Chapter 1: A Patrol Gone Wrong
Chapter Text
It was one of those nights where everything went wrong and not the way they expected it to go wrong.
Leonardo, Donatello, and Raphael aka the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were kneeling before their master/father, Hamato Yoshi or Splinter to them. The father was looking rather furious at the three turtles after learning what happened tonight as he calmly yet strictly spoke out:
"Well? Would anyone like to explain why your little brother came home injured by himself?"
"Well to be fair, we didn't expect him to get hurt," Donnie awkwardly replied.
Splinter sighs out in frustration: "Can I get a straight answer for once from any of you boys?"
"It was our fault, sensei" Leo held the responsibility.
"What do you mean, ours?!" Raphael argued.
"You know none of this would've happened if we forced Mikey to stay put alone" Leo argued back.
"Yeah, because he was messing up the plan as usual!" Raphael snapped.
"YAME!" Splinter bellowed before he groaned out: "Luckily for myself, your little brother told me everything that you four went out to stop the purple dragons"
"You four tried to beat them but he told me he accidentally got in your way with his so-called dance fight moves and you scolded him for that"
"Because we kept telling him, no celebrating till the fighting is over!" Raphael argued.
"And for that reason, you had to almost break his finger when he told you he thought the fighting was over and just poked you back" Splinter raised an eyebrow at him.
"He has a point," Donnie commented.
"Oh don't you start, you're the one who told Mikey to stop screwing up and do nothing while we figured out a way to get the mutagen from the purple dragons" Leonardo firmly spoke to Donnie.
"Because he can't keep his hands to himself most of the time" Donnie argued.
"YAME!" Splinter exclaimed again, silencing the turtles: "Look, despite Michelangelo's flaws, you three have behaved appalling tonight especially after what he told me the moment you boys decided to split up"
That made the turtle gulp as Splinter reacted what Mikey told him:
"Why do I always get stuck with Mikey?" Donnie complained
"I don't want him. And I'm in charge!" Leo firmly put his foot down.
"Well, then make Raph take Mikey," Donnie argued.
"Over my dead body!" Raphael grunted.
The turtles look down, red in the face with embarrassment and guilt before Raphael grumbled: "I-I don't sound like that"
"You three ought to be ashamed of yourselves; your little brother may not be the smartest or strongest but he has raw talent just like you three and without him, the team falls apart just like it almost did tonight" Splinter furiously scolded the turtles.
After the three brothers told Mikey to stay on top of a rooftop while they complete the mission, the poor young turtle was ambushed soon by the purple dragons and fighting them alone, the young turtle tried to call his brothers for help but they were still mad at Mikey that they just assumed that he was calling them over some nonsense and looking back now, they felt entirely guilty.
"We thought Mikey was just calling about something silly and not needed and...we were too busy to finish the mission" Donnie sadly replied.
"That is no excuse! Your little brother almost died tonight because of your actions and he is feeling incredibly bad that he messed up. You had no idea how horrified I was when I found him limping and bleeding in the lair" Splinter exclaimed, livid that the boys had behaved like this:
"What is one of the most important rules of the Hamato Clan?"
"Do no harm unless you mean to do harm then do lots of harm?" Raphael quizzed.
"No," Splinter shook his head.
"Life is not a video game?" Donnie guessed.
"No!" Splinter groaned.
"If I were to guess, it's never leave one of our own alone, we go together, we leave together" Leonardo replied.
"Exactly and you three broke that important rule and look what has happened" Splinter sternly nodded before he took a breather and then add:
"In this life, we only have each other and if one of us falls then we all fall, remember that"
"We're really sorry sensei, we'll do whatever it takes to make it up for Mikey" Leonardo apologised.
"Good because until you boys can act as a whole together, I'm forbidding you boys from going to the surface till then" Splinter lays down the punishment.
"WHAT?!" The turtles cried out.
"You three need to work with Michelangelo together to become a better team; You need to learn to accept that how Michelangelo acts is just how he is as he does with you three" Splinter crossed his arms.
"But that's gonna be impossible" Raphael protested which made Splinter narrow his eyes at the hot head:
"I'm just saying, have you tried working with Mikey in the past?"
"As a matter of fact, I had, Raphael; Your little brother does come to me every often to improve his training with me and you have no idea how much he wishes to be like you boys" Splinter answered.
"What do you mean?" Donnie quizzed.
"I mean, he often tells me that he wishes to be smart like you, Donatello; or wise like Leonardo or even strong like Raphael but he is already unique in his own way and you three need to see it. He does have flaws but so do you boys and this will be an excellent chance for you four to go through the process of this team together and maybe, hopefully maybe, you four can unite as a whole and work as a brothers and as a team once again" Splinter replied before he dismisses the boys from the dojo.
The boys left for the living room as Raphael complained: "This is so unfair! I know we messed up but to be stuck here like the old days just sucks!"
"Let it go, Raph; if anything we deserved to be punished for what we put Mikey through tonight" Donnie groaned.
"How is he doing by the way?" Leo asked. "You were checking up on him before Splinter summoned us to the dojo"
"He's fine, just a few stitches done and the bruises will go away eventually" Donnie replied.
"So according to Splinter, we have to work together with Mikey and wot? Do better with him or something?" Raphael shrugged.
"Splinter wants us to help Mikey grow but to also accept that how he acts and fights is just a part of who he is as a whole and we must learn to adapt and accept how he is because frankly, Splinter's right, we've been putting him down lately and after what happened tonight, we could've lost Mikey because of how we acted" Leonardo replied.
"Well how on earth are we gonna help Mikey grow? It's not like we can magically make him stronger and smarter like he wishes he was" Raphael argued.
Suddenly an idea came to Donatello's mind as he whispered: "Or can we..."
Soon he bolts into his lab and locks the door, much to Leo and Raph's confusion.
"Wot was that about?" Raphael quizzed.
"No idea," Leo shrugged.
All night, Donatello worked on a mysterious project that he hoped would solve their problems until morning arises and soon Leo and Raph head to the front door of Donnie's lab.
"Don? Ya in there?" Raphael called out.
"Buddy we can tell you've been working in there all night and we've been through this with you that it's not healthy to pull all nighters in the lab" Leo also called out.
Nothing but silence for a moment and before Raph could knock on the door again, they heard a loud yell from the lab:
"EUREKA!!!"
Soon the lab door burst open and Donnie was out of the lab, leaping with joy and holding onto something close as he cheered:
"Eureka! Eureka! I did it! I've done it!"
"Done what? What is going on with you?!" Leonardo cried out in confusion.
Donnie turns to his brothers and revealed a small green looking pill that looks a tiny computer USB as the smart turtle proudly announced:
"Gentlemen...Behold! The answer to all our problems!"
Chapter 2: The BIO
Notes:
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER CONTAINS DRUG USE
Chapter Text
Leo and Raph looked at the pill that Donatello had just created and revealed to the others as they were confused on what it was.
"I'm sorry, what exactly is that?" Leo asked.
"This, gentlemen, is the solution to all of our problems" Donnie proudly announced.
"Ya made a Tic Tac?" Raphael quizzed.
"No, it's not a Tic Tac" Donnie frowned at Raph.
"It looks like a tiny computer USB or something" Leo shrugged.
"Not exactly" Donnie shook his head before he explains what he has created:
"This is a pill containing a super computer chip that once it gets swallowed and dissolved; the chip will automatically enter the bloodstream and with GPS guidance installed in this brilliant creation, it implants itself inside the user's brain. Soon enough this supercomputer chip will take control of the user and help boost its intelligence, its strength and its behaviour, allowing the user to become the perfect living being"
Leo and Raph stared at the excited turtle to which Raphael just replied: "So you created a drug that goes into your brain and helps you...what...level up or something?"
"In a way, yes," Donnie nodded.
"And how exactly is that going to solve our problems? Because I ain't taking that if that's wot ya plan is" Raphael grumpily quizzed.
"It's not for us to take, this is for Mikey," Donnie simply replied.
"What?!" Leo exclaimed.
"Like I said, this is the answer to all our problems" Donnie smiled proudly at the two.
"And how exactly is getting Mikey to take that gonna solve our problems?!" Leo demanded.
"Well for one thing, it'll be a great way for him to get smarter, stronger and even better at being a ninja like us" Donnie replied.
"He's got a point, if it makes him stop messing up and get better like us then I say we do it" Raphael agreed.
"Thank you Raph," Donnie smiled.
"Forget it! We're not drugging our baby brother! This could be dangerous, Donnie" Leo angrily replied.
"Oh c'mon Leo, have I ever let you guys down with my inventions?" Donnie scoffed.
Leo gave his response by staring at Donnie unamused to whom Raph chimed in with: "Is that a trick question?"
"OK! OK! So maybe a few have gone wrong but I'm telling you guys, this is the real deal! I've worked all night with this" Donnie complained.
"That's not an excuse; we're not drugging Mikey," Leo denied.
"Leo, I've gone through the process of this pill and according to my calculations, this pill can help Mikey in the best positive way," said Donnie.
"Not if it means using our baby brother as a bloody lab rat!" Leo argued.
"But Leo-!" Donnie complained.
"Forget it! There is no way we're using this on Mikey, we're going to help Mikey the hard way, the way Splinter instructed us to" Leonardo denied.
"All I'm asking is that you give this a chance to help Mikey; I wouldn't do this to hurt Mikey, you know that" Donnie suggested.
"I don't know," Leo sighs out.
"This will work Leo, trust me; It will help Mikey being the ninja he wants to be, he'll be happier and stronger" Donnie replied.
"Yeah this'll be great for Mikey" Raphael agreed.
"Just one chance, that's all I'm saying" Donnie nodded.
Leo looks at his brothers as he couldn't believe they are willing to give Mikey this strange pill to make him be better. It sounds wrong and it is wrong in Leo's mind but at the same time, what if it does help Mikey? What if it makes him feel better and happier?
As the eldest, it was his job to make sure his brothers are OK and such and with Mikey, he really wanted to make him be better with the others like Splinter wanted but at the same time, with how he tried to help Mikey in the past and doesn't seem to be working, this could be the chance to do something for his baby brother.
After a long hard while of deciding, he eventually caved in: "Alright, if this is going to help Mikey then we'll do it"
"Yes" Raphael pumped his fist in the air.
"Gentlemen, Let's test the B.I.O" Donnie happily spoke.
"The B.I.O?" Raphael and Leonardo quizzed.
"Yeah, I call it the Bionic-Intelligence-Organism or BIO for short," Donnie responded.
"Let's go see Mikey" Raphael nodded.
"Wait! How are we going to get Mikey to take it because if memory serves, he doesn't like taking pills" Leo pointed out.
"I'll just put it in a pizza like I always do with his medicine" Donnie replied.
"So we're tricking him into eating a pizza with the pill" Leo firmly quizzed.
"Why not? I do it all the time with his medicine when he gets sick" Donnie shrugged.
"Donnie..." Leo warned.
"No more arguments, let's go" Raphael shut Leo up.
"This better work" Leo sighs out to himself.
In Mikey's room, the young turtle was bandaged by the head and arm after being mildly injured by the purple dragons last night. He was reading a comic when he heard a knock on the door and soon saw his brothers by the door.
"Oh...hi guys" Mikey sadly greeted as he didn't want to see his brothers for a while after last night.
"Hey little buddy, how are you feeling?" Leonardo softly asked.
"Terrible" Mikey grumbled.
Leo sadly kneels before his sad baby brother by the bed:
"We're so sorry, Mikey; this is all our fault, we never should've left you alone"
"I did try my hardest, you know that" Mikey whimpered.
"We know and we're really sorry" Donnie apologised.
"We made you something to cheer you up, we got you a pizza" Raphael smiles and shows the plate of pizza to Mikey.
"For me?" Mikey gasped with hopeful eyes.
"Yeah, this pizza is for you, little brother, as a way of saying we're sorry" Raphael nodded and handed him the plate.
"Thanks guys, this is nice of you" Mikey happily thanked them.
"Anything to make up for what we did to you" Donnie rubbed his brother's head.
"Let us know if you need anything" Leo winked but still worries about the fact that the BIO pill is in the pizza that Mikey holds.
As soon as the others left the room, they peek out at the door and watch as Mikey happily eats the pizza, oblivious to the fact that he consumed the BIO pill with the pizza.
"OK, so he ate it, now wot?" Raphael whispered.
"Give it five minutes" Donnie whispered back.
Five minutes have nearly passed as Mikey was just reading the comic he had before Donnie count down the time:
"OK, the pill should start working at 5...4...3...2...1...and...BEGIN!" Donnie excitedly whispered.
Soon they noticed Mikey looking puzzled before he heard grumbling in his stomach before the turtles looked in suspense when suddenly Mikey let out a loud burp and giggles to himself: "Excuse me"
Donnie looked distraught that it looks like it didn't work as Raphael grumbled: "Well your invention failed, again!"
"I don't understand, the process should've worked" Donnie whispered out in frustration.
"Maybe the pizza must have stopped it from working," Leonardo shrugged.
"Don't be foolish, the pill would've worked even if it was put in a soda" Donnie scoffed.
Suddenly they heard a loud yelp as they immediately turned to see Mikey rubbing his head in confusion: "What the...?!
Just then Mikey started holding his head and yowling out in pain, much to the other turtle's shock.
"Mikey!" Leo cried out and went by Mikey's side.
The young turtle was shaking and twitching everywhere on the bed to which Leo yelled at Donnie: "Donnie, what's going on?!"
"It's just the transition, Leo," Donnie cried out.
"How long does that take?!" Raphael demanded.
Suddenly Mikey stops as he speaks in a monotone voice: "Calibration in process. Please excuse some mild discomfort"
Mikey then shook his head and panicked: "W-Wait, what am I saying?!"
