Work Text:
He watched as the giant rift in the sky above New York closed, taking his brother with it. The city laid in ruins before him, but it was saved. Their home would stand another day. But he knew it would not be home without his brothers. He needs them. He's not ready to lose anyone just yet.
Tears slipping down his cheeks and onto the pavement below, Michelangelo raises his arms, trying desperately to feel around for the mystic energy that the young boy from the future assured him he had. A mystic warrior, he had become. As the seconds ticked away and nothing happened, just as it had before and before, the teen doubted it. But Leo never gave up on him, even when he was the only one of their brothers left. So he will not give up on Leo.
His oldest brother lays on the cement beside him. When they were in the Technodrome, Donnie took control of it by letting the main steering panel swallow him whole. The last thing he saw of his brother was the terrified expression on his face as the tentacles pulled him in. Mikey regrets letting him do that, taking off his battle shell, and for not remembering where he'd left it. When Krang One found them, he'd taken Mikey away to the main part of the ship. That was when he'd lost track of Donnie. It may had stopped moving, but he refused to believe the worst.
Then he was forced to watch his two older brothers as they fought. Raph was... not himself. He doesn't want to remember what he looked like then. It doesn't matter now, anyway. Leo had managed to snap him out of his Krang mind-control. But after that, it was all downhill.
Starting from Raph not waking up. The Krang goop had left him, but he was out cold. Mikey and Leo fought as best they could, channeling more mystic energy then they thought possible. But it was nowhere near enough. Krang One was kicking their asses and that was the only way he could describe it. When all hope seemed lost, Leo had grabbed Raph's unconscious body and shoved him off the edge, taking Mikey with him, trusting the younger brother to use his powers to survive the fall. He didn't even get to see his brother's face one last time before the rift in the sky closed up.
The Krang took everything when they left.
Orange cracks start to form at his fingertips, glowing as though they cannot contain the power beneath the surface. Michelangelo grins through his tears. Good. Maybe he does have some potential after all. Not quite a mystic warrior, but he doesn't need to be that in order to save his brothers.
He only needs to be strong enough to power through. Gritting his teeth, the box turtle pushes more energy to the surface, causing a little orange light to appear in front of him. He recognizes it, although it's a different color. A portal. Hope. A way out. Suddenly, he no longer notices the cracks creeping up his arms, growing faster each second he spends.
How did he die in the future? The random thought hits him, consuming all of his brain space the moment it does. Casey had never mentioned it, but he'd always described Mikey in the present tense, unlike Raph and Donnie. So he must have died very recently in the teen's memory. But how soon? Why is he even thinking about it now?
Then it clicks. The time travel. Casey Jones must have come through a portal, since all signs pointed to Donnie having died much sooner. He couldn't have built a time travel machine. But Mikey, the great mystic warrior Mikey, might have been able to do something else. Looking down at his arms and feeling a sense of déjà vu, he knows he's right. But all three of his brothers sacrificed themselves to save New York, something that didn't happen in the future. So neither can this being the death of him happen either. He refuses to believe it.
Bring them back. That is the only though that he allows to flow through his mind now. Leonardo and Donatello, wherever they may be. Raphael, from wherever his unconscious mind floats. He needs to bring them back. The cracks have started to reach his torso now, eating away at his plastron. He hopes that these won't ruin his stickers. Those things have some seriously strong adhesive on them, and they were a pain just getting on. He doesn't want to go through the whole ordeal again.
Bring them back. He doesn't know where the rest of his less reptilian family is. His dad, April, Casey. They have to be in the city somewhere. Maybe they'll find him here. Take care of Raph. Time keeps ticking away and Mikey isn't sure how long it will take to open this portal. It can't have been more than a few minutes, but already the strain was taking its toll on his body. He feels as faint as he did when Donnie had tranq'd him after the Bullhop incident. How long ago was that?
He also remembers the time he and Leo went to that haunted supermarket. Well, it wasn't haunted. But he'd still felt faint when he was there. If it wasn't for Leo dragging him by the shell, he wouldn't have gotten out of there. It was funny, how scared a guy claiming to not believe in ghosts could be when faced with one. He still managed to hold on to his Leo charm, but Mikey knew that was how he responded to stress. He hadn't made a single remark when he'd pushed him and Raph off that Technodrome to safety.
Funny, seeing as Raph was usually the one to focus on safety. Sometimes too focused, like when he went on his first solo mission. Raph's non stop calls and eventual 'helping out' was what got him injured, after all. It was comforting, in retrospect, how dedicated his oldest brother was to making sure he didn't get himself in trouble. But in the moment, all Mikey wanted was independance.
