nightmare.

“You…” you croaked softly.

“You’re alive..!” You couldn’t help as you cried out again, welled up tears falling helplessly. In the same movement, you jumped from the bed, and rammed your entire body into his own.

“What the hells the matter with you?! No shit I’m alive!” Baji coughed in reply. Gently, he ran his hand flat and firm against your back, once he realized you were genuinely crying.

You held him so tightly against you, with every push of strength in you, you hugged all the life that was Baji Keisuke.

“I was so scared you really- t-that you really died!” You sobbed into his chest, weakly throwing your fist at his chest.

“W-what day is it?” You asked, wiping yourself as best you could before starting up into Baji’s eyes, wide and worried. “Uh, F-Friday?”

You hugged a chuckle, and looked over at the calendar he had hanging on his wall. “October 25th…” you sighed. “Have you seen Kazutora?”

Baji’s nerves tensed a little bit, but caught himself of the random question quickly. “I mean, yeah, we had a meeting yesterday, so.” He shrugged. “Why?”

“Didn’t he, like, just get out of juvy..?” You asked softly. “Juvy? What for? We’ve don’t some bad shit, but we ain’t gone that far! Well, at least we weren’t caught…” Baji flicked your forehead affectionately. “Really?” You asked, looking confused. Baji rose an eye brow in suspicion.

“You seriously had some weird dream, huh…” Baji asked, before holding you close. “…i think… I might have had the same dream, before…” he whispered, like he didn’t want to believe himself. “I see Mikey, and Kazutora fighting. I feel weak, like I’m bleeding outs and … I always end up sta—“ he tried to relay back, but you made a somewhat whining noise to dissuade him from finishing his sentence. He chuckles at you for that. “But it’s just a dream… a weird as hell one, but that’s all it is.” He said affirmatively.

“I ain’t going anywhere,” he said, almost like a promise. “Then..” you shuffled, and pulling away just enough to grin up at him, snot and all.

“What are we dressing as for Halloween?~”

[thdorkmagnet]

Match Set (Turtle Tots: Before the Rise)

@flufftober 2024 Day 7- Hoodie Weather

Fandom: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Chapter Summary: Just the disaster twins and their matching hoodies.

Duo: Disaster Twins

A/N: You guys have no idea how much I've been wanting to do a Disaster Twins chapter aaaaaaaa!! They are by far my favorite duo and I love them with all my heart and soul!! I would die for these boys ajdklsjfdksljsl

“Make sure you dress warmly, it's going to be chilly out!” Splinter yelled from the TV room. 

Leo gasped. A glance over at Donnie and Leo knew he was thinking the same thing. It was tradition, after all. 

“Matching hoodies?!” Leo screamed louder than necessary.

“Fine,” Donnie moaned dramatically as if the smile tugging at his lips wasn't super visible to everyone. 

Leo cheered and ran to go grab them.

…

Leo and Donnie held hands as they darted from rooftop to rooftop with the rest of their siblings, extra clingy with each other as they proudly displayed their twinness to the world. Leo’s hoodie was a bright pop of blue with bits of purple peaking out in places: the pockets, the drawstring, the lining of the hood. Donnie’s was the inverse of this, mainly purple with small spatterings of blue where it was tasteful.

It fit them perfectly.

An undoubtable matched set and yet, opposite in every way. 

Exactly like the disaster twins.

The two moved in perfect sync as they hopped from one landing to the next, taking up the rear of their little party, though they kept arguing about who was leading who. Raph and Mikey mostly ignored them as the two seemed to exist in their own little bubble, jumping from one train of thought to the next with seemingly no rhyme or reason, telling inside jokes that only the two of them would catch, the whole works. The two were operating on a different wavelength from the rest of the world right now, although Donnie would dispute calling it “twin sense” with every fiber of his being. 

The two were so caught up in each other that they nearly ran straight into Raph’s back when he came to an abrupt stop. The snapper gave them a perplexed look over his shoulder but the twins just stared back blankly. “We’re here,” he said and they quickly moved to the edge of the roof to see. It was a little corner store that the turtles had raided for supplies plenty of times in the past, Leo’s eyes lighting up when he saw the display window.

“Oh! Oh! They got blue and purple backpacks, Dee! We should totally buy those!”

Donnie tapped a finger to his chin, thinking, though there was a tug of a smile on his lips indicating he was already on board. “Hmmm, it could be useful to have. And it does match my hoodie…” 

“Plus, twwwwinnns,” Leo added with a charismatic lean closer. 

The smile spread across Donnie’s entire face now and he nodded. “Alright, you’ve convinced me.”

“Yes!” Leo exclaimed and Mikey hopped up and down excitedly. 

“Oooh, me too, me too!”

Donnie squinted down at the display window. “It looks like they don't have it in orange, Michael.”

“Awwww, boo.”

“Well it doesn't matter because Pops didn't give us enough money for backpacks anyways,” Raph suddenly stated, rifling through an old, beat up wallet. 

Now all three boys were booing, giving their big brother disapproving thumbs down. 

“Well he didn't!” Raph cried indignantly, frowning to himself. 

However, Leo’s spirits weren’t one to be dampened so easily, suggesting with a mischievous smile, “We could always pay them back later.” He looked to Raph as he said it, giving him his most charming and persuasive grin. 

Raph nodded, agreeing a lot faster than expected, “Okay, I’ll allow it.” 

“But isn't that considered stealing?” Mikey, the resident moral compass, asked.

Now it was Donnie's turn to smirk, a look nearly identical to his twin's as he stated with his own unique brand of charisma, “Only if you get caught.”

…

It was much warmer in the little shop than outside, but neither Leo or Donnie made any move to remove their hoodies, even as Raph and Mikey took off theirs. Instead, the slider bolted for the clothing section, his twin fast on his heels. Mikey went to check out the toy aisle for anything new, leaving Raph to (once again) pick up the supplies they were actually there for. The snapper sighed once and started loading up on groceries because someone had to make sure they had food to eat… even if he kinda wanted to check out the toys too. 

There was actually a pretty decent selection of backpacks available and while looking for the ones Leo had spotted in the window, the blue turtle came across something even more amazing. 

The slider gasped loud, latching onto his twin’s arm in an iron grip. “Donnie! Donnie!” he shouted despite being side by side, shaking the poor softshell relentlessly in his excitement. 

Donnie, agitated by the violent shaking, snapped loud, “Okay, okay! I’m right here! You can stop!” 

The slider did but only so he could drag him closer and point to what exactly had caught his eye. “They have unicorn backpacks!” he said wistfully, eyes practically twinkling in wonder. 

“Fascinating,” Donnie said, dry, trying to pry his brother’s fingers loose. 

“We have to get them!” Leo was practically vibrating in joy, even as his twin stayed stiff in his grip. 

“Absolutely not,” the softshell snapped, finally managing to free his arm. 

That made Leo snap out of his fantasy and straight back to reality, turning to Donnie with a pout. “Whaaaat, but whhhhyy?” he whined incessantly, hoping to guilt his twin into agreeing.  

But Donnie stood his ground, not so easily swayed by Leo's manipulations. “I agreed to a set of backpacks in both purple and blue. Not unicorn themed garbage.”

“It’s not garbage!” Leo snapped back, jumping on the offensive. “And look-” He snatched up two backpacks from the display shelf, holding them up for his brother to see. “They still come in purple and blue. So what’s the problem?”

“The problem is I don’t wanna be seen wearing unicorns on my back, for pizza’s sake!” Donnie huffed, exasperated. 

“Oh, come on! Who’s gonna even see you? April?”

“Yes! And don’t want to make her think I like this stuff!”

Leo rolled his eyes. “She already knows you're a nerd, it’s not like you can get any lamer.” 

Donnie huffed and pulled his own backpacks off the shelf. “Well then how about we just get these, instead?” The pair in question were covered in algebraic formulas and symbols and Leo instantly wrinkled his nose in disgust.  

“Ew, gross! No way! Keep your nerd stuff away from me.” He took a harrowing step backwards as if just being that close would infect him with cringe. 

“But they have them in our colors, so what's the problem?” Donnie mocked, using Leo’s own words against him. 