Suddenly he yells out in agony, holding his head and at some point speaks in the same monotone voice:
"Calibration complete" "YEOW!" "Accessing neural memory" "SOMEBODY HELP ME!!" "Accessing muscle memory" "WHAT IS HAPPENING?!" "Access procedure complete... Bionic-Intelligence-Organism implanted and completed"
"Donnie!" Leo cried out.
"It's working!" Donnie cried out.
Suddenly Mikey stops and falls back on the bed like a robot before the turtles slowly approach the unconscious turtle.
"Mikey?" Raphael quizzed in concern.
"Please tell him he's not dead" Leo panicked.
"I think he's just fainted," Donnie replied.
He tries to check Mikey's heart rate by applying pressure on the wrist for beats when suddenly Mikey's eyes abruptly open and light up in a green flash for a second until it fades away.
"Mikey?!" The brothers cried out in bewilderment.
The young turtle got up and looked around the room as everything was new to him; the pill had worked and now standing before the three brothers was a new and improved Michelangelo.
Chapter 3: A New Mikey
Chapter Text
The three brothers stare intensely in shock at their baby brother, standing before them after the BIO pill takes its effect and implants itself into Mikey's brain, activating something within the turtle.
"Mikey? Are you alright?" Leo quizzed in concern.
Mikey stares at Leo and replies with:
"A little mild discomfort from that strange occurrence that just happened but other than that, I feel alright"
The trio's eyes widen with bewilderment by that answer that Mikey give before Raphael said:
"I think we broke him"
"I don't feel broken mentally or physically; why would you assume that, big brother?" Michelangelo looks at his body.
"D-Does this mean...?!" Leo gasped.
"Only one way to find out" Donnie replied before he went to Mikey and asked: "Say Mikey, what is foible?"
Mikey looks at Donnie for a second and then answers with: "Foibles is a word meaning a minor weakness or falling of character; to which others would also refer to calling it the Achilles heels"
Donnie's mouth open as wide as it can like it was about to drop on the ground like in those over-the-top cartoons as he recollects himself and gasped out: "He's right"
"So...does this mean Mikey is smart now?" Leo asked.
"Hey I got a question, Mikey; what's the best video game in the world?" Raphael excitingly questioned.
Mikey looks at Raph and just shrugged: "Sadly Raphael, there is no such thing as the best video game in the world"
"Huh?" Raphael quizzed.
"You see humanity as well as the internet per say have a lot of variety of different views and opinions that makes it impossible for everyone to agree with one thing without having disagreement from others. You can say you love one game and hail it as the number one thing in the world and expect others to like it but every reaction has an opposite reaction to such things like video games or movies and such" Mikey answered.
He just shrugged at Raphael who gawked at him: "It's just the way the internet and mostly how humanity goes, Raphael, as the phrase goes: You say tomato and I say tomato"
"Holy..." Raphael gasped.
"Shell..." Leo also gasped.
"IT WORKED!!!" Donnie cheered and hugged his baby brother close. "WE DID IT!! THE BIO WORKED!!!"
"What BIO? I do not understand this situation at all; could someone please explain to me what is the big idea and why am I saying such things that surprise you three?" Mikey calmly asked.
The three looked at one another, wondering how are they going to explain this to Mikey before Leo said: "Well Donnie, since this was your invention, you tell him"
"I agree," Raph nodded.
"Don?" Mikey quizzed.
"Alright Mikey, promise you won't get mad" Donnie started.
"If this conversation will infuriate me by the end then I will not hold any promises" Mikey crossed his arms.
"Fair enough" Donnie sighs out before he begins to explain everything.
He reveals to Mikey about the punishment that Splinter gave them and how they must work together with him to make this team whole; since they learned that Mikey wanted to be strong, smart and better like the others, Donnie explained to Mikey how he created the BIO and the three wanted to use it on Mikey to help him.
By the time Donatello finishes explaining the whole process of the BIO and how they got Michelangelo to take it, the young turtle looked eerily calm despite being told he was tricked into taking something against his will.
"So from what I gathered: You wanted me to be smarter, stronger and even better at things...So you created a drug that can do that for me and instead of asking me to take it, you tricked me into eating a pizza with it" Michelangelo stoically pointed out.
"Pretty much" Donnie awkwardly rubbed his head.
"I see," Mikey nodded and sat back on the bed.
"You...You OK, little buddy?" Leo timidly asked.
"Yes...Now change me back" Mikey simply said.
"What?" Donnie quizzed.
"Change me back; there is no way this is going to work" Mikey shook his head.
"I...I can't," Donnie awkwardly chuckled.
"What do you mean you can't?!" Leo demanded.
"I thought this would have a better reaction and well..." Donnie squeaked.
"You didn't make an antidote for this, didn't you?" Mikey revealed.
Raphael and Leonardo looked at Donnie who just nervously smiled: "About that..."
"YOU DIDN'T MAKE AN ANTIDOTE FOR THIS?!" Leonardo yelled at Donnie.
"It slipped my mind by accident" Donnie tried to excuse himself.
"What are the side effects of this BIO?" Mikey asked Donnie.
"What now?" Donnie quizzed again.
"Side effects; did you even test this before you used it on me? Or like your other inventions, you didn't even bother testing it at all...Can't say I'm surprised though" Michelangelo calmly shrugged.
"Yeah, that's a good point; did you even test this BIO before you used it on Mikey?" Leo demanded.
Donnie gulped before Raphael groaned: "Ya didn't think about this, didn't ya"
"I was just that excited that I made something that could solve our problems" Donnie protested.
Leonardo leans down to Michelangelo: "I'm so sorry Mikey, I would never let Donnie or Raph made you take it if I knew this was the case"
"And yet you went along with it, just as always when it comes to them questioning your leadership" Mikey stoically answered.
"Touché" Leonardo cringed at himself, knowing that it was true.
"I'm guessing you three did this to take the easy way out of your punishment" Michelangelo suggested.
"That's not true, Mikey," Donnie shook his head.
"It's a little true," Raphael pointed out.
"Shut up Raph" Leo snapped.
"We only want to help you Mikey and we thought this would be a great way to do it; I know we tricked you but you know what you're like with medicine pills, you find them hard to swallow" Donnie replied.
"True...In retro respect, I actually did wish to be better at things with you guys and honestly, I feel like my brain is slowly making me see and think things I've never felt before" Mikey replied.
"So that's a good thing right?" Donnie asked with hopeful eyes.
"I suppose...This whole thing is new to me" Mikey slowly nodded.
"We'll help you with anything you want to do, Mikey" Donnie replied
Michelangelo soon looked at the three brothers and asked: "Does father know about this?"
That question got the three brothers to look away in awkward silence before Michelangelo nodded: "He doesn't...Can't say I'm not surprised at that as well. 95 per cent of the stuff we do is without father's consent"
"You're...um...You're not gonna tell him, are you?" Leo quizzed.
"I should, considering you guys put me in a situation that is against father's wishes" Michelangelo shrugged.
"See? He's gonna rat us out!" Raphael then angrily got in front of Mikey: "If you tell Splinter any of this, I'll beat the green out of you"
"Typical immature response from you, Raphael; Which I can quite see that no wonder Splinter has a hard time training you when it comes to your hair-trigger temper" Michelangelo remarked with a stoic look.
Raphael attempted to slap Mikey on the back of the head for that remark but suddenly the young turtle caught Raph's wrist in time and sighs out:
"Dumb move on your part...The next time you feel like slapping me...don't" Mikey stoically shook his head and lets Raph go but not before slapping him on the back of the head.
"Ow!!!" Raph yelped and jumped back from Mikey, rubbing his head from the hard slap: "Yeow!! That really hurt!"
"Now you know how Mikey felt all that time" Leo smirked at the grumpy turtle.
"I can't say I'm thrilled that you tricked me into this, however, I'm interested in how this would go. I'll play along with your experiment and I will not tell Splinter about any of this if you're willing to help me through, am I right?" said Michelangelo with such a mature voice coming out of his mouth.
"Of course we will, Mikey," Leo nodded.
"You can count on us," Donnie agreed.
Raphael just awkwardly gave a thumb up before Mikey smiles and said:
"Let's get started, shall we?"
The turtles took Mikey to a part of the sewers where no one can find them as the young turtle, now enhanced with the BIO in his system, looked at his brothers and asked: "Are you ever going to tell me why we're out of the lair instead of training?"
"That's the thing, we need to be somewhere private to test the Bionic-Intelligence-Organism out in you so we're going to train with you here and see how you can function with the BIO in you" Donatello replied.
Mikey soon looks at his bandaged arm and then feels the bandages on his head and says: "You are aware I am still recovering from the injuries, correct?"
"That's an excellent point," Leo nodded.
"True but thanks to the BIO, your body should manage to heal quickly now, making you stronger and more capable of movement" Donnie pointed out.
"So if I remove my bandages..." Mikey started and with one flex of the arm, the bandages snapped and revealed strong muscles that Mikey has grown within not just his arms but his entire body, his muscular coordination has grown a bit.
"Whoa, his muscles have grown a bit" Raphael gasped.
"Indeed, my muscular coordination has increased" Mikey spoke in the same calm tone before he adds:
"My eyesight has improved too, I can see clearly and even make out things in the darkness, like spiders crawling around the pipes"
"What about hearing?" Leo asked.
Mikey's eyes look around and then said: "I can hear things from afar, water dripping and rushing through the sewers"
"I can't hear anything," Raphael pointed out.
"Of course not, your hearing has not been enhanced like mine is" Mikey shook his head.
"My goodness! This is amazing!" Donnie cheered as he circles Mikey: "Mikey, your body has develop such fantastic qualities that even I can imagine"
"My feelings and impulses are limited though; I cannot seem to get overjoyed or get depressed or get angry for that matter. All I can feel is calmness, a sense of obedience...Like I'm just completely stoic all the time" Mikey points out.
"Side effect, maybe?" Leo asked in concern.
"Highly possible," Mikey nodded.
Leo frowns at Donnie before the smart turtle just said: "Well, we'll work something out but in the meantime try sparring with us for a bit, see how you can handle us with the BIO intact"
"Very well" Mikey nodded and got in position; "Who's first?"
Leo and Donnie looked at Raph who just groaned: "Fine but this'll be over quick"
Something about Mikey looking focused concerns Leo as this still feels strange to see his baby brother being different with the BIO in him but he wanted this so now he has to deal with the consequences.
"Don't worry little bro, I ain't gonna hurt you, not much anyway" Raphael got ready to spar with Mikey.
"Your overconfidence can be a weakness, Raphael" Mikey calmly responded.
"And buddy, you reek of weakness" Raphael teased.
Mikey didn't react to that mockery but instead just stood still and in position before Raph charges at Mikey and begins to fight him.
At first the sparring seemed to be just like any other sparring they went through in the past when suddenly Mikey pulled off moves that even surprised Raphael and with quick reflexes and attacks, the young turtle shockingly overpowers Raphael and knocks him down to the ground.
"Holy shell..." Leo gasped in bewilderment.
"Such reflexes...such movement" Donnie exclaimed in amazement.
"What the...?! Ow!" Raphael groaned in pain from the beat down.
"That was kind of fun" Mikey shrugged before he looked at Donnie and Leo: "Who's next?"
"We're fine!" Both Leo and Donnie quickly answered.
"Wait, did you guys set me up to be tested?!" Raphael complained.
"And it worked," Leo shrugged with a smile.
"Thanks for nothing," Raphael groaned as he got up, feeling sore.
"Mikey, your reflexes and your skills are amazing" Donnie phrased.
"Thank you...I never knew I was capable of this" Mikey nodded.
Soon Michelangelo decided to try something out as he made a few flips and turns to try out his new BIO self and went into the darkness of the sewers.
"Mikey, wait! Mikey, come back!" Donnie cried out and chased after him.
But once he reaches the dark part of the sewers, he nearly bumps into the wall and there was nothing in his sights.
"Mikey's gone" Donnie gasped.
"What do you mean he's gone?!" Leo exclaimed.
"He just disappeared!" Donnie panicked.
"How did he just disappear like that?" Raphael angrily snapped to Donnie.
"Relax, I'm just here"
Leo and Raph exclaim out in fright and jump back when they see Mikey behind them from the shadows.
"How did you-?!" Leo gasped.
"I used the shadows like you guys do...we're ninjas, aren't we not?" Mikey replied.
"Yeah but you...you're not the best at hiding in the shadows, Mikey" Raphael pointed out.
"And yet here I am right behind you, having just scared the living daylights out of you guys and hid in the shadows perfectly well" Mikey remarked. "I say that's an improvement, wouldn't you say so, guys?"
Donnie giggles with such giddiness and hugs Mikey: "You are such an achievement, Mikey! Have I ever told you I loved you?!"
"Not often" Mikey answered with full honesty.
"Well I do" Donnie replied, still being giddy.
"How do you really feel about this, Mikey?" Leo asked.
"Well I was a little hesitant towards this but now seeing that this upgrade has improved what I've always hoped for in the past, I'm actually pleased with this" Mikey answered.
"Great so this means we're in the clear" Raphael happily replied.
"Not yet," Mikey shook his head.
"What do you mean?" Donnie quizzed.
"Splinter" Mikey reminded them.
"Oh yeah" Leo nodded. "If he finds out, we'll all be in trouble"
"That is if no one tells him," Donnie pointed out.
"Relax, I kept my promise that I won't tell him," Mikey replied. "However, I do recommend that you do tell him about this"
"Why would we want to do that?" Raphael firmly asked.
"Well if memory serves: chances are that the odds of Splinter finding out about this either way is about...well...I say 95 per cent, he is no fool and he does have a tendency to figuring out things that quickly" Mikey points out.
"He has a point, Splinter is smart and quick to notice things; And with Mikey's new changes, he's bound to know about this" Leo agreed.
"So just act like the old Mikey; that should fool him" Raph suggested to Mikey.
