Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Mikey had never had a mother. He hadn’t ever really thought about it before, he didn’t really need one. Splinter wasn’t always the best parent, but Raph tried to step up when he could to fill the cavern left by the neglect. But Mikey hadn’t been able to get the idea of two parents out of his head since he found out Draxum was their creator. Their other father. It had been invading everything. Trying to find art inspiration online was like wading through millions of happy families with two parents. It was all Mikey wanted. The idea of a normal family. As normal as five mutants and a yokai could be. Slipping through the throngs of people, Mikey looked around, trying to spot it. On the hunt for ages, Mikey had been searching for him. Draxum was apparently very good at hiding when he wanted to. Ducking into the alleyway, Mikey scaled the side of the building, using the dumpster as a boost up to the next window frame, and its fire escape. Protesting loudly under Mikey’s weight, he skittered up the rusting metal frame. His hands shook as he grabbed the top of the building. Mikey heaved himself up and over the edge, kneeling on the lip of the building. Swinging his legs around he stood, looking around.

Someone was supposed to be there, waiting to give him information, but all he could see was the shadowy figure of a bird.

“Uhhhh anyone there?” Mikey called, stepping away from the ledge, apprehension gripping his throat. This was so stupid. There was no way he wasn’t getting mugged and thrown in the dumpster below. Too busy berating himself, he didn’t notice the black bird waddling over.

“You Michael?” A thick Bronx accent boomed. Mikey jumped and stared at the bird in horror.

“Did you just…?”

“Talk? Yeah, I did, now you got my shit or are we both wasting time up here?” The bird chattered loudly. Mikey swiped at his mouth with the back of his wrist, fighting a wave of giggles. This bird was tiny, somehow smaller than the crows he was familiar with, but it spoke with a heavy accent, sounding like a forty-year-old chain smoker. Mikey dug in the pocket of his hoodie, procuring the ‘payment’ he’d promised. Suddenly it made sense why his informant had wanted french fries. Mikey crouched and set the large red cardboard container stained with grease on the ground, and the bird hopped forward, coughing heavily before beginning to shove its entire head into the carton. Mikey sat on the ground, watching it, fully amused at the sight of the bird tearing the french fries apart. The bird spent a solid five minutes eating, before shoving the empty carton around, as if checking to make sure it was actually empty. When its head finally popped up again, Mikey cleared his throat.

“So I’m told you might know about Baron Draxum?” Mikey asked, fidgeting.

“Oh yeah, I know about that bastard. He’s the damn reason I’m like this.” The bird said, spreading its wings. Mikey didn’t ask it to elaborate. “He’s wanted in the city, so he’s retreated topside. Coward. I heard from my old flock that he’s hiding out in Central Park near The Pond. They tolds me he’s been sleepin’ durin the day. Your best bet to find ‘im is durin night.” The bird rasped, coughing after he was done.

“Thanks, man,”

“No problem, you ever need help trackin' someone down, call for Robert, I got eyes everywheres, all the information you could need. For a price.” The bird said. If Mikey didn’t know better he’d say it was… smiling at him?

“I will, see you around,” Mikey said, hopping up to his feet. Topside it was sunset, he had a bit of time to get to the park and start searching. Draxum had looked so weak and pathetic, Mikey was even surprised he was well enough to find a place to stay. Mikey sat on the edge of the roof, hopping down to the fire escape that screamed under his weight, creaking. Wincing as someone shouted at him to shut up, Mikey quickly skittered down the fire escape and into the alleyway. Pausing and waiting for an opening to make itself known in the massive crowd of Yokai, Mikey slipped in seamlessly. The Hidden City was just like New York. Massive, sprawling. Mikey had learned that it had its own boroughs too, but they weren’t really structured like they were above. Instead, it was just sort of understood where all the borders were. Right now Mikey was in The Market, there were no vehicles, no bikes, no wagons, just cobbled streets worn down by feet. Every street was lined with open-air vendors, selling all kinds of goods. From mystic weapons to street food to jewelry.

Following the crowd, Mikey made his way to the library, knowing that there was an entrance to the city above nearby. It spat him out relatively close to Central Park, but Mikey would still have to follow the subway tunnels and sewers to the actual park itself. The library was large, and imposing. It looked more like a prison than a library to Mikey honestly, but he knew it well. Donnie loved this building, spending so much time in the labyrinth of halls and corridors that he knew almost as well as the librarians where everything was. Mikey completely disregarded the building though, and walked around the building. There was an entrance inside but Mikey preferred the one outside. It was easy to miss, graffiti on the side of the concrete foundation of the building. It matched the symbol on their father’s compass.

Mikey rubbed his hands together, smiling and taking in a deep breath. His brothers hadn’t seen this trick yet, but there were certain gateways needing mystic powers to be opened, unlike the one in the library that was always open if you knew how to use it. Normally this one would’ve needed the compass, but Mikey had figured it out on his own, no compass required. Orange lightning arched between his hands, and he pressed one against the graffiti. It opened up, the city showing through the threshold, looking into an alleyway. Pulling his hood up over his head, Mikey hopped through and immediately beelined for the sewer cover he saw. It was still light out, the sky painted in brilliant hues of red and orange, the clouds tinted purple by the brilliant sky. The sun was dipping below the skyscrapers and disappearing below the horizon. It was beautiful.

Taking one last look, he heaved the sewer cover up and over, slipping into the manhole. The cover clanked back into place with some difficulty. Not bothering with the ladder, Mikey jumped down to the ground, landing with a quiet splash that echoed through the sewer. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he pulled up the map app and used it to figure out what way to go. Once he was oriented in the right direction he headed off, walking leisurely. He had time, the sun was still setting and Draxum had spent days alone already. Even still, Mikey was hopeful he’d find him tonight. There was no way of confirming if the bird’s information was any good, but it was the first he’d heard from anyone in ages about Draxum, and it’s not like his brothers wanted to help him. Mikey knew they all had a good reason to hate Draxum, but the last thing they needed was another enemy right now. He wanted to give Draxum a chance. People could change, even if Mikey knew he should hate Draxum he just couldn’t find it in himself to hate the person who created them.

Weaving through the sewers, Mikey made his way towards the southern edge of the park. When he checked his phone again he decided to pop out of the sewer. Finding the next manhole, he hopped up the ladder, shoving it up to peek around. He was in an alleyway and seemed to be alone. Heaving the cover aside he pulled himself up into the alleyway, the sun was long gone by then, street lights illuminating the roads with a warm orange light. Mikey looked around, trying to get his bearings. He peered around behind him, seeing the park, and The Pond within. Grinning, he made sure nobody was headed his way before darting across the street. Once he was in the park he would be fine. There were few lights and trees dotted around shading him. Mikey made his way across the park, sticking to the deer trails instead of the paved pathway. There, by the pond, was a small shelter. A good a place as any to check.

Approaching the shelter silently, Mikey looked inside the shelter, seeing a bunch of fabric, a sleeping bag, and someone huddled under them. They moved, looking at Mikey. Nope. Human.

“Sorry, looking for someone. You seen a real tall thin guy around here? Long hair? Looks kinda weird?” Mikey asked, hoping the shadows were enough to hide his face. The man in the shelter grunted and pointed across the pond. “Thanks, man,” Mikey said, walking away and jogging around the pond. He got lucky, but he was really hoping he’d find Draxum, he didn’t want to risk a human seeing that he was a mutant.

It took a while for him to reach the other side of the pond, but when he did he saw something in the bushes. Approaching carefully, he pulled branches out of the way. Even in the dim light, he could see the purple skin. His hair was tangled and wild, he looked thin and frail. Like he’d blow away with a strong breeze. It was definitely Draxum. Groaning, Draxum turned to look at the person who had found him, and immediately pulled his leg back to kick at Mikey, yelping in shock. His foot hit Mikey’s plastron below his hoodie with a dull thud, and Draxum recoiled, hissing in pain.

“It’s okay, it’s okay it’s me,” Mikey said quickly.

“Turtle?” Draxum asked, eyes widening.

“Well Mikey but yeah, there’s four of us, you need a better nickname than turtle,” Mikey replied, smiling and offering his hand. Draxum stared at the hand in confusion.

“What are you doing?”

“Helping you up. It’s called a kind gesture,” Mikey answered, shrugging.

“And why should I trust this kindness?” Draxum asked, glaring at Mikey.

“Because everyone else hates you. Come on man, we need to get you up and about. We’ve got work to do.” Mikey said, grabbing Draxum’s hand. He didn’t miss the way Draxum flinched away from him, but he kept on, gently helping him up. Draxum leaned heavily against Mikey, shaking with the effort of standing. He was covered in dirt and grime, and he was scarily thin. Even through his clothes, Mikey could feel Draxum’s ribs. He needed to figure out what he was gonna do with him. First, they needed to get out of the park.

Mikey slowly walked with him, praying nobody would stop them. He was mostly hoping that Draxum would appear drunk, rather than injured and on death’s doorstep. Drunk people were normal in New York, even on weeknights, as Mikey had learned firsthand several times by now. They just needed to avoid suspicion so nobody looked too hard at Mikey. Their journey to the edge of the park and across the road was silent, aside from the pained wheezing coming from Draxum. Mikey would have to snag something from the lair for him. When they were finally in the alleyway, the streetlights casting shadows for them to hide in, Mikey lifted the manhole cover and gestured for Draxum to get in.

“You can’t be serious.” Draxum said, recoiling in disgust.

“You don’t get to be picky and I’m not leaving you here to starve. Get in.” Mikey said flatly. Draxum scoffed, but limped forward and lowered himself into the manhole. Mikey followed behind, shoving the cover back into place, and jumping down to the ground below. Grabbing Draxum’s arm, he shifted the baron’s weight from the wall to lean against him, helping him walk. It felt twice as long, and Mikey found himself winded by the walk having to support the weight of a full-grown Yokai. He may have been thin and emaciated, but he was still heavy.

“Where are you taking me turtle?” Draxum wheezed, winded and barely able to get the words out.

“Back to the lair. Well… not quite. You can’t come in, but I need to get stuff from there for you.” Mikey said, shrugging his shoulders, and focusing on the sewer ahead. Draxum seemed confused about where they were, trying to plot out the space, but Mikey knew where he was, partially because he had passed through the tunnels before, but also because a lot of the graffiti on the walls belonged to Mikey. He’d spent many, many long bored nights where he couldn’t sleep painting down here. Was it the best idea? No, but Mikey was well aware of what the paint fumes did. It was a risk he was willing to take. The tunnels wound across the city, and Mikey finally reached the entrance to the lair.

“Okay, you stay here, stay hidden,” Mikey said, helping Draxum sit down on a dry spot in the sewer. “I’ll be back,”

“What if someone comes out?” Draxum asked, grabbing Mikey’s hand. When Mikey looked at Draxum his face was contorted with genuine fear, he looked terrified.

“They shouldn’t.” Mikey said, grabbing his phone and checking the time. “It’s one in the morning, Leo and Donnie are awake but Donnie’s in his lab, and Leo’s watching a movie or playing a game. Raph went to bed hours ago.” He explained. “But if someone comes, yell. I’ll come to help you,” Mikey said, offering a reassuring smile. “I know my brothers, you’re fine here.”

“Alright…” Draxum said, nodding and leaning back. Mikey slipped into the lair, looking around. Sure enough, there was light coming from Donnie’s lab, and from Leo’s room. Raph’s light was off. His brothers were creatures of habit. Mikey walked silently, making a beeline for the washroom. He grabbed old towels, soap, wet wipes, and the ibuprofen in the medicine cabinet, along with some antibacterial cream. The next stop was his room. Dumping the toiletries into his hammock, he grabbed his backpack, silently pulling the stray paint and spray paint cans from the bottom, shovelling the new supplies in and compressing them until they took up as little space as possible. Slinging it over his shoulder he made his way to the kitchen. Turning the faucet on, Mikey filled three water bottles, filling one with ice first. They laid on top of the towel in the backpack, and next was food. Haphazardly he tossed some leftovers in the bag and made a couple of sandwiches with what they had, trying to pick things that would be high in carbs and protein. Something for energy. Draxum would need it to heal and put weight back on.

Mikey was finishing up the sandwiches when someone cleared their throat. Mikey jumped what felt like six feet in the air, head snapping to look at them. It was Leo. Mikey breathed, offering a nervous smile.

“What’cha doing hermano?” Leo asked, eyeing the backpack.

“Oh just getting some supplies for a big art piece I’m doing.” Mikey lied through his teeth.

“Really? Where’s the paint?”

“Under the towel of course, I didn't want the paint on my food.” Mikey tried.

“Why so much food?”

“I’m probably gonna be there all day, I’m just really excited about this piece, y’know?” Mikey said. Leo eyed him suspiciously.

“I’ll let Raph know not to worry in the morning then,” Leo said, grabbing a piece of cheese off the sandwich and eating it as he walked out of the room. Mikey breathed a sigh of relief. Leo very clearly didn’t believe him, but he was willing to let it go, and cover for him. Mikey really needed to spend more time with Leo. Shaking his head, Mikey shoved the finished sandwiches into plastic bags and then into the backpack, zipping it up. Heaving it onto his back, he walked out of the kitchen and looked around to make sure nobody saw him leaving. The lair was empty, quiet. Mikey grinned and snuck his way out, slipping into the sewers. He rounded the corner and saw Draxum sitting against the wall. Draxum was staring, eyes wide, fear scrawled in the tension of his face, until he realized it was Mikey. His face immediately relaxed, and Mikey offered a smile. Setting the backpack down, he pulled it open and handed Draxum a sandwich, and the bottle of water with the ice.

“Human food?” Draxum asked skeptically.

“It’s fine, you just need to eat,” Mikey said, grabbing the other sandwich and ripping a piece of bread off it, eating it to show it was safe. Draxum looked back at the sandwich before taking a bite. Barely chewing the food, he began tearing into it, shoving as much of the sandwich as he could into his mouth, the sandwich was decimated in seconds. Light reflected off Draxum’s face and Mikey thought he saw tears for a moment. Choosing not to say anything, he handed Draxum the other sandwich, heart clenching as Draxum ate like a dog scared someone would take the food from him. Mikey couldn’t imagine how awful that must feel, being that hungry. It had been days since they fought Shredder in that stadium. Which meant it had been longer since Draxum ate anything. Next was the water, Draxum drank it desperately, chugging the water until all that was left were the ice cubes. Draxum hung his head low, looking ashamed.

“Thank you.” He grumbled, taking a deep breath in, seeming to calm down now that he had eaten something.

“Of course,” Mikey replied. “Next we need to get you shelter.”

“I’m banned from the Hidden City,”

“That’s fine. You can stay in New York,”

“…what?” Draxum asked incredulously.

“Well, you lived in Central Park for a few nights. You blend in just fine. Besides nobody really has to look at you up close other than the landlord we find. And we’ll be paying him.” Mikey shrugged.

“I don’t have human money,”

“No, but you bought a lab in the Hidden City. You’ve still got money in the bank right?”

“Yeah, but no human would take the currency.”

“I know a guy who’d trade for human currency, it’s fine.” Mikey explained. “But before we do anything, you need to clean up.” He added, rummaging around in the bag. He procured the towel, room-temperature water, wet wipes, and the soap, handing them to Draxum. “We’ll worry about clothes when you have money, but for now just wash up. Also this-” Mikey said, grabbing the tube of antibacterial cream, “goes on wounds. You find any cuts or scrapes, put a little of this on. It’ll fend off infections.” He explained. “I’ll keep watch, Let me know when you’re done,” Mikey finished, walking back around the corner, and plopping himself down in front of the lair entrance. He started the apartment search on his phone, looking for something cheap, something without background checks. There was a studio apartment he was eyeing that came up fairly quickly, but at a further glance, it was in April’s building. Mikey wasn’t sure he wanted to risk April seeing and saying something to his brothers yet. He’d had to tell them at some point, but he wasn’t ready. Not yet. But scrolling revealed they had very few options. Most of them were looking for tenants at the beginning of the month, but they needed housing immediately. Mikey sighed and starred April’s building for now, deciding the risk might be worth it. Plus he knew how to get there already, he knew what the area was like. It wasn’t ideal but he could make it work.

It took quite a few minutes before Draxum gave him the okay, shoving everything back into the backpack. He looked much better, there was no dirt on his face, his hair was neat once more and he was presentable. Now he needed to get him into the Hidden City bank to get his money. Getting an idea, he texted someone and gestured for Draxum to follow.

Draxum seemed to be stronger now, leaning less against Mikey this time, not needing his help nearly as much as he had to last time.