Leo frowned, giving his twin a challenging glare which Donnie met with his own. “It was my idea, I should get to pick.”

“Your logic is flawed.”

“No it's not! You're just not being fair!” 

The stare down continued, both far too stubborn to admit defeat, twin telepathy on full blast as they silently dared each other, ‘You break first!’

“Why don't you both just get the ones you want and not fight about it?” Raph suggested, sounding completely exasperated. 

“Because then we wouldn't be matching?!” Leo shouted like it was obvious. 

“Duh, that's the whole point, Raph,” Donnie added, the two oh so quick to gang up on their big brother, even mid-fight with each other. 

Raph sighs deep before snapping an order at the two. “Then how about you ditch the backpacks for a minute and actually help me get what we came here for!” 

“Fine,” the twins groaned as one, shooting each other one last lingering glare. 

Only there's a rattle at the front door and all four sets of eyes swerve in that direction, pupils wide and afraid. The store owner stands just outside, looking tired, cold, and miserable as he slits the key into the lock. The twins seize up in panic when they hear the click, frozen like deers in headlights. 

As the door swings open, the man's loud grumbling fills the space, putting the boys impossibly more on edge. “-making me do inventory this time of- what the?” The man's eyes immediately zero in on Leo and Donnie and there's a flash of confusion. The twins' faces go about six shades paler. This guy was a lot bigger than he looked from the rooftops. 

Leo offers his best disarming smile but it comes out too much like a grimace to be all that effective. 

It doesn't take long for the man to put two and two together- especially with the incriminating evidence of a backpack in each hand- and suddenly he's glaring hatefully at the pair. “Why you little thieves! You got a lot of nerve tryin to steal from Victor Bytes!” 

Realizing his mistake, Leo tossed the backpacks away, Donnie quick to do the same, both frantically shuffling backwards till they hit a wall. “We- We were gonna pay you back later,” Leo tries to plead in a near quiver, taking a protective stance in front of his twin. 

“Yeah, sure you were!” The guy snaps, disbelief and hateful spite dripping from every word. “Nice try but I wasn't born yesterday!” He starts rolling up his sleeve, stomping towards the two with malicious intent. “I think someone needs to teach you brats a lesson!” 

It was then that Raph darts out from between two aisles, flinging the large bag of groceries as hard as he can at the guy and roaring, “Hot Soooouup!” 

The bag hits the shopkeep with enough force to fully knock him off his feet, the thin paper ripping down the middle and sending an explosion of food tumbling. The man is left dazed and disoriented for a moment, laying in a pile of crushed produce. 

It was all the advantage the boys need, Raph yelling over his shoulder, “Go!” 

Leo and Donnie don’t have to be told twice, racing for the back door. Raph headed that way as well, pausing only to scoop Mikey up on his way out, the little box turtle tucked away in his shell the moment the shopkeep had entered. 

The human manages to struggle to his feet, spotting the four escaping figures and shouting, “HEY! Get back here you little punks!” 

The back door still hangs open from when they’d all broken in, letting the four slip from the store’s warm central heating to the frigid New York City air in a matter of seconds. Raph and Mikey run one way, so Leo and Donnie run the other, escaping deeper into the dark alley. For whatever reason, the man chaseq after the twins instead of their elder and younger brothers, yelling obscenely as he pursues them with all he's worth. He was far more out of shape compared to the two tots, but was quickly shortening the distance thanks to his height advantage.

Luckily, there's a metal fence ahead dividing the alley in half, with just enough room for the two small turtles to squeeze through if they suck in a breath. Donnie goes first, making it through with no issue. But when it came Leo’s turn…

His sleeve catches on something sharp, bringing him to a staggered halt. He yelps, tugging his arm desperately in the hopes of wiggling loose. Donnie instantly turns to check on his twin when he hears the scream, only for his heart to plummet when Leo looks back at him with scared, watery eyes. “I'm stuck!”

Donnie is at his twin's side in half a second, fiddling with the caught sleeve, trying to pry it loose but the thing isn't budging! “Take it off!” Donnie shouts, voice shrill with fear. 

But Leo stubbornly shakes his head. “No!”

“Leo-” Donnie starts to scold only for something to grab his brother tight by the wrist. 

Leo cries out in fear, both boys looking up at the now grinning face of the shopkeep. “Got you now, you little brat!” 

He starts to drag Leo back through the fence, so Donnie wraps both arms around Leo’s waist and digs in his heels, fighting with all he's worth against the much stronger grip of the adult man. Inch by horrible inch, Leo is tugged ever closer to his fate, so Donnie just grits his teeth and digs his heels in deeper. 

“No, let me go!” Leo shouts, completely hysterical at this point, and kicks the fence as hard as he could. 

It startles the man, grip loosening for a single instant. And Donnie, fueled by love and impossible desperation, pulls Leo with strength he didn't know existed, something tearing loose and sending the two sprawling to the ground. 

Donnie is back on his feet quick, dragging Leo behind him as the angry shopkeeper shouts obscene threats at their retreating backs. 

The two run until the voice long fades into the background, ducking into the nearest manhole the moment they were sure they hadn't been followed. 

Once on solid ground again, the pair doubled over, panting and gasping for air, their heartbeats a loud, thunderous roar against their eardrums. “What was that, Leo?!” Donnie hissed, shooting his twin a sharp glare. “Why didn't you take off the stupid hoodie so we could-”

But then Donnie noticed Leo curled over his arm with a miserable frown and the anger died on his tongue. "Are you hurt anywhere?” he asked softly, accessing his brother for any noticeable injuries. 

Leo shook his head, uncurling enough so Donnie could see his sleeve. “It ripped,” he said sadly, poking a finger into the quite sizable hole. 

“Oh.” Donnie inwardly sighed in relief that Leo wasn't hurt physically. Only he was hurt mentally and that was much, much harder for Donnie to fix on his own. He shuffled awkwardly for what was probably too long of a moment, trying to cobble together something soothing to say. He finally settled on, “Well, it doesn't look that bad. I'm sure we can get it stitched back up.”

“But then we won't match!” Leo shouted, sounding really torn up about it. 

And the thing was, Donnie understood why. 

He knew how much Leo loved matching with him, because Donnie liked matching with Leo, just as much. Maybe even more. 

Honestly, it had never even occurred to him just how much it mattered until now. 

But it did matter. 

So much. 

As cheesy as it was, wearing those hoodies around had been their way of physically proving they were twins. That they belonged together. That even if they fought or argued or made each other mad that they still choose each other as their other half. 

So to see that symbol of their bond severed in such a way… yeah it was pretty upsetting for him too if he was being honest. 

It was so important to Leo he’d risked capture over losing this incredibly valuable piece of their connection. 

For a moment Donnie just stared at his twin brother. And stared and stared and stared. 

Then he turned on his heels and marched straight over to the nearest trash pile littering the sewer tunnel, Leo just watching in growing confusion. He dug around a bit before pulling out the sharpest object he could find, using it to slice through the sleeve of his hoodie. 

“Wha- Donnie!” Leo squeaked, rushing to check on his genius brother, who it seemed had completely lost his mind. 

But Donnie just gently grabbed his wrist and guided his arm till it was side by side with his, showing off the two identical rips in the arms of their hoodies. “Now we match again. Happy?”

Leo blinked, eyes flickering between the two torn holes in disbelief. But his bewilderment soon turned to giggles, laughing at the complete absurdity of such a ridiculous solution. He pressed his head against Donnie’s shoulder and his twin released his hand to give him a proper hug. “Weirdo,” Leo teased, voice warm with affection.

Donnie rolled his eyes but smiled. “Better a weirdo than a dumdum,” he said, equally as fond, rubbing a hand up and down Leo’s carapace the way he knew he liked. 

That made Leo laugh harder and cling just a little bit closer. Donnie felt his chest warm, though he wouldn’t admit it out loud. And then because he maybe wanted to make Leo even happier, he offered, “Do you want to sneak back in later and steal those unicorn backpacks as revenge?”

Leo abruptly broke off the hug so he could grin mischievously at his twin. “Heck yes!” 

Donnie smirked back, knowing without any kind of mirror that it was a perfect match to Leo’s. 

Exactly as it should be.