"I could do that but I don't know if that would work" Mikey nodded. "Are you sure Splinter will be alright with this if he did know?"
"I don't know, maybe not" Leo shook his head.
"Then we'll make him see that this is for the best for all of us should we get discovered but till then, this is just between us four, got it?" Donnie replied.
"Got it" The three turtles nodded.
"Now let's get back before Splinter wonders where we are," Leo replied.
Soon the turtles left as they hoped to keep this new change of Michelangelo a secret hopefully until the time comes to reveal the truth but Mikey knew that Splinter was bound to find out sooner or later but chose not say anything as he just has to deal with the new changes for himself now.
Chapter 4: Patrol
Chapter Text
Over the next month, the three turtles have been helping Mikey with everything that they can work on regarding the BIO.
It was mostly an improvement to Mikey's life according to them because the pranks have stopped, the muck ups are gone and no silliness and foolishness comes out of Mikey's mouth, only maturity and quick simple replies to his brothers, much to their delight.
Sadly Mikey puts on the façade when it comes to Splinter, acting like the original Mikey or Mikey 1.0 as Donnie would call him, much to Leo's displeasure of that nickname.
So far Splinter hasn't noticed the changes due to the BIO's clever disguising Mikey's new features but even the upgraded turtle knew it was only going to be a matter of time before Splinter finds out.
After the end of the month, Splinter has examined how far and hard the boys worked well together, unaware of the BIO in Mikey before he stood in front of the kneeling turtles and said:
"I am very impressed with you four, you all managed to work as one and you have improved a lot together as brothers and as a team"
"So what happens now?" Leo quizzed.
"I am happy to inform you that you four can assume going to the surface together but remember what you have worked and trained together" Splinter replied.
The four celebrated their lifted ban as they bow before Splinter to which Leo said: "Thank you sensei, we won't disappoint you like that again"
"I doubt that" Mikey whispered to Leo.
"Something on your mind, Michelangelo?" Splinter quizzed.
The BIO-Mikey looks up at Splinter and in his 1.0 attitude, he replied with: "Just looking forward to eating pizza up there again, sensei"
He gave out his cheery smile and a thumb up to Splinter who stared at him for a moment until he nodded: "Very well, you four are dismissed and be careful out there"
"We will," Donnie nodded.
"Thanks pops" Raphael thanked and the four left the lair.
Soon they return to the city as Donnie cries out: "Hello city!"
"It's good to be back up," Raphael chuckled.
"Well fellows, I must say your plan to trick Splinter into lifting the ban worked; congratulations" Mikey replied in the same monotone voice.
"What are you talking about? We're not fooling Splinter with anything" Raphael argued.
Mikey just stares on for a moment before he shrugged: "If you insist; now what is the plan here, Leo?"
"We just look around then see what comes up" Leo replied.
"Lead the way then, sir" Mikey nodded.
"Sir?" Leo blushed.
"You ARE the leader, are you not? Then lead on, we'll follow" Mikey nodded.
Leonardo felt pride that Mikey was addressing him as a leader with respect to which Donnie mocked: "And you said this was a bad idea"
Leo shook his head and shoves Donnie back: "Shut up, let's just get going"
The team explored the city in the shadows and it felt different compared to the other times they go out on patrol in the city. This patrol was quiet and lacked anything amusing before Raphael groaned: "This is getting boring; whose face I need to punch to get some action around here?"
"Mine is off-limits" Michelangelo spoke in a rather cold tone.
"It was a figure of speech, Mikey; gees!" Raphael looked at the turtle dumbfounded.
Mikey looks forward and said: "Purple Dragons, not too far ahead"
The trio looked in the direction and saw from atop of a building, Purple Dragons guarding a canister of mutagen, the same one they tried to grab last time.
"It's the same mutagen canister!" Donnie gasped.
"It's payback time!" Raphael growled, getting his sais out.
"Hold on!" Leo halted Raph. "We need to come up with a plan"
Raphael was about to protest but soon he remembers what happened last time and sighs: "OK Leo, what's your plan?"
"Simple, we stick to the shadows then here's what we do: Mikey, you distract them then Don, Raph, We three will cover the area with smoke bombs, surprise attack them, grab the mutagen and we split back to the lair with it" Leo planned the attack.
"Sounds simple," Donnie nodded.
"Let's do this!" Raphael agreed.
"No," Mikey objected.
The three stared at Mikey to which Leo quizzed: "No?"
"Correction, I said no; your plan has a few flaws" Mikey pointed out.
"What do you mean by that, Mikey?" Leo asked.
"I don't mean to put you down, Leo; I'm just saying that perhaps we can find a better way to deal with the Purple Dragons" Mikey responded.
"And I suppose you know something then, smart guy?" Raphael groaned.
"Ignoring your moody attitude, I have thought of another strategy; if you wish for me to explain it" Mikey shrugged.
The three looked at one another in confusion before Leo shrugged back: "OK Mikey, what do you have in mind?"
"First of all, one flaw in your plan is that you fail to notice the surveillance cameras on the rooftop" Mikey began.
The others noticed a few cameras recording on the roof with a live feed going back to whoever owns the building.
"You know how Master Splinter warns us about getting caught by any means necessary, especially when it comes to recording electronics" Mikey reminded the brothers about Splinter's lessons.
"True" Leo nodded.
"Donnie! Can you try and disable the cameras with your T-Phone?" Mikey asked. "You are a skilled hacker, aren't you?"
"I am! Well...I'll see if I can hack into the system" Donnie nodded and used his T-Phone to try and hack into the cameras.
"So my plan is this: Donatello, you disable the cameras; Raphael; you created a distraction,"
"Wait, why me?!" Raphael protested.
"Because compared to Mikey 1.0, you're the second loudest person in the team and your obnoxious behaviour tends to alert the enemies from time to time. It only makes sense that you cause the distraction since you can take the hits"
"I'M NOT OBNOXIOUS!!" Raphael exclaimed in anger.
The turtles bolted down and peek back up when they saw the purple dragons didn't hear them miraculously.
"Case in point" Mikey points out.
"OK, OK, I get your point" Raphael growled out in frustration.
"And what should I do?" Leo asked.
"You grab the canister and hide; you're mostly the one that can blend in the shadows completely easily," Mikey replied.
"What about you, Mikey, what on earth are you going to do?" Donnie quizzed.
"Simple, I'm going to beat them all one by one," Mikey replied.
"Are you sure that you're up for that?" Leo asked in concern.
"Well since this plan has a 98 percent better chance of success than your original plan, what do you gonna lose?" Michelangelo shrugged.
The three looked at Mikey puzzled then to each other once more before Leo just awkwardly responded with: "OK, I never thought I say this but let's give Mikey's plan a go"
"Seriously?" Raphael incredulously quizzed.
"Well we are working together as a team, aren't we?" Leo reminded the others.
"Yes" Both Donatello and Raphael nodded.
"Then let's give this plan a shot and see if we can pull this off! Donnie, find a way to shut down those cameras" Leo commanded.
"OK, I'll do my best" Donnie nodded and worked on his T-Phone to hack into the security system.
The others got in position and as soon as Donnie managed to shut the cameras successfully down, Leo gave Raph the cue who just groaned:
"I'm gonna regret doing this"
He stood out in plain sight from another building, facing the dragons and called them out: "Oi! Purple Dragons!"
The thugs turn to see Raph in bewilderment when the hothead flipped them off and mocked them with: "Ya suck!"
"Oh hell no!" One of the thugs got hostile with his lead pipe out.
"Let's teach that freak a lesson" Another thug growled.
Suddenly Michelangelo took this chance to strike at the thugs; hitting them with his improved strength and methods on fighting them, he managed to overpower them in a blink of an eye in no time, much to his older brothers' complete shock.
"Leonardo, the canister" Mikey reminded his eldest while fighting on the remaining thugs.
"O-Oh! Right," Leo cleared his throat.
The leader grabbed the mutagen canister and, using the shadows, sneaks back to position with Donatello and Raphael as they watched as Mikey beat down the rest of the thugs with no sweat whatsoever.
"H-He did it!" Donnie gasped.
"He beat them all like they were nothing" Raphael exclaimed in bewilderment.
"Mikey..." Leo whispered in shock.
Soon the BIO-enhanced turtle returns to his brothers as if nothing much has happened before he said:
"Gentlemen, I can happily report that this mission has been successfully accomplished"
Chapter 5: Busted
Chapter Text
After a rather surprising night of patrol, the turtles went home before Mikey decided to go to bed but when he opens the door to his room, he finds the lights were on and there was Splinter, waiting for him on his bed.
Splinter was lately feeling unsure about Mikey's behaviour and such; while the turtle acts the same to Splinter, the humanoid rat can tell there is a certain change in his youngest son and is rather concerned on why he is acting different, especially when he saw that Michelangelo's room was rather clean and spotless;
"Hey papa" Mikey acted like the Mikey 1.0 to Splinter.
"My son, come sit with me" Splinter pats on the bed.
Mikey suspects Splinter is catching on but fulfilling the promise not showing Splinter his new improvement for his brothers, he sat down rather casually and moved his legs up and down happily.
"What's up?" Mikey casually asked.
"Michelangelo, I am lately worried about you" Splinter said in concern.
"Why? Am I in trouble?" The turtle quizzed.
"You're not in trouble" Splinter shook his head and puts an comfort arm around him: "Son, I'm noticing a change in you and I cannot tell if I should be concern or not"
"What do you mean?" Mikey tilts his head.
"For starters, your room is always spotless every day and though I shouldn't complain, it's just you always leave it in a bit of a mess" Splinter replied.
"So I want my room to be clean now, that's no biggie, is it?" Mikey shrugged.
"No, of course not and it's no problem that your cooking as well as your training has rather improved greatly but what concerns me that is I can feel a sense of repression in you; your expressions seems so lifeless and you look as though you're trying not to do something wrong in front of your brothers every time I'm near you" Splinter explained.
"I'm doing better, papa; I thought that would make you happy" Mikey replied.
"It would but...I can tell this change is something that you have no control over; I can tell you're pretending to be happy because I've seen you boys talking from afar and though I have no hearing of your conversations, the way I seen you over there is not the Michelangelo I know" Splinter pointed out.
Michelangelo suddenly drops the facade and reveals the changes in front of Splinter as he spoke in the same monotone voice: "So you noticed"
Splinter's eyes widened at that before he asked: "Michelangelo, what is really going on with you? You sound so...dull, and you look as if all the happiness and joy that makes you who you are, the son I love so much is gone; Tell me! Why are you acting like this?!" Splinter asked in deep concern.
"I'm alright, father, I am perfect now" Michelangelo assured the humanoid rat.
"What do you mean by perfect?" Splinter quizzed.
"It wasn't my idea but Donatello created the Bionic-Intelligence-Organism to improve everything in me" Michelangelo revealed.
Splinter looked at his changed son in bewilderment before he slowly asked: "Donatello created...what?"
"My brothers wanted me to improve on my strength, my smarts and everything that was flawed in me, so I was given a drug called the Bionic-Intelligence-Organism or BIO for short and since then I've become the perfect being to them and they are much happier now than they were with Mikey 1.0" Michelangelo revealed.
This shocked and infuriated Splinter that the other three would do this to Michelangelo as he cups his young son's face and exclaimed: "This is not what I wanted them to do with you! Why did you choose to do this, Michelangelo?!"
"I had no choice; they tricked me into eating a piece of pizza with the BIO in it," Mikey replied.
That alarms Splinter even more as he softly growls: "Michelangelo...am I to understand that...your brothers created a drug and tricked you into taking it...so you can be....THIS?!"
"Yes" Mikey simply responded. "And I feel better already with it"
Splinter leans down in shock before Mikey asks: "Are you happy that I'm perfect now, Splinter?"
"Michelangelo...you were already perfect to me" Splinter gasped in sadness.
"My brothers didn't think so and they were right," Michelangelo replied:
"Although I'm still unsure if they did this to help me or get out of your punishment but in my opinion, I'm assumed it's both of those things"
Suddenly they heard the others coming as Leo open the door and asked:
"Hey Mikey, we're planning on desserts, do you want--!!!"
The three turtles froze when they saw Splinter sitting on Mikey's bed, acting calmly in front of them despite being raging mad at his three sons for their selfish stupidity on Michelangelo.
"Oh hi sensei; is everything alright?" Leo asked with a forced smile.
"Of course, Leonardo; everything is JUST swell" Splinter forcefully smiles at the three turtles.
"So...um...can we borrow Mikey for a moment?" Raphael asked.
"Of course, don't mind me," Splinter chuckled.
"Great" Donnie nodded awkwardly.
The three brothers were about to leave when suddenly:
"By the way, what's this BIO I hear you four talking about?"
That froze the three turtles in alarm as they slowly turned back to see Splinter with his arms crossed. Donnie awkwardly chuckled:
"BIO? What's a BIO?"
"I already told him the truth," Michelangelo simply revealed.
"YA DID WOT?!" Raphael exclaimed.
"Mikey!" Leo cried out.
"Why?!?!" Donnie yelled in disbelief.
"Master Splinter was getting worried about me and he was catching on so I figured I told him to end this inevitable discovery like I warned you three about" Michelangelo just casually shrugged.
"So from what Michelangelo just revealed to me...Donatello, you made a drug that can completely change your brother and you two went along with it. Then you tricked Michelangelo into taking it and turned him into an emotionless being that enhances him into what you wanted, just to get out of your punishment?" Splinter growled in anger.
"Not exactly to get out of the punishment" Raphael timidly chuckled.
"That is partly the reason" Mikey calls Raph out.
"Shut up Mikey" Raphael hissed.
"You didn't deny it," Mikey shook his head
"Look, we just wanted to help Mikey be better at things like we tried to help him and we successfully did that; we only did it to help Mikey" Leo explained, trying to defuse the tension with their father.