Draxum didn’t ask where they were going this time, but Mikey could see the confusion written across his face. Mikey didn’t clarify, instead focusing on getting to the spot. They emerged from the sewer in another alleyway, graffiti scrawled across the wall. This was another gateway that needed to be activated rather than being open all the time. Mikey pressed his hands against the wall, orange sparks arcing between his arms and around his body. Draxum recoiled slightly but stared, fascinated as Mikey opened the gateway. They stepped in silently, depositing them into an alleyway beside the pizza place. Mikey sat Draxum on the ground.

“I’ll be back.” Mikey said simply. He jogged into the restaurant, scanning the customers. Hueso caught sight of Mikey and visibly wilted, looking defeated already. Mikey still waved to the skeleton, before catching sight of a bright green. Immediately Mikey jogged over, sitting across the table. “Hi Sunita,” He panted, grinning and looking at her.

“Hi Mikey! It’s been so long, you owe me lunch still,” She said, grinning.

“I know, I promise we’ll do lunch soon. I've just got… a project to handle right now.” Mikey said, grimacing.

“What kind?”

Mikey paused for a second. “It’s an art thing.” He decided. It would keep his lie consistent at least. He couldn’t have anyone knowing yet, not while Draxum still needed him.

“Oooo, you need to show me when you’re done.” She said, procuring the thing he was there for. Her cloaking brooch. “You know the deal, I need it by the end of the weekend,” She said.

“I know, thanks Sunita, you’re the best,” Mikey said, grinning and hopping up, hugging her gently as he passed.

“I know I am,” She replied with a laugh. Mikey left the pizzeria grinning and found Draxum where he had left him. Tossing the brooch, he watched Draxum catch it swiftly.

“Cloaking brooch, so nobody recognizes you,” Mikey explained. Draxum grinned and thanked Mikey, pinning it to his clothing and tapping it. In Draxum’s place was a man with a similar build to Draxum prior to Shredder, his skin had gone from purple to a tanned brown colour, and his hair was an inky black. Mikey could see some resemblances but it was different enough that he wouldn’t get caught.

“Is it okay?” Draxum asked, studying his hands.

“Perfect,” Mikey said with a grin, nodding. Mikey let Draxum hold onto him again once he had grabbed the backpack and slung it over his shoulders, the two of them walking along the road towards the bank. Thankfully it wasn’t far, and nobody seemed to pay any attention to the pair. Even still, reaching the bank felt like a massive weight off of Mikey’s shoulders. He hadn’t realized how stressful all the sneaking around was.

Once they were inside the massive building, Draxum looked around before covertly taking the brooch off and handing it to Mikey, hobbling over to the counter. Mikey watched, nervously fidgeting as Draxum asked for the majority of his money. His heart dropped as he saw the teller place a stack of forms on the counter. Draxum signed them all as quickly as he could and then was handed a hefty stack of money. Mikey scurried over and Draxum put it in the backpack, while Mikey pinned the brooch back onto Draxum’s shirt. Tapping it quickly as they left, Mikey led Draxum into the street, weaving through the people. They didn’t have much time, Mikey had a small window where they could trade Hidden City cash for US Dollars, and it was closing soon.

They managed to make it to the stand, hidden in a maze of vendors in the open-air market. The stand was managed by a stout tanuki, sitting leisurely behind the counter. He was inspecting his sharp nails as they walked up.

“How much cash can you exchange?” Mikey asked, out of breath from the brisk walking pace he’d set.

“Depends, what currency you lookin’ for?'' the tanuki asked, looking at Draxum and visibly wincing.

“Hidden City crowns to US dollars.” Mikey replied.

“Oh I got plenty o’ those, how much you looking to exchange?”

“A lot.” Mikey answered, rummaging through the bag and holding out the stack of money.

“This’ll fetch you about three k,” the tanuki said leisurely.

“Hell no it won’t. Seven.”

“Four.”

“Six or I find someone else.” Mikey said, conjuring his inner Dr. Delicate Touch. The tanuki looked at him before grinning.

“I like you, kid. Six it is.” He guffawed, sucking under the table and procuring six stacks of cash. Mikey let him count the money he handed him before stuffing the cash into his backpack, turning to Draxum with a grin and leading him away.

“You’re good,” Draxum said, seeming impressed. Mikey shrugged.

“We still got fleeced, don’t be fooled. That’s why he gave it to us so easily,” Mikey answered. They walked through the fray, popping out on the other side of the market, Mikey immediately leading Draxum to the nearest exit of the city.

When they popped out of the exit, the sun was painting the skies in a bright orangey-pink colour that never failed to amaze Mikey. Any other morning he would have stopped to admire the sunrise, but today he didn’t have the luxury. Mikey had led them out of the Hidden City somewhere near April’s building, and Mikey figured now was the best time to try and get the apartment before Draxum looked like a yokai again. Dragging him across the street, Mikey tried to move quickly. They reached the building just as the manager was getting there, unlocking the doors.

“Sir, did you have a minute?” Mikey asked, mustering the most amount of politeness he could manage. They really needed this to work.

Chapter Text

Looking around at the small studio apartment, Mikey was proud of them. Draxum had food in the fridge, a bed sat in the corner, and everything he’d need to survive in the human world for a while. He’d need a job eventually but they still had enough money to cover another month of rent, and enough for groceries until then. Everything was going to be okay. Draxum had begun putting on more weight as well, becoming accustomed to the food that humans ate rather than what was offered in the Hidden City. And his brothers still had no clue what he was doing. Mikey didn’t like sneaking around like this but it was the only way. They wouldn’t understand. Mikey understood why they hated Draxum, hell, he knew he should hate Draxum. But no matter what he couldn’t bring himself to be angry.

Mikey wouldn’t have his family, his brothers and his dad if Draxum hadn’t created them. They would just be turtles. Sure they wouldn’t know the difference, but he did now, and that’s what he cared about. Raph had become suspicious of his disappearances, and that meant Mikey had to take the long way to throw Raph off of his trail. But it was all worth it, Draxum had begun warming up to Mikey, appreciating the meals Mikey cooked for him, entertaining his interests. Mikey felt guilty about it, but some part of him resented Splinter. His father tried his best, but growing up Mikey relied almost solely on Raph. Mikey had been making all the meals for as long as he could hold a spoon. He’d tried for so long to understand, his father was a wreck, mentally and physically. Mutation had disabled him in a way that Mikey couldn’t understand because he hadn’t experienced it. Joint pain, phantom pain, confusion, body dysmorphia. It was a wonder that Splinter even got out of bed on the days he did. Mikey understood this all logically, but his emotions were out of his control, and his emotions didn’t like it.

Draxum on the other hand was giving him attention, complimenting his cooking, thanking him for his help. Even just passively listening to him when he talked about his brothers, when he talked about April. It was enough to make Mikey feel like he had a dad again, and not just the ghost of someone who could’ve been his dad. Mikey would never admit it to anybody, would never say it out loud out of fear that he would hurt Splinter, but it felt so nice not having to fight three older, larger, stronger and smarter siblings to get their dad’s attention. Part of Mikey never wanted to tell his brothers, keep it a secret from everyone. That was something to unpack at some point but now was not that time. Right now he had no choice but to keep it secret. They would make him stop and Mikey was still showing Draxum how to live alone.

Mikey had learned a lot about the Baron, but the main part was that Draxum didn’t know how to be independent. When Mikey asked him why he did or didn’t do something the answer was almost always “Huginn and Muninn always handled it”. Cooking? Huginn. Groceries? Muninn. It was almost comical how bad Draxum’s cooking was.

“Now you’re gonna want to salt the water,” Mikey said, handing the salt shaker to Draxum.

“…why? I thought we were draining the water?” Draxum asked.

Mikey paused, fighting a laugh. Draxum reminded him a lot of Leo when it came to cooking. “You add the salt and the flavour of the salt soaks into the pasta through the water, it makes the end product better.”

“Can’t you just add salt on top when it’s done?”

“Sure, but this way it absorbs evenly. You don’t get any unseasoned spots or overly salted spots.” Mikey explained. Draxum nodded, shaking the salt into the pot. Mikey instructed him through the rest of the spaghetti. It was an easy meal, and Mikey was content with having him add bagged salad for the side to balance it. Normally he would’ve liked to show him how to make it but they needed to take baby steps, salad was a problem for next week. They sat on the couch together, Mikey drawing his knees to his face, holding the plate of food, watching quietly as Draxum began flipping through the options on Netflix.

“What do you want to watch? Nothing stupid.” Draxum asked, glancing at Mikey. Mikey paused and looked at him. Splinter always had the final say on the show they watched. Mikey had never even considered that he could choose it. Grinning Mikey eagerly took the remote, searching for the show he’d been dying to watch for ages now. Pressing play he sat the remote on the coffee table again, looking to Draxum for approval. Draxum nodded and began eating, watching silently. Mikey almost couldn’t contain the giddiness. He knew that he shouldn’t be seeking external validation, but Donnie was right, it was one hell of a drug.

They stayed relatively silent as they ate, falling into their new routine. Mikey helped rinse the dishes and put them in the dishwasher. By that point he could see the sun falling behind the skyscrapers, the sky turning orange. It was time to go home. Mikey had grown to resent this part. In the span of fifteen minutes, he went from being the only child, staying in a tidy apartment with windows that looked over the city, to one of four children in a home made from a sewer. Still, he had to come home or someone would be suspicious. Waving to Draxum, he slipped out of the window, scurrying down the fire escape to the sewer. Heaving the manhole cover off the entrance, he slipped into the sewer and pulled the cover back, hopping off the ladder and landing with a splash. This part of the sewer was familiar to Mikey, he didn’t need to orient himself, walking towards home with confidence, confirming he was headed the right way with the graffiti on the walls. The walk back home gave him time to rehearse his excuse if anyone asked. But nobody had seemed to want to pry much. Some part of Mikey was grateful for it. He really hated lying, but it was weird that nobody seemed to notice. Ducking around several corners, Mikey found his way to the entrance, slipping into the lair. Raph was sitting nearby, seeming to be waiting.

“Mikey! Where were you?” Raph asked, frowning at Mikey. The younger of the two froze and knew immediately that he had forgotten something. What that something was? He had no clue.

“I was trying to scout a new spot for some art, why?” Mikey asked. Lying to Raph never felt good, but man was it easy. Leo seemed to have a built-in lie detector, and Donnie didn’t typically care much, but Raph? Raph almost always believed Mikey. For better or worse.

“You missed training. Again. You’re getting as bad as Leo,”

“Sick burn Raph,” Leo’s voice called from his room. There was a pause, and then “Hey wait a minute, I’m not that bad!”

“Yes, you are,” Raph yelled back, shaking his head. “You can’t just keep skipping training. What if something happens? We need to be prepared, Mikey.”

“I know, I know, I’m sorry Raph, I forgot.” Mikey replied, looking at Raph sincerely. “I’ll make it up, I promise,” Mikey added. “Did you guys eat dinner yet?”

“No, we were waiting for you,” Raph said, face relaxing a bit with Mikey’s reassurance.

“I’ll go make something.”

“Need any help?”

“No, I’m gonna just turn on some music and go from there,” Mikey said, shrugging. Raph nodded as Mikey made his escape to the kitchen. Looking through the cabinets and fridge he tried to figure out what they had that he could make. Mikey didn’t want anything, so it would end up being something his brothers loved but Mikey wasn’t a fan of. Looking around he found everything he needed for nachos, which worked even better cause it was low effort. Mikey pulled his phone out, reaching for the speakers he kept in the kitchen, connecting them and shuffling. Every movement was automatic, Mikey had been cooking for his family forever and he’d grown familiar with every method of preparing food he needed regularly. Chopping the peppers, and grating cheese, he was doing everything at once to try and expedite the cooking process so he could get dinner set up and disappear into his room. Shoving it all in a roaster, he shoved it in the oven, setting the timer. He grabbed plates and began washing all the dishes he’d dirtied in prep. It was therapeutic with the music on.

Mikey texted Raph before dishing one plate and walking to the door, Raph brushing past him.

“Thanks, Mike,” Raph called.

“No problem!”

Mikey walked to Donnie’s lab, knocking on the door before peering in. It was dark, aside from the light coming from Donnie’s computer and Shelldon’s eyes. As always, the lab itself was spotless, everything hung intricately, and no half-finished projects were left lying around. The desk was a different story. Piled high with energy drink cans, paper scraps, loose screws and bolts, along with spare wrenches and an Allen key or two. Donnie was hunched over his mess of a desk, drawing in his own sketchbook that he refused to call a sketchbook. Mikey had heard it a million times. “It’s not art Mikey, it’s science.”

“Don?” Mikey called. Donnie jumped, spinning around in his chair and relaxing when he realized it was Mikey.

“Yeah?” Donnie asked, exasperated.

“Dinner,” Mikey said. Donnie scrambled to fix his desk, clearing a space beside the book. Mikey walked over, setting the plate down, and looking in the book. It was a blueprint for what seemed to be a battle shell upgrade. It looked heftier, the neck came up rather high and seemed to cover more than his usual battle shell. “What are you working on?”

“Sorry Mikey, I’m really focused right now and I want to take advantage,” Donnie said.

“Alright, good luck!” Mikey said, a small part of him wilting. It wasn’t personal, Mikey knew that, but his emotions weren’t with the program clearly. He slipped out of the lab silently. Since their last fight with Shredder Donnie had been locked in his lab 24/7, Raph had been much more insistent on training, and even the ever easy-going Leo seemed on edge. Mikey Wasn’t prepared for this burden emotionally or physically. Slinking away to his room, Mikey slipped in through the curtains, throwing himself onto the hammock, sighing as it swung back and forth almost violently. Mentally he was counting down the hours until he could retreat to Draxum’s apartment again.

Mikey drifted to sleep early that night, sleeping soundly until morning. He had started doing this on purpose to avoid Raph in the morning. Raph was always the first awake, but this time it was Mikey. Grabbing a piece of paper, Mikey stopped in the kitchen, scribbling a note with a lie about where he would be and saying he didn’t know when he’d be back. Dropping the pen, Mikeygrabbed a magnet and stuck the note to the fridge, grabbing an apple from inside and sneaking out of the room. The lair was still dark, shadows cast by the pipes and upper levels. Mikey took advantage, sticking to the shadows in case Leo or Donnie were still awake, which knowing them was entirely possible. He made his way to the exit, slipping out into the sewer system beyond, taking a bite of the apple as he walked. Following the graffiti he made his way to April’s building, muscle memory from the past few days driving him there automatically. He found the right exit, and pocketed the apple core, climbing the ladder and shoving the manhole cover aside.

After making sure the apple core went into the dumpster in the alleyway, Mikey scaled the fire escape with ease, prying Draxum’s window open and slipping in. Draxum was sitting on the couch, his newest discovery of coffee sitting on the table, and beside it was a glass of iced coffee. Mikey grinned and flopped onto the couch, grabbing the glass and taking a sip. Admittedly Mikey had a soft spot for iced coffee, and Draxum seemed to have noted that. Draxum himself hadn’t enjoyed the drink, opting for black hot coffee.

“Thanks, Drax,” Mikey said, looking over at Draxum.

“Of course, I wanted to talk to you about something though,” Draxum said, looking at Mikey’s hands.

“Sure, what's up?”

“You have mystic powers,” Draxum said point blank.

“Oh, that. Yeah,”

“They’re normally only found in yokai, which is why it confuses me. You’re human and turtle, you shouldn’t have any powers, you’re not like a kappa.” Draxum rambled. “But you can open doorways to the Hidden City that need mystic powers to run. Did you seriously not question it?” Draxum asked.

“Well, I mean a lot is going on. I was planning to unpack that later.” Mikey explained, shrugging and taking a sip of his drink.

“This is revolutionary, mystic powers are hereditary, you either got them from your turtle family or your human family, that is unheard of,” Draxum said, eyes lighting up. “Let me train you,”

“...Train me in what?” Mikey asked.

“Mystic powers, you have a gift, you need to learn to use it. Right now it's just acting as a battery, fuelling other mystic items, like the gateways.” Draxum explained. “But it can do so much more… you can do so much more.”

Immediately Mikey’s mind went to the Shredder. All the things he could do to help, all the ways he could prove to his brothers that he was capable, that he was more than just the baby of the family. Pausing he considered it. He had promised Raph he would make up for missed training… surely this counted? He could surprise his brothers with how strong he had become. Grinning, Mikey nodded enthusiastically. Draxum’s face lit up and he set his coffee down, jumping up.

“Follow me,” He said, grinning and scurrying to the window. Mikey was a little surprised, he hadn’t meant he wanted to start right away, but he wouldn’t say no. Draining the rest of his iced coffee, he set the cup on the table and hopped up, following Draxum out the window. They scaled the fire escape, the metal groaning under them as they made their way to the roof. Draxum easily heaved himself onto the roof, Mikey following. There, on the top of the building was a flat roof with pipes vents and other heavy equipment sticking out of the top. Mikey stood up and dusted himself off as he looked around. It was private enough, and Mikey would be unseen here.