He sure hopes this isn't the way he gets it. The glowing cracks trace up his neck and down to his hips, glowing brighter and burning more with every second. But the light in front of him, the portal, is growing bigger. All it needs is just one more push... then everything will be fine.
His world dissolves in a sea of orange.
For a split second, he swears he can see a glimpse of purple and blue. His brothers. He's brought them home. Mikey has no idea if his body was still there to smile, but he certainly smiled on the inside.
Leonardo didn't know he could be simultaneously terrified and overjoyed, but here he was. Stuck in the prison dimension with a very, very angry Krang out for his blood. With several broken bones, the only thing he could've done was let himself drift through the endless void that was this place. He didn't know where Krang One was anymore, but it was looking for him. Pizza Supreme, everything in his body hurt. Leo was convinced the only thing keeping him conscious was the hope that he could've somehow fixed this. Or at the very least cling to the picture of his family. That was the only way he'd ever be able to see them again.
That was, until a glowing light appeared in front of him. Was it death or was it hope? Leo didn't like his chances either way, but he had nothing left to lose. He reached out for the light, the gravity of it pulling him in. When he reached the other side he'd felt the war of his emotions.
He was home. New York City, Earth. No prison dimension, no Krang. Leo had let himself collapse to the ground in relief. Orange light surrounded him. A few beats later, he saw his twin appear next to him as well, hitting the ground much harder than he had. Then the light disappeared.
When Leo finally found the strength to sit himself up, he was terrified by what he saw. Mikey, his little brother, was on the ground a few feet away, glowing cracks covering his body just starting to fade. But when they did they left behind what looked like third degree burns. What had he done?
It was then that his adrenaline started to fade and Leo could no longer force himself to stand without pain. So he dragged himself across the cement, sitting next to the box turtle. He rifled through his side pouch, desperately searching for anything that could help. By the way things looked, the burns covered everywhere but his neck up and the center of his chest. Even his shell had some cracking on it, though not as severe looking.
"Mikey? Mikester, c'mon man!" Leo cried desperately as he saw his brother's chest stopping its steady rise and fall. He couldn't let his brother die, especially not because he saved him.
All he had in his bag was a small bottle of disinfectant and a single roll of bandages. He would let himself cry in anger if he had anymore tears left to shed. Instead, he grabbed Mikey's hands and started disinfecting them. It wasn't much, but there wasn't anything else he could've done without a hospital. But his hands shook too much for him to do anything properly. And all he could focus on was the pain, stabbing at and consuming him.
At some point, Donnie had also woken up. Leo hadn't the time to see his twin's injuries, nor had Donnie wanted him to. The minute he was conscious he had formed a new battle shell around him.
"Call Dad. And April." Was the only thing Leo remembered saying to him.
They must have shown up at some point, because the rest of that night became a blur. Leo was put in a moving vehicle. Leo clung to Donnie, both on the verge of passing out again. Leo was separated from all of his brothers. Leo had an IV hooked up to his arm. Leo remembered getting something poured into his broken shell.
And then Leo woke up. He was told he would be okay. He had several broken bones, a broken shell, a concussion, the whole shebang. He stopped listening until he heard about his brothers. Raph would be partially blind in one eye, but other than that he would be totally fine. Donnie was still in intensive care. His whole body, but especially his shell, was messed up badly by the Krang ship. And Mikey...
Mikey was yet to wake up.
He wakes up to someone leaning on his shoulder. The sudden contact causes him to shoot up. When had he sat down, he wonders. And why in a bed? He never had a bed, only a hammock. It was significantly more comfortable, plus easy to move around. And why does the room seem to be spinning? That isn't something that beds do.
"Oh thank pizza supreme, he's awake. Guys! He's up!" A voice shouts. Mikey scrunches his eyebrows, trying to figure out whose it is.
Bodies come rushing into the room, all standing around him. The small turtle squeezes his eyes shut, the feeling of being overwhelmed starting to creep up on him.
"Wh're 'm I?" He mumbles, still having no clue. Last he remembers, he was on Staten Island. Trying to rescue Leo and Donnie. Leo and Donnie! Where are they?!
Mikey opens his eyes again, looking around desperately. But he doesn't register his brother standing before him until he speaks.
"Private part of a hospital, courtesy of Mrs. O'Neil," Leo says. "Whole gang's here. But you-" The youngest brother all but leaps of out his hospital bed to cling to him.