"Boys....when I said that you three must work together with Michelangelo to become one as a team..." Splinter started calmly when eventually...
"THIS IS NOT WHAT I MEANT!!!!" He bellowed right at them, looking livid with his eyes white at his three sons who cringed and sank deep in fear.
Mikey almost smiled that their reaction was exactly like his when they got mad at Mikey with their eyes pure white.
Splinter calmed a bit down from that outburst before he angrily turns to Donnie:
"So...care to explain yourself since this is YOUR invention, Donatello"
Mikey watches as Donnie and the others prepared to reveal everything to Splinter as he thought to himself:
"Well...This will be...entertaining to say the least"
Michelangelo watches as Donatello explains to an angry Splinter about the BIO that is in the young turtle.
Again, by the time Donatello finishes explaining the whole process of the BIO and how they got Michelangelo to take it; Splinter still looks rather furious as he snapped:
"So rather than doing as I said, you forced Michelangelo to take something against his will and made him into something he's forced to become for your standards?!"
"I imagined it'd be for your standards too, sensei" Donnie nervously chuckled.
"Enough" Splinter silences Donnie.
"But look at the bright side, Mikey's definitely improved a lot now that the BIO--!" Donnie continued.
"ENOUGH!" Splinter exclaimed which immediately shut Donnie up before the fathers' turns to Leo and Raph:
"And you two; going along with Donatello's foolish idea just to get out of your punishment?! What were you two thinking?!"
"Sounds like you knew exactly what I was thinking" Raphael just shrugged with a smirk.
Splinter smacked Raphael on the head with his tail as Leo then answered: "I'm really sorry, sensei; I just wanted what was best for Mikey"
"If you wanted what was best for your baby brother then you wouldn't have drugged him and made him into...this" Splinter angrily responded.
"I don't understand why you're mad, father; Thanks to my brothers, I am 100% more focused, stronger, more intelligent, and I'm more skillful in ninjutsu than I ever was," Michelangelo explained to Splinter.
"Michelangelo; you have the most raw talent of all four of you, in conclusion: you are stronger than your brothers combined. I sense your true strength and potential but this is not how you should do it. Learning to reach your true potential should be you learning it yourself, not letting your brothers drug you into doing it, it's not right" Splinter sadly explained.
"But I was convinced you and my brothers thought of the Mikey 1.0 as weak and insignificant" Mikey simply responded.
"That is not true and you brothers should never make you feel like that" Splinter replied, glaring at the three turtles behind him.
"W-We're sorry, sensei; we thought this would make you happy" Donnie apologised.
"Well it doesn't!" Splinter shook his head. "Now change your brother back to normal"
"Yeah...about that" Donnie gulped.
"You didn't make the antidote, am I correct?" Splinter groaned out in frustration.
"And he didn't even test the BIO beforehand" Mikey pointed out.
"Seriously, Mikey?!" Donnie snapped to which Mikey just shrugged.
"I am very disappointed in you three; I thought you would've learned your lesson from abandoning your little brother and how you treated him but this is by the far the worst thing you boys have ever done to your baby brother" Splinter furiously lectured the three turtles.
They all look down in extreme guilt before Splinter turns to Donnie: "Donatello, you CAN create an antidote for this, correct?"
"I can," Donnie nodded.
"Then do it and fix this mess you boys have done to your youngest brother" Splinter ordered.
Michelangelo was rather confused now; he was told that he was imperfect originally and then with the BIO, he was better but now he was told in front of him that he's not perfect?
"This doesn't make sense, I am far better from my inferior self...Why would they want me to go back to it? I am perfect...am I?" He thought to himself.
"We'll fix this mess, Splinter, we promise" Leo vowed.
"Good; because even until you three can fix this, I'm grounding you again!" Splinter put his foot down.
"What?!" Raphael exclaimed.
"For two months!" Splinter exclaimed back.
The turtles cringed before Splinter took Michelangelo out of his room before he turns back to the others: "You best hope Michelangelo is as forgiving as I might be one day when this is all over because not only you have broken your bond with your youngest brother, you may have lost his complete trust by turning him into this"
As soon as he leaves with the confused Mikey by his side, Raphael grumbled at Donnie: "Thanks a lot, Don"
"Shut up Raph, this is your fault as well" Don argued.
"Enough! Arguing is not going to help our situation better" Leo put his foot down before he turns to Donnie:
"You, start creating the antidote"
"I'm on it" Donnie sighs out softly and leaves for the lab.
"And you, go...go do what you like, I don't care" Leo groaned out to Raph and left the room.
"Whatever" Raphael grumbled and went to punch his punching bag in his room.
Meanwhile in the dojo room, Splinter was sitting beside Michelangelo, trying to understand how the Bionic-Intelligence-Organism works.
"My son, I'm so sorry; if I had known they were doing this, I'd immediately take action" Splinter apologised.
"Your logic confuses me, Splinter" Michelangelo simply responded.
"What do you mean by my logic?" Splinter quizzed.
"With Mikey 1.0, you've always told me that I need to improve and you seem rather disappointed whenever I seem to fail to do so even no matter how hard I try and how much you say I have raw talent" Michelangelo explained.
"True but that's because I want you to keep up your strength and learn new things to help improve your ninjutsu; I may be strict at times but that's because I want to help you rise to the occasion and should anything happen to you, I wouldn't forgive myself" Splinter stroked his son's head with fatherly affection.
"Your fatherly instincts and your love is completely understandable but you seemed very happy when I was improving as I am now. So tell me, are you actually happy that I am better than Mikey 1.0?" Michelangelo quizzed, looking stoic at his concerned father.
Splinter sadly holds Mikey close: "I was always happy with you, even if I looked disappointed, it didn't mean I was angry at you or disapproving of you. You are my youngest son and I love you for who you are to me; you are unique and special in your own way, you never needed a BIO to be this for me, I'm already proud of you and I already love you so much that you are my little sunshine like my Tang Shen"
"Father" Mikey started.
"You are more than enough for me and that's all that matters" Splinter reassured his son.
"Your words of comfort...they're nice but..." Michelangelo started.
"But?" Splinter quizzed.
"My brothers saw me as weak, useless, annoying as the original Mikey and I, for one, would rather not go back to that being" Mikey replied.
This scares Splinter as it looks the BIO is becoming more self-aware in Michelangelo and changing himself into something rather more...dark.
"Son, whatever this BIO is doing to you, it's not worth it. This is not who you are" Splinter tried to reason with Mikey.
"I'm sorry father but this is me now; I am perfect and I'm staying that way, for the sake of my brothers and for the sake of you, I will not go back to disappointing you all by being the useless weak screw up" Mikey coldly spoke to Splinter and eerily yet calmly walks out of the dojo.
"Michelangelo" Splinter called out to no avail as the BIO-enhanced Mikey closes the dojo door, leaving Splinter deep in concern:
"For my sons sake, they better make that antidote"
Chapter 6: Sinister Changes
Chapter Text
In the lab, Leo and Raph watch Donatello trying to make an antidote to rid the BIO out of Mikey's system when they hear knocking on the door.
"Is that you, Mikey?" Leo called out.
"Of course, may I come in?" Michelangelo asked politely.
"Gees, We made Mikey more polite and well-mannered and yet we're being punished for it" Raph grumbled.
"Shut up, Raph" Leo hissed.
"Come in, Mikey" Donnie granted entry.
Mikey opened the door and stood in the room, eerily quiet at them before Leo asked: "Mikey? Is everything alright?"
"I just want to inform you that you can stop making the antidote, it won't be needed" Michelangelo responded.
The three brothers stare at Mikey in confusion to which Donnie said:
"But Mikey, Master Splinter told me to--!"
"Master Splinter just doesn't understand the importance of the BIO; But I think he will...in time" Michelangelo calmly interrupts Donnie.
"No Mikey, Splinter is right, I never should've agreed to this in the first place but I selfishly did. This is a very bad thing we did to you and you shouldn't have to be something you're not" Leonardo shook his head before cuddling Mikey with emotional aching regret.
"We're so sorry, little brother; I'm so sorry and I promise I'm gonna do whatever it takes to make up for my selfish mistake to you"
Donnie and Raph looked down as they each in their own private thoughts began to see that this was a terrible idea to begin with and now they fear that they're going too far with this.
"I'm surprised at you, Leo, you wanted this to happened and now you're getting what you wanted; It's understandable that you feel guilty because of father's complete disapproval but don't worry, I'll be alright and I'll show him what good can come from the BIO, you'll see" Michelangelo eerily responded.
Soon he leaves the room, confusing the other turtles as Raphael spoke out: "What the shell was that about?"
"I don't think Mikey wants to be cured from the BIO," said Donnie.
"Well we can't defy Splinter's orders and we can't let the BIO control Mikey any further; keep making that antidote, Donnie, regardless of what Mikey thinks" Leonardo replied.
Donnie nodded and continued making the antidote for the BIO as the turtles were getting a little concerned with how Mikey is behaving.
The next day, Karai, April and Casey visited the lair after wondering what's going on with them and as soon as they got caught with everything happening, needless to say, April was not happy as she said to them:
"Splinter was right to ground you guys"
"Don't remind us," Raphael grumbled.
"So you got Mikey to become a living robot or something?" Casey quizzed.
"Not a robot, we just enhanced his strength, his skills, and his behaviour" Donnie answered.
Leo looked at April and asked: "Are you gonna yell at us or something?"
"Well what can I say that Splinter already said?" April firmly shrugged.
"I may not have been as close with you guys but even I can say that this is by far the most selfish thing you three have done to Mikey" Karai angrily points out.
"I know and I regret it" Leo sadly nodded.
"And yet you went along with it, that's just like you, man" Casey pointed out.
"Alright, I get it; I suck as a big brother" Leo groaned.
"Not just you, all three of you have been awful to Mikey lately" April crossed her arms.
"Yeah man" Casey agreed then turns to Raphael: "I mean, Raph; you were controlled by that parasite that tried to make you like the Shredder, dude; I thought you, out of all people, would be so against it since you experienced what Mikey is experiencing at the moment"
"Hey, I was kidnapped and besides, I only wanted to help Mikey get better" Raphael protested.
"Bullcrap! You just wanted to get out of the punishment" Karai called him out. "And here I thought you guys loved each other"
"We do; we love Mikey" Donnie cried out. "We didn't do this because we hated Mikey; we just wanted to help him improve on everything he struggled on like he always wanted"
"Well you failed miserably!" April exaggerated in annoyance.
"She's right, you know; Doesn't it bother you that Mikey can't do the things he wants because of this chip forcing him to do what you guys want instead?" Casey asked.
"I'm making an antidote now so we are trying to set things right now" Donnie points out.
"Even if you do cure Mikey, how do you know Mikey will just be alright after all of this? I'd say he'd be very upset when he learns what you guys have done" Karai firmly questions the reluctant turtles.
That was something they were afraid of now; if Mikey does get cured, will he remember what they did to him? And if so, could he ever forgive them?
"I mean...c'mon, it's just Mikey" Raphael tried to look on the bright side: "He'll bounce back with us, he loves us, he always does"
Karai just slapped Raph in the face before she hissed in disgust: "You disgust me, all of you at the moment"
"What do ya mean?" Raphael demanded, rubbing his face.
"If I was Mikey, I don't think I'll ever forgive you guys for tricking me into taking something against my will and change me because you don't like the way I am; That's what you three have done and I wouldn't be surprised that Mikey would disown you lot because you just can't admit that you don't want Mikey as your brother anymore!" Karai ranted.
"That's not true! I-!" Raph angrily protested.
"I'd say it's mostly true"
The gang turns to see Michelangelo near them which makes them jump in alarm that they didn't hear or see Mikey coming to them.
"Mikey? You look...different" April awkwardly spoke.
The gang can see that something was different about Mikey, he was no longer wearing his usual orange mask but instead, he was wearing a black mask around his eyes. His pads and wraps were gone and were replaced with metal pads instead.
But the strangest change of them all was his eyes; the baby blue eyes that Mikey once had was no longer there but instead it was slowly becoming pale sickly green.
"Mikey? Are you alright?" Leo asked in concern.
"I never felt better, Leonardo," Mikey simply replied.
"What's with the metal gear?" Karai asked.
"Well if you want to know, I was getting bored of my orange mask and stuff; It was too...Mikey 1.0 as you call me, so I decided to upgrade myself a bit and come with something more appropriate for my ninjutsu style...Clever, is it not?" Michelangelo responded in the creepy monotone voice.
"So you're...what...Mikey 2.0?" Casey quizzed.
"Exactly" Mikey nodded.
"Mikey, I'm so sorry for what your brothers did to you but we care about you the way you originally are" Karai tried to reason with the young turtle:
"And believe it or not, I've grown to care and love you too; you, aside from Leo, were the only one who welcomed me and treated me like I was your sister and overtime...you became like the little brother I never had"
"Your sisterly affection is rather kind as always, Karai" Mikey simply responded.
"Buddy, where's the party dude I remember? Life of the house? The happy-go-lucky person I know, you were cool to me and now you're just..." Casey spoke out in concern for his best friend.
"I'm what, Casey Jones?" Michelangelo pressed on rather coldly.
"Creepy, I guess," Casey shrugged uncomfortably.
"I understand your confusion on my mature demeanour that over-shines my once immature inferior self but that's changed forever and I intended to stay that way" Michelangelo answered.
"This isn't you though, Mikey" April sadly pointed out. "It's like you're someone who's replaced the Mikey we love"
"And what's wrong with that? Last I check you hated Mikey 1.0...How he was annoying, how he was irresponsible, how he was childish, unintelligent, unfunny and of course, a major screw up...But that Mikey is gone and here I stand in his place, you should be grateful you know" Mikey responded more coldly and begins to look menacingly as he speaks on:
"No more screws up, no more stupidity, no more mistakes, and no more failures; just perfection as you guys always wanted, right?"