“Okay, so what do you do when you open the doors to the Hidden City?” Draxum asked, sitting cross-legged on the roof. Mikey followed suit, sitting a few feet from him. Mikey shrugged and looked at his hands, holding them out. Mikey closed his eyes, envisioning the doorway as best as he could. Warmth flowed into his hands, and when Mikey opened his eyes orange lightning was arching between his hands and his fingertips were also glowing a bright orange. Struggling to keep his focus, he looked at Draxum, whose eyes had lit up, grinning ear to ear as he looked at Mikey. “This is fascinating,” he muttered under his breath. “Okay, hold out your palm like this,” Draxum said, holding out his hand and flipping it so his palm faced the sky. Mikey’s concentration broke and the mystic energy faded, leaving his hands feeling cold, but he copied Draxum. “Now I want you to do the same thing as before, but envision a flame,” Draxum explained.

Pausing, Mikey did as told, closing his eyes. The same warmth flooded his arms, down to his fingertips, but this time Mikey imagined a lighter. Squeezing his eyes shut further, he imagined it flicking on. Nothing changed. Mikey focused harder, ignoring the sweat that gathered on his forehead, and felt the warmth in his hands concentrate in his palms, almost burning him. Opening one eye cautiously, he looked. Sure enough, there was a small flame in his hands. Mikey grinned, opening both eyes and looking at Draxum.

“Brilliant,” Draxum said. Mikey felt pride surge in his chest, and in turn, the flame sputtered and grew exponentially, startling Mikey. His hand snapped closed into a fist, and there was a quiet sizzle as the flame died. Mikey looked at his hand, expecting a burn in the centre of his palm. But there was nothing there, no marks. If anything, any marks that had been there had disappeared. “That’s okay, you did good,” Draxum said, a grin painted across his face. “I want to see how strong your powers are, but I need a few things for that.” Draxum said. “I’ll get them, I know where I can grab them,” Draxum said, excitement infesting his voice. “Can you try to make a bigger flame?” Draxum added, leaning in.

Mikey shrugged and closed his eyes. The warmth in his hand seemed to draw heat away from the rest of his body, but he did it again, concentrating on the heat in his hand. Again he imagined the lighter, but this time when he tried to flick it on, it sparked and nothing happened. Mikey tried again. And again. It wasn’t until the fifth try that he felt the heat focus in his palm. Opening his eyes, Mikey focused on the flame, taking a breath in and slowly letting it out. The flame grew larger and larger, turning from a small harmless lighter flame into a much larger flame wicking at the sky. The heat grew to almost unbearable levels, and Mikey could only sustain it for a few seconds before yelping and shaking his hand until the flame went out. Looking at Draxum, he seemed almost… disappointed. In an instant, he had gone from proud to disappointment, and Mikey felt like he had just been shot through the heart. He wanted so badly to impress Draxum, to prove his worthiness to his other father.

“That’s okay, we’ll work on it,” Draxum said, waving his hand. “That was good.”

Mikey felt winded, exhaustion had begun to tug at his senses, and he felt like he was freezing cold, fighting shivers as the wind blew around him. His head was covered in sweat from the effort. It had never exhausted him this fast before.

And yet everything in him screamed to keep going, to keep practicing. From his need to impress his brothers and Splinter, to his newfound need to impress Draxum. It was egging him on, telling him to keep going.

“I can do it,” Mikey muttered under his breath. Draxum seemed pleasantly surprised, nodding.

“Okay, try again,” Draxum replied.

Mikey closed his eyes, feeling every ounce of warmth escape him and flood into his hands. He tried a new method, no more lighter. Instead, he tried pulling all the warmth into the centre of his palm, concentrating it. Taking a look, he saw the small flame licking at his hands. Breathing heavily through the effort, Mikey tried to summon more of his energy, trying to feed it into the flame.

“Steady, you can do this,” Draxum encouraged. The flame jumped and grew wildly, burning Mikey’s hand. Fighting every instinct to smother the flame, to get rid of the burning, he let it burn, shivering and covered in a sheen of sweat while he struggled. Focusing more and more energy on the flames, he grew it into the size of a campfire, licking angrily at the sky. “Just a few more seconds,” Draxum said. Mikey was shaking with the effort of keeping the flame going, but he kept going. When Draxum nodded, what felt like an eternity later, Mikey felt lightheaded. His vision swam and narrowed until he saw nothing but black, his stomach lurching.

He didn’t even feel himself fall back, by the time his shell hit the roof he had already passed out.

Chapter Text

Mikey woke up on Draxum’s couch, feeling weak and unsteady. The room was swimming around him, and he was shivering, even below a blanket. Looking around, Mikey saw Draxum sitting on the floor, a steaming cup beside him on the table. He tried to lift his head, but it just made him even more dizzy. Groaning, he let his head fall back to the pillow, pulling the blankets closer around himself to try and trap any heat. Draxum perked up and smiled a bit.

“You’re awake,” he said, grabbing the cup. For a second Mikey thought he would offer it to him, but instead, Draxum took a drink from it himself.

“What happened?” Mikey asked, teeth almost chattering as he spoke, pulling his legs into his shell in an attempt to warm himself up.

“You pushed too hard too fast, you passed out while practicing. You did good though,” Draxum said. Mikey started remembering it all and groaned. How was he meant to fight the Shredder when he could barely handle feeding a flame? “It’s okay, it happens,” Draxum reassured. “Most yokai your age discovering their mystic powers have little to no control and don’t have access to their full set of powers. That comes with time,” He explained, leaning against the couch.

“But I need it to work now.” Mikey protested. “I don’t have that kind of time,” he added miserably.

“Listen, kid,” Draxum said. Mikey immediately felt his heart swell at the nickname. “I’ll be gone tomorrow, I need to pick something up, but come back after that and I can help you unlock more of your potential,” Draxum said, smiling.

Draxum had to talk Mikey into going home, and eventually Mikey agreed. Slipping out of the window and climbing down the fire escape, his limbs still feeling like jelly. Mikey pulled his hoodie closer to himself, pulling the hood over his head and tugging on the drawstrings to close the hood, leaving a small window for him to look out of as he ducked into the sewers. It wasn’t even winter yet and he felt like he was freezing, it was awful. Mikey followed the graffiti back home, though he really didn’t need it at this point. The trip was ingrained in his mind by now. When he got back home, all was as he left it. Except it was silent. Mikey tried to calm the panic in his chest, jogging to their rooms.

They were fine. They had to be right?

Mikey peered into Leo’s room. It was a disaster inside, clutter, clothes and garbage mixed together in various piles, stacked all around. The only clear spot was Leo’s bed, which was made, pillows placed carefully. At the head of the bed, a stuffed unicorn sitting neatly on the blankets. But no Leo. Mikey popped into Donnie’s room beside it, not really expecting to find Donnie. As always, it was perfect, except for the bed. The floors were clear, all trinkets in their spot on the shelves, all comic books in their sleeves. The bed was a mess of blankets, but it was confined to the bed. As always, Donnie wasn’t inside. Turning on his heel, Mikey walked into Raph’s room, finding it empty as well. Mikey scanned Raph’s room. There was a pile of stuffed animals in the corner, a bookshelf that was mostly filled with Jupiter Jim memorabilia, and a perfectly made bed, dumbbells hidden away underneath.

Mikey beelined across the lair, bursting into Donnie’s lab. The messy desk was empty too. Jogging with a bit of panic, Mikey looked around the rest of the workshop, trying desperately to find any of his brothers.

As a final resort, he checked his room, finding his phone lying on the ground. Stooping down, he looked at the screen. It lit up, coming to life, showing many, many, many notifications. Calls, texts, group texts, Donnie had even used the find my phone feature. They all stopped after a while, dating back to hours prior.

“Fuck,” Mikey said eloquently.

“Language.” Raph’s voice sounded behind him.

“Raph! Where were you guys?” Mikey asked.

“Could ask you the same Angelo,” Donnie said, walking behind Raph, heading for the lab.

“We were training. Which you missed. Again.” Raph said, scowling at Mikey. Something about Raph being upset with him had always hurt Mikey. He bickered constantly from day one with Leo and Donnie, he knew it was never serious. But Raph? They had only recently started arguing. And it was always over Mikey’s independence. It always hurt Mikey.

“I was just out,” Mikey said nervously, trying to think of a lie. Would they still believe he was scouting out a new spot to throw something up? …Probably not.

“Where? What is going on with you Mikey?” Raph asked exasperated. “I don’t know what’s going on with you anymore. I don’t get it, we need to work as a team now more than ever, and you’re nowhere to be found. I get you want your independence, but at some point, it’s at the cost of the whole team. Donnie and Leo show up. You need to as well.” Raph said sternly. Mikey visibly wilted at the disappointment that was palpable in Raph’s voice. It somehow stung so much more being lectured by Raph than it did when Splinter said it.

“I’m sorry,” Mikey said, forcing his voice out. “I was just-“

“Just what? What is more important to you than keeping our family safe? Than keeping New York safe?”

“I can’t tell you.” Mikey relented, unable to think of a lie.

“…seriously?” Raph asked, scoffing. “Fine.” He replied. Mikey fought back the tears as Raph walked away. Raph was right, from his perspective, Mikey was just blowing them off for no reason. But Mikey couldn’t explain why. If he knew, especially if Mikey revealed it now of all times, they still wouldn’t understand. Mikey didn’t know if they’d ever understand. How was he supposed to explain that he loved the person who had kidnapped their dad? Who had nearly killed Leo, who had released an epidemic of oozequitos in New York? How was he supposed to explain that being an only child, if only for a little while, meant so much to Mikey? After everything Draxum had done to them was changing really enough to win them over? And even if they did, would they ever get past the fact Mikey lied to them for weeks? It just wasn’t going to happen. Not now, not like this.

But still, somewhere in Mikey’s brain, part of him was screaming at him to tell Raph. To explain everything, to mend his family again. Instead, he just sat on the hammock in his room, laying back as it swung back and forth. Everything was so fucked up. And for once in Mikey’s life, he didn’t know how to talk his way out of this.

Mikey tried making Raph’s favourite dinner as a peace offering, but Raph didn’t say a word to him when he came to retrieve the food. Quietly, Mikey brought a plate to the lab for Donnie. Instead of leaving once it was placed on Donnie’s desk, Mikey sat on the floor, looking down.

“Yes, Angelo?” Donnie asked.

“Raph’s really upset this time isn’t he?” Mikey asked.

“Do you want the honest answer or are you looking for comfort?” Donnie asked.

“Can’t the honest answer be comforting?”

“Not this time.” Donnie answered, shaking his head as he took a bite of food. Mikey drew his knees up to his chest, resting his forehead on his knees.

“I fucked up.” Mikey said.

“That’s an understatement.” Donnie snorted.

“How can I fix this?”

“You’re Doctor Feelings are you not?”

“...Yeah”

Donnie paused. Mikey heard the wheels of his chair scoot away, and then he felt a hand on his arm. Looking up, Mikey saw Donnie kneeling in front of him. “You fucked up. It was bound to happen, Mikey, you can’t let yourself get lost in it. You just need to pick your head up and make it better. Raph’s not gonna be mad forever, this is not the fight that pushes you apart. You’ll figure out how to make it up, you always do. Okay?” Donnie said earnestly.

“Thanks, Dee,” Mikey sniffed, whipping his eyes with the heel of his palms.

“You get one hug,” Donnie added. Mikey threw himself at Donnie before he’d even opened his arms, holding onto Donnie tightly. Donnie squeezed back, before pulling away. “Alright that's enough,” He said, standing up. Mikey followed suit, standing up and slipping out of the lab. Immediately he made a beeline for the kitchen and preheated the oven. It might not fix it but it wouldn’t hurt to have a peace offering for Raph when he went to talk to him.

Mikey didn’t even need to pull down the recipe for the chocolate chip muffins he knew Raph loved. He’d made them every year, birthdays, holidays, any time he needed to kiss up to his brother. Everything moved smoothly from each stage to the next. Mikey pulled down the bar of dark chocolate he kept for special occasions, chopping it up and throwing it into the batter, folding the chunks in carefully. Once they were in the oven, Mikey began cleaning up.

Now he had to figure out what to say.

He had time, waiting for the muffins to cool once they were out. Raph would’ve taken them as is, but Mikey really didn’t want to burn his mouth. Carefully picking out the best ones, he plated them and began searching for Raph. Peering into his room, he saw it was empty again.

“Ooo are these chocolate?” Leo asked with a grin, trying to grab one as he passed Mikey.

“Not for you, go eat the ugly ones in the kitchen.” Mikey chastised.

“Ahhh a peace offering. Raph’s in the gym. Word of advice, don’t scare him. Last time that gave me a black eye. He wasn’t mad anymore though so maybe it’s worth it,” Leo shrugged.

“I’ll pass,” Mikey said, grimacing. He remembered that incident all too well. Turning on his heel, Mikey made his way to the gym, peering inside. There Raph was, beating the ever-loving shit out of a punching bag. Mikey waited and almost considered leaving the muffins by the door. But eventually, Raph turned around. A scowl immediately clouded his face, only to soften when he saw the peace offering.

Raph walked over, grabbing a muffin and taking a bite. He paused and looked at Mikey.

“You used the good chocolate?” He said voice muffled through the baked goods.

Mikey nodded.

“Fine, talk,” Raph sighed, sitting cross-legged on the floor. Mikey sat down, placing the muffins between them.

“Listen, I’m sorry Raph. I know it’s important, I know training is necessary, I understand it. But I have a good reason I missed today.” Mikey said.

“Which is?”

“I can’t tell you. Not yet.” Mikey said, wincing.

“…you said it was a good reason today. Was it not a good reason for all the others?”

“It is to me. But I don’t think you’d agree.” Mikey explained, pushing the muffins closer to Raph as he finished the first one.

“I take it you can’t tell me that reason either?” Raph said bitterly. Mikey shook his head.

“It’s related so no I can’t,” Mikey said.

“Trying to get you and the twins to get to training on time is like herding cats, you know that right?” Raph sighed, grabbing another muffin. Mikey saw his shoulders visibly drop.

“I know.” Mikey nodded. “Does it help if I tell you it’s a kind of training? I’m not blowing you off for something frivolous. I’m training too, just in a different way.” Mikey added hopefully.

“You promise? It’s not art-related or anything?” Raph froze, panic crossing his face as he began to backpedal. “Not that your art isn’t important. There’s just a time for it, and training is not that time,”

Mikey laughed and nodded. “I get what you mean, I promise it’s not that.”

“Alright. Can you at least try to make it to training once in a while?”

“Yes,” Mikey answered, nodding.

“Alright, I can live with that,” Raph said, reaching out and patting Mikey’s head. “These muffins are so good, you probably could’ve gotten away with it without a conversation with these puppies,” Raph laughed.

“How do you know that wasn’t my plan?” Mikey said, exaggerating an evil laugh. Raph snorted and gently pushed Mikey away.

“I love you,” Raph said.

“I love you too,” Mikey answered, standing up and giving Raph an awkward hug before slipping out.

Mikey kept his promise, joining his brothers in training the next day, but the day after he woke up at the crack of dawn again. Draxum had said he had something to get, and Mikey was anxious to figure out what it was. Making sure to take his phone this time, Mikey slipped out of the lair, not bothering to grab any food on his way out this time. It was too dark to really see the graffiti marking the way to Draxum’s house, but Mikey didn’t even need it, following the wall with his hand, feeling all the twists and turns he needed to take. Popping through the manhole and climbing the fire escape, he opened Draxum’s window and leaned in.

“Morning!” Mikey called, Draxum, who was sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee, jumping.

“Oh it's you,” Draxum sighed, setting the coffee down. “I’ll meet you on the roof, I just need to grab something,” Draxum said, standing up. Mikey nodded and climbed the fire escape to the roof eagerly.

Mikey hopped from foot to foot excitedly as he waited. If it really could unlock his potential, then they might be able to beat the Shredder after all. It had been eating away at Mikey’s gut, worrying him as they tried to go about their lives, all while knowing the Shredder was still out there, waiting to get them. Watching carefully he saw Draxum carefully place a bag on the roof, and then clamoured up beside it, stooping down to grab it with care. Motioning for Mikey to sit, Draxum rummaged through the bag, procuring a small alcohol wipe and a syringe. Inside the syringe was a thin, clear liquid tinted green. Immediately Mikey backed away, alarm bells going off in his head.

“What is that?” Mikey asked, grimacing as his back hit one of the vents sticking up from the roof.

“It’s Empyrean,” Draxum said proudly. “Well, not all of it, but that’s hardly the point.”

“I’m not doing drugs Draxum,” Mikey said incredulously. Draxum paused, frowning.