A/N: For anyone wondering the shopkeep was based off Vic aka Spider Bytez from the 2012 series (or at least that's what I know him from since it's the only other series I've seen) I thought he fit the role pretty well though his design I imagine being a lot different to better fit the Rise style. And y'know he doesn't turn into a spider mutant *ahem*

[fishsticksloser]

Could i request some Mikey angst? Maybe Mikey has a nightmare about reader getting hurt/dying and wakes up by himself so he tries calling reader and they don't answer. He panics and kinda just breaks into readers house and cuddling ensues lol. Hopefully this makes sense and you don't mind writing it lol

Walk Through Hell

Mikey x gn!reader

Warnings: nightmares, violence, blood, death & injury, angst, comfort, fluff, aged up

A/N: Mikey :( I never thought I'd be writing Mikey angst. I am using some of the more common villains (ie Bebop and Rocksteady)

The dream started out like it all his dreams do nowadays. You and Mikey were on a date in the city. You laughed and smiled like you always seemed to do, making his heart flutter. But the dream changed. A rhino and warthog jump down, grabbing you.

"Mikey!" You yell.

It was just Mikey, but he couldn't let you get hurt so he fought. Rocksteady threw you so he could join the fight. You hit the brick wall behind Mikey. He cried out. He ran to you, not caring about the other 2 mutants.

"Stay with me!" He sniffed, picking you up, running to the lair. "Y/N, please stay with me."

Mikey jacket was soaked with your blood by the time he made it to the lair. He called out for Donnie, but it was too late. He knew it, but he had to hope, right? He looked down at you in his arms and you smiled at him sadly. Mikey watched as the light in your eyes faded out.

"Mikey..." Donnie cautiously approached, seeing you limp in his arms. Leo was behind Donnie, praying that Mikey didn't lash out. He wanted to scream, but everything went black.

Mikey woke up gasping, grabbing at his blankets. He fumbled for his phone, dialing your number. His arm still felt warm from where your blood stuck to his skin. You didn't answer. He called again, still no answer. Mikey scrambled out of bed, throwing on clothes before racing to your place. Calling constantly.

You woke to banging on the window. You got up, flipping on your bedroom light. Mikey saw you shuffling to your window, sleepily.

"Baby!" Mikey sighs in relief. He slips through the window, closing it afterwards, and tackling you into a hug. "I tried calling, but you didn't answer."

"Mikey, it's 2am... I was asleep." You yawn. He didn't move, his arms still holding you. You felt your shirt becoming wet, his body shook slightly. "What happened?"

"I had a nightmare..." He took a deep breath. "You died. It felt so real... My arm was still warm with your blood and then you weren't answering your phone and I just-"

"Shhh... I'm still right here..." You wrap your arms around him. He slowly gets off of you and you lead him to your room, turning the lights off. You laid down, patting yourself so he knew it was okay. Mikey laid between your legs, his head on your chest. "Hear that? It's still beating. I'm not leaving you any time soon."

He hums softly, falling asleep to your heartbeat. You massage his head, drifting back to sleep yourself.

[lostsowly]

Takemichi and Chifuyu Friendship Headcanons

Just wanted to share some hcs for my favourite tr duo <33

In the Bonten timeline (ignoring the Bonten part), after Takemichi time leaped back into the future, Chifuyu made sure to record everything that happens in the past through video recordings, photos and diary entries (for things he couldn’t record). Since Takemichi would end up skipping twelve years of his life, he didn’t want him to miss out on all the good things that happened in the past because of him

He also made extra sure to record his proposal to Hina (assuming it was the past Takemichi who proposed), and made multiple copies to keep it safe for him when he returns (Takemichi cried when he found out)

During high school a lot of people would approach Takemichi to ask him to pass on their confessions to Chifuyu because he was the one closest to him. He would at times get overwhelmed with the amount of confessions (I imagine Chifuyu being really popular in high school), but would always make sure each one of them reached him because he was hoping Chifuyu would find someone he can be happy with

The first time it happened they both spent considerable amount of time freaking out over how to reject a confession (in the end they asked Mitsuya for help)

They both share the same brain cells when it comes to Shoujo manga. They would be the kind to have a breakdown together over a couple holding hands for the first time and won’t stop screaming and will get yelled at by the people around them

They would also always end up rooting for the same guy in case of love triangles but for different reasons

Chifuyu invites Takemichi to his house often to hang out and he’s always polite when he comes over so Chifuyu’s mom likes him because he’s the most “normal” friend he has (she doesn’t know he’s one of the captains of the biggest gang in the country)

Basically for Chifuyu, Takemichi is that one friend your mom tells you to be like

Takemichi noticed that Chifuyu gets happier receiving gifts that are for Peke j than receiving gifts for himself so for his birthday he would always get him gifts for Peke j (usually toys) along with getting a gift for him

Chifuyu is the biggest TakeHina shipper (along with Emma of course)

Chifuyu puts tomato ketchup on the most random things before eating and somehow it rubbed off on Takemichi as well, so now they are banned from eating out with the gang if they don’t stop doing that

Chifuyu once tried to take Takemichi to shop for better clothes but Takemichi kept picking up weirdest clothes that Chifuyu gave up and went home

In the final timeline, along with Mikey, Chifuyu is the only person who knows about time leaping because Takemichi wanted him to know even if he couldn’t remember the previous time lines

[frosted-skies]

trikey —

deliver to: heaven

TW: Dr*gs, overdose and s*icidal ideation

i would wait for you a thousand years, but would my life last long enough?

trevor philips x michael de santa

a series of nine letters, corresponding to the nine years since michael townley’s death during a failed heist in ludendorff, north yankton, written by trevor philips.

the nine letters are kept safely in individual envelopes, stacked chronologically and locked in a wooden box under his bed.

engraved in the wood was:

deliver to: heaven.

—

playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2Yv3sN3tq0kfgZyI83k5P2?si=JKbagLZiS0KzG9A9vOgbjA&pi=a-ATFl3aYgQmuF

2004.

Michael.

I can't believe you’re not with me anymore. I can’t believe you are gone, I can’t believe you are dead. I couldn't leave your tombstone, even after everyone else had left, including your wife and children.

I stayed there for god knows how long. I cried in the cold unforgiving North Yankton winter, kneeling next to your grave. I held onto your tombstone. That smooth concrete with your name engraved.

Michael Townley, 1965-2004.

I wanted to dig out your body, I wanted to look at your face one last time. I cried, screamed, begged for all of this to be a dream. I prayed to a God I didn't even know existed, I yelled into the empty grey skies. I yelled your name. hoping that somehow and somewhere, you’d come back.

Why did it have to end like this? I should have taken that bullet instead of you, I should have died and not you. Why was it you? Why did it have to be you? Why? I don’t know how to live without you, Mikey. You were my everything. And now…you’re gone.

Maybe you’re happier on the other side wherever you end up. I don’t fucking know. But I can’t think of a way to live a life without you. I’d crumble without you. I can’t stop thinking about you. I see you in everything and everywhere. I can’t get you outta my mind. I have a shirt of yours. And a jacket. Those are my only two things that will remind me of you. And I’ll treasure it with my whole life. I promise.

I’m missing you so much, Townley. And I’ll keep missing you forever. I’ll always be waiting for you on the other side. No matter how long it takes. I’m waiting for you. I promise.

T.

2005.

Michael.

It’s been a year since you left me. A fucking year. 12 months, 48 weeks, 365 days, 8760 hours and 525,600 minutes.

All that time. I spent it alone. I moved to another part of the US. I decided to move to San Andreas. Blaine County. Sandy Shores. In a trailer.

I did drugs. All that you could think of. Just so I can fill the void and the never ending pain that your death caused. I still can’t believe that you’re actually gone. Sometimes I saw see you in my dreams. Sometimes I see your face in other people’s. God, I miss you so much I think I’m going a bit crazy.

But I don’t think you would like to see me like this, do you? I don’t know. But I just needed something to quell me from the emptiness that you left me. I still have that shirt and jacket of yours. I take care of it well, so your scent doesn’t ever go away. I kept all the pictures we took. I look at them when I miss you the most. And then I cry my eyes out. And then I smoke meth. And repeat.