That might not have been the best decision, as once Mikey's head cleared he could see the various casts and bandages covering his brother. He was even leaning heavily on a cane. It was beyond Mikey how he was even standing in that moment. But it doesn't matter. His brother is here and he's alive. Tears of joy pour down his face in a steady stream.
"You're okay, you're okay!" Mikey repeats over and over, not letting go. "I- I thought you were gone! Forever!"
Leo rubs his shell gently. "It's okay. I'm right here Mikester. So's everyone else, see?" He turns his little brother away from him, facing the rest of their family.
Mikey breaks down in to happy sobs as he sees everyone. Raph is alright, though his eye is covered. Donnie is there, sat down in a wheelchair with dozens of bandages covering his shell and plastron. They both wave to him, smiling.
It's then that the box turtle notices the aches in his joins and the wrappings that cover him. "Woah dudes, what happened to me?"
His brothers share a look. Eventually, Donnie clears his throat. "Well, your mystic powers did. You had a lot of severe burns and nerve damage from what you did. It's been almost two weeks since... everything. You've been knocked out. Mrs. O'Neil said that was best for you while you healed through the worst of it."
"Don't pull any more stunts like that again, okay Michael?" Raph says, a lot more somber than he was a few minutes ago.
"What stunts?" Mikey asks.
His oldest brother shakes his head. "Opening up that portal, big man. You almost died!"
The other two turtles nod in agreement. "When I came to you were on the ground, Leo in front of you trying everything he could to patch up your burns. You looked like your organs lit themselves on fire," Donnie tells him. He looks haunted by the memory.
Mikey drops his arms and steps away from his family. He sits back on his bed, clenching his fists. "Are you guys serious?!" He shouts. "How is what I did any different than the rest of you!?"
"Mikey-" Leo starts to say in a soft voice. But the youngest's rage just boiled over.
"No, don't 'Mikey' me! All of you sacrificed yourselves and I was all alone! I was terrified that you guys were dead and I did the only thing I could to bring you back!"
"You almost died in the process!" Leo insists. Mikey glares at him. What a hypocrite.
"And for all we know you could've died in that prison dimension! You were gone, Donnie was trapped in the Technodrome, and Raph wasn't waking up! I was never going to give up on you guys, even when you so clearly gave up on yourselves."
The room is silent, spare for Mikey's sniffling as he refuses to look at his brothers. His hands can't stop shaking. Is that from his emotions or his injuries? Mikey decides he doesn't want to know. He ended up being fine, no matter how much of a strain that portal had put on him. It was worth it, and he'd do it time and time again.
"Look, Mikey," Donnie says finally. "We were all doing what we could to save New York. I- I don't think any one of us wanted to sacrifice ourselves, but I know if I was in that Technodrome again I'd make the same choice. Though if this whole thing were to repeat itself, I'd be prepared with an extra escape pod so these two dumb-dumbs don't try to play hero again."
Both he and Mikey give their older brothers the side eye. It makes Mikey cheer up just a little bit. But he isn't done with his lecture.
"And I would still use my mystic powers to save you. But I only did that because all of you guys went and tried to- to sacrifice yourselves! Promise me you will never do that again." The glare he gives them as he says that hopefully conveys how serious he is.
What he also hates the most is how they constantly are protecting him. Donnie with covering him when they were almost crushed to death in the tank, Raph with calling the escape pods after the Krang had grabbed him, and Leo pushing him away to get him out of range of the Krang. He could've helped them! Things could've been different.
"We can't make any promises about the future," Raph says gently.
"But we'll try. No more hero stunts, 'kay guys?" Leo says, looking around the whole room for nods.
Mikey looks up at them, hands still shaking. "Does that mean I can beat the shit outta you guys if you do?" He grins.
"Hey, watch the language!" Raph immediately scolds him at the same time the twins give him full permission.
"I won't teach you any more swears, though," Donnie adds. He realizes his mistake the second Raph turns to him with the scary older brother expression on his face.
"Thanks, Dee. But I have the internet now. I can find anything!" Mikey grins evilly.
He laughs, laying back down on his hospital bed. They four brothers talk a little while longer, before eventually Mikey starts to get drowsy. He has no concept of time right now, but his body is telling him it's bedtime. Grabbing a pillow, he tosses it over to Raph. He doesn't want to spend the night alone again, and he has a feeling none of his brothers do either.
So Leo sits down next to him and Raph lays at the foot of the bed, pulling Donnie up with him. It's a lot less comfortable of a turtle pile then what they do at home, but hey, it works. They're together, so everything is going to be okay.