“It’s not a drug, it’s a medication used in the Hidden City. It helps young Yokai unlock their potential, and makes it easier to use your mystic powers for longer.” Draxum explained.

“That doesn’t make me feel any better,” Mikey answered blankly.

“But don’t you want a shot at beating the Shredder?”

“I’ll do it without that stuff.”

Draxum paused, putting the alcohol wipe and the syringe back into the bag. Setting the bag down carefully, Draxum walked over, sitting on the roof, motioning for Mikey to follow. Automatically Mikey sat, staring at Draxum. “I need you to understand the threat we’re facing here.” Draxum explained. “I have cultivated, practiced, and trained my whole life for the mystic powers I have. Had. I spent all forty years of my life studying and running drills to be stronger, I was one of the most powerful yokai in the Hidden City. There were very few who could defeat me. And now I am nothing. Shredder is far stronger than you think it is, I still can’t use my mystic powers. The Draxum you fought before is no longer here. The Shredder is a threat to everyone, the humans, and the yokai. All of New York and the Hidden City. Michelangelo, there are lives at stake here. If you want to stand a chance, you need every advantage you can get. Your mystic powers emerged late, they’re weak, unrefined, erratic.” Draxum said sombrely, holding onto Mikey’s shoulders. Reaching back, Draxum grabbed the bag and procured the syringe again. “This can change that. This will do more than ten years of training would do for you. I understand your apprehension, I won’t make you do it. But I have to be honest with you. There’s no chance, no amount of training could defeat the Shredder. This can.”

“What about side effects?” Mikey asked hesitantly.

“Minimal, you may feel some drowsiness after it wears off, and you may be a little queasy, but it only functions for six hours, and it’s such a low concentration. This concoction is one percent Empyrean. The rest is dilutant and anti-emetics.” Draxum reassured. Mikey fidgeted, looking at Draxum nervously. Was he really about to say yes? Under any other circumstance, he would’ve left, but this wasn’t any other circumstance. Draxum was right, they needed to defeat the Shredder or millions of people would die, millions of yokai too. Mikey was too small, too far behind on training, and far too weak to say no.

Did he really have a choice?

Silently, Mikey turned, holding his arm out to Draxum and nodding. He couldn’t even say it. Draxum understood immediately. Mikey heard paper rip before the cold cotton pad hit his forearm. It left his skin and another moment passed before the sharp sting of the needle pierced his skin. Another second and it was gone, the cotton pad pressing against the site again. Mikey looked over and paused. There was nothing, he felt no different, and then, like magic, he felt warmer. It was like Draxum had injected fire into his veins, only it didn’t burn. It was just warm… really really warm. Mikey stood, holding his palm out. He had barely visualized the flame when it burst to life in his palm. Grinning, Mikey looked at Draxum, who was putting everything away. When Draxum looked up, a proud grin stretched across his face, and the fire in Mikey’s hand jumped, growing to the size of a campfire. The warmth had concentrated itself in his arm, but instead of the searing pain, it felt like the injection had. Incredibly hot but no burning sensation. Mikey laughed excitedly.

“Okay, good job. Now try to summon something,” Draxum encouraged. Mikey thought for a moment and the first thing he thought of were the nunchuks he had gotten from his father that had been destroyed. Immediately the fire morphed, a pair of glowing orange nunchuks falling into his hand. Pausing, Mikey shifted his grip, holding the handle on one side. He began to spin the other end, watching it pick up momentum. Passing it from hand to hand, it felt natural, like it had been custom-built to fit his hands. No. Like he had been custom-built for the nunchuks. It felt so right. Mikey giggled excitedly and stopped the chuks, holding each handle in his hands. Testing it, he tugged at the chain, and instead of stopping, the chain grew, new links forming before his eyes, like magic. Because it was magic.

The chain lengthened and Mikey paused, humming to himself to try and figure out what else he could test. It felt like the possibilities were endless. Mikey perked up as he remembered his Spider-Man comics. Deciding to test something first, he dropped one end of the chuks. Instead of falling to the ground, it rose, floating upwards instead. As Mikey envisioned it, the chain snaked through the air, twisting and turning. Mikey sat on the ground, looking up in awe at it. It spun around, Mikey trying to tie it into a knot. When he pulled it tight, the links passed through one another, not allowing a knot. Truth be told, Mikey was having the time of his life testing the limits of his powers, pushing what he could do.

Why did he ever doubt Draxum? It was like his mind had cleared, leaving nothing but focus for the mystic powers. No longer did he feel like he was fighting them and draining every last ounce of energy to practice, it all just came naturally. Well, as naturally as it could be when he had taken medication to augment it. But that was hardly the point, Mikey felt unstoppable. Like he could’ve actually beat the Shredder. Looking at Draxum, he grinned, Draxum nodding proudly.

“You’re doing incredible,” Draxum complimented. Mikey’s heart soared and he crawled to the edge of the building, looking down at the fire escape.

“I wanna try something,” Mikey said, looking back at him.

“Go for it,” Draxum encouraged. With a deep breath, Mikey turned his back to the edge, and leaned back. He fell off the ledge of the building, falling headfirst to the ground below. For a brief moment, as the ground rapidly came at him, he regretted not trying something less dangerous. But then, he felt the tug of the chain. The chain had caught him mere centimetres from the ground. Mikey let out a shaky breath and looked up, seeing a relieved-looking Draxum peering over the ledge, and the glowing chain wrapped around the fire escape railing. The other end was wrapped securely around his wrist. Staying upside down, he placed his feet on either side of the chain, securing himself upside down in the same pose he had seen in his comic books so many times. He imagined the chain shrinking, and sure enough, it began to shrink, pulling him back up to Draxum.

“Maybe less of that,” Draxum breathed. Mikey laughed and nodded.

“Yeah, I don’t think I wanna risk that again. But I can do it!” Mikey said excitedly, flipping himself so his legs were dangling down again and climbing the railing of the fire escape to get back to the roof.

“I think you’re good for today, I have something planned for tomorrow though, so come back early,” Draxum said, smiling to himself.

“What’s tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow we’ll try actually using it in a fight,” Draxum said. Mikey’s eyes lit up and he nodded eagerly, bouncing from foot to foot excitedly.

Mikey was glad he was home when the Empyrean wore off. He could feel the second it wore away. The change was abrupt, he went from happy, excited, and energetic to exhausted and nauseous immediately. Mikey set his food aside and made a run for the washroom, bending over the toilet and gagging, all the food he had just eaten jumping from his stomach into the toilet. Even as he was throwing up, a sheen of cold sweat had built on his skin, and he was shivering, feeling the coldest he’d ever felt in his entire life. It was like he had suddenly been drained of all warmth. Panting, he sat back, looking at the ceiling. It had been such a small amount, how could it feel this bad? Mikey shook his head, standing shakily using the sink to help balance himself. He flushed the toilet and stuck his head under the faucet and turned on the water, filling his mouth. Standing up straight, he swished it around, and spat it out into the sink, grabbing his toothbrush. Even after brushing his teeth, he could taste the bile in the back of his throat. With a heavy sigh, he ducked out of the bathroom, hoping nobody had noticed. His brothers didn’t need to know about this. Right now he had to avoid all suspicion. They’d never understand.

Quietly, Mikey snuck back into the kitchen, finding Raph there, looking around. Mikey swore silently and tried to creep behind Raph, but his older brother whipped around. A smile stretched across his face but only for an instant before it dropped, falling into a frown.

“What’s wrong with you?” Raph asked immediately.

“I’m fine Raph,”

“You look pale.” Raph protested.

“It’s just a bit of food poisoning, it’s nothing,” Mikey answered, shrugging and stepping past Raph to grab his plate and push the food off the plate and into the garbage.

“Then why aren’t Don and Leo sick?” Raph asked.

“Sensitive stomach?” Mikey tried.

“Mikey. I’ve seen you eat week-old pizza off the floor and walk away fine. You ate raw flour habitually as a baby. You do not have a weak stomach.” Raph said firmly.

“I must’ve caught something from being outside then, Raph it’s fine, I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me.” Mikey said sincerely.

“I do though, you’re never home, that’s not like you. What is going on? You can tell me, I won’t get mad.”

Mikey laughed. “We both know that’s a lie Raph, you’ll get upset,” Mikey answered.

“...okay fair. But I’ll try not to,” Raph tried.

“I’ll tell you later. When I’m ready.” Mikey said solemnly. Raph reluctantly nodded, pacified by the answer for now. Mikey knew it wouldn’t last long. When Raph finally relented, Mikey beelined for his room, collapsing into the hammock, and immediately pulling every blanket he owned over himself. He shivered wildly, teeth chattering miserably. Part of him was screaming, red alerts going off in his mind. If this was the comedown, was Empyrean really worth it?

But he had felt so good while it worked. Focused, powerful. It had to be worth it. Right? Even if he was nauseous and miserable, those few hours of feeling so good had just been so nice.

Chapter Text

Raph would be the first to admit that his relationship with Mikey was… rocky nowadays. They had been so close as kids, but that was when they were little. They were older then. Things had changed. Raph would also concede that he was a little overprotective of his little brother. But it was for good reason. For as long as Raph could remember, Mikey would climb anything. Everything even. He’d climb onto Raph’s shell, the pipes around the lair, buildings. And he always did it with no sense of fear. Raph knew Mikey well enough to know that he’d been pushing his little brother away by being overprotective. But he couldn’t seem to stop, he just wanted to make sure Mikey was safe.

Which is why Mikey’s sudden absence in the lair bothered Raph so much. More than the training thing, he just wanted Mikey somewhere he could keep an eye on him. He had no doubt in his little brother’s ability. But he didn’t trust the city. Didn’t trust the villains to keep away from Mikey.

Alarm bells had been ringing in Raph’s head, screaming at him that something was wrong for weeks now. It was just a matter of finding out what it was. Mikey had secrets, and he needed to know what was going on to help Mikey. But Mikey had told him he’d tell Raph when he was ready to. Normally Raph would trust him and wait for him to be ready. Definitely. Or at least that’s what Raph told himself as he crept through the lair to Leo’s room. Looking around sneakily, Raph pulled the door open, slipping in and closing it behind him. Leo was, as always, lounging on his bed, reading a comic.

“Knock much?” Leo asked, eyes flicking up from his comic.

Raph really didn’t want to do this. Not because it was an invasion of Mikey’s privacy, but because it meant he needed to go to Leo for something. He loved his brother, he really did, but Leo gloated over the smallest things. Raph already knew that this would be held over his head for months to come. But his curiosity won out.

“Hello? Earth to Raph?” Leo called.

Swallowing his pride, Raph sighed, walking around the mountains of garbage and sitting on Leo’s bed. “I need your help,” Raph mumbled.

A grin plastered itself on Leo’s face. “Sorry, I didn't hear that my dearest older brother,” Leo said dramatically, setting the comic down.

“You heard me you liar.”

“I did, I just wanna hear it again.” Leo said.

“I need your help,” Raph muttered through gritted teeth.

“I love it when you need my help,” Leo sighed, laughing. “What do you need the great and powerful Leo for?”

“You are impossible,” Raph said, standing. Frantically Leo grabbed his arm.

“No no, I’ll stop, I promise, what is it? I’m too nosy. I need to know now,” Leo said, pulling him back down. Raph sat back down, leaning against his knees.

“It’s about Mikey.”

“Ah.” Leo said, his smile falling immediately.

“Somethings up with him. I know there is. But he won’t tell me what’s going on, he’s hiding something. What do you know?” Raph asked. Leo had the uncanny ability to figure out everyone’s secrets. Leo knew things that Raph couldn’t even fathom how he learned them. It was confusing, and Leo was the perfect source of gossip. If anyone knew it was Leo.

“Yeah, somethings going on. I don’t know what it is though.” Leo said, shaking his head.

“Stop covering for him, he could be in danger, Leo.”

“No, Raph you don’t understand. This isn’t brother confidentiality, I genuinely don’t know what it is. What I do know is that a few weeks ago he was in the kitchen in the middle of the night putting like four days of leftovers in his backpack. There were some towels too.” Leo explained. “He lied about what was in it. I don’t know what was under the towel but it wasn’t paint.” He said. Raph’s shoulders sagged. “I also heard through the grapevine that he borrowed Sunita’s cloaking brooch for a night. I tried to get more information but Sunita said he borrows it sometimes, so I think it’s a dud.” Leo shrugged.

“You promise that’s all you know?” Raph asked.

“Cross my heart and hope to die,” Leo promised solemnly.

“Alright, but if I find out you’re hiding anything you’re running suicides until your legs give out,” Raph threatened.

“Good thing I’m not lying,” Leo said, picking his comic book back up as Raph got up and walked to the door. “Oh and Raph?”

“Yeah?”

“Let me know if it’s something to worry about?” Leo asked sincerely. Raph felt guilty at the shock he had at Leo’s concern. Sometimes he forgot that his brothers were just as worried as he was.

He had to figure out what was going on. Raph walked around, heading into Donnie’s lab. He peered inside, looking at his younger brother. Donnie was hunched over a project at his desk, trying to take something apart. Raph didn’t even try to figure out what it was, it was too far over his head for that. Clearing his throat, Raph waited for Donnie to notice him. Without turning around, Donnie sighed and sat up.

“Yeah, Raph?” He asked.

“I need your help.”

“Let me guess, can’t find Mikey again?” Donnie asked, sounding a bit exasperated.

“Yeah.”

Donnie turned around, shaking his head. “Raph you gotta leave it alone. He’s obviously doing something, he’s smart, he’d tell us if it was dangerous.” Donnie said. “You don’t have to watch his every step, he’s not a baby anymore.”

“I’m not being nosy, I just wanna make sure,” Raph shot back defensively.

“Will you stop freaking out if I help you?” Donnie sighed.

“Yes, I just wanna know he’s safe.”

“Alright, but I’m prefacing this with a warning. You don’t get to ask questions about how I obtained this information, got it? No lectures, no question.” Donnie warned, and before Raph could ask why on earth he needed to clarify that, Donnie was already at his computer. A few clicks later there was a pair of maps side by side. One of New York, one of the Hidden City, both projected as transparent purples filled with buildings. There were three red dots on the New York map, all huddled together underground. Raph was beginning to realize why he wasn’t allowed to ask any questions. There was a single dot in the Hidden City, inside the stadium where Big Mama held the Battle Nexus in. Donnie and Raph exchanged a look at one another. “One sec, we can just check this-” Donnie said, sentence drifting off at the end. Pulling up the camera feed on the screen, Donnie and Raph were slack-jawed in shock.

Mikey was so dead when Raph got ahold of him.

Draxum snuck through the alleyway, looking around for anything.

“What are we doing here? Aren’t you banned?” Mikey whispered. Draxum waved him off, peering around the corner carefully. The answer was yes, yes he was indeed banned from the Hidden City. Well, if you were being picky he wasn’t banned. He was wanted. Which might as well have been the same thing. Draxum had weeks to build up anger over this, over being treated so poorly by everyone. Baron Draxum would not let himself be made a fool of. Not if he had any say in the matter.

See, his days after retreating from the Shredder, sleeping in the park, eating food out of the trash, being laughed at, woken in the middle of his sleep, having rocks thrown at him, all of it had just been fuel in the fire. Before he stooped as low as the foot clan, Draxum had been feared. Revered as powerful by even his enemies. And Draxum wanted that back. The only problem was that his mystic powers weren’t back, and Draxum didn’t know if they’d ever be back. Even after putting weight back on and getting restful sleep, he still couldn’t so much as grow a single clover, let alone use his powers how he had once used them. But Michelangelo had mystic powers. Draxum hadn’t created him to have them on purpose, so this really was just a turn of luck for Draxum. A turn of luck he could exploit.

Draxum still had connections in the Hidden City. Connections that told him what had been happening in his absence. There had been a power vacuum when Draxum left, leaving a good chunk of the city desperate for another leader. Big Mama had capitalized on that. Now she had a monopoly on the whole city. And that just wasn’t fair. So now was the time for a little vigilante justice to take her down a notch. Draxum had never been a fan of Big Mama, but now he hated her more than ever. Now was the time to get back at her and watch the smugness leave her face. Draxum turned around and looked at Mikey, smiling reassuringly. Admittedly it was easy being nice to the turtle. He had all the kindness and trust that Draxum didn’t have himself. Draxum hadn’t missed the way that Michelangelo seemed to perk up at praise like a wilted flower finally getting watered. It would work to his advantage to use that.

“What are we doing here?” Michelangelo whispered, looking confused.

“Training. You’re going to enter the Battle Nexus,”

“I’m sorry, I’m going to what,” Michelangelo asked, eyes widening. Shaking his head defiantly he hummed in disagreement. “Nope. Nuh-uh. Not happening, bye,” Michelangelo said, turning on his heel to leave. Draxum swore under his breath and grabbed Michelangelo’s arm, dragging him back. “Get off me!” Mikey said, raising his voice.