One year since you left me and I’m struggling. I don’t know what will happen to me soon. But I’ll wait for you. I promise, I will never forget you and I’ll wait.

I miss you and I love you. Forever. Until I die.

T.

2006.

Michael.

Two years. Two fucking years. Two years have passed since you died.

I don’t know if I’m surviving. Barely.

Writing to Brad. He’s in prison. Even though I hate his guts kinda, I still write. I’m not heartless am I?

I went to visit you up in North Yankton. Still cold as always. I think the priest saw me. I don’t know. Don’t care. I sat there for probably three hours. Talking to you. Talking to a fucking stone. I don’t know if you heard me. I guess you did.

I miss you so much Mikey. I really do. Why did you have to leave me so soon?

I have no energy to write more. I’m gonna go smoke meth probably.

I miss you. I love you.

T.

2007.

Michael.

Three fucking years.

Three.

The more days I live, the more I wonder if I should still stay. My life has no purpose.

My tolerance grew. The usual amount I smoked isn’t cutting it anymore.

I sometimes smoke with a picture of you next to me. You’re my only friend. I think.

I tried huffing gas. Interesting experience. Ended up with a pounding headache and puking my guts out at the abandoned motel. Who cares.

I don’t think I should stay alive anymore, Mikey.

I can’t do this anymore. I’m numb. I feel invisible. Miserable. Horrible.

I should just…die. I have no purpose to live anymore. Especially without you here with me. I’m tired of crying, breathing, and living. I might just die by an overdose. I should.

I’m broken, Mikey. Maybe I’ll see you. You’re waiting for me, right?

T.

2008.

Michael.

Four years. Sorry I wrote later than usual.

I was high as fuck. Took a mix of meth and heroin. Crazy. I probably killed a guy or two. I don’t know.

Almost died. Wasn’t planning to at that moment.

I heard your voice when I was tripping. Were you visiting me Mikey? I missed you.

I dont know if it was the drugs or my imagination. But I swear I saw you.

Planning to overdose next year, on the fifth year. Probably gonna mix a fuckton of drugs. It’ll be effective. I hope so. I just wanna meet you again.

You’re waiting right? Wait for me Mikey.

I’m coming.

T.

2009.

Michael.

Well…I tried.

I overdosed. I drank, I smoked. Somehow. But somehow, I’m still alive. Fuck.

Damn it. Fuck. Wait for me Mikey.

Please. I wanna see you again.

Hold you. Hug you. Talk to you.

Wait for me. Please.

I’ll come to you, Mikey. I promise.

T.

2010.

Michael.

Six years have passed.

I still wished I was the one who got shot. Not you. God. I miss you everyday. It hurts. Even the drugs aren’t cutting it anymore.

I miss you so much. I don’t know how to describe it. This grief seems to go on forever.

Should I just…keep living and accept the fact that you’re gone?

Tried to die twice to meet you but it seems like my life has other plans. Maybe one day I’ll accept the fact that you’re gone. But that doesn’t change the fact that I miss you so much. Remember that.

T.

2011.

Michael.

Coming to terms with the fact that you’re dead is weird. I’m still doing drugs though.

I think I found a friend. His name is Ron or whatever. He's a bit of a weirdo and his wife's an ass.

He's kinda like a little apprentice to me. I started a little drug stint to make money. Forgot to tell you that.

Even though I'm slowly accepting reality…that you're gone…

I will never forget you.

Take my word for that.

T.

2012.

Michael.

Sorry for not writing. Ron got a divorce from his ass wife. He lives in the trailer next to mine. I got another kid. Wade. Very gullible young kid.

I've been thinking of you a lot.

I've fully accepted that you're dead. After eight damn years. Almost a decade of me crying at night because I missed you.

Accepting that you're dead feels weird. Really weird. It's kinda like I've made peace with it. I no longer feel the weight of my grief. Nor have I felt that soul-crushing, rose-thorns-on-my-throat feeling of deathly missing you. Even after all that.

Remember that in another universe I still love you with all my heart.

T.

2013.

Michael.

Happy New Year. Well…I'm a month late. You don't care, do you?

I hope you're okay wherever you are. It's almost ten years since you're gone.

Isn't it weird that everyone grieves differently? I'm here always having you in my thoughts. Maybe your wife moved on quick and married someone else!

Finally accepting your death is calming. I'm not a miserable mess anymore. I have those two idiots and my business to occupy my time.

You're always in my thoughts. I miss you lots, Mikey. I love you lots, too.

T.

[turtle-steverogers]

Steve is adamant about always cutting the tags off of his shirts to the point that Bucky does it for him without question when he gets Steve a new shirt or sweatshirt. The small act of “i see you” makes Steve melt every damn time

[frienderbee]

I've always had the idea that jonatello wouldn't immediately tell the family about them, mostly due to Donnies fear of their reaction, partially cause Casey kind of likes sneaking around. Now imagine Donnie didn't come back at the end of The Power Inside Her.

Everyone's mourning, struggling to even process it. Everyone's mourning but no one knows how much Casey loved him. No one knows how badly he wanted to scream until his throat was raw, how he didn't even know what he'd do anymore.

Raph pushes him away, tells him he wouldn't get it. No one thinks to check on him cause they were never that close, cause they're all so caught up in their own grief to notice and Casey can't even blame them.

April knew, but she can't even look at him. She can't look at anyone because she blames herself and she just lost her best friend to her own hand.

Leo and Mikey don't pay him any attention, Splinter focuses on his sons. The whole family is falling apart and they're all trying to hold eachother up. Mikey tries to keep the others positive, filling in gaps of silence with memories of Donnie. Leo tries to stay strong, to not feel like a failure or focus on his own feelings cause his brothers need him. Raph is angry, he wants someone to blame- someone to yell at. Za-Narons dead and as much as he wants to point his finger at April he can't cause she clearly already blames herself. A part of him is mad at Donnie, for being so stupid to get himself killed.

April doesn't talk, not to any of them, but she doesn't leave the lair either. She haunts the lab, leaving everytime someone else enters but returning the moment they've left. She refuses to make eye contact, fearing what she'd see. Unable to look the damage she caused in the face.

No one expected Casey to grieve. So he didn't. Not in front of them at least. They needed someone to keep their family from falling to pieces, someone who could be there for them. Someone they didn't have to worry about.

So he held it together; helping Mikeys attempts at lifting the atmosphere by laughing as loudly as always each time he told a story; offering to spar Raph to give him a chance to vent his frustrations enough to truly feel the grief he was avoiding; giving Leo a break from being the strong one and letting him cry on his shoulder when they were alone.

April was more difficult but he persisted, bringing her food and keeping in contact with her Dad as she never came home anymore. She didn't want his help like the others, she could see through his mask into the poorly hidden grief. But she was in no state to help him.

And if he went to bed each night, holding the tattered bandana that had floated down the night Donnie died. No one noticed. If he cried so hard he couldn't blink properly in the mornings, the family didn't have the energy to question it.

Eventually he'll break and everything will come crashing down on him. It will finally hit him that this isn't just a bad dream and it isn't just the turtles that were effected by if.

But for now, he'll be there for them and hopefully he'll be able to hold off till they're stable enough to help him in return.

[truths33k3r4]

DAY 4- “Betrayed By Someone They Trust”

(PS Just a quick heads up for some warnings~ This fic- is not a happy one. TW- Capture, blood, strangling, implied character death, and stabbing)

Smoke burned into Lotus’ eyes as she peered through the flames frantically. Her throat was dry and itchy from the lack of moisture in the air. Vibrant hues of red and yellow flickered in the reflection of her irises, her pupils shrinking with her hope. She kept her limbs as close to her body as possible as the flames continued to grow.

Where are they??

The smaug filling the room echoed the mist in her mind as she tried to remember what happened. She recalled a bright neon light encircling her and her brothers as they fled from incoming foes in an intergalactic battleship. As a tingling sensation overtook her, sparking electricity through every nerve in her body, her whole world went to black.

And then- she woke up in the belly of the beast.

She winced as a twinge of tightness pulled at the muscles in her arms, biting back a yelp as she tried to rub away the remaining rope burns from her wrists.