The gang was getting terrified at Mikey's change before Raphael awkwardly pointed out: "He kind of does have a point"
"I am this close to beating you out of your shell!!" Karai angrily exclaimed, wanting to strangle the red-masked turtle.
"I know this is a lot to process but don't worry, you'll all get used to this in time, don't you worry" Michelangelo concluded before he walked away.
"Where are you going?" Donatello called out.
"Patrolling, since you guys are still grounded, someone's gonna have to keep an eye on the city and I'm not relying on the chaotic gang they called the Mutanimals" Michelangelo replied and headed out of the lair.
"Donnie...is it possible that the BIO is taking its effect too much?" Leonardo questioned Donnie.
"Well it is designed to make Mikey seem perfect," Donatello answered.
"But how perfect is too perfect for Mikey? For all we know, it seems to be changing him into something bad" April replied.
"Dude, haven't you ever seen monster movies that involve science? It's always some twisted experiment that always goes wrong because of the mad scientist" Casey pointed out, looking at Donnie.
"Hey! I'm not mad!" Donnie snapped at Casey. "I'm just intelligently smart"
"Don; Smart and intelligence are two different things and right now, you're neither" Karai sighs out.
"Enough!" Leo groaned out before he turned to Karai, April, and Casey: "Since we can't leave the lair, could you guys follow Mikey and see if he stays out of danger for us?"
"You got it" April nodded to which the human trio soon followed after Mikey.
"Be careful guys" Raphael called out.
The teenage humans left the lair while the brothers wonder to themselves if the experiment is slowly becoming out of control to which Leo said:
"Donnie, now's the good time to continue on that antidote"
"Got it," Donnie nodded and headed back to his lab.
Karai, April, and Casey follow Michelangelo into the city but eventually they lose him much to their dismay.
"Where did Mikey disappear to?" April panicked.
"Dunno; he's always the easiest one to find," Casey replied.
"With that so-called BIO in him, it makes it harder for us to look for him" Karai stated.
"Call Donnie, see if he can track him from his T-Phone" Casey suggested.
April immediately calls Donnie from his phone as the screen shows his face to which Donnie answers with: "April! Is everything alright? Are you hurt? Please tell me you're OK"
April sighs out in annoyance: "Yes Donnie, I'm fine but we lost Mikey"
"Ya lost Mikey?! How?!" Raphael angrily exclaimed, getting in screen view.
"The dude's so fast now that he must have known we were behind him," Casey replied.
"Can you guys try tracking him through his T-Phone?" Karai asked.
"Get me one second" Donnie replied as the humans waited on the phone for a moment until Donnie returns to screen view:
"OK, he seems to be at near you guys, just three buildings ahead of you"
"Alright, we'll let you know the updates when we can," April nodded and hung up.
Soon they follow the signal to Mikey's T-Phone and manage to find the young turtle but to their horror, what lies ahead of them makes them stop on their tracks.
Michelangelo was standing around a pile of thugs, all badly beaten and injured as he had thrashed the living daylights out of them.
"M-Mikey?!" April gasped out while Mikey wipes the blood off his weapons.
"I see you found me...don't worry, I'm quite alright" Michelangelo responded just casually as if he's done nothing too major.
"Dude...did you kill all of those thugs?!" Casey gulped.
"They're not dead, just heavily damaged with injuries that are not life-threatening; though it will take a long time for them to recover which is exactly what I intended to do to them" Michelangelo explained, looking around the pile of unconscious thugs.
"Mikey! This isn't how we fight! We don't injure people!" April cried out in dismay.
"And yet we had slain Footbots, Krangbots and other things in the past; why should criminals like the Purple Dragons be any different?" Mikey coldly remarked.
April and Casey stare in disbelief, even Karai was uncomfortable at the sight of what was occurring before them; this wasn't Mikey in front of them! This was some heartless creature that had taken over their best friend.
"Mikey; whatever this thing inside of you is doing, I'm telling you now that it is not a good thing, it's making you twisted and evil" Karai pointed out in concern.
"I'm not evil; I'm just advanced with my skills. If I was evil, I'd kill these thugs but I didn't because I'm better than that" Michelangelo shook his head:
"And besides, you were the Shredder's prodigy, so don't you lecture me about being evil"
"I may have been his prodigy...but I was manipulated just like you are now with this BIO" Karai calmly responded.
"Karai is right, this isn't how you are! Whatever your brothers want you to change in you is not worth it! You are amazing and perfect the way you are originally to us" April pleaded.
"I'm getting real tired of that worthless speech about my 1.0 self; there is nothing great or amazing about the 1.0 version of myself" Mikey coldly narrowed his eyes at the teens.
"Please Mikey, just take the antidote once Donnie completes it and we'll fix everything together" Karai tried to reason with Michelangelo.
"I don't need fixing!!" Michelangelo suddenly snapped in a burst of outrage.
April and Casey flinched in terror of that sudden outburst while Karai looks on, getting more worried for the turtle in front of her before Mikey's face twitches back to his calm yet eerie expression:
"Apologies; I don't know what came over me"
"Buddy! This thing is making you mad with power and such" Casey exclaimed.
"I am not mad; I am perfect with the BIO and you cannot change the way I am now. So spare me the useless lectures and just leave me be, my dear friends" Mikey calmly replied.
Mikey was about to leave when Karai grabbed his hand and made him face her as she firmly snapped: "No! I refuse to accept that this is you now, Mikey!"
"And what do you plan to do about it?" Mikey hauntingly asked.
"We will get that BIO out of you one way or another" Karai puts her foot down. "We will save you, Mikey; we're not giving up on you"
"I'm sorry Karai but I'm afraid I cannot allow you to do that" Mikey replied and shoves her to April, knocking both girls down to the ground.
"Hey!" Casey snapped and got in front of Mikey: "That was uncalled for, man!"
"So what do you wish to do now? Fight me? You can try but you're just a useless vigilante who hides his face with paint or a mask; you may look tough but deep inside you're just a scared little boy playing dress ups for Halloween" Mikey coldly rebuffed
"S-Shut up!" Casey snapped, getting his hockey stick out in case he had to fight.
"Guys, no! Don't fight each other" April cried out, getting in between them.
"I don't plan to waste time with boring vigilantes so don't you worry" Mikey replied.
"The Mikey I knew would never make such nasty comments" Karai grunted.
"I wouldn't call them nasty comments; just harsh truths" Mikey shrugged.
"We won't let this BIO turn you over completely, Mikey!" April vowed.
"You're more than welcome to interfere with me but it will prove useless since I am 98 per cent more stronger than you two combined. I can even overpower Master Splinter now if I wanted to" Mikey coldly remarked.
Soon he walks away but not before he turns to the teenage humans and adds:
"This is who I am now; get used to it"
He suddenly throws a smoke bomb and vanishes when the smoke clears, leaving the human trio behind.
"Poor Mikey! The BIO is making him completely dangerous!" April gasped.
"We got to warn the others especially Splinter; this BIO is turning Mikey into something twisted and evil" Karai panicked.
"Yeah if we don't get that thing out of him, he'll be more dangerous than the Shred-head himself" Casey points out.
"That's the last thing we need," Karai shuddered.
"C'mon!" April called out before she and the the two teenagers rushed back to the sewers to warn the others.
Hoping to reach back before Mikey does, the others hope that Donatello is finished with the antidote to destroy the BIO out of Mikey's system for good.
But even they know that the BIO-enhanced Michelangelo is not going to give up without a fight...
Chapter 7: Showdown
Chapter Text
Karai, April, and Casey rushed back to the lair as fast as they could and met up with the turtles inside.
"Is Mikey here?" April pants out.
"No he hasn't returned home, why? Where is he?" Donnie quizzed in concern.
"Is he OK?!" Leo demanded.
The teenage humans looked at one another before revealing the events that unfolded above the surface with Michelangelo, much to everyone's shock including Splinter who walked into the conversation.
"This is worse than I can imagine, this BIO is changing Michelangelo into a force of evil" Splinter pointed out in deep concern.
"Oh god! What have I done?!" Donnie wailed out. "This is all my fault"
"It's not just your fault, it's ours, Donnie" Leo sadly replied.
"True..." Raphael shamefully nodded but then adds: "But it is mostly your fault, Donnie"
"Shut up Raph!" Donnie yelled at Raph.
"Donatello! Is the antidote almost ready?" Splinter questioned the smart turtle.
"Almost, Just a few touches here and there and it should be complete" Donnie answered.
"The question is though, how are we going to get Mikey to take the pill this time? He's smart enough to know when he's even tricked" Raphael asked.
"That's the thing, the antidote is not a pill, it's a liquid inside a syringe" Donatello replied.
"So if we hold Mikey down together and you inject the syringe into him, it'll rid the BIO in him" Leo predicted the strategy.
"Pretty much," Donatello nodded.
"It's not going to be simple; he took out an entire gang of Purple Dragon just like that. He's stronger than most of us, maybe even you, father" Karai said in sheer worry while looking up at her dad, Splinter.
"We have to do our best to get our Michelangelo back; This BIO is a danger to himself and to all of us" Splinter replied, determined to get his youngest son back.
"Oh I disagree"
The gang turns to see Michelangelo back but this time, his eyes were completely green and his head was showing off a bit of veins.
"Mikey? Are you OK? You look...strange" April gulped.
"The BIO has increased my abilities physically and mentally. I am pure perfection now" Mikey replied.
"No...You are not perfect and you're not my son! You're a twisted technology who took over my son" Splinter angrily growled.
Mikey glared at Splinter rather dangerously which shocked the gang since the BIO didn't show emotion at first.
"I'm hurt...father; you guys created me to be perfect and now you're saying I'm not perfect...That is just hurtful" Mikey coldly said.
"Mikey, this has to stop! We were so wrong to put the BIO in you, we never should have done this to you so forcefully; I never should've made it in the first place...We're so sorry, Mikey" Donnie deeply apologised.
"Don't apologise, I should be thanking you! I am now greater than Mikey 1.0 and I'm better being the way I am now" Mikey shook his head. "The BIO gave me everything I needed to improve who I am, just as you guys always wanted in me"
"No! You've become cold, menacing and somewhat evil with this BIO. It's like taking everything our Mikey was and doing a face-heel turn from him" Karai replied.
"Yeah like our Mikey was Jekyll and you are Hyde" Casey points out.
The others looked at Casey dumbfounded by his answers before he scoffed: "What? I read horror stories"
Mikey suddenly begins chuckling rather darkly before he smiles wickedly at them: "You know...I always wonder why you guys keep changing your opinions of me. At first you loved my improvements because of the BIO and now you don't; all this time I keep wondering to myself: What am I doing wrong? Why are you constantly changing your minds? What more do you want me to be perfect in your eyes?"
His eyes then flash at them: "And then it hit me...The fault isn't with me...The fault is within all of you"
"What are you talking about?" Splinter quizzed.
"I'm saying that you guys are the imperfect ones that are the problem" Mikey revealed before he turns to Leo:
"Leonardo, you are a poor excuse of a leader"
"Hey!" Leo snapped.
"And that reaction there proves it: You're a self-egoistical show off who can't take criticism or people telling you what to do because you're the eldest! You always throw hissy fits when someone insists on leading and question your leadership and you feel like you're always going to be the boss of all of us but the truth is you're just a childish narcissist who just only wants to be daddy's number one" Mikey scoffed:
"A true leader would listen and accept ideas from his team mates, work as one but you rather have everyone follow to the tune of your own trumpet like it's the number one thing that should always be right and accounted for"
Leo was speechless before the BIO-enhanced Mikey stares at Donnie:
"My dear Donatello, For a guy who claims to be intelligent, you sure do make stupid mistakes but what do you expect when you take pride of being part of the B-Team instead of the A-Team"
"Mikey-!" Donnie started.
"No! You shut your ridiculous gap tooth mouth of yours and keep quiet now; the adults are talking" Mikey snarled hatefully at Donnie:
"You may be a smart turtle but you're clearly still stupid enough to not even test or try out your experiments because you're too busy pining and lusting over a human girl...how sad"
"M-Mikey!" Donnie squeaked as he turned to April in a panic.
"Is he talking about me?" April quizzed.
"No I'm talking about Karai (!) Of course I'm talking about you, you foolish gingered simpleton! Does being half-Kraang give you less of a brain, April O'Neil?" Mikey growled at April.
"Hey! Don't you talk to her like that!" Donnie snapped.
"And that, there, is what I am talking about! You are just a clingy love-sick puppy who can't just accept that she doesn't even love you like that and she never will because you're a god-damn mutant turtle" Mikey snapped back.
"Donnie" April gasped.
"Oh don't you start, April...you're not in the clear too; You know about Donnie's feelings but rather than just addressing them properly like a normal human being would, you brush and play away his feelings like it's a sick game to you" Mikey growled.
April and Donnie looked at each other awkwardly until Mikey then looks at Raph:
"And you...you're the worst imperfection of them all"
"Mikey..." Raphael spoke out.
"Your hair-trigger temper tends to bring out the worst in you that you are so impatient and you care less about what people feel and do than you rather be alone and feel like you're strong by yourself...How sad is that" Mikey mocked the hot head.
Raphael glares at Mikey who just scoffed: "See? Even you can't handle the harsh truth and that is why you're not the leader because you would doom us all on the first try....Oh wait, you almost did at one point; so look who's the big screw up now?"
"Enough!" Splinter snapped at the BIO-enhanced Mikey. "This has gone far enough, Michelangelo! This thing is making you dangerous and we're gonna do whatever it takes to get it out of you"
"Oh don't you worry sensei, I already have a solution to all of our problems" Michelangelo replied before revealing something from his belt pockets.