“Shut up you’re gonna get me arrested,” Draxum whispered.

“Not my problem, I’ve been helping you for weeks now,”

“Which I’m trying to repay!” Draxum lied. That made the turtle pause, and Draxum took his chance to say something. “Listen, you can’t fight me, I’ve got no powers. If you’re in the Battle Nexus you get the prize money, and experience for the Shredder fight, you get both at the same time. It’s your only option to fight against others with mystic powers.” Draxum said, offering as genuine of a smile as he could.

“Yeah, but they’re not gonna stop. It’s dangerous-”

“Not if you work your way up from the bottom, the entry-level fighters are all just blowhards trying to make a name, they aren’t actually skilled. By the time you fight contestants that are actually worth fighting, you’ll have better control,” Draxum pleaded. Truthfully he wasn’t worried, he had his second plan ready to go if Michelangelo wouldn’t listen. He’d just rather not have Michelangelo remember this part. If he could get the turtle to willingly do this, all the better.

“I don’t know… Draxum I have a bad feeling about this,” Michelangelo said, still pulling against Draxum’s iron grip around his arm.

“It’s fine, if you need help I’ll jump in.”

“Promise?”

“Of course,” Draxum lied. If things went sideways he had no plans of sticking around. Before Michelangelo could protest more, Draxum pulled the syringe out of his bag and stuck the needle into the arm he was holding.

“Hey! What the hell?” Mikey yelped, pulling his arm away. This time Draxum allowed him to, watching him. He wasn’t sure if the higher concentration would work or not. The anger on the turtle’s face melted away after a moment, and his demeanour changed immediately. Now to test and see if the effects Draxum had really wanted were working.

“You’re going to fight in the Battle Nexus for training,” Draxum said, holding back a sly grin as Mikey nodded simply. Perfect. No more arguments about this. Draxum turned on his heel and snuck through the empty streets, Mikey shadowing him obediently. Leading them through the alleyways and side streets, they reached the colosseum. This was the part Draxum had been nervous about. Sending Mikey on alone. Telling Mikey exactly what to do, he gently shoved him out of the shadows, watching as the turtle disappeared into the crowd.

Mikey walked on alone, though it felt more like he was floating. Everything was a blur around him as he focused on getting through the crowds to the signup. When he reached the table, he grabbed the form and signed the waiver. There were many options as to the type of fight, and normally Mikey would’ve taken his time to read them all and figure out which one would be best for him. But instead, he found the one Draxum had told him about, and filled in the bubble beside it. The yokai at the desk, a young-looking woman with fiery red hair and fox tails behind her traded his pen for a fancy-looking quill dipped in ink. Some part of him, buried in the back of his mind, was trying to object. But it was like he had no choice. Hyperfocusing on the task at hand, he signed the sheet, and watched the ink soak into the paper and handed it off to the yokai sitting at the desk. The signature glowed for a second, and the yokai stamped the form before rolling it up and tying it off with a ribbon. She pointed down a hallway and instructed him to head that way to room twelve. So he listened. Following her directions, he found himself in a hallway lined with doors. The hallway was cold, lit by lanterns with flickering green flames that cast the stone in sickly hues of green. Shadows twirled and danced in time with the flicker of the flames.

Room twelve was barren, with a cold stone floor that was uneven in some places, and a wooden bench. Mikey sat on the bench, seeing weapons lining the wall. He wouldn’t need any of those. Not for this fight. Instead, he opted to watch the ceiling. There was a crack, and water leaking down from the roof, dripping rhythmically against the ground, forming a damp puddle on the stone. If he strained, he could hear the crowd cheering wildly. It reminded him of the crowd for wrestling. But wrestling wasn’t real. This was. Mikey knew deep down he should be feeling unnerved, uncomfortable. That normally he would’ve walked away from all this without a second thought and gone to his brothers. Truth be told, Mikey didn’t really understand why he had agreed to this. But something about the warmth coursing through his veins seemed to be pushing him to do it. Mikey waited, motionless until someone knocked on the wall. Looking up to see who it was, he saw a yokai, a large hairy creature looking down on him, it was vaguely humanoid, almost monkey-like with a large mane. It motioned for him to follow, so Mikey stood, jogging to catch up with it. He was led through several corridors, the sound of the crowd growing louder and louder with every step. The yokai stopped in front of a large tunnel, the exit filled with light. The sounds of the crowd echoed and boomed through the hallway.

Offering what could only loosely be interpreted as a smile, the yokai gestured to the hall. Mikey nodded at him and walked down the hallway. He expected to feel nervous, waiting for the pit of anxiety to open in his gut. But there was nothing. It was like he’d been stripped of panic, of emotion. Mikey decided not to think too hard about that right now. That was a problem for future Mikey. Emerging from the hallway, Mikey was greeted by raucous cheering and bright lights assaulting his senses. Walking out of the entry, he looked around, gathering his bearings.

Across the arena was a small yokai, crouched down. It seemed to be doing something, writing something in the dirt if Mikey was to hazard a guess. It was vaguely humanoid, but its features were distinctly bird-like and sharp, feathers protruding from its head and arms, like wings almost. Mikey watched carefully, circling around the arena, studying the yokai. It stayed on the ground, one of its talon-adorned feet curled up, the other planted firmly on the ground. Mikey breathed out, and everything became tinted an orange colour like someone had put a filter on his eyes. Not questioning why, Mikey bent his knees, feeling the weight of the chains appear in his hands. Throwing it, Mikey watched it snake through the air, wrapping around the yokai. The bird tengu squawked in surprise, and then threw the claw full of dirt at Mikey. Yelping as the dirt blurred his vision, Mikey restricted the bird more, squeezing the chains to make sure it didn’t get out. But when he looked up, there was another tengu. This one to his left.

Mikey lunged for it, feeling the other end of the chain snake out of his hand, lengthening to reach this identical twin. But the moment the chain touched the bird, the form of the bird dissipated like smoke.

“Nope, wrong one,” a voice sang in Mikey’s ear. Whipping around Mikey tried to find the source of the noise. But nothing was there. “Nuh uh, not over there either,” the voice whispered from behind once more. Mikey turned to look at the bird he had caught, only to see that the chain was on the ground. Mikey’s eyes widened and he focused his energy, the chain shrinking into a pair of nunchucks in his hands. Carefully he began spinning them, circling around trying to find the tengu. Mikey whipped around and looked up, holding the nunchucks, catching the bird tengu’s talons. Mikey grunted and shoved the tengu back, sending the bird-like creature flying back, not realizing his own strength. For a moment it dumbfounded Mikey, and he stopped, staring at his hands apprehensively. He didn’t have time to consider it. The tengu was back, lunging for Mikey. The attacks were uncoordinated, unskilled and unrefined.

Backing away from the swinging talons, Mikey ducked down and swept his leg out, tripping the tengu. Grabbing the yokai’s collar, he felt the flames come to life in his free hand. The bird wasn’t done yet though, aiming a swift kick at Mikey’s knee. Mikey was grateful for his knee pads, his knee bending a way it definitely shouldn’t have, before Mikey collapsed. The tengu retreated, its raucous laughter echoing in Mikey’s ears, disorienting him and throwing him off. As Mikey gathered himself, a ring of tengus, identical to the real one appeared one by one. They were all in various states of mocking him, their laughter compounding, creating a cacophonous melody that grated against Mikey’s senses. They closed in and even though Mikey knew they weren’t real, he could feel their talons. One jumped onto his shell, scratching at his head, and another grabbed onto his leg, raking its claws over his calf, leaving long scratches in its wake.

Mikey struggled as they piled on top of him, trying to discern which one was the real one, grunting with frustration. The anger built, igniting something in his chest that he couldn’t quite contain. Mikey tried to throw them off to no avail, bad knee sending him to the ground as they continued to laugh and mock him. It was too much. Too much noise, too much touching. It was like his nerves were all exposed, live wires to the open air. The familiar warmth Mikey had grown accustomed to in his hands, concentrated itself in his chest, and then it was like it burst, like fire was injected into his veins. The weight disappeared and Mikey stood up, looking around in confusion. He saw the tengu rolling on the ground, orange flames being snuffed out by the dirt and leaving burns in their wake. Mikey looked around, spotting the screen. He was on fire, quite literally. He was consumed by an orange flame, and where his eyes had once been, there were endless pools of orange. Mikey blew out and the flame disappeared, receding back into his chest and tucking itself away, leaving Mikey feeling cold. He stared at his hands in disbelief. How had he done that?

The yokai snarled in an almost animalistic way, lunging for Mikey with his talons. Mikey’s eyes widened and he stepped back, the claws still catching his cheek and slicing it open. Grabbing the Yokai’s arm, Mikey felt the energy surge to his hands and the smell of burning hair filled his nose as he yanked the arm back, pressing it into the yokai’s back and shoving him down onto the ground. The yokai squawked and screamed, flapping its other arm frantically for a moment, before finally screaming.

“I give up! I give up!” The tengu screeched, tapping the ground. Mikey let go, stepping back and staring at the arm. There were thick burns on the arm, and the feathers had all burned away. Mikey knew he was supposed to feel something about this, but he felt just as empty as he had when he entered the arena. Mikey turned on his heel and walked out the way he came in, looking at his hands. They were covered in red blood, the smell of burning copper and hair sticking inside Mikey’s nose. All he could think about was how badly he wanted to shower. Mikey was led by the same hairy yokai from before through the halls, and into a waiting room. It was filled with yokai and gargoyles much larger than himself, all eating and talking boisterously. The room was extravagant, with tiled floors and intricate purple rugs on the ground, the walls were a deep shade of royal purple, and there was a banquet table full of food on one end of the room, and on the other was a bar, with a yokai tending to the other yokai. On any other day, Mikey would’ve joined them in eating, but instead, he beelined for the bathroom, slipping into the men’s room. He looked at himself in the mirror. His cheek was still bleeding, dripping from his jaw onto the pristine white marble of the counters. Quickly, Mikey turned on the water, scrubbing his hands in the sink, trying to figure out why he had done that, where it had come from. Something was wrong, and Mikey for once in his life, couldn’t seem to figure it out. Mikey scrubbed under his fingernails, and dried his hands off carefully, seeing the last remnants of blood stain the white towel with pink streaks. Pushing the door open, a screen had appeared above the banquet table. On the screen was Big Mama, giving a speech.

“Congratulations my winners, you’ve done a wonderful job. I would like to extend an offer to return as winners next week-” Mikey stopped listening. He couldn’t be bothered. Instead, he walked over to the bar, asking the yokai behind it for ice water to get rid of the taste of dirt in his mouth. The yokai gave him a weird look, but obliged, pouring him a glass and putting a straw in the drink. Mikey walked away, immediately taking the straw out and gulping the water. The moment it touched his mouth, he realized how thirsty he was, chugging the rest of the water immediately after.

He lingered with the rest of the winners, milling about and not talking to any of them. When they began to filter out, Mikey followed the first group. They led him through the labyrinth of hallways to the front, weaving through the crowds as they reached the entrance. Finally, they were somewhere Mikey recognized, and he slipped out into the cool, crisp air of the Hidden City. Looking around, Mikey tried to find Draxum, walking through the crowds of people towards the alleyway he had left Draxum in. Sure enough, he was waiting there, leaning against the wall. But something else caught his eye. They hadn’t spotted him but the massive bulk of Raph’s figure, and bright purple mask that belonged to Donnie were in the crowd, pushing their way through, looking around. Mikey looked between them. He could go to Raph and Donnie and go home now. Or go with Draxum and not risk them finding Mikey and learning what he had done.

Raph would never let him hear the end of it if he heard about this. Without even really thinking it through, Mikey crept through the crowd, going to Draxum. Draxum greeted him, smiling warmly.

“Good job kid,” Draxum said, sending Mikey’s heart soaring. “I didn’t know you could do that.”

“Neither did I,” Mikey answered.

“C’mon, let's go home,” Draxum said, looping his arm around Mikey’s shoulder and pulling him further into the alleyway. Mikey lingered, looking behind him, and taking one last look at Raph and Donnie.

They’d be fine. He’d see them at home in a few hours anyway.

Chapter Text

Mikey had felt bad before. He’d been sick before, but this? This was so much worse. Huddled under every blanket on Draxum’s bed, Mikey was still shivering, teeth chattering as he tried in vain to warm himself, it had been days of this and it was miserable. Mikey had once read about what Norse mythology had said about the afterlife. About an eternity bathed in ice and freezing cold. Somehow Mikey thought it would’ve been warmer than how he felt right now. Draxum’s apartment was already a little colder than Mikey preferred things, but right now it was unbearable. The worst part was the ache. All of Mikey’s joints ached, creaking in protest. His skin was sensitive, every touch against it sending a mild burning sensation up his nerves. And yet the cold remained at the forefront of his mind. Draxum appeared in Mikey’s line of sight, waving his hand in front of Mikey.

“Hey kid, over here,” He said. Mikey blinked slowly and looked over. Draxum’s frown deepened and he grabbed a bowl of soup, steam billowing into the apartment air, shoving the bowl into Mikey’s hands. Mikey tried to bring the spoon to his mouth, losing most of the soup on the way from his shaking hands. Sighing, Mikey put the bowl back on the bedside table. Right about now he was really regretting not going home when he still could. There was no way he was making it down the fire escape now, let alone through the sewers and into the lair. By the time he got home, he would’ve been dragging himself across the ground, which wasn’t exactly a great idea in a sewer. Mikey wanted Raph. Wanted his brothers. When they were still really young, the four of them had slept in a giant pile in a makeshift bed made of pillows and blankets. Mikey had always slept on top because it was just too warm. Right now Mikey would’ve killed for that. But it was safer to stay here until it was over.

“I can make it stop,” Draxum said.

Mikey looked at him incredulously. “Why didn’t you bring this up earlier?” He asked through chattering teeth. “I could’ve been home by now.”

“Cause you would’ve said no,” Draxum answered, shrugging.

“Why would I change my mind now?”

“How miserable are you?”

“….good point.” Mikey sighed. “What is it?”

Draxum wordlessly got up, rummaging through the bag on the kitchen counter and holding up a syringe. Mikey realized what he meant immediately. This was dangerous, he was playing with fire here. Mikey was no stranger to addiction, he knew how it worked, how it formed. Mikey understood what was happening. But the part that scared Mikey was the fact that he didn’t care. The bigger part of Mikey was so sick of the cold, so sick of feeling like shit, that he wanted to leap at Draxum and inject it himself. The rational part of his brain was fighting tooth and nail to keep him restrained, reminding him of the slippery slope he found himself on.

“…no. I can’t,” Mikey said, shaking his head and sinking further under the covers.

“Listen, you’re doing awful right now. You’re borderline hypothermic, you’re not eating when you clearly need to, you’re exhausted. You need something, and nothing else will make it feel better.” Draxum said, sitting on the edge of the bed. “You’re gonna feel like this for hours, we’re nowhere near over.” Draxum explained.

“And if I take it I’m only delaying the same reaction. I’d rather get it over with.” Mikey said.

“It wouldn’t be the same dose, it would be a microdose, you would barely feel the effects, it would simply make the drop off smoother,” Draxum tried. “You’ll be fine, I know what I’m doing. Don’t you trust me?”

Mikey paused again, looking at the syringe. Before he could stop himself he was holding out his arm and looking away. Draxum was fast, sticking the syringe into his arm in one second, and gone the next. Mikey didn’t see how much was injected, but all he knew was warmth began to course through his veins, and he immediately felt better. Relaxing, Mikey looked over to Draxum, who was holding his thumb over the injection, keeping pressure on it. All the protests Mikey had against the Empyrean were gone. It had been the right choice, he could finally focus on something other than the pain, other than the cold.

“I should go home,” Mikey said, swinging his legs over to the side of the bed and standing up.

Draxum looked a bit panicked and grabbed Mikey’s arm. “You can’t, we need to focus on training.” Draxum supplied. Mikey paused, wanting to say no. There had to be a line in the sand, he had to stop this at some point. But his mouth moved without his permission.

“Okay,” He said, even as a small part of his brain was trying to say no, trying to fight back. It was like he had no choice in the matter like he couldn’t say no to Draxum. But Draxum was his dad, he had to trust him right? It couldn’t be that bad. Following Draxum out of the fire escape, Mikey made the usual climb up to the roof, scrambling to his feet. Draxum was a few feet behind. On the roof were a few cardboard cutouts, things that Draxum had scavenged from the garbage, cutouts of various movie characters, some random guy holding a pizza and the colonel from KFC.