The flames continued to grow, alighting the room as if a sunset had unleashed all of its power. As the fire grew in mass, the amount of oxygen shrank. Lotus coughed and tried to hide her face with her arms, but the smoke paid no mind as it weaved itself into her sinuses. Between more hacks and now tears, she grabbed her mask tails and spat in them, covering her mouth so she would somewhat be able to breathe through the moisture in the fabric.

She knew it wouldn’t last- but she had to try something.

The flames continued to claw at the walls as more boards fell to the ground in crackling shards. She scoured the room for an exit, but the fury of the flames hindered her from seeing one. Lotus could feel her barely damp mask tails continue to dry out with each passing second. 

Time was running out.

She knew her brothers were around here somewhere. They had to be. Not just anyone would do something so risky as using a wrecking ball on a crane to obliterate the wall of your deadliest enemies’ fortress. No, that would be illogical, foolish, and life-threatening.

That would be her brothers.

Something any newcomer to their home would quickly learn, was the fact that all bets were off once someone in the family was put in danger; All or nothing. But unfortunately, such reckless actions would always come back to snap at their shells. Her brothers did an excellent job of infiltrating the lair in which she was being kept, but they didn’t take into consideration just how many flamed stakes would be strewn throughout the walls. Or how flammable the carpet would be…

..Their arch nemesis needed a new indoor decorator.

Lotus coughed and staggered as the remaining moisture in her mask dried up. Her lungs were quickly filled with smoke as her eyes squinted, trying to see through her stinging tears. She searched with choked breaths and gasps for anything that would resemble her brother’s colors: The cool blue of Leo, the vibrant orange of Mikey, the bold purple of Don, and the zealous red of Raph. 

The flames grew ever closer, making her back away into the middle of the room. The heat was beginning to sting her arms and legs now, as sharp, burning claws flickered at her body. Her throat felt drier than the inside of an hourglass, but that didn’t stop her as she tried yelling for her brothers. She raised her hands and coned them around her mouth as she screamed,

“LEO!!! RAPH!! DON!!! MIKE-”

Her cries to her family were cut off as a hand shot out from the darkness, gripping around her throat with precision. Painful pressure burst into her neck as she was lifted off her feet and dragged towards her captor.

The clasped hand restricted her heart from leaping out of her throat as she gazed into his eyes.

Her brother’s eyes.

Lotus could feel her body tense further as her brother tightened his fingers like a noose around her throat. The biting pressure made it nearly impossible to speak. 

Nearly.

“GhHhhh- R--Ra-APH??” She managed to squeak out in shattered gasps.

Raphael’s eyes tightened with his grip.

“Who’s askin’?” A soulless voice crept out from her brother’s mouth, colder than a grave and just as empty.. “You’re nothin’ but a prisoner- how do you know my name?” He spoke with a tongue dipped in venom.

Words had escaped Lotus as quickly as her breath. She tried to gasp and speak but now it was truly becoming impossible to. Dark spots began invading her vision as she felt the flames around her slowly grow cold. The pain radiating from her arms and legs dulled to faint pulses. Her brain shushed all her rampaging thoughts, humming a lullaby and making them all turn to sleepy static.

Th-that’ssssss not gooddddd…

“I SAID WHO ARE YOU?” Raphael shouted, letting go of his grasp just enough so Lotus could breathe. His hazel eyes searched her for answers, the reflections of flames in them a constant reminder of his growing impatience.

Raphael’s slight release on her throat allowed Lotus’ tongue to finally unravel from its binds.

“I’m… yo-our f-f-family.” She wheezed as she tried to fight the losing battle of staying conscious.

Raphael’s eyes grew dark as he sneered mirthlessly.

“That’s cute. You think I’ll let you go cause we’re both freaks.” He hissed as his right hand pulled a thin blade to Lotus’ chin. “There’s no code of honor when being a monster is in your blood.”

He raised his sai until it barely pierced Lotus’ left cheek. She winced and tried to fight against it, but her strength was quickly leaving her. Her cold body shuddered at the sudden warmth of blood trickling down her neck. 

“P-p-please-” Lotus choked through her tears. She had to hold back from gagging when something warm and metallic found its way into her mouth. Darkness continued to creep further at the edges of her vision. 

“P-ple-ase Raph- I..I l-love you brot-ther.”

Raphael’s face became unreadable. His eyes, for a shard of a second, lit with a faint warmth. The hand holding his sai twitched and loosened its grip, slightly pulling the blade away from the flowing crimson on Lotus’ face. His expression subtly twisted as he fought against something inside him.

For just one second, Lotus saw Raph again. She saw her brother who taught her how to do lineart on his sketches. She heard a teasing voice with a smug grin. She felt the fading light of hope grow into a spark.

But before the light could overtake her brother’s irises, the darkness within him swallowed it.

He raised the sai again, aimed directly at Lotus’ head. 

“N-n-no!! NO! PLEASE!” Lotus cried out with the last shreds of her voice.

 Raphael’s shuddering grip on his weapon’s handle clenched into an unforgiving vice.

Lotus braced herself as her fight to stay conscious came to an end.

“P-please Raph..” She whimpered as her eyes rolled back and her body went limp, finally succumbing to the cold in the room filled with flame.

Tada~ Now we ALL BROKEN. XD

This was a FUN challenge- not only for my writing, but for my art. I NEVER draw fire- I'm still learning how to replicate the thriving, flickering movements- But then I looked up "fire in TMNT 2003" and BOOM. IT WAS GO TIME.

Thanks for reading! :)

~ Melissa

~ TMNTember 2024 Prompts List ~

[phoebepheebsphibs]

Double-Mutated Mikey

Chapter 18: Right Takes Bishop

Continued from the short story written by @boots-with-the-fur-club

Prev || Next

Mikey is dragged from his cage, whinging and crying as he tries to force even a few screams and pleas from his throat.

"Nnnghhh! Nnnnahh! Ahh!"

"Shut up," the guard snaps at him.

Mikey is forcibly taken to the 'Interaction Room'. He doesn't like it in there, it's an evil room with evil creatures and evil machines. They always want to kill him. He's not sure what's waiting for him today.

Instinct starts to take over while Mikey is being dragged away, and he shrieks louder, growling and howling. The guard who is holding him is more than prepared for this, and pulls out his taser. He presses it against his neck.

BBBBBZZZZZZTTTT!!!

"AAAAAAGHHH!!!"

Instinct flails as the charges burn against his throat. Mikey cries like the weakling he is, but Instinct stays strong, biting against the guard's arms and digging his freshly-mutated talons into the evil human's flesh. The taser is shoved against his head, next. The voltage is turned up high.

BBBZZZZZZZZZTTTTT!!!

“Gah—!”

Mikey gasps in pain before he temporarily blacks out, his head falling limp against the guard's arms. He manages to stay semi-conscious as he's carried through the corridor. His head rolls as the guard moves down the hall and stops outside the Interaction Room.

"What is... What is THIS?!" a familiar voice shouts angrily.

"The freak bit me! I had to do SOMETHING!"

"We can't work with him in this state! How hard did you -- ugh, you IMBECILE!!"

Mikey moans at the shouting, his eyes flutter, his head buzzes and aches...

"Timothy, let me look at him..."

"What's the point, Honeycutt?! He's limp! Useless!"

Mikey vaguely feels someone touching his sore head, pushing it around and inspecting him. It's the first semblance to care and gentleness he's known in this place...

"Where did you... are those scorch marks on his HEAD?!" Professor Honeycutt yells.

"Look, I tried the neck, it barely did anything!" the guard shouts back. "What else was I supposed to do? I was struggling, it was too strong, I would have lost my grip on it and then you'd have to deal with--"

"You can't just tase someone's head, especially not HIS head!!" Dr. Timothy screams. "There could be permanent brain damage, reductions in cognitive function... let's hope you didn't destroy our one successful mutation..."

"I demand more protection! I'll quit unless I can get proper--"

"My good man, what makes you think you can 'quit'?" says a third voice.

Dr. Chaplin.

"You can either accept this job for what it is, or perhaps we can find a cage that will fit a person of your size..."

Mikey feels himself slipping through the guard's grip. He's scared of the threat. He should be.