As soon as he opens it, the gang gasped in shock that Mikey was holding more pills that are exactly like the original BIO.
"Are those pills...?" Casey gulped.
"BIO Pills? Yes" Mikey nodded.
"How did you make them like that so fast?!" Donnie demanded.
"Well I am smarter than you now, I can create things twice as good as you can" Mikey sneered. "And for one thing, I don't leave my blueprints lying on the table for everyone to see, right Donnie?"
Donnie's eyes widen in shock that he remembers about the blue prints he made for the BIO, forgetting to destroy them or hide them for the time being as the others glared at Donnie who chuckled out sheepishly: "My bad"
"The only way we're going to be perfect together is that you all will take the Bionic-Intelligence-Organism..." Mikey stated his idea to the group.
"No way! We refuse to take the BIO" Casey rejected.
"Well then, I recommend you change your mind because if you don't take the BIO..." Mikey started before he dangerously glares at them with his glowing green eyes:
"...Then I will kill you!!!"
The gang look on in terror as the dangerous BIO-enhanced turtle has gone off the insanity charts with the experiment that has finally gone out of control.
"Did he say he's gonna kill us?!" Casey gulped.
"Mikey! Just let us help you" Leo pleaded.
"You want to help me then you have two choices: Join me and take the BIO so that way we can be a perfect family together or in order for me to live my life to perfection, I must destroy the imperfections to achieve it" The evil BIO-Turtle growled.
"I should've known this was bound to happen! How can I not see it?! I was so focused on helping him but I should've known that changing Mikey into something else is like reversing someone from good and pure to evil and chaotic! Why didn't I test the BIO before?! Why?!" Donnie wailed to himself.
"And here's my reply: Screw you, who cares about science when we're all gonna die?!" Raphael yelled at Donnie.
"You'd be wise to think this through and accept my mercy while I'm offering it to you" Michelangelo replied with a devious grin.
"Mercy? Turning us into evil beings like you? This is mercy?!" Raphael scoffed.
"I can hurt you a lot worse than you can imagine before you would beg for sweet death" The evil turtle snarled.
"We won't give up without a fight, Michelangelo" Splinter firmly replied. "I'm sorry to do this but we'll do whatever it takes to get the BIO out of you"
"So be it" Mikey firmly scoffed and in a flash, leaps towards them for an attack.
"Look out!" April cried out as the gang spread out.
The BIO-enhanced turtle goes after Raphael who groaned out: "Why me?!"
"Because out of the people I've known in my life, you're the one I despise the most...Ever since we were little, you've been giving me shell wedgies, wet willies, and reptile rug burns, and you can hitting me that I'm considered lucky that my brain is not damaged by the amount of abuse set by you" The evil turtle snapped.
"Yeah well, it doesn't help that you always do stupid things that annoys us" Raphael argued.
"You're one to talk: I may have been irritating and stupid as Mikey 1.0 but when's the last time I lost my temper to you daily and beat you? Hmm?" Mikey coldly argued back.
Raphael tried to attack Mikey to stop him but the BIO-enhanced turtle grabbed his first in a flash and narrows his eyes before growling back:
"And personally, you have this coming for a long time"
"Mikey-!" Raphael cried.
The evil turtle started to violently thrash upon the red masked turtle, beating the absolute daylights out of him.
"Mikey! Stop!" Leo yelled and tries to grab his baby brother off Raph.
The evil turtle soon grabs Leo and starts to thrash upon him before throwing him to Karai who tried to intervene.
"Sorry Karai" Leo grunted.
"No harm done" Karai exhaled sharply from the impact.
Raphael attempts to hit Mikey to stop him when Mikey resumes his attack on Raphael and occasionally attacks Splinter and Casey.
"Donnie! The antidote!" April cried out.
"Got it!" Donnie nodded as he and April hurries to the lab to get the cure ready.
As soon as the evil turtle throws the bleeding and thrashed turtle to the ground, he stood on Raph's shell roughly and growled:
"How does that feel? Knowing the amount of pain you inflicted on Mikey 1.0 for all those years in one single thrashing"
"L-Little brother...I'm...I'm so sorry" Raphael whimpered, feeling afraid.
"No, you're only regretful now because I'm stronger and a threat to you" The BIO-enhanced turtle growled.
He was about to hit Raph again when Leo and Splinter combined their strength to shove Mikey to the wall, holding him against it with all their might.
"Your strength may be twice as strong together but I will overpower you both!" Mikey yelled in fury.
"Mikey! Please listen to us!" Leo cried out.
"Why? You never want to listen to Mikey 1.0 problems in the first place and I don't need to hear you now" The evil turtle spatted.
"My son, I know what your brothers did was truly unacceptable but we love you all the same! You are not useless, nor are you a screw up as they once told you...your brothers were wrong to say that" Splinter grunted, holding Mikey down.
"Splinter's right, Mikey; we never should've got you to take the BIO in the first place. You were already perfect the way you were and we were so selfish and blind to see it...We're so sorry, Mikey, we really are" Leo sadly apologised.
"No you're not; you're just sorry that daddy's mad at you" Mikey growled.
"I truly wanted to help you, Mikey; I never meant to hurt you...I just wanted to help you be what you wanted like you wished but...I failed you" Leo deeply apologised with every regretful vibe in his heart and soul to his baby brother.
"If you turn me back to the imperfect version of myself, you'll just regret it in the end" Mikey warned them.
"No...I'd rather have the original Mikey back than this one" Raphael grunted as he got up.
"Liar!!" The evil turtle shrieked out. "Even in my dream world, you preferred my angry self"
Raphael kneels before Mikey being held down and sadly looks at him, despite the pain he was feeling from the beat down:
"You were right....We'd never appreciate you and have you be turned to this, and what it is doing to you now...it finally just made us realise how we took you for granted and how much we miss having the real you around"
"You always make us laugh, smile and have fun together; we enjoy being with you, Mikey" Karai grunted, trying not to cry.
"Yeah dude, you were always a cool guy to me and I don't want this to be you" Casey sadly nodded.
"You are perfect the way you are, my son and I promise we'll do whatever it takes to make up for all that we've done to you" Splinter replied.
Suddenly the BIO-enhanced turtle used his increased strength and throws the guys off from him as his eyes light up bright green in rage:
"I care not for that insignificant useless turtle I once was! He's dead and gone and you'll never have him back! NEVER!!!"
He charges at Splinter who grabs Mikey and struggles with him: "Michelangelo! Stop!!"
"I'm going to stay perfect if I have to kill all of you imperfect screw ups here just to do it!!!" The evil turtle insanely bellowed as the BIO was just about making the turtle completely insane with power.
Suddenly in a flash, April seizes Mikey with her powers as she is doing her best not to go overboard with them, less she hurts Mikey, before Donatello jabs the needle of the antidote into the surprised turtle's neck as he grunted: "Get out of my brother, you worthless creation of mine!!"
"NO!!!" Mikey roared as the antidote immediately takes its course:
"What have you done?! What have you done to me?!"
"Donnie!" Leo cried out.
"The antidote is taking its course" Donnie cried back.
Michelangelo swirls around wildly and wails out in anguish pain before he grunts out: "BIO systems...failing...Failure to repair....ERROR! ERROR!!! ERROR!!!!"
Suddenly he lets out a shriek that sounds like a dying computer before his eyes stopped glowing green and were back to baby blue. The Bionic-Intelligence-Organism computer chip was out of Mikey's brain and dissolve into nothing, making the turtle passed out cold.
"Mikey!!!" The gang exclaimed and gathered around the unconscious turtle.
"Is he alright?! Is he alive?!" Raphael panicked.
Donnie checked everything and nodded: "He's alright; he's still alive, just passed out cold"
"Help me bring your baby brother to the lab; Donatello, do a check up on Michelangelo and see if the antidote has worked entirely" Splinter commanded.
Soon the turtles carried Mikey to the lab for a medical check up but with the BIO now destroyed from Mikey's brain, making the young turtle go back to normal...
What happens now?
That's the big question!
Chapter 8: Betrayed
Chapter Text
In Donatello's lab, the purple masked turtle was medically examining Michelangelo to see if the BIO was out of the turtle's system officially while the others stay by Michelangelo's side on the medical bed.
"I hope the cure worked" Raphael gulped in concern.
"We all hope so" Casey agreed.
Leonardo looks down at his baby brother, guilt eats away in his heart as he deeply regrets what he had selfishly done with the other two to Mikey. Though they wanted to help Mikey improve himself, they still hurt Mikey with the BIO, an action that they'll keep their guilt and shame to their graves.
"Let that be a lesson to you three; Never do something as reckless and dangerous like that ever again" Splinter reprimanded the trio.
"We won't; we promise" Raphael vowed, ashamed of his actions as well.
"Good, because if you do, I will, in your words, beat the green out of you" Karai narrows her eyes at Raphael who flinch awkwardly.
Donatello returns with the reports: "The BIO is completely out of Michelangelo's system. The cure has dissolve the chip so Mikey should hopefully be back to who he originally is"
"Do you think he'll remember what has happened?" April quizzed.
"Once he wakes up, we'll find out" Donnie answered.
And no sooner had he answered the question, Michelangelo begins to stir from his sleep and slowly opens his eyes, yawning loudly.
"Musuko" Splinter gasped and gently helped his baby boy lean up from the bed.
"Papa? Guys? Wha...What happened?" Mikey yawned.
"Mikey, how do you feel?" Leo questioned in concern.
"I feel like I've been napping for days" Mikey yawned.
"Mikey, what's your favorite food?" Raphael quizzed.
"Duh! Pizza!" Mikey stretched his arms.
The others felt hopeful with that answer as it sounded like Mikey they knew was back before Donnie asked:
"Mikey, what's the most visited city of Tennessee?"
"Um....Tennis-ville?" Mikey replied.
The turtles gasped happily and hugs Mikey: "He's back!"
"Uh...did I miss something?" Mikey asked, feeling utterly confused.
"A lot" April nodded, hugging Mikey as well.
"We're so glad you're yourself again, dude" Casey happily stated.
"Myself again? What are you-?" Mikey started when suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his head before he remembers something.
"Wait...I'm remembering something....The...The BIO! I was controlled by the BIO!"
"You remember everything then?" Karai asked her mutant brother.
"Y-Yes...I was cold and I felt trapped in doing things and yet it made me feel like I was perfect...too perfect...so perfect that I became horrible and such...I almost killed you guys and...what have I done?!" Mikey cried out in despair from how he was as the BIO.
"It wasn't your fault, my son; you were manipulated and controlled like a machine but you're free now and back to the son I love" Splinter assured his son, hugging him warmly.
Mikey turns to his three brothers and gasped out in horror: "You...You tricked me...You gave me pizza with the BIO in it!"
"I know and we never should've done that" Donnie apologised. "We wanted to help you but we were being selfish"
"I should've been more patient with you and gave you a chance properly...we all should've help you better" Raphael also apologised.
"But the important thing is that you're free and we're all together now; everything is going to be fine, Mikey" Leo assured his baby brother and attempts to hug him for comfort.
Suddenly out of nowhere, Michelangelo furiously threw a direct punch to Leo's face, making him violently tumbled to the ground. The others exclaimed in shock before Splinter held Mikey closer to prevent him from attacking his brothers.
He understands his son's anger but he didn't want things to escalate more with violence than it had with the BIO in Mikey a few minutes ago.
Don and Raph helped Leo up before they noticed Michelangelo looking livid, distraught and most of all, betrayed as he angrily shudders out:
"You don't have me back! Do you think I'm happy to see you jerks especially what you guys have done to me?!?!"
Leo flinches with dread as he sadly said: "Mikey, we're so sorry; The BIO was a horrible mistake and one we never should've did in the first place"
"You still went through with it..." Mikey angrily grunted out.
"We can explain everything" Raphael started.
"There's no need...I know why...You guys hate me for who I am and what I am to you...You only did this because you wanted someone better than me...I used to be scared for that and now you three just proved that I was right about my concerns" Mikey miserably sniffed.
"Little brother--" Donnie started.
"No!!!" Mikey raged out, not wanting to hear any more of their excuses: "You guys never truly accepted me as your own brother; you all just wish I was never your brother and you lot admit it at times...Do you know how much it hurts that everything I've done for you jerks has never been enough and knowing nothing will ever be good enough to feel like I am part of the team, to make you feel proud to be your baby brother"
"It hurts that you lot just ignore me, beat me, never take me seriously, treat me like a joke and just flat out admit that I'm a problem, a screw up, a useless ninja, and a bad brother in your eyes...The fact you preferred the BIO-me to the real me...I...I would never do that to you guys...I just...why?"
The three turtles miserably look on at their heartbroken baby brother, crying his eyes out, letting all his pent up depression be exposed in front of them:
"If you guys didn't want me as your brother then you could've just told me and I would've quit the team and left home long ago"
"No, my son, no, don't say that" Splinter sadly cooed as he rubs Mikey's head.
"Mikey, we're really sorry for everything; you were right!" Leo apologised in near tears of pained regret:
"We should've been nicer and we should've been more supportive but we only did this because we wanted to help you...but we were so selfish to put the BIO in you, we tried to help you the wrong way and we deeply regret everything"
"He's right, Mikey" Donnie agreed. "I deeply regret making the BIO and...tricking you into taking it. I only want to improve things for you but...you never need improving, we were so ignorant of what we were doing to you, especially with the BIO"
"But we promise: we'll do whatever it takes to set things right! We'll do whatever we can to earn your respect and trust again because we love you, Mikey" Raphael vowed with his guilt-ridden heart arching for Mikey to give them one more chance to do things better this time.
The young turtle got out of the medical bed, away from Splinter's arms before approaching the trio. The others watched as maybe Mikey might give them one more chance, after all he is mostly compassionate and does tend to see goodness in other people, maybe he could let them have one more chance to make up for their horrible mistakes properly now.