“It’s time we got serious about your training.” Draxum said, face clouding over. “You need to diversify your attacks. Your precision needs work too.” He explained. Mikey nodded, focusing in on the cutouts. Draxum opened his mouth to continue his speech when a loud crash and a roar of some kind sounded from a few blocks away. Mikey and Draxum exchanged a look and nodded before both of them ran for the noise.

Leo wasn’t really worried when Mikey didn’t come home after Donnie and Raph went looking for their brother. Mikey was prone to impulsiveness but he, unlike Raph and Donnie, knew when he was too far in and needed help. If he was in trouble he’d tell them. Besides, Raph had already helicopter-parented Mikey enough, if Mikey was ever gonna tell anyone, it wouldn’t be Raph. But then worry began to creep in. Another day passed with no sight of his baby brother. And another. And a fourth.

They were all sitting in the common area, silently staring at the dot on the holographic map Donnie had projected. The dot was below New York, in the Hidden City, near the arena.

“We need to just go get him.” Raph said.

“It’s violating his trust and privacy Raph, he won’t trust you again if you do this.” Leo interjected, though Leo really wanted to agree with Raph, something that he had never done before. But something seemed weird. Leo wasn’t sure what it was but something was nagging at him. The map was wrong. But he didn’t know how so he kept his mouth shut.

“I gotta go with Raph on this Leo, it’s been days. We don’t know if he’s eaten anything in that time, we don’t know if he’s hurt.” Donnie said. Leo sighed and nodded.

“Let’s go,” Leo said.

Silently they all stood, Donnie closing the map and pulling it back up on his wrist.

Leo wasn’t particularly a huge fan of the Hidden City, he liked Hueso’s just fine but the arena? Yeah, he had mixed feelings about it. Most of those feelings being apprehension. It was Big Mama’s domain, he didn’t really wanna be on her turf for long. But Donnie seemed to share none of those issues as he walked towards the arena, solely focused on the map. Raph had to pull Donnie out of the way of several yokai as they walked, practically manhandling him. Leo was trailing behind, looking around for any sign of the youngest brother. The arena loomed ahead, the massive structure imposing on the rest of the city. It was lit up with sickly green lights, casting shadows on the massive intricate structure. It was unbelievably ugly. At least Leo thought so. It didn’t help knowing what went on inside. Leo was really hoping the map was wrong, Raph and Donnie had seen Mikey in the arena, but Leo was still holding out hope that they wouldn’t find him inside.

“He’s just outside,” Donnie said over his shoulder, eyes still glued to the screen as Raph steered him away from a giant yokai covered in hair. Raph kept his hands on Donnie’s shoulders, steering him through the crowd and sheepishly apologizing as they walked. They approached the dot on the map and found themselves in front of an alleyway. Looking around, they couldn’t see Mikey anywhere.

“He’s here, it says he is,” Donnie said, frustration leaking into his voice.

“Well I’m not seeing ‘im,” Raph replied, annoyance evident. Leo looked around and noticed light coming from behind a garbage can. Peering around, he found Mikey’s phone, sitting on the ground, the screen lit up with notifications. Leo cleared his throat loudly and picked up the phone.

“He’s not here,” Leo said, looking at his brothers, and holding the phone up.

“Fuck!” Donnie shouted, heads turning their way. “I knew it! I knew I should’ve done subdermal!” He fumed.

“Don, it’s okay, we’ll find him.” Leo tried.

“How? The city is huge Leo!”

“He’s one of four mutant turtles in New York, we’ll find him.” Leo reassured. Donnie sighed and closed his eyes. Leo exchanged a look with Raph.

A loud beeping sounded from Donnie’s wrist, screaming at them. Donnie jumped, quickly focusing back on his wrist.

“No time, right now,” Donnie said, going pale and looking at Raph and Leo. “The Shredder is back.” He said. Leo’s heart plummeted as they wordlessly booked it to the nearest exit.

Leo swore under his breath as he stared at the scene in front of them. The main problem was the massive metal beast tearing at the concrete and gnashing it’s teeth. The Shredder. The other problem? Mikey was there. Mikey was frantically trying to dodge the attacks, backing away from the Shredder. Raph lunged to help, screaming Mikey’s name without a second thought. That was their first mistake. Shredder turned its head, staring at Raph before charging at him. Leo, panicking slightly, drew out a portal in the dust on the ground, waving at Shredder with a giant grin as they fell. The portal dropped them on top of a building, spitting Raph and Donnie out forcefully, leaving Leo as the only one standing. Leo had a few ideas, but something was nagging at him. Something was off.

Without bothering to check on his brothers, who were dusting themselves off and standing up, Leo perched himself on the edge of the building, looking down into the park where the Shredder was tearing at the ground, throwing benches and water fountains at a vague small figure that Leo had to guess was Mikey. The weird part though was how “Mikey” was moving. The moves were sharp and inconsistent. Leo knew his brothers by heart, knew how they fought, knew how they thought. Mikey was all soft edges, bouncy, and fluid in all his movements. The figure below them was jittery and flighty, and all the movements were sharp and erratic. It was uncomfortable to watch.

“Leo! What was that for! We need to help him!” Raph yelled, grabbing Leo’s shoulder. His words were sharp but his touch was as gentle as ever.

“Something is off about this, I don’t know what’s up with him but something is wrong.” Leo said. Donnie hummed and flipped his goggles down, looking at the fight. Donnie winced as a trash can hit Mikey square in the head, shaking his head.

“We have to go help though.” Raph said.

“Go, I’ll be down in a bit, I just need to see something,” Leo said, waving him off. Raph nodded as Donnie deployed the hover gear. Raph grabbed Donnie’s wrist, and the two of them descended into the fight. Leo tried to look closer, but he wasn’t close enough, the details were too fuzzy. Huffing, Leo reluctantly opened another portal, stepping out onto another rooftop, lower down and closer to the action. A car whizzed over his head and he yelped, ducking down and staring at the Honda that crashed into the alleyway. “Fucking hell,” he muttered, shaking his head. Leo looked down, seeing the mess below. Mikey was still jittery, only now he was outright ignoring Donnie and Raph. The two of them were trying to help, but Mikey wasn’t responding. Leo could see Mikey’s head darting eastward. Every few seconds, over and over. Leo followed his gaze, thinking to himself about what could possibly hold his attention right now. The looks were frenzied like he was looking for instruction. Taking a breath, he opened another portal. Over and over he kept portalling, ignoring the way his stomach churned in protest each time he did, following Mikey’s gaze. Until finally he was deposited a few buildings away. Taking a look, Leo traced Mikey’s line of sight, down to a building below.

There, standing on the roof, was a very familiar figure, sans mask this time. Draxum. Leo shook his head in disbelief.

“No fucking shot,” He mumbled. There was no way, no way that Mikey was working with Draxum. He’d tried to kill them all how many times?

But that was something Mikey would do. Mikey saw the best in everyone, even the worst people. It didn’t matter, Leo wasn’t just gonna let Draxum get away with this. Stepping up to the edge of the roof, he prepared himself to drop down and fight him, until a scream ripped his attention away. Leo’s head snapped in the direction of the scream, and saw Raph, swallowed in a much larger projection of himself, screaming as the Shredder was ripping open the protective projection. Seconds away from reaching Raph, Donnie desperately tried to get the Shredder’s attention anywhere else. Mikey on the other hand was trying to get some blows in, despite Leo not seeing any weapons in his hands. Leo looked at Draxum once more before sighing, shoulders sagging as he tore a portal open, dropping himself through. Popping out the other side, he threw his sword, a portal opening over Raph’s chest, just as the Shredder aimed a punch at his brother’s shell. The metallic fist disappeared into the portal, popping out behind the Shredder’s head, making the massive suit of armour’s fist careen into the back of its head.

“Why’re you hittin’ yourself?” Leo asked with a snort, as he reached Raph. The Shredder looked confused as Leo picked up his sword, opening another portal, this time in front of himself as the Shredder aimed another punch at him. This time the portal opened beside the head, the outstretched claw hitting it's own face. “Donnie get Raph out of here!” Leo yelled, trying to take advantage of the brief moment of confusion.

“What about Mikey?” Raph yelled as Donnie struggled to help him up.

“I’ll get him!” Leo yelled, swearing as the Shredder aimed another blow at him, struggling to block it with his odachi, being pushed back several feet in the grass with the force of it. “Just go! I’ll catch up!” Leo screamed. Donnie nodded at his twin, dragging Raph away. Leo refocused, looking around. Mikey was beside the Shredder and horrified, Leo watched as Mikey whistled sharply, the sound echoing across the park. Shredder’s head snapped to look at him, and Mikey just stood there. Leo watched, horrified as the Shredder lunged for Mikey. Instead of moving, he stood his ground. The second that the Shredder was close to him, and Leo was lunging to try and stop this somehow, Mikey’s eyes began glowing, and then his chest. In moments, he erupted into a massive, twenty-foot-tall flame. The heat burned Leo’s hand and he dropped his sword, recoiling and backpedalling, watching with terror written on his face. The Shredder screeched and wailed, running towards the middle of Central Park. The flame died and Leo, holding his burnt hand, ran for Mikey.

Grabbing Mikey’s hand, he was shocked at how cold it was. It was freezing, even despite the warm weather. Mikey looked at him slowly. Leo opened his mouth to say something, to try and get Mikey to come home. But he was interrupted by a sharp whistle, and Mikey’s head snapped eastward. Draxum. Before Leo could even process it, Mikey was gone, running towards the source. He was going with Draxum instead of his family. Leo didn’t even try to hold back the tears in his eyes. It still felt so wrong. There was something he wasn’t seeing, something important. But he didn’t even have a clue as to what. Sighing, Leo turned on his heel and retreated to the sewers before any humans came by to investigate and saw him.

Leo walked into the lair, holding his hand gingerly. He found Raph exactly where he always was, sitting in the kitchen waiting for Mikey. Raph’s face lit up as Leo walked in, and then clouded over as he saw Leo holding his obviously burnt hand. Raph was covered in scrapes and bruises, but the part that concerned Leo the most was the gash on his arm, still bleeding as he held a towel to the wound.

“Where’s Mikey?” Raph asked. Leo sighed and looked away, shaking his head.

“He’s not coming home.” Leo said. “Come on, let’s get you checked out,” Leo added, gesturing for Raph to follow.

“Why not?” Raph asked. Leo could hear the heartbreak in his voice. Leo shoved the door to the med bag aside, gesturing at the seat. Haphazardly, Leo wrapped his hand loosely in bandages, grabbing the rubbing alcohol. He pulled the wheeled stool over and ever so carefully he dabbed it onto the scrapes, watching them fizz away and grimacing as Raph yelped at the burning sensation. “Leo?” Raph asked.

“I don’t know.” Leo finally answered. He sighed heavily and backed away, looking at the ceiling and blinking away tears. “I don’t know. Something’s wrong and I don’t know what it is.” But he had a pretty good idea of what it was. Leo silently looked back down at Raph, pulling the towel off and dropping it onto the ground below them, grabbing a bottle of saline. He poured it over the wound, the excess absorbed by the towel below. Carefully, Leo wrapped the bandages around Raph’s arm, making sure to pull it tight so it was secured.

Leo’s brain was screaming at him to tell Raph what he had seen, even as part of him tried to deny it, tried to reason why it couldn’t be what it looked like. But he couldn’t find a single reason that made any sense. Raph stood up and gestured at the seat, grabbing the leftover saline.

“Sit,” Raph said quietly. Leo nodded, standing up and switching seats with Raph. Raph unwound the bandages and looked at it. The burn wasn’t that bad, but the skin was an angry reddish hue, and large blisters were forming on Leo’s hand. “Do I drain these?” Raph asked Leo. Leo shook his head.

“No, you’ll risk infection if you do that,” Leo said. Raph nodded and carefully poured the saline over the wound. It was cold, and soothing as it poured over the burns, Leo sighing with relief. Raph scooted back and rummaged through what little medication and creams they had stockpiled. “Try the bathroom?” Leo suggested, knowing what he was looking for. Raph nodded, and disappeared through the door, leaving Leo alone with his thoughts.

Why had Mikey left? Why wouldn’t he come home? Where was he staying? Was it with Draxum? Every question swirled around Leo’s head, driving him up the wall. He thought he knew his brothers. Donnie would’ve made more sense for this type of thing, but Mikey? Mikey still crawled into Raph’s bed after a nightmare. Mikey was the one who put them all back together after a fight. This wasn’t like his baby brother. The only idea that made sense was if Draxum was forcing him to do this. But why didn’t Mikey try to come to them for help? How long had Mikey even been seeing Draxum? None of it lined up. Leo was missing a piece. This wasn’t the full picture, it couldn’t be.

Raph slipped back into the med bay, holding up a tube of burn cream triumphantly and interrupting Leo’s train of thought. Raph sat back down, holding out his hand. Leo gingerly set his burned hand into Raph’s wincing as his big brother slathered burn cream over the burns, up to his wrist. He moved slowly, his touches as light as they could be, holding his breath to make sure he did it all correctly. Raph kept looking at Leo to see how he was doing, continuing as Leo nodded and confirmed. Grabbing the bandages, Raph carefully wound it around Leo’s palm, between his fingers and making sure that the burns were completely covered by the bandages. He tied it off and sighed, shifting back.

“Raph?” Leo said.

“Yeah?”

“I have to tell you something. I saw something and I… I dunno, I think Mikey is in trouble.” Leo sighed, deciding he needed to tell someone what he saw.

“What’d you see?” Raph asked, worry creasing his brows.

“You know how I stayed on the roof?”

“Yeah,”

“Well, I noticed something up there. Mikey kept looking east, at something on a roof. So I followed his gaze, and I found what he was looking at. Raph, he was looking at Draxum.”

Raph’s face visibly fell as he processed what Leo was saying. “What?”

Chapter Text

Mikey stared at the small device laid in his palm, frowning at it.

“What’s this for?” Mikey asked, closing his hand and stepping back further into the alleyway with Draxum as a group of yokai passed by.

“It’s an earpiece, I feed you instructions through it and we get the information we need,” Draxum explained.

“…information for what?” Mikey asked. “Isn’t this just for training?”

Draxum faltered, and Mikey couldn’t help but feel like he’d caught him in a lie. “Alright so maybe I haven’t been entirely honest about my motives,” he sighed, leaning against the wall. “I want to topple the Battle Nexus.” He admitted.

“Why? Why wouldn’t you just tell me that?”

“Would you have agreed if I told you that?” Draxum asked, looking at Mikey from the corner of his eye.

“Probably not.”

“Exactly. This Battle Nexus is barbaric. Sure some of the contestants are here of their own accord, but most of them are either forced into it through poverty or have been captured by Big Mama. Your dad was part of those.” Draxum said, sliding down the wall and sitting on the ground. Mikey settled across from him, leaning against the bricks behind him.

“He was?” Mikey probed, his curiosity winning out.

“He was. Big Mama had captured him and forced him to fight. She withheld food if he said no. That was how I learned of him, he was the Battle Nexus champion.” Draxum explained, eyes lighting up. Mikey wasn’t sure how to feel about that, but Draxum looked so happy. Mikey would let him have this. “He was a mess when I found him, when I saved him.” Draxum said. Something about that sounded wrong. Splinter didn’t really talk about his time with Big Mama and Draxum, or his time in the Hidden City at all. He was private about what happened. But something about Draxum’s words struck Mikey as distinctly wrong. “Big Mama is a wicked woman, she’d sell out anyone for some money. The Battle Nexus needs to come down, and I need your help to do it. We can only stop her if we go from the inside. She’s reinforced it too much to do it from the outside.” Draxum said. Mikey nodded automatically, silencing the voice of apprehension deep in his brain. The alarm bells that had been going off in his mind were all just background noise now, he had grown used to the pit that had lodged itself firmly in his gut. Draxum fished around in his bag and pulled out his earpiece, putting it into his ear. Mikey followed suit, copying his actions.

“Test,” Draxum tried. Mikey nodded, giving him a thumbs up as the word sounded in his ear. Then Draxum rummaged through the bag again. “Arm,” Draxum ordered. Mikey held out his arm, trying not to look at all the scars from the needles on his arm. It had been days since he’d seen his brothers, and so much longer since Mikey had been sober. He knew the thought should’ve made him recoil, run away, and seek out his family. But he’d grown so used to it, to this feeling of being stuck. The panic was normal, and he couldn’t will himself to snap out of it. All of this was becoming normal. Which should’ve made Mikey even more worried. And yet, he let Draxum jab the needle into his forearm.