"Just... take him into the room for now," Timothy groans. "When he's fully conscious we will begin the exercises."

Mikey feels motion, his body being maneuvered into the Interaction Room and then dropped gracelessly onto the floor.

He's not sure how long he stays on the floor for, but once the headache starts to stop, he forces himself up.

He groggily looks around. There's no animals... but there is something hanging from the ceiling. Black mechanical arms with turrets and sharp stabby things.

That's new... is it? He... he can't remember... his head is so dizzy... so much fog... so many aches...

The machine whirrs. The arms move. Mikey backs away slowly.

The arms grow, clicking and clacking as they move in disjointed directions. As they move, the center of the mechanical chandelier opens up and a turret gun drops down, locking in on Mikey.

That's... that's probably not good...

MOVE! Instinct yells. Mikey tries. He's too slow, too dizzy.

He trips over his legs and tumbles. The gun clicks and fires. Something hits Mikey in the arm. It stings, it hurts! Mikey yelps in pain. He's so tired of pain...

The gun clicks again.

LET ME TAKE CONTROL, Instinct demands. YOU'LL JUST GET US HURT. OR KILLED. USELESS, WEAK, PATHETIC.

WRETCHED LITTLE PEST, LET ME DO THIS.

Mikey relents and lets Instinct take over.

Instinct shoves Mikey deep down where he can sleep, while Instinct takes control and keeps them alive.

But ooh, Mikey wasn't exaggerating the injury.

It doesn't amount to anything. Instinct is strong. He can take it.

Instinct watches as the machine tracks his movements. The arms extend and reach for him.

Instinct jumps over them, dodging them carefully. The turret fires again. Mikey's injuries are hindering him, and he cannot dodge it in time. The pellet hits him in the chest. It leaves a welt and a bruise. The pain is sharp, but nothing he can't handle.

He leaps on top of one of the black metal arms and rips it out of the socket. Sparks and oil fly around the room. Instinct rams the arm into the other mechanical limbs, beating them senseless. One of the arms reaches behind him and grips him by the shell.

Instinct lets out a loud growl and swings his arms and tail around. The tail spikes slash against the arm, and the sparks burn and singe against his skin. He yowls, but grips the arm and pulls it hard. He manages to tear it away, the two of them falling to the floor.

Long panels along the walls of the door slide open. Things that resemble humans but have the smell of evil machinery march in. They all have glowing green eyes and blank expressions. They stare at Instinct.

Instinct growls, and prepares to charge...

His head swims, the room spins. He's exerted himself too much... he hasn't recovered...

The robots rush him.

Instinct has no time for recovery. He has to fight... or die.

Instinct ducks the first punch and grabs the metal man by the wrist, twisting it so that it snaps off. Oil gushes from the severed limb like blood. The robot doesn't even seem fazed. It swings the other arm around, and Instinct manages to duck low, the robot punching one of the other two in the face and sending it stumbling back, the head spinning.

Instinct gets an idea.

While simultaneously dodging the pellets, he positions himself just out of range of the mechanical arms, goading one of the metal men. It charges him, and Instinct dodges, jumping out of the way at the last second. The metal man is grabbed around the neck by the arm from the ceiling, and as it struggles, Instinct yanks down as hard as he can. The neck cracks loudly, the head dislocates, the body falls to the floor convulsing and spewing sparks and grease.

One down...

Instinct does the same with the second, leading it to one of the arms and letting it grab the robot by the shoulders and holding it high. Instinct grabs it by the leg and swings it up to the second arm, which takes hold of it. The two arms yank and rip the machine in half.

Two down...

The last robot gets wise and stays away from the center of the room. Instinct considers this. He jumps from one metal creature to the next and climbs atop the turret. He aims it at the robot's eyes...

The turret fires, again and again and again. After the fifth shot, the first glass eye breaks. He re-aims for the second eye. After five shots, it smashes as well. It cannot see, now.

Instinct wrenches the turret gun from the chandelier with some effort. He swings it over his shoulders, stands on his hind legs, and runs up to the final metal man.

"RRRRRAAAAAGHHH!!!"

Instinct rams the gun into the last robot, shattering the torso into pieces. It falls with a clatter onto the floor.

Three down. Game over.

Instinct heaves, gasping for air. He lets the gun fall to the floor as the room starts to spin. Instinct sways, the adrenaline leaving him. He's done. Mikey can take over now.

The moment Instinct lets go, the body crumbles to the floor. Mikey blinks lazily. It's always disorienting when this happens, but whatever Instinct did this time has left him utterly spent...

Mikey has no energy to stand. He tries to push himself off the floor, but his arms are shaking too much. He can't...

The door behind him opens, and guards walk in with a few scientists.

"Well done, well done. Better than I expected, considering the injuries..."

One of the guards pokes Mikey with his foot, making sure he won't bite him like the last one. Mikey feels hands tucking under his armpits and lifting him up from the ground.

"Honeycutt, you'll have to make more of those training mechas for tomorrow. For now, take 'Mikey' back to the examination room for Timothy and Abigail to inspect his cranium."

Mikey falls asleep as the guards carry him away...

.

.

.

John Bishop is so sick of sitting in his car and sipping coffee on a stakeout.

This is the tenth cup he's had today.

He officially hates coffee.

Why is he even here? This isn't what he signed up for.

Sure, he knew that joining a secret government-sanctioned organisation that thrived on working in the shadows meant that there would be days like this, but that's not even what he's upset over.

And he knew that transferring to a shady lab with a corporate facade would have its drawbacks too, but he expected that and he's not upset over that choice either.

At least, he's not entirely.

Bishop joined the EPF for one reason only.

Earth PROTECTION Force.

He just wants to help bring about the peace that they had three years prior. Before crazy became the norm, before green bugs turned you into giant animals with semi-homicidal tendencies, before baseball stadiums were torn asunder by 'magic' suits of armour, before the sky ripped open and aliens descended.

Bishop wants his home safe.

And what he's been involved in? It doesn't seem like they share that interest. They aren't focused on the same goal...

He's not sure WHAT their goal is.

Mutating animals into monsters? That seems like the opposite of safe, of protection. But the TCRI work for the EPF, and their experiments have been signed off by higher-ups, so there must be some correlation.

The EPF sections say that they're trying to understand the aliens... the 'krang'. The TCRI sections say that they're reverse-engineering the infection so that they can eradicate it forever.

But John Bishop isn't so sure...

There's movement in the alley across from him. He sets his coffee down and watches as a sewer grate is removed, and a head pops out--

No freaking way.

Bishop grabs his walkie talkie.

"This is Agent Bishop, in sector 5574. I've sighted the escaped experiment..."

Bishop watches as 'Mikey' crawls out of the sewer, looks around cautiously, then jumps a fence and runs.

"Subject is on the move. I am in pursuit..."

Bishop starts his car and drives, having a drone lock on to 'Mikey' and tail him. Bishop follows from the car, the GPS rerouting him to go where the escaped experiment does.

Eventually, Mikey stops, the drone notifies Bishop, and he pulls the car around to his location... the pier?

Why here?

Bishop climbs out of his car and sees a crowd of people running from the pier, shouting something about two madmen attacking the sports section, while others are cheering over some 'ninja turtles' and 'New York's Heroes'.

Bishop slinks past the crowds and makes his way towards the commotion. He watches as a group of teens fight against two mutated men...

It can't be... more mutants like the escaped experiment?? Like Mikey??

Is that where he came from... was he mutated by those weird glowing bugs from a few years ago?

The battle ends fairly quickly. Bishop feels a warm sensation in his chest. These kids protected the crowds, and defeated the mutants without harming them too much...

Huh. They're practically doing his job, and not half-bad, neither. Bishop wonders...

One of the ninja turtles (he sees why they're called that now) stops and peers at a group of shadows by a wall. He suddenly yells loudly.

"MIKEY?!"

He figured he knew Mikey, if he was mutated like him once... in fact, it seems like this whole group might be a... family...

That realization hits him hard. Mikey had -- HAS a family. A family he was torn from. Because of the EPF...

Mikey sheepishly reveals himself to the others. Bishop gets closer. He can hear something, a gravelly, scraping sound, a croaking noise, almost like...