All hope shattered when Mikey sharply gave all three of his brother a smack in the face and snapped:
"I may have been too forgiving in the past but this is the last straw!! You just proved that I am not the brother you want and you turned me into something evil and dangerous...I don't think I could ever forgive any of you for this!!"
He starts to walk off in anguish tears to which Leo cried out: "Mikey, don't leave us! We can--!"
"NO!!!" Mikey bellowed, glancing hatefully at the trio: "I've had enough of you guys and I don't want to be involved with whatever you guys want from me ever again! I hate you all!!!"
Mikey storms off and heads to his room, the others watching in dismay and despair as Raphael cried out: "Mike, please!"
"Enough" Splinter firmly hush them and walks pass them before stopping to give all three turtles a stern disapproving look: "You three have done more than enough; just leave your brother alone"
Splinter leaves to tend to his youngest son as Karai follows him, glaring at the three turtles in disgust that she couldn't believe how low they stoop with their own baby brother.
April and Casey just watches on sadly as they still were disappointed at their friends but know that they are guilty and extremely sorry for what they did but alas, it may be too late to set things right.
Meanwhile Splinter was in Michelangelo's room, cuddling and tending to his crying heartbroken son, assuring him that he has done nothing wrong and he is perfect the way he is.
"I know I'm not a sweet angel and I....I know I can be bad at times with them with m-my pranks and such but...I was never cruel to them...not like the way they mostly did to me" Mikey cries in Splinter's arms.
"I know, my son, I know" Splinter soothed his son.
"A-Am I just a screw-up to you, papa?" Mikey wailed.
"No Michelangelo; you are a wonderful son and a great ninja" Splinter reassured him. "You may have some minor issues with learning and such but so do your brothers"
He then strokes his son's head: "And yes you can be devious with your silly pranks and such but you've never been dishonest and truly selfish like your three brothers did"
"I...I don't know if I could ever trust them again...you know they don't love me" Mikey sobbed.
"Of course they love you and they do really regret what they have done; their hearts, however, were not in the right place and they have every right to be ashamed and guilty for what they have done to you with the BIO and how poorly they behaved at you" Splinter replied:
"Now I don't blame you for how you feel with them but I advice to find it in your heart to give them another chance when the time comes"
"H-How will I know if I could forgive them?" Mikey sniffed.
"You'll know when you'll feel it someday but I don't blame you for not wanting to do anything with them for a long while because what they have done is inexcusable" Splinter answered.
Soon Michelangelo looks at Karai who was watching the scene and making sure the other three turtles stay away from her baby brother for the time being.
"Karai" Mikey sobbed.
"Yes, Otōto?" Karai looks at him.
Michelangelo got up and looked at his sister with pleading watery eyes:
"D-Do you mind if I stay with you for a while?"
Chapter 9: Regret
Chapter Text
Karai looks at her mutant little brother who just asked if he could stay with her back at the Foot clan hideout where she resides as the Foot leader. She looks at her father to which he let out a small smile, giving her the answer she was looking for.
"Of course you can come with me, Otōto" Karai nodded and hugs Mikey.
The sobbing turtle looks at Splinter who nodded: "You can stay with your sister for as long as you like; considering how appalling your brothers have been to you, I would recommend you go with Karai so you can at least be away from the toxicity from your brothers presences"
"B-But what if I don't wanna come back here?" Mikey sniffed.
Splinter knew this was a tough decision but somehow he can sense that Karai will definitely help Mikey embrace who he is while maybe helping him train with healthier and happier results, considering how close Miwa has gotten to Mikey since she was introduced as his sister.
Like his brothers, despite their fatal flaws till now, Karai has taken a liking to Mikey and feels bound to protect her baby brother as his older sister and seeing how Mikey mostly helped her introduce her to a world where she can have fun and be herself instead of the Shredder's prodigy, she'd do anything to keep her family safe, especially Mikey.
"Stay with Karai for a few months and your brothers will have to learn to live without you, let them see what happens when they taken something for granted too long and when I return with your brothers, we'll go from there" Splinter responded.
He then turns to Karai and addressed her as she was originally named, Miwa: "Miwa, you and Michelangelo take good care of each other"
"We will, father; I will not fail you"
Splinter soon held Mikey one more time before he said: "Michelangelo; I want you to remember this while you're away: Know that I am so proud of the son you are to me, know that I am also proud of the ninja you are"
He nuzzles the weeping turtle's head with fatherly love: "You are my little sunshine and I love you so very much, never forget that"
"I won't, papa, I promise" Mikey nodded, weeping and holding his father back.
"And if you ever need anything from me, I'm just a call away" Splinter warmly chuckles.
Mikey nodded before Karai helps him pack his things, grabbed Ice Cream Kitty in her freezer tube, and together they left the lair as Mikey took one last look at the lair that he calls home before Karai places a hand on his shoulder:
"You're going to be OK, Michelangelo, I promise"
Mikey nodded and left the lair with his sister to stay with her at the Foot clan. Splinter watches them go before he suddenly hears the trio arguing loudly in Donnie's lab, no doubt trying to blame one another for the BIO incident.
He firmly swings the lab door open before he calmly collects himself but sternly said: "Boys, in the dojo, right now"
He watches the boys head to the dojo, even April and Casey joins them before the humanoid rat stood in front of the kneeling teenagers and address them:
"I want you three to know that what you have done to Michelangelo was the most despicable thing you have ever done...You cannot begin to imagine how sorely disappoint I am with all three of you"
"We know and we deeply regret it" Leo sadly started.
"YAME!" Splinter silenced Leo: "Don't talk, any of you, just listen"
The teenagers watch as Splinter continues: "You all betrayed your little brother with drugging him with the BIO because you couldn't stop to see that despite the flaws you all share, Michelangelo has raw potential like you boys and is perfect the way he is, just as each of you are fine the way you are, flaws and all!"
"Just because he's not completely smart or completely strong or even, and I quote, a fearless leader; that doesn't mean Michelangelo is useless or weak or even stupid in your eyes. He is every as good as a ninja and as a brother than you three are at the moment. You selfishly bring him down to your standards because you have little to no patience or faith in Mikey, because you see him as an obstacle or a problem that you don't want to deal with, because of how much of a nuisance you believe Mikey to be"
"And yes, I'm no better at times...I know I can be harsh at times to you boys and I do regret those moments but never would I never consider any of you, especially Michelangelo, useless or a screw up; I love you boys all the same but it angers and pains me to see you three treating your baby brother like he's a hopeless basket case"
The three were in near tears as each rant that came out of Splinter was giving them all a wake up call they deserved.
"Sure, Michelangelo's no saint either and he can be a mischievous son at times, I understand that and don't approve of his inappropriate behaviour and pranks but compare to how he treated you to you three treated him, even as of this late; I'm sorry but you three have really crossed the line this time and it may be too late to make amends" Splinter sadly yet strictly informed the boys.
"We can fix this! I know we can! Just give us a chance!" Leo begged.
"Why? You never gave Michelangelo a chance to show you what he's capable of" Splinter firmly scoffed.
"We get it! We're the worst big brothers in the world and we don't deserve Mikey, especially what we did to him with the BIO!" Raphael cried out:
"But please, sensei, if we can't try to fix things up then we'll never be a family again...you were right, Mikey is perfect the way he is and I want to show him that you guys were right...please"
"I'll stop inventing things, I won't use my lab again, just please, dad!" Donnie pleaded. "Please help us set things right with Mikey"
Splinter looks on at his pleading tearful sons, filled with terrible regret on how they were with Mikey with the BIO and everything; he knew they want to set things right but he knew they also must learn things the hard way, otherwise their punishment and humility would be all for nothing.
"I believe you boys feel guilty for your actions but I cannot help you at the time" Splinter shook his head.
"Why?" Leo quizzed.
"Because you need to learn to reap what you have sow and I will teach you boys the hard way" Splinter replied before he adds: "Michelangelo will be staying with Karai at the Foot Clan"
"What?!" The turtles cried out.
"He's moving away from home?" April asked, watching with Casey by the side of the room.
"For a long while, yes he will be" Splinter nodded before turning to his brothers:
"Your brother does not want to remain in a place where he feels unappreciated and hurt, and I do not blame him"
"But you can't do this, Splinter; we'll fall apart without him" Donnie cried out.
"Then you'll have to learn to work without him" Splinter shrugged. "You've always wanted Michelangelo to stay away from your lab, now you got it"
He turns to Raphael: "You said you never wanted Michelangelo as your brother and now you got it"
And finally to Leo: "You preferred if Michelangelo was never in your team, you got your wish"
"Sensei" Leo whimpered.
"No" Splinter shook his head. "You three have brought this on yourselves and now you must learn to suffer the consequences...You three are to stay away from Michelangelo for the time being and should I hear from Karai that you are near Michelangelo then there will be more trouble, is that understood"
The three turtles hang their heads down in shame and nodded: "Hai sensei"
It hurts Splinter to see his sons upset but he knew this was the right thing; they betrayed their brother's love and trust and now they're paying the price for what they've done.
It may be a long time before any of them can see Michelangelo alone but Splinter hopes that this punishment will make them see what they have taken for granted and will make them learn their lesson the hard way.
Meanwhile Karai helps Mikey settled into a room at the Foot hideout in the city as she enters the room with a plate of pizza.
"I brought your pizza if you're hungry" Karai offered.
Mikey sadly looks at the pizza which reminded him of how his brothers tricked him into eating pizza with the BIO before shaking his head: "No thanks, I don't want pizza...maybe never again"
Karai realises what he means as she feels stupid for offering Mikey his favorite food too soon and puts it away on the desk:
"I'm so sorry, I just thought I could..."
"It's OK, I understand" Mikey brushes her concerns away.
Karai sits by the depressed turtle on the bed and rubs his arm for comfort: "I know things seem like they're hopeless but things will be alright, I will help you through this"
"Karai...can you do something for me?" Mikey sniffed.
"Anything, Otōto" Karai nodded.
"Please don't love me" Mikey begged.
Karai's eyes widen at that request and quizzed: "What are you talking about?"
"I mean...don't love me like I'm your brother, don't like me as your friend...just treat me like I'm a stranger...it's probably better this way" Mikey shuddered out in near tears.
"I don't understand why you're telling me this, why don't you want me to love you like the baby brother you are to me?" Karai spoke, determining why Mikey is making such a request.
"All I've ever done was just try and be a good brother, ninja, and even team mate but every time I try, it's like all of my love and respect for my brothers and even my friends get mostly spat in my face like they don't want it and...and it hurts that they just dismiss everything I do for them, it's like I'm not important enough or good enough for them" Mikey cries out again:
"So it's best we don't act like siblings, just don't love me at all...because it's pointless, I'm pointless!"
"Otōto, look at me" Karai grabbed Mikey's face and gently make him look into her strict yet loving sisterly eyes:
"You are NOT pointless and I'm never gonna stop loving you as my Otōto"
"But-!" Mikey sobbed.
"Yame!" Karai hushed Mikey: "What your brothers did was unforgivable but believe me, you're not worthless and you're not alone; I'm here for you and I will always be here for you as you had for me"
Karai puts an arm around Mikey and continues: "Growing up, trapped as the Shredder's prodigy, I was alone and I was hurt by the Shredder who used to convince me that every time he hits me or punishes me when I failed was because he loved me and I needed to earn his love and respect...No one was by my side, not even his minions...So in a way, I know how you feel"
"And I used to believe I was worthless and unloved but then you and your family came and I knew the truth! Ever since then, you've been mostly by my side helping me see that life can be better and I don't need to be alone or feel the darkness in me...You let me live as a teenager and I felt happy and loved for the first time because you treat me like a sister and were proud to have me as a sister as you told me"
"I meant it, you know" Mikey whimpered.
"I know" Karai replied with a warm smile. "You are the sweetest mutant turtle that I've ever met and you're like a baby brother to me; I, too, am proud to address you as my baby brother, do you understand?"
Mikey tearfully nodded before the woman hugs the mutant turtle close: "You deserved to be loved and happy as you made me; I will always tell you that you are not useless or a screw up"
She then rubs Mikey's shell then softly adds: "I will always remind you that you are the best baby brother I can always count on'
The weeping turtle soon cries out loud and cuddles Karai close as well while she comforts her mutant baby brother, vowing to do whatever she can to help out her wonderful loving Otōto
It will be a hard road but she'll do whatever it takes to prove Mikey that his doubts and fears are wrong...
Chapter 10: Perfect
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Ten months have passed since Mikey left his home to stay with Karai with the sister promising her mutant baby brother that she will help him see that he is perfect the way he is and helps him take a break from the toxicity of his brothers around him who shamefully regrets their actions and misses Mikey so much
They eventually come to realise that the home feels like something is missing, something important and they know what it is.
Donnie couldn't invent things properly anymore because he had always mostly got Mikey around to lend a hand or even get inspirations at times from his baby brothers with his wacky yet brilliant ideas.
Raphael feels lonely without Mikey to play video games or read comics or just...simply talk...when was the last time he did before all of this, he thought to himself.
Leo misses Mikey the most as Mikey was always his Space Heroes buddy, watching his favorite show together with Mikey and even hang out with his baby brother but now he feels like a part of his heart was gone and it's all because of him and the others.
Splinter knew his other sons were miserable and guilty for all they have done, seeing how much Mikey's absence has now affected all three of us is something Splinter knew would happen but he is determinate they need to learn a lesson.
You can't change a person for your benefits, you must accept that people are different and that's not always a bad thing, especially in Mikey's case; He is perfect the way he is and it has took the three brothers so many months of self-reflection of how they poorly behaved and treated Mikey all this time and how much they learn to realise that they have reap what they are sowing.
Karai, meanwhile, helps Mikey train to keep him going and let him improve his skills by himself and let him make the choices with patience, guidance and even love.