“I have something for you as well,” Draxum said. Mikey paused, looking at him, waiting. Draxum reached out and Mikey flinched, but that didn’t stop Draxum. He grabbed Mikey’s mask, pulling it off his head. Mikey had to fight himself not to snatch it away. It felt like Draxum was stripping him of the last tie he had to his family. The last thing that made him a Hamato instead of some weapon for Draxum. But that’s not how Draxum meant it. Draxum wouldn’t do that to him on purpose, and Mikey didn’t want to hurt his feelings, so instead he dug his nails into his palms and endured. Draxum pulled one last thing from his bag, holding it up. It was a mask, bone white, every painted line was sharp and pointed, decorated with orange. It seemed familiar somehow, but Mikey couldn’t place where he would’ve seen it. Mikey took it, holding it and looking up at Draxum. Every part of him was resisting, refusing to wear it, but Draxum looked so hopeful, so proud. How could Mikey say no?

“Don’t put it on yet. I’ll tell you when we need it, okay?” Draxum said. Nodding, Mikey took a breath in, steadying himself.

Turning, Mikey walked straight to the arena, slipping through the crowds with expertise. He’d done this so many times, it was like muscle memory. Approaching the signup desk, he waved, the kitsune at the desk smiling warmly and waving back, gesturing for him to enter, not bothering with any paperwork anymore. Mikey ducked into the familiar hallways, footsteps echoing off the cobbled floor, bypassing the waiting room.

“Alright, you’re going to keep going, walk until the end of the hallway, there should be a set of stairs, you’ll want to go up those.” Draxum said in his ear. Mikey hummed an affirmative and walked further, passing the entrance to the arena. Mikey kept going for what felt like ages, door after door passing him by, it was starting to feel like a labyrinth before he finally reached the end. A staircase opened up at the end of the hall, a plush red carpet and gaudy purple wallpaper marking the exact point where the dungeon ended and the VIP sections began. Looking around, Mikey made sure nobody was there before beginning his climb. The first flight of stairs wasn’t so bad. The second wasn’t awful either. But by the time he got to the fifth flight, he was wheezing and about ready to drop. And there was still more. It was like climbing a mountain. Normally Mikey would’ve stopped, rested, and tried to catch his breath, but for whatever reason, his body wouldn’t listen. It was like he wasn’t in control of his own limbs. Reaching the top of the stairs, he was greeted by the sound of people milling around.

“Okay, you'll want to get in without being seen, wait for a moment.” Draxum instructed. Mikey hummed and nodded, freezing as the door opened.

Immediately adrenaline gripped him and he looked around to find a hiding spot. Above, the rafters seemed to be inviting him, and he focused his energy. Warmth invaded his legs and he jumped, mystic energy boosting him. Grabbing desperately, he caught hold of the rafter, pulling himself up just as the door opened. Below, there was a hooded figure, with green shoulder pads on their shoulders. Immediately Mikey frowned, studying their “face”. Only it wasn’t their face, it was a mask. Pulling the mask Draxum had given him out, he looked frantically between them. They were the exact same. Mikey felt his heart drop. He was missing a piece, but something was wrong. Draxum was pulling something and he didn’t know what it was. Mikey didn’t know what role he played in this but it made him nervous. Even still, he couldn’t bring himself to disobey.

“You’re gonna want to follow Big Mama’s assistant.” Draxum said in his ear. “She’ll be the one with the same mask as you,” Draxum added. Mikey internally groaned, dropping to the floor silently and following her at a distance. She was moving a few floors down, and trying to stay hidden in a barren stairwell was… not easy to say the least. Mikey followed the assistant down, watching her slip out of a doorway to another floor. Waiting a few seconds, Mikey followed her out, looking around in awe at the hallway. It was luxurious, with a thick purple rug and deep burgundy wallpaper lining the halls. The wall sconces were a decadent gold colour and incredibly intricate. The sconces cast large shadows down the windowless corridor, the perfect chance for Mikey to sneak around. Sticking to the shadows, he trailed after the assistant, pausing as she looked around. She reached a door, labelled with a gold nameplate. Mikey froze, watching the door.

“Mask on,” Draxum said in his ear. Mikey pulled the mask out and put it on, approaching the door. In bold black serif letters, the nameplate said “Frida”. Mikey snuck in, the assistant, presumably named Frida, whirling around from her spot by an ornate walnut desk. She reached out, grabbing the nearest weapon, a pole with a sharp one-sided blade on it. Immediately she jabbed at Mikey, who yelped quietly and dodged, ducking down and grabbing her leg, dragging her to the ground with a thud. She hit her head on the desk behind her as she went down. She cried out as she hit the ground, and Mikey got a good look at her as she passed out. Her mask had shifted, and he pulled it off curiously, looking at her for the first time. Freezing, he stared in disbelief, shaking his head. She was a turtle. She looked almost exactly like Mikey. There was no way she was a kappa. They were of similar height, only she had yellow-orange spots covering her face like freckles, a large patch over her eye.

“Did you get her down?” Draxum asked in Mikey’s ear.

Mikey couldn’t respond, staring at the mutant.

“Turtle?” Draxum called incessantly. But Mikey stayed silent, staring.

Donnie hated crowds. Hated them. Almost as much as beach balls. It was loud and people were touching him, he was struggling to weave his way through the crowd. He was really starting to realize how much people parted the way for Raph and was beginning to wish he’d brought his eldest brother with him. But he needed to do this alone. Raph wouldn’t be content with just gathering information. Donnie couldn’t risk it.

Mikey was a creature of habit, and Donnie knew this. It didn’t really seem so to the untrained eye, but Donnie knew Mikey inside and out. His little brother was one of the few things that made sense to him. Donnie had been watching the Battle Nexus religiously now to scan for Mikey, trying to see if there was a pattern. And there was. Just not one Donnie liked. Mikey was in the Battle Nexus almost every day now, throwing himself at different opponents. Donnie had tried to gather information from the broadcast but it just didn’t show him what he needed to know. So here he was, slipping through the crowd headed for the arena. The throngs of yokai were all moving at different paces, infuriating Donnie. But it would be fine, he just had to get through the crowds. He was doing this for Mikey. That drove him forward. Grabbing his wallet as he finally reached the ticket stand, he bought his ticket with minimal talking and scrambled to grab his headphones from his bag. Slipping them on, he immediately felt better, the headphones muffling the noises of the crowd. He could still hear it, but it wasn’t so overwhelming now. Taking a deep breath in, Donnie slipped through the crowds, the densely packed hallways giving way to the arena. Slipping away from the crowd, he set out to find a seat that would give him a good vantage point. Half jogging, he made his way to the front, finding a seat. It gave him a good view but hid him behind people so Mikey wouldn’t notice he was there.

If Mikey knew he was there it would ruin his plan. He needed Mikey to not alter his behaviour, therefore Mikey couldn’t know that Donnie was gathering information. Donnie was squished between two other yokai he didn’t know, but he tried not to focus so hard on that. Still, he could feel the tension building, and it was making him miserable.

Sitting through several matches that seemed like they lasted forever and a half, Donnie tapped impatiently on the armrest. Until finally Mikey stepped out. It took Donnie a minute to recognize his brother because his face was bare. There was no orange mask. That was not a good sign. Donnie quickly pulled the headphones off and flipped the goggles on his head down, zooming in on Mikey and beginning to film.

Across the arena was another yokai, a young human-looking woman, though her skin was gaunt and blue, and her hair stretched down her back, like an inky black cloak. Clutched in her wrinkled hands, she held a tessen, the blade at the edge of the fan glinting in the arena lights. Mikey visibly inhaled and steadied himself. The yokai lunged, moving inhumanly fast, dust kicking up behind her as she sprinted for Mikey. She got in close, snapping the fan open and making a move to go for Mikey’s face. Leaning back, Mikey barely avoided it, eyes disappearing into a glowing orange colour. Around him, an aura appeared, flickering and licking at the sky like flames. Mikey grabbed her wrist and she screamed, the skin growing red and seeming to burn where he held her hand. She ripped her arm free and Donnie could see a red outline of Mikey’s hand on her wrist. But she wasn’t done. She sobbed and threw herself to the ground, and for just a moment, one split second, Donnie saw his baby brother, a mutant with the biggest heart. His eyes softened and he stepped closer. The yokai woman took advantage, snapping out and scratching his face with her nails, leaving three red lines in her wake. Mikey froze, stare hardening again.

Donnie could hear the roaring of the crowd full blast now and it was like it was assaulting his ears, the music was too loud, and the crowd was excessively loud. It felt like his skin was getting too tight. It was such an odd feeling. Donnie flapped his hands quickly to try and get rid of the feeling, but it was stuck.

There was something so robotic about how Mikey was moving. Like his movements weren’t his own. It was uncanny, Donnie honestly hated it. It was like he wasn’t even watching his brother. Mikey lunged, hands glowing a deep orange colour, like lava, and the yokai woman dodged, slipping away from him. Mikey grabbed onto her long hair, the hair burning away in his grasp, the smell of burning hair wafting up from the arena. The woman screeched, dropping down and sweeping her leg under Mikey’s, knocking him down easily like a bowling pin. His leg folded awkwardly underneath him, seeming to pop before giving way. In an instant she was at him, going for his eyes. She landed the blows, barely missing. Blood was streaming from Mikey’s face, and Donnie felt sick to his stomach watching it. But while Mikey was on the ground, Donnie noticed something. There was something black lodged in Mikey’s ear. All of Mikey’s moves seemed slightly delayed too. After a few seconds, Mikey kneed her in the spine, flipping the woman and placing his knee into her back.

Donnie was being jostled by the two yokai on either side of him, and he gritted his teeth, trying to bear it. He just needed the information. He needed to study the fight. Then it would all be over. He tried to focus back in on Mikey, watching with horror as Mikey raised his hand, engulfed in orange energy that licked at the sky like flames, and brought it down on her neck. For a moment the crowd went silent, stunned, and then they started roaring once more, half of the crowd booing, half of the crowd begging for more. The smell of burning skin wafted up from the arena as the yokai shrieked and yelled.

“I forfeit!” She screamed. And for a split second, Mikey didn’t move. His face morphed into horror, as if he was watching what he was doing like Donnie was, before he finally let go, and got off her. He backed away, collapsing to the ground, eyes turning back to normal. Mikey stared at the woman for a moment, watching security run out and grab her, pulling her out of the arena, before he clumsily got to his feet, and limped to the door, disappearing into the shadows.

Donnie’s original plan had him sneaking backstage to actually talk to Mikey. But that was not going to happen. Donnie felt like everything was getting louder, closing in on him. Abruptly he stood, muttering a stiff “'scuse me,” to the people beside him before practically throwing himself into the aisle, trying to get away from everyone touching him. Donnie could feel it impending and could do nothing to stop the meltdown that was about to erupt. Blindly, Donnie ran, trying to break out of the crowd, bumping into and hitting more yokai than was probably necessary. Bursting out of the stadium, his head whipped around, locking on a path through the crowd. Without thinking he ran, slipping through the crowd recklessly. Tears welled up in his eyes and he felt like his skin was too tight, he could feel everywhere that his hoodie stuck to his sweat-slicked skin and it was driving him insane. Donnie didn’t pay attention to where he was going, running until he was free from the crowd and then some. The buildings changed, not looming over him as much as sitting quaintly and watching him curiously.

Veering to the side, Donnie slipped between one of the houses and threw himself at the ground, panting frantically. He knew it was too late but he still tried valiantly to stave off the worst of the meltdown. Fumbling, he pulled his phone out, texting Leo automatically. It was pretty much gibberish but it was the best that Donnie could do. Setting the phone down, he heard it buzz and clapped his hands over his ears, realizing that he’d left his headphones behind in the arena. Pulling his knees to his chest, Donnie sobbed miserably, scratching at his head, digging his nails into his skin as everything crescendoed, like a symphony, if a symphony were composed of horribly out-of-tune violins and flutes. Even the little bit of noise his hands couldn’t shut out was too much. Donnie squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head as cries forced themselves out of his throat.

There was a gentle tap on his hoodie, careful not to actually touch Donnie, just a slight pressure on the fabric. Looking up Donnie was greeted by his twin, blurred by the tears in his eyes, and a glowing portal. Leo looked him over and frowned. Signing, he asked Donnie to put his hands up. Donnie took a minute before holding his hands up, Leo pulling the hoodie off. Immediately Donnie felt better, but Leo immediately reached out and pried the artificial shell Donnie was wearing off his back. Donnie didn’t realize how much it was constricting him until it was gone. Still, the worst of it was not even close to over. Leo gestured for him to wait and slipped through the portal, bringing the hoodie with him. Donnie tried breathing, attempting to regulate himself while Leo was gone. It wasn’t easy. Leo popped back through the portal, holding paper in his hands and a pair of headphones on top of the stack.

Crouching in front of Donnie, Leo set the paper stack down and grabbed the headphones, placing them on Donnie’s head carefully. Donnie’s shoulders immediately relaxed once he realized he couldn’t hear anything. It was an immediate relief. Donnie flapped his hands quickly, squeezing his eyes shut to try and get rid of the feeling. It wasn’t enough. Donnie dug his nails into his palms and Leo tapped his wrist, shaking his head. Picking up a piece of paper, he tore a piece off, crumpling and ripping it, handing the full sheet to Donnie. Signing a quick ‘thank you,’ Donnie began ripping at the sheets of paper, crumpling it and even tearing it apart with his teeth. It helped more than Donnie expected. After what felt like an eternity, Donnie stopped, looking up at his twin. Leo was sitting patiently against the wall, watching the street to make sure nobody was coming in. Following his gaze, Donnie realized he didn’t even know where he was. He was obviously still in the Hidden City, but he didn’t know where within the city, didn’t even have a clue what borough he was in. The phone trackers had been a great idea. Donnie nudged Leo with his foot, catching his twin’s attention. Leo offered him a smile and reached out, signing ‘phone’ to Donnie. Passing his phone to Leo, Donnie was confused until Leo pulled up his music, and turned it on for him. Oddly enough the abrasive cacophony of his usual techno music was nice, predictable.

‘Home?’ Leo signed, standing up. Donnie nodded, signing the word back at him. Leo nodded, and opened the portal, Donnie holding onto his twin’s shoulder as they stepped through. Opening his eyes, he was greeted with the familiarity of the lair common room. Donnie flopped onto a beanbag, curling up and taking in a deep breath. It smelled like home. Leo smiled and turned the lights off, flopping down somewhere near Donnie, his elbow touching Donnie’s, letting him know that he was there.

Chapter Text

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Mikey demanded, limping into the alleyway. He could already feel the drug wearing off, and he didn’t know if that was making him angrier, but he was fighting through the pain to get things straight with Draxum.

“Excuse me?” Draxum asked, face going stone cold. “What’s your problem?”

“You know damn well what my fucking problem is you liar!” Mikey yelled, ignoring the heads turning their way.

“Shut up! You’ll get us caught!”

“I don’t care. I don’t know why I ever fucking agreed to help you.” Mikey snapped, leaning against the wall as nausea rolled over him.

“What is wrong with you? Why are you like this?” Draxum hissed.

“You didn’t tell me about my own fucking sister, that’s my problem Draxum.” Mikey said. Draxum opened his mouth but Mikey cut him off. “Don’t pretend you don’t know either. You mutated us, you knew how many there were, and you just didn’t bother to tell us? To tell me? After everything I’ve done for you?” Mikey said, jabbing his finger into Draxum’s chest. Draxum growled under his breath and Mikey felt his anger flare up. “You wanna try that again?”

“Shut your mouth!” Draxum snapped. Thorn-coated vines ripped their way through the pavement, grabbing Mikey’s arms and holding them down, forcing Mikey down onto the ground with them. Mikey felt panic course through his veins as he realized just how much Draxum had been lying about. Mikey realized he had to do the only thing he could do. Opening his mouth he tried to scream, only for Draxum to smack the side of his head, leaving Mikey dizzy. While the world was still spinning around Mikey, Draxum fumbled with his bag and Mikey felt the familiar sting of a needle in his forearm. It was gone before he could even struggle, and the warmth flowed through his veins once more. “Hopefully this higher dose will do its job,” Draxum muttered. The vines let go, and Mikey could’ve sworn he meant to lunge for Draxum. But he didn’t move. He sat there, like a puppet without strings, slumped over until Draxum stepped away. “Up,” he commanded. And even as Mikey tried to fight, he couldn’t make himself disobey. His body moved on its own, following directions and trailing behind Draxum like his little minion.

“New rule,” Raph said, sitting on the couch heavily. “No more solo missions. Not until we’re all on the same page. Got it?” Raph asked. Donnie and Leo grumbled their reluctant agreement, nodding in understanding. “That being said, what’d you find Donnie?”

“Well, he’s not acting like himself for one.” Donnie said from his spot on a beanbag. It had been a few days since Donnie had his meltdown, and while they’d tried to keep it from Raph, Raph wasn’t stupid. Donnie’s meltdowns were infrequent, but they were incredibly intense, and often left him exhausted and unmotivated afterwards. So it was kind of difficult to hide when they happened. Raph had found out, and as usual, was very protective of the younger twin. But Donnie had been spearheading a new effort to get Mikey home.