"...Mikey no like alone. Mikey want brothers."

Oh. My. God.

He... he talks... he's talking!

When did he...?! How did he...?! Bishop wasn't sure Mikey could speak at all, he never did in the labs -- Well, of course he wouldn't, but...

He watches with curiosity. He understands why they haven't found him before now. He was being hidden. He didn't break out, he was extracted. These mutants stole him back from the labs...

"Mikey... I just want you to be safe. I can't lose you again."

Okay. That one hurt him.

Bishop swallows the lump in his throat. He tails the teens as they make a swift exit from the scene. He goes back the way he came and follows the tracker...

.

.

.

Bishop wonders how much longer he can stand this job.

This week has been rough... the way they treat the experiments doesn't sit well with him. Especially that new one... it almost looks like a kid. At least, it used to, from what he's seen and heard. He didn't arrive until after they mutated him.

These mutations...

What on God's earth could have made these TCRI eggheads think that it was a good idea to create these kinds of unholy deformations? It's psychotic and horrific. He's not sure where they got the legal wherewithal to be allowed to go ahead with these...

As Bishop walks down the halls, he passes by another guard. He's holding his arm tightly, a cold sweat broken across his forehead.

"...Oh god, oh god..."

The guard sees Bishop walking up to him and stops him quickly.

"H-hey man, does th-this look infected to you?"

Bishop stares down at the gashes, claw marks, and deep bite in the man's flesh. It is red and swollen and irritated.

"Eeugh... um, no, it doesn't. Which one gave you that?"

"Who do you think? That stupid turtle mute! Ugh, I hope I don't need to amputate..."

"You definitely need to disinfect it, but otherwise..." Bishop shrugs. "I don't know what to tell you man, I'm no doctor."

Bishop stares at the wounds. They could have been deeper. That kid has a lot more power packed into him. He could have killed this guy if he wanted to.

"I should have zapped that kid into a vegetable," the guard mutters as he limps away from Bishop. "Stupid mutie... hope he never gets back up again..."

Bishop makes a disgusted expression at the guard as he walks away. Why is it that everyone in this lysol-scented complex is either a bully or a mad scientist?

Bishop wonders how much longer he can stand this job.

He floats through the halls, his thoughts elsewhere. The animals that screech and cry in these cages all night long... the rooms full of weapons that they call 'training dummies'... the operating rooms drenched in alien slime and mutant blood... the boy in a cage who cries himself to sleep every. Single. Night.

'Mikey'. That's what they call him. Odd that they gave him a name... the rest are given numbers.

The animal cruelty in this place is exorbitant. They treat the creatures here as though they were a frivolity, throwing them away almost as quickly as they bring them in. Each rat, rabbit, hound, beaver, badger, weasel, fox, duck, and bear (among others) they capture is mutated with no logic or plan behind what they merge into the DNA.

It's not a question of 'why' here, it's a question of 'why not?'

They have made that abundantly clear.

Speaking of which, Bishop has been patrolling these halls for quite some time. He comes up to the Interaction Room and the viewing room just outside of it. Bishop steps inside the viewing room, watching the many screens that are taping Mikey's latest 'interaction'.

"Are those Honeycutt's new toys?" he asks.

"Yes they are," Dr. Chaplin says with a smile. "and Mikey here has been having some fun with them... It's a good thing the Professor finally came through for us, he seemed rather uncooperative with this new experiment's mutations. But in the end, he decided to be a team player. Good thing, too. I was afraid we'd have to terminate him."

Prof. Honeycutt swallows nervously from the back of the room. Dr. Chaplin smiles.

"So to speak."

Bishop watches with distaste as the mutated kid destroys the robots one by one. So many resources being wasted... and wasn't that kid fried not 30 minutes ago by that guard? What is he doing fighting machines??

Mikey somehow manages to dispatch the final bot, while also obliterating the turret gun. Bishop's mind automatically calculates just how much that's gonna cost...

Until his thoughts switch from finances to something much more serious when he sees Mikey's knees buckle beneath him, and he faceplants onto the floor.

"Is he okay?!" he asks, quickly going to the keypad by the Interaction Room door and pressing his badge against it.

The door slides open, and Bishop with the rest of the audience enter the room. Mikey is laying in the floor, trying to pick himself up. He's shaking, panting, struggling.

"Well done, well done. Better than I expected, considering the injuries... I'll have to inform Honeycutt to make more of those training mechas for tomorrow. For now, take 'Mikey' back to the examination room for Timothy and Abigail to inspect his cranium."

"I'll meet you down there in just a moment," Timothy says. "I just need to get the name of the guard who handled the mutant prior..."

"Got it," Bishop says, already having picked the boy up in his arms.

"I'll go with you," one of the other guards says, as the two exit into the hall.

Bishop looks down at the child. Was he human before? He looks... surprisingly human, so it isn't that big of a stretch. The eggheads haven't revealed much info about him or his origins. Mikey murmurs weakly, his head rolling from side to side as Bishop walks. He pats the kid's shoulders, hoping that helps. He doesn't know if he can feel it. He maneuvers him so his head can rest more comfortably, rather than dangle over Bishop's arm. Mikey inhales deeply, and half-consciously nuzzles his face into Bishop.

Bishop wonders how much longer he can stand this job.

"Almost looks kinda cute when it's asleep, huh?" the other guard asks, pressing a button on the elevator door.

"He," Bishop quietly corrects.

The doors slide shut.

"So, how long you been here?" the guard questions, trying to make conversation.

"Not long," Bishop sighs. "I joined the EPF just last year, right after it was established. But I was only assigned to this sector after the invasion. A few days ago, I get a call that they need my help with some lab junkies and alien-infected. So I came. I had no idea that THIS --" he lifts Mikey up just a bit "-- was what they meant."

"Bureaucrats, amiright?" the guard jokes. "Gave me the same balony. Save the world, keep the Earth safe from enemy forces, and what are we doing? Babysitting nerds and getting bitten by butt-ugly beasties..."

"But we ARE making a difference," Bishop argues. "We ARE saving the world. Helping folks where we can, disinfecting the alien diseased, and --"

"Is that why you're here? You think you're being a hero??" the guard laughs.

"...That's why I joined."

"Well, look around bucko, who are you saving?"

The guard looks down at the mutant in Bishop's arms.

"Him? Sure, more like we need to be SAVED FROM him."

"He's only a kid..."

"He's a mutie," the guard grumbles. "And the sooner we cure the world of them, the better..."

"Then why make more?" Bishop argues. "What's the point of making mutants if we just want to eradicate them?"

"From what I've seen and heard, this thing eradicates them just fine on its own..."

The doors open with a ding, and the two walk out in silence.

They deliver Mikey to the Operation Room, where Abigail Finn is looking over DNA sequences on a computer screen.

"Delivery!" the other guard says, gesturing to Bishop.

"What happened to him this time?" she asks plainly.

This time?? What does she mean, 'this time'??

"I dunno, some trigger-happy idiot with a taser," the guard gripes. "The thing made it through the robots okay. Chaplin wants a once-over on the brain, though. And Dr. Timothy will be here shortly."

"Just drop him off there, and I'll get to work," she responds boredly, pointing to a table behind her.

Bishop sets Mikey down on the operating table. Mikey moans and subconsciously reaches for him. Bishop freezes, watching him. Mikey's hand slips, his grip loosening, and it falls from Bishop's sleeve.

He's just a kid. He's just a scared little kid. He isn't a monster, is he? He might look the part, but...

"That is all, gentlemen, you may go now," Abigail Finn says, ushering the two guards away.

Bishop wonders how much longer he can stand this job...

.

.

.

The tracker leads him to a junkyard.

Why here?

He stays in the car and takes a sip of his awful beverage as he accesses the camera feed from the drone following Mikey's every move.

He spits out his disgusting coffee when he sees the army of pink zombies chasing them into a hovel.

"HOLY -- I gotta call someone --!"

Bishop freezes when the feed of Mikey's stand against them comes on the screen. He watches with curiosity, hoping all goes well. Miraculously, it does. Mikey is the victorious alpha, and the others emerge slowly (apart from one extra person that Bishop currently could care less about) and examine the scene. One in blue takes out his weapons and creates a portal that he sends Mikey and the two humans through. A moment later, the humans return with a box of familiar-looking blue liquid.