The beginning of Mikey's move was a rough one, he couldn't eat much or speak mostly to Karai until one day Leatherhead came to visit after hearing what had happened.
"Michelangelo!" Leatherhead cried out, barging in the room and hugging a surprised Mikey.
"L-Leatherhead?" Mikey gasped.
"He just came here, demanding to see you and well...I didn't want to go against him" Karai shrugged.
"What are you doing here?" Mikey sadly asked.
"I came to visssit you in the lair sssince I haven't ssseen you in a while and, well..." Leatherhead started:
"Ssssplinter told me what happened between you and your brotherssss"
"I...I see..." Mikey sadly nodded.
"I am sssso ssssorry for what those heartlessss fiendsss did to you" Leatherhead sincerely apologised, nuzzling Mikey:
"If only I wasss there to sssstop them from the beginning"
"It...It wasn't your fault" Mikey sighs out, depressingly.
"Those ungrateful foolssss were lucky that Ssssplinter was there" Leatherhead growled to himself.
He admitted he almost attacked his brothers in rage but Splinter stopped him from making things worse with wild violence. It didn't stop the mutated alligator from roaring profanity and ranted at the three for their horrible deed.
Mikey almost giggled when he was told Raphael almost fainted while Donnie got petrified at the alligator's ranting,
Leatherhead looks at the young turtle and said:
"My friend...you are perfect to me...and no matter what happensss, you will alwaysss be my dearessst friend who derssssevesss all the love in the world"
"You...You really mean it, L.H?" Mikey looks up at his best friend with hopeful eyes.
"Of coursssse...I know it, Karai knowsss it...even your friendsss know it; you are Michelangelo, the greatessst living sssoul I've ever met" Leatherhead purred in delight.
Karai was overjoyed when she sees her brother letting out a warm convinced smile and cuddles his best friend close.
Together over the course of those few months, Michelangelo began to open himself up to Leatherhead and Karai, becoming the happy playful turtle he was again but there was something different about this, something new.
He was beginning to have faith in himself, faith in Karai and Leatherhead's words, he managed to improve his ninjustu all by himself and is in the process of completely letting go of his doubts and fears which is wonderful news for the others even Splinter was overjoyed at this news.
After seeing his other sons looking in Mikey's room, missing their baby brother again, Splinter knew it was time to see if his punishment had set the boys straight.
The next morning, Mikey woke up as Karai led him to the main hall for breakfast before they soon saw the gang in there with a box in front of them.
"Michelangelo" Splinter warmly greeted.
"Papa" Mikey smiled happily and runs to embrace his father close.
"You looks so healthy and happy" Splinter happily commented.
"I am" Mikey nodded before he noticed his brothers behind Splinter with April and Casey: "Why are they here?"
Splinter looks at his nervous sons before glancing back to Mikey: "Your brothers have a few words they want to say to you"
Splinter then nods at the boys before they take a step forward with Leo addressing Mikey first:
"Mikey, I know you don't want to deal with us and you have every right to be angry at us" Leo started.
"What we did to you, especially with the BIO, was completely selfish and extremely wrong of us to do," Donnie added.
"We were told to help you and instead of doing that, we almost endangered you and all of us with that experiment" said Raphael.
"And you think that's going to earn you guys my forgiveness?" Mikey firmly quizzed.
"No but during your absence...we missed you...so very much" Leo miserably confessed.
"It was so lonely and boring without you" Donnie added.
"Splinter was right, we took you for granted and with you gone, we now understand how much you mean to us and to this family" Raphael voiced out his emotions to his baby brothers.
"We don't deserve your forgiveness but at the very least, all we want to do is make up for all we did to you that you blame us for and...we see now that we haven't been good brothers" Leo sadly answered.
"We were mostly jerks to you and looking back, we really regret treating you like a lost cause" Donnie spoke.
"But that being said, we really do love you, little brother; we can prove it to you if you just let us show you something" Raphael pleaded.
"I don't know about thisss" Leatherhead growled but Karai hushes him.
The young turtle looks at Splinter who nodded before he sighs out: "Alright, what do you guys wanna show me?"
The gang approaches Mikey with the box in Leo's hands before April said:
"We want to see how much you mean to every single one of us"
"And we're going to prove to you that we love you, dude" Casey nodded.
The gang opens the box and as Mikey looks in it, his eyes widen in surprise; before him were all the things Mikey made and done for his brothers all those years ago when they were children.
"This...This is..." Mikey gasped.
"All the stuff you made for each of us and we kept it close to us ever since" Leo smiled at Mikey.
Donnie picks up a lava lamp that Mikey made with Donatello in the past and shows it to him: "Remember this lamp? You made this for me in my room that one time so I can have something to see in the dark at my room"
"Yeah...I remember that; you helped me make it" Mikey gasped at the lamp that Donnie had kept. "You kept that all those years?"
"It was always in my bedroom and I used it every night" Donnie winked at him. "This was one of the greatest things you made for me and it's so creative, so smart, so brilliant, so...you"
Donnie rubbed Mikey's head happily to which the young turtle asked:
"I never knew this thing meant that much to you; you really loved it?"
"Of course I did," Donnie smiled at Mikey.
"And look what I have" Raphael started as he picked up a teddy bear.
"That's...Mr. Strong" Mikey gasped.
"You gave this to me when we were kids and I was having nightmares, you gave me this bear as a good luck charm for sweet dreams and...I have to admit, it's definitely given me sweet dreams for a long time" Raphael confessed.
"I thought you lost it," Mikey pointed out.
"Yeah well...I should've just told you the truth, sorry" Raphael awkwardly apologised.
Finally, Leo got out a drawing of himself with Captain Ryan that Mikey made as he smiles at his baby brother:
"Remember this drawing? You made this for me on my tenth birthday"
"I...I did," Mikey nodded.
"This drawing always made me smile happily and it was one of the greatest things you've ever done for me and this is where I kept it, right here because this means so much to me because it was made by you, Mikey" Leo happily said.
"And look here, Mikey" April started as she showed a crystal with stickers on it.
"That's the crystal I gave you when I accidentally lost yours...Sorry about that by the way" Mikey sadly apologised.
"It's OK and besides, this was the sweetest thing you've done for me; I kept this because it came from a friend who I love like a little brother to me...you" April sweetly replied, hugging Mikey.
"And remember this?" Casey took his turn and got out a hockey mask that Mikey painted for him.
"I made that for your birthday as well" Mikey pointed out.
"Yeah! This hockey mask is the coolest thing you did for me, dude! I really loved it and made sure I kept it with me always" Casey winked at him.
"And since everyone has shown you things you did; remember this, Michelangelo?" Splinter chuckled.
The humanoid rat shows Michelangelo another drawing that the turtle made for his father. It was a picture of the turtles with Splinter with the words: "Daddy and us"
"This picture was the first thing you ever drew and it holds a special place in my heart even today, Michelangelo because I knew that I was blessed with four wonderful sons that helped give me a second chance in life" Splinter hugs his surprised young son.
"You see, Mikey? All these things you gave us hold a special place in our hearts because we love you for who you are to us" Leonardo smiled.
"You're creative, funny, kind-hearted and you're even intelligent in your own wonderful way" Donnie agreed.
"You also cook great stuff and we have to admit, we are fond of your cooking" Raphael admits.
"But I thought you hated my cooking," Mikey pointed out.
"You may not have been good at the start but you got so much better with it that it's amazing that you can cook great things that none of us could ever do" Donnie replied.
"You always see the goodness in people's hearts when we can't; like Leatherhead, Slash, even myself" Karai positively spoke out.
Mikey looks around the family and friends who have shown him how much he means to them truly, especially his big brothers; they truly were regretful for their actions on Mikey and really want to be better big brothers for Mikey.
"This...This is very nice but...I'm still not sure if I should open up to you guys again" Mikey whimpered.
"We don't blame you, Mikey; we really screwed up with you, hugely" Donnie nodded in understanding.
"But if you please, we have one more thing we want to show you," Leonardo added.
Soon they got out a big scrapbook that has the words: "Our Brother-Mikey"
"What is this?" Mikey quizzed.
"Something all three of us made just for you" Leo replied.
"The timing might be bad considering the last time we gave you something...well.." Donnie awkwardly pointed out.
April just shook her head at Donnie before Raphael hands the scrapbook to his baby brother:
"Go ahead, little brother; open it"
Michelangelo looked at the scrapbook and pondered for a moment, wondering what's in the scrapbook that the family made for him.
He took a deep breath and opened it to which he gasped in amazement on what he saw...
Mikey looks in the scrapbook that the gang made and to his complete surprise, it was all photos of them together even when they were young.
There were even drawings on the scrapbook the gang made together that depicts Mikey's accomplishments from saving his brothers from the Kraang Wasps, to saving them from Dimension X, even a drawing of Mikey saving them from Pizza Face out of respect.
"Is this...?" Mikey gasped.
"All these photos and drawings are what makes you perfect to us; you are a true ninja like us, Mikey and you are the greatest baby brother we could ever want in our lives" Leonardo warmly smiles at the nearly tearful baby brother.
Donnie shows another drawing on the scrapbook which was Mikey making the Retro-Mutagen: "You are smart in your own way and thus your wild imagination tends to be a great thing that can make amazing stuff like the retro-mutagen. I never told you this before as I should've before but I was very proud of you and grateful that you help me made this through your wild imagination mind of yours"
"Y-You were?" Mikey sniffed.
"Of course buddy; And besides I can't be the B-Team without my only baby brother" Donnie chuckled and rested his forehead against Mikey's in a kind brotherly way.
Raph soon shows a picture of Raph and Mikey fighting side by side together: "You wanna know something, Mikey? You are tough and fearless; you are one of the strongest guys I've ever met"
"Really Raph?" Mikey quizzed in amazement.
"Yes you" Raphael laughed and puts an arm around Mikey: "Remember that night we fought the Shredder for the first time and well...when that sign fell on you; I never admit this to you, especially after what we also said to you that night but...I was so scared for you, I thought you were killed"
Raph soon hugs Mikey close: "But when you got out of that sign unharmed, I was so relieved that you were alive and I was pretty amazed that you were unscathed by that sign and you managed to kicked Shredder's butt as well with us...And you know what?"
"What?" Mikey asked.
"I look back at that night at the TCRI and I often wish that I could go back, just to say that I'll go with you because really, I do regret tossing you aside that night among other things I regret" Raphael confessed.
"T-Thanks big bro, that means a lot coming from you" Mikey sniffed.
Leo then shows a photo of him and Michelangelo as young turtles, cos-playing as Captain Ryan and another character from Space Heroes.
"Remember this, Mikey? We used to have so much fun cos-playing as the characters from Space Heroes" Leo smiled at Mikey.
"We sure did," Mikey smiled back.
"You always know how to help us have fun and enjoy life instead of worrying about the world and such the way we live as ninjas" Leonardo nodded.
"You help us live as a family and show us that life is not all about honour, fighting and other ninja stuff that goes on in our lives and we're forever grateful for all you done for us"
"I just wish..." Mikey sighs out.
"What?" Leatherhead quizzed.
"I just wish I was perfect like you guys are" Mikey sadly replied.
Leatherhead glared at the sad three brothers before Leo stepped in and held his baby brother close: "You are perfect, Mikey; you are perfect in your own special way and we're so sorry that we were selfish and naive to not see it, especially what we did to you"
"Yeah, we finally pulled our heads out of our shells to know it and I really do regret making the BIO and tricking you into it" Donnie deeply apologised.
"We made a very horrible mistake to you and we will regret it for the rest of our days but we're going to be better brothers for you, Mikey" Raphael promised.
"We'll be more appreciative and patient with you" Donnie vowed.
"And I'll do my best to listen more and do better" Mikey also vowed.
"You don't have to forgive us at all for what we did to you but all we ask is one more chance to prove to you that we love you and we care about you, Mikey" Leo pleaded.
Mikey looks at his brothers and back to the scrapbook; he eventually realised that his family really do love him and they can finally see that he was already perfect in their eyes to which he begins to cry.
"Mikey?" "Little bro?" The brothers gathered around him in concern.
Mikey soon hugged them together and happily sobbed: "That's all I ever wanted...to be understood and to be accepted by you guys"
"So...?" Donnie gulped.
"Well...I know you three feel bad and...I want to help you guys be a better family together.." Mikey points out.
"Just you being with us again is more than enough for us" Raphael happily admits.
The family smiles and group hugged Mikey, though not entirely forgiven, it's a positive start to making amends and becoming a better healthier family.
Splinter soon warmly said: "Always remember, Musuko, you will always be perfect in our eyes and we love you so very much"
"And I love you guys too with all my heart" Mikey gleefully whimpered.
After a while of hugging and letting go of the negative feelings, Mikey looked up at his family before Leo said:
"So...are we cool?"
Mikey knew he shouldn't hate his family, he does plan to forgive them but not let them forget about their mistakes till the day they die.
"I'll forgive you guys and come home...but on one condition, first" Mikey pointed out.
"What's that?" Raphael quizzed.
Mikey grins at Splinter who smiles and nodded and reveals what he and Splinter planned to do before Mikey could forgive them.
"But first...RANDORI!!!" Splinter announced as he got a wooden sword out of his robes.
The three turtles screamed in alert and bolted around the hall with Splinter chasing after them with the wooden sword, causing Mikey, Leatherhead and the human teenagers to laugh out loud.
Despite the craziness of the family together, Mikey smiles happily to himself finally acknowledging that even through his faults, he is perfect in own wonderful way.
And that's all the family wants from Mikey, just to be himself.
And that's more than enough to be...
Perfect!
THE END
Notes:
Story ... A.G (Me)
Nickelodeon's 2012 adaptation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is copyright to Nickelodeon Animation Studios
And that's the end of the story, hope you all enjoy it!
Have a nice day/evening!
A.G

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