“How so?” Leo asked although he had seen that himself.

“Look here,” Donnie said, holding out his phone, and showing them a video. “Look at his ear here.” Donnie said, pointing and pausing. Sure enough, there it was. A black spot in his ear. “I think it’s an earpiece. He seemed to lag behind the fight, a few seconds behind his opponent like he was waiting for instructions.” Donnie said. Leo and Raph exchanged a look. “What? What was that?” Donnie asked, brows furrowing.

“Leo,” Raph said, nodding.

“You remember the Shredder fight?” Leo asked. Donnie nodded.

“How could I forget?”

“Well I did some reconnaissance myself,” Leo explained. Mikey kept looking somewhere, and when I followed his gaze to the building, Draxum was there.” Leo said.

“So the earpiece must also be Draxum.” Donnie said, nodding. “Well, we know where he’ll be. He comes to the Battle Nexus every day without fail. I was tracking his appearances after my solo mission, he’s still going daily. We actually might catch him if we move quick.” Donnie said, checking the broadcast of fights from the Battle Nexus. “He’s finishing up now, we gotta move.” Donnie sighed. Raph and Leo nodded in unison.

Leo had never been more grateful for his sword, the portal spat them out in front of the Battle Nexus arena, in the middle of a crowd. The three of them began looking around, Donnie staring at his wrist.

Donnie cleared his throat to catch Raph and Leo’s attention. “He’s not on the broadcast anymore, he should be coming out so-“

“There!” Leo said, pointing through the crowd. The other two’s heads snapped in the direction he pointed, and their faces lit up. It was Mikey, his bright yellow spots making him easily identifiable. He was walking through the crowd, and they immediately ran to follow, trailing into an alleyway with him. Raph blocked the exit to the alleyway, making sure nobody left, trapping a terrified-looking Draxum. Leo grinned and ran for Mikey, intending to hug him, only for Mikey to grab his extended arm, and heave Leo over his back, flipping Leo and pinning him on the ground with his foot. Leo yelped as his back hit the ground with a dull thud. Looking up he saw Mikey’s eyes for the first time. They looked dead. They were dull and glassy like he wasn’t really there. Leo’s heart shattered. Whatever Draxum was doing was more than a hug could fix.

“What are you doing? Run!” Draxum yelled. Mikey’s head shot up and he let go of Leo. Donnie and Raph both lunged to grab Mikey, but he slipped away, clamouring up the dumpster. A soft glow engulfed his hand, an orange chain materializing in his hand and shooting up. It wrapped around the railing of a balcony above them, Mikey pulling himself up easily. Leo swore under his breath and scrambled to grab his sword. He took one last look at Draxum, glaring as he saw his sly grin, before pulling Raph back from killing Draxum, and making a portal. It spat the three brothers out on top of the building, only to see Mikey in the alleyway below, running.

“Oh come on,” Leo groaned. He ran forward, slipping down into the alleyway and following Mikey through the crowd, not bothering to check if Raph and Donnie were keeping up. They couldn’t lose Mikey, not when they were so close. Leo slipped through a few portals as he ran, placing himself close enough to keep an eye on Mikey. Leo was short of breath, but otherwise, he was doing fine. Mikey on the other hand was wheezing, and limping unevenly on a leg that seemed to be injured.

“Mikey please!” Leo yelled, panting as he followed his little brother. He could hear Donnie and Raph behind him as he began closing the distance between them, a glimmer of hope sparking in Leo’s heart. They just had to catch him. Then they could take him home. That was all. Leo reached out, fingers just barely touching Mikey’s shell, before Mikey veered left into a park, slipping under the fence easily as Leo struggled to hop over it. Mikey paused and for a moment Leo stopped, looking at him.

“Mikey please come home with us.” Leo pleaded. His glassy eyes seemed to clear, the fog lifting off them for just a second and he stepped towards Leo. Until there was a yell through the earpiece Mikey had on, so loud that even Leo could hear it. Then the fog coated his eyes once more, making them vacant and hollow. An orange glow began to emanate from Mikey’s chest, engulfing him slowly, the orange light licking at the sky like flames. Leo backed up, hitting the fence, watching as the light burned the grass around Mikey. Leo turned to see that Donnie and Raph had caught up, but Draxum had as well, looking just as smug as before.

“Don’t make us do this Mikey,” Raph pleaded, voice quivering. For the first time in Leo’s life, Raph sounded scared. He sounded terrified at the idea of fighting his baby brother. And Leo couldn’t blame him, because the same fear was coursing through his veins. Mikey raised his hand, a chain appearing in his hands. He whipped it out, Leo just barely ducking in time for the chain to wrap around Raph’s arm, dragging him closer to the fire. Donnie screeched, a panicked noise that Leo had never heard before, like a distressed bird. Donnie grabbed onto Raph, trying to pull him back away from the flames. When that didn’t work, Donnie’s staff extended to its full size in his hands, and Donnie jabbed at Mikey’s wrist. The chain faltered, flickering for a moment, Raph breaking away just as they materialized again, falling to the ground. Leo was prepared for it when the chains were flicked at them again, a portal opening in front of his face, and another one appearing behind Mikey, the chain wrapping around Mikey’s shoulders, constricting his hands. The flames faltered as Mikey panicked, struggling in the chains for a moment before they fell around him.

Leo looked at the flames again and noticed that they were smaller, the radius shrinking. His face lit up as he realized that Mikey was growing tired. The chains shrunk down into a pair of nunchuks, Leo yelping as he ducked under them when Mikey ran for him, swinging the nunchuks with effortless grace. Raph blocked the end of the nunchuks, the projection of his arms appearing with a red glow as he grabbed the nunchuks. Raph apologized as he ripped the nunchuks from Mikey’s hands, the weapons fizzling out. Leo and Raph exchanged a look and nodded, Leo opening a portal as Raph threw a punch. His arm went through the portal, hitting Mikey in the side of the head. Donnie caught on and yelled for Leo. Leo nodded and opened another portal, Donnie hopping through and appearing behind Mikey, spinning the staff with expertise and hitting Mikey hard. Ducking down, Donnie swept his staff under Mikey’s feet, knocking him to the ground and disappearing through another portal before Mikey could retaliate.

This time when Mikey got up, he was swaying and seemed to be confused. He screamed, tears forming in the corner of his eyes as the flames grew. Leo backed away, feeling the heat of the flames travel much, much further now. Looking at Mikey, he was glowing a bright orange, but his scream was pained like this was hurting him. Donnie and Raph retreated to Leo’s side, and they all stared in horror as their brother screeched, tears sizzling and evaporating from the heat, the grass below burning. And then, with no further prompting, the flames flickered out, disappearing like a candle that had been blown out. Everything was still, nobody dared to move, dared to breathe even, the three of them watching Mikey closely.

Mikey collapsed to the ground, and there was a solid several seconds where it felt like the world was turning in slow motion. Before Mikey had even hit the ground, Draxum was running, leaving behind something metallic on the ground. Raph lunged for him, anger etched into every fibre of his expression, like a stone carving. Leo immediately dropped to the ground in front of Mikey, placing his hand on the side of his neck. He could only breathe when he felt the rapid pulse of his heartbeat under his skin. Looking closely, he saw Mikey’s forearm. There, in the soft, thin skin, were countless scars, all perfectly uniform and circular, scattered across the skin like freckles. It immediately clicked for Leo, Draxum had been drugging Mikey. Looking up, he saw Raph trying to go after Draxum, and Donnie grabbing the metallic object off the ground.

“Raph,” Leo said hoarsely, watching as his older brother whipped around, anger soured into rage that was written across his face. “We’ll get him later. Mikey needs us right now.” He said. Raph’s face softened and he walked over with Donnie. Donnie stooped down and held out the item he’d picked up. It was a syringe, filled with some green liquid that almost seemed to glow. Leo grimaced. Whatever it was, it couldn’t mean anything good. Carefully, trying not to agitate any injuries, Leo lifted Mikey into his arms, standing up. Mikey was far lighter than he remembered him being. Raph held his arms out to Leo, and Leo carefully settled his brother into Raph’s arms, watching Raph cradle Mikey to his chest. Donnie clutched onto the syringe, watching silently as Leo opened a portal. The three of them stepped into the portal, finding themselves back in their lair. Leo took charge, leading Raph to the med bay, and having him settle Mikey into one of the beds. Mikey was already so small. But somehow he looked even smaller now, dwarfed by the cot.

“Raph can you go get Dad and text April?” Leo said. Raph nodded, lingering. Donnie saw him squeeze Mikey’s hand, looking at him for one more moment before pulling himself away. Leo set to work, checking Mikey over for more injuries. Donnie cleared his throat. “Yeah, Dee?”

“What do we wanna do about this?” Donnie asked, holding the syringe out to Leo.

“Well, I need to know what that stuff is so we can treat him properly. Do you think you could run the analysis?” Leo asked hopefully.

“I can try,” Donnie nodded. He took another look at Mikey, pausing and digging around for something in his battle shell. Pulling out Mikey’s phone, he handed it to Leo. “Make sure he has that.” He said quietly. Leo nodded, and that was good enough for Donnie.

Donnie couldn’t stand medical stuff and hated the med bay with a passion. Maybe it had come from being the fragile sibling, but he just couldn’t stand it, the smell of antiseptic, the stark white walls. He didn’t even want to imagine what a human hospital was like. Instead, he retreated to the safety of his lab, passing a frantic-looking Splinter on the way. Their dad had been kept somewhat in the dark up until recently, and Donnie felt guilty about that, but they had their reasons. The main one was that they didn’t want him to worry. Ducking into his lab, Donnie sat in his desk chair, pushing himself across the room over to his desk. He set the syringe down, grabbing what little chemistry equipment he had. Donnie wasn’t really a chemistry guy, but he had dabbled in it. He should be able to figure out what this stuff was. Though his gut tried to tell him otherwise. Heaving the heavy equipment onto his desk, he set it down and plugged it all in.

He looked at a sample under a microscope. It looked nothing like anything that he had ever studied. The cells were irregular and acted strangely, actively separating and multiplying and dying in front of his eyes. They would split into two, then four, and then shrivel up. Some of them lasted longer, but they all moved so fast. It vaguely reminded Donnie of Leo’s hyperactivity. Really, the view under the microscope should’ve told Donnie enough, but he pressed on. He tried putting it into a centrifuge, to see if he could separate the solution into its core components. All it revealed was that the solution was diluted with an injectable medium. The colour it made was odd, and Donnie could’ve sworn that it was glowing. It was also thick, almost syrup-like. Donnie tried more tests, cross-referencing with everything he knew, but all it did was tell him that this was not a normal substance.

Groaning, he glared at the syringe, as if it would give him answers. He had a plan b, he just didn’t want to use it. But with every hour that passed, every test he ran, and every drug he researched, it became more and more clear what he needed to do. Donnie swore under his breath and chugged the rest of his energy drink, setting the empty can on the desk and slamming his fist down on it, crushing it before throwing it haphazardly into the trash. He took a deep breath and stood, grabbing the vial he’d emptied the syringe into. Pocketing the vial, he walked across the lair into the med bay, peering in.

“How’s he doing?” Donnie asked. Mikey was still unconscious, only now he was covered in thick blankets and Raph was lying with him.

“Borderline hypothermic. Any luck?” Leo asked. Donnie could see the bags under Leo’s eyes, and the worry worn into his face, though he knew his twin would never say it out loud.

“I’m following a lead now, I’ll let you know when I know more,” Donnie said. It wasn’t a lie per se, but he figured it was the best way to phrase it for Leo’s sake. Donnie looked at Raph, seeing him curled around Mikey, tail wrapped around their youngest brother. He assumed that was only partially to keep his temperature up. Out of any of them, Raph had been worrying the most. Donnie waved and left quickly. He needed to get his answers fast, he’d already wasted enough time.

Donnie wove his way through the sewers, finding his way to the hotel. He knew of one person, or rather yokai, who would know what this stuff was. Popping out of the sewer nearby, Donnie placed the manhole cover back onto the sewer, stepping around the corner. The streetlights were illuminating the street, the skies dark and foreboding. Donnie pulled his hoodie’s hood over his head, receding back into it as he walked down the sidewalk. It seemed unusually quiet. Jogging up the steps, he pushed his way into the lobby, the extravagance and warm lighting welcoming him in warmly. Anywhere else he would’ve felt reassured by its gaudiness, but he knew better, he knew what lay beyond. Looking around, the lobby was filled with what seemed to be humans, but they all had a brooch or necklace of some kind on, so Donnie wasn’t convinced they were human. Ignoring them all, he walked directly to the elevator, looking at the attendant, a short, stout young man.

“How can I help you today sir?” The stout man asked.

“I’m here to talk to Big Mama.” Donnie said flatly.

“Who are you? The boss doesn’t just see anyone-”

“I’m not in the mood to fight this, just let me in. She knows who I am.” Donnie said, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

“No can do,” The attendant said. Donnie was too tired for this, his patience wearing thin.

“Then I’m going myself,” Donnie said, reaching over him. The short man grabbed his wrist and shoved him back. Donnie balled his fists, groaning. “I don’t want to fight you.”

“Then leave,” The man said cockily.

“Turtley-boo is that you?” The familiar saccharine sweet voice called. Donnie looked up and saw Big Mama, escorted by one masked and hooded figure, and a vaguely familiar-looking man.

“Yeah, we need to talk.” Donnie said flatly.

“Very well, follow me and I’ll see what kind of deal we can strike up,” She replied, a smirk on her face. Donnie followed her into the elevator, sticking his tongue out at the elevator attendant in triumph. They went to one of the sub-floors, down in the Hidden City. They walked through what felt like miles of extravagant hallways until they reached a room. One wall of the room was completely made of glass, looking down on the Battle Nexus arena, the crowd roaring as a battle was waged below. There was a large chair, cushioned and upholstered with royal purple fabric. Big Mama sat down in the chair, gesturing at a gigantic couch. Donnie sat, looking at her.

“Now what can I do for you, my dear?” She asked, her voice still sickly sweet, like honey.

“I need you to tell me what this is.” Donnie said, pulling the vial out. She waved her hand over to him and the cloaked figure walked over, holding their hands out. Donnie nervously put the vial in their hands, watching them carefully as they walked it to Big Mama, handing it to her. She hummed and hawed for a few minutes, staring at it and swirling the liquid around.

“I can run tests and tell you what it is, but what can you do for me?” She asked, handing it back to her cloaked assistant.

“What do you want? I can build something for you.” Donnie said. Under any other circumstance, he’d have qualms about helping Big Mama, but he needed answers and fast. Donnie was willing to sacrifice his morals for his baby brother.

“I want a date with your father.” Big Mama said, crossing her legs and smiling at Donnie. Donnie had to fight back a gag at the thought of the two of them. His dad had always been single, the idea of him in a romantic relationship was… uncomfortable to say the least. But it was fairly easy.

“Let me make a phone call.” Donnie said quickly, standing and pulling his phone out. He walked to a corner of the room, dialling his dad frantically. He picked up on the second ring.

“Yes purple?” Splinter asked hopefully.

“Okay, so I need you to say yes to this. That vial we found, Big Mama can test it. The only thing is she wants a date as payment.” Donnie rambled quickly.

Splinter sighed and Donnie could practically hear the grimace in his voice. “Okay.” Splinter relented. “But only for your brother, okay?” Splinter said.

“Thanks, Dad,” Donnie said. “Love you bye,” He added quickly, hanging up before Splinter could reply. He turned to Big Mama and gave her a thumbs up. She giggled with delight and waved her assistant off. Her assistant disappeared down a set of stairs Donnie hadn’t noticed before, and she invited Donnie back over to sit down once again.

“Now, I have a theory on what it could be. But I don’t want to worry you without proof. The test will take about an hour.” She said kindly. Donnie groaned internally, slumping down on the couch. He wasn’t sure Mikey had that much time. Texting Leo, he updated him and turned his phone back off. Donnie’s stomach growled angrily as he tried to focus on the arena below him. Big Mama tittered and waved her hand once again. A fox-like yokai, standing on her hind legs appeared, setting a plate down on the table, finger sandwiches piled high on it. Donnie looked at it skeptically and then at Big Mama. “Go ahead darling, there’s no catch. I can’t make a child go hungry.” She said sweetly. Donnie shrugged. At this point he didn’t care if it was poison, he hadn’t eaten since the day before. He wanted food.

They spent the hour in the room, Donnie snacking on the sandwiches, Big Mama talking idly as Donnie listened. When the hour was up, the cloaked assistant came up behind Big Mama, handing her a paper and the vial, now half empty. Big Mama read the paper and frowned deeply.