Bishop had been sent the formula for a strange new herbicide from an anonymous source... he still hasn't been able to trace that email. Now he figures, maybe he doesn't need to...

The purple ninja creates a large glowing weapon that fills up with the liquid. In one fell swoop, he douses about 90% with the formula. The remaining 10% of the zombies on the outskirts run away, but don't last very long before the ninja sprays in an arc, soaking the last of them with the herbicide. The creatures hiss and howl before the pink infection is burned off of them. All that's left is a crowd of confused citizens as the vigilantes make a hasty getaway through the portal, which closes behind them.

Bishop lost Mikey.

His phone rings. He takes a moment to collect himself before answering.

"Hello?"

"I understand you find our prime subject?"

Chaplin.

"Yes, sir. He's in the sewers, just as you suspected."

"Excellent. But you say 'is', not 'was'. Am I to assume you let him get away?"

"...Yes, sir. I couldn't get close enough."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. How disappointing. But no matter. We'll have Ms. Campbell send in some mini drones to inspect the sewer systems for wherever he's hiding. Anything else?"

Bishop pauses, contemplating what the existence of three more 'Mikeys' in the sewers could mean for these scientists... he considers what they may do to them...

"...No."

"Alright then. Keep me updated."

The line cuts. Bishop grips his phone tightly and sighs.

Is this really what he should be doing?

Is he protecting the people who need him?

Who's protecting Mikey and his family from these deranged eggheads??

Bishop takes his phone out again and dials a number. It rings once, twice...

"...This is Professor Zayton Honeycutt speaking."

"Hey, doc, this is Agent John Bishop."

"Oh, yes. How may I help you?"

Bishop takes a deep breath. What is he doing? This is going to get him fired, or worse...

"I understand that you had some reservations about the mutations going on... and that you seemed rather sympathetic to the experiment known as 'Mikey'?"

"...Well, er, who wants to know?"

"I've just found out where he is now..." Bishop says, his voice low.

Why is he doing this?

Because he's a part of the EARTH Protection Force, that's why. And everyone deserves to have peace. It's about time he started doing his job.

"...And I was wondering if you could help me out with something..."

Prev || Next

[sadakorosee]

When S/O dropped Donnie's mutagen canister Part 2

Donatello x fem!reader

Recap: s/o dropped Donnie's mutagen canister and he got mad at her for it, which he didn't mean to. now he has to find a way to reconcile with her.

Read Part 1 here

Genre: comedy, fluff ending

Lord, forgive the poor 6'8 foot turtle for being this clueless despite being the brains out of his brothers.

He's a mutant. Just guide him fr. Tell him what to do, the poor thing.

The turtles had no experience interacting with humans - humans are hard to understand in terms of personality, emotions, actions and interests. There's a lot but that was all the author can list down.

When Donnie became the first turtle brother to become intimately involved with a mate, a human, he was so thrilled he went up to Raph's face which pissed off the red masked turtle more. He had to tackle down his braniac brother but it didn't work when Donnie just chuckled like he was 10 years old.

You and Donnie were happily together for 8 months, so there weren't a lot to uncover between their relationship since you were working all week and only visited the lair at night or weekends. You won't likely see them at night since they're either patrolling or fighting off criminals far from their lair.

You both had disagreements but it never escalated to arguments or fights. The mutagen spill was not even close to an argument; it was only Donnie lashing out on you and you were too emotionally exhausted to respond.

'The highway looks good right now' You'd think once a while. (A/N: im sorry i had to. my intrusive thoughts won this round)

Donnie was pacing back and forth in the living room with Mikey sipping on his soda drink watching his smart brother contemplating a plan before going to you. He's just mumbling the possibilities and the outcome in case you reject his forgiveness.

While he racks his brain, Mikey has had enough, throws his paper cup and does the unexpected; smacking Donnie's face and he stopped. Completely.

"Did you just-"

"You can kill me later, D, but while you waste time mumbling gibberish or whatever language you use in that lab, y/n could be dead as we speak."

Raph, who heard the whole conversation, tried to intervene. "Oi, numbnuts. Stop with that crap or you'll make it worse for the idiot."

Donnie's narrowed eyes switched to Raph. "You know, you need to tone down with the nicknames you're giving us. At least come up with a better one." Raph cracked his knuckles but Mikey stepped in between them before it gets worse.

"D, listen, we know how much you love y/n. We love her too. Instead of thinking about what's about to come, why not you start by saying you're sorry to her? All she ever wanted when she came by was you comforting her but Leo did that in your stead. She had a bad day but you made it worse."

It was the first time Mikey ever talks in a serious manner and actually talks with sincerity. No puns, no giggling and not even involving pizza in the conversation.

Leo just finished his self training and found his 2nd and 3rd brothers 'examining' his 4th youngest brother on the medical table. He stood frozen for a while until Mikey yelled out for help which he reacted and jogged to them.

Instead of being serious, Leo watched in amusement. "This better be good."

"Mikey was advising Donnie about what to do for y/n-" Raph started, "-and he didn't even mention pizza. What do we do, Leo? Should we interrogate him?"

Leo faked thinking, tapping his chin. "This sounds serious. We should cut him open. Donnie?"

"All ready." Donnie took out all equipments including a saw and Mikey screamed bloody murder.

"Master Splinter!!" Mikey cried, legs waving about.

Instead of running to their direction, Splinter worked on his Japanese plants and casually smells them. "Play nice, boys." he said without concern for the chaos that's happening.

"Noooo." Mikey basically whimpered by their jokes have gone too far. They all just laughed around the youngest and when they're satisfied, they released him. "Not cool, guys. I was only trying to help. When you held me down like that, I called for reinforcements."

"Oh, who? Ice-cream kitty?" Raph laughed, earnings high-3s from the others. (A/N: just using some characters from 2012 universe)

"Mikey, are you alright?!" Your voice boomed the lair, your untied hair flying around as you ran inside the lair.

You stopped to catch your breath and Donnie's attention turned to you, his beautiful mate. You were dressed casually in joggers, black tank top and an oversized plaid shirt. Your clavicular area was covered in sweat, which says you were running to the lair from Mikey's distressed call.

"y/n," Donnie swallowed. You had long forgotten about what happened and turned to him.

"Hey," you breathed out. "Is your brother okay? Is he hurt?"

"He's fine," Raph answered instead. "We were just messing around."

"You strapped me to the table! That's animal abuse!"

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me!"

Donnie trailed towards you, his eyes looking up at yours since you were on the higher steps of the stairs. "I-I missed you, honey."

You coo'd at the nickname he always calls you and hold his face in your hands. Your noses touched. "I missed you more, munchkin."

He pulled your form into his and dug his face in your neck. "I'm sorry for pushing away when you needed me the most. I was selfish, uptight, and stupid. You're the love of my life and I will never push you away like that again," he sneak a small peck near your collarbone. "Please forgive me." His voice cracks.

"I hate you," that made Donnie's heart stopped for a moment. He was about to pull away to look at you but you pushed his head back and his ears landed where your heart beat was. "I hate that you don't come to me when you had a rough day and kept it bottled up inside. I hate you for trying to solve everything and when it didn't go your way, you beat yourself up for it. I want to hate you but I imagined life without you.. God. I cried everyday thinking you hate me for dropping that mutagen canister."

He felt your hug tigtens and when you sniffed, he forcefully pulled away and saw you crying.

"I hate myself for doing this to you," he wiped away the tears gently from your eyes. "If there's anything I can do, tell me. I'll gladly perform seppuku for you."

All brothers interjected at the same time. You turned to them confused.

"What's a--"

"Donnie!" Leo barked and covered your ears. "Are you insane?! If you do that, who's going to hold her?"

Donnie facepalmed. "Right."

Leo uncovered your ears and it just confuse you even more. "Seriously, what's a--"

"Doesn't matter, honey." Donnie kissed your lips, which you responded immediately, his hands went under your shirt touching your skin. He pulled away and flashed his smile which you missed most.

"I love you. Forever and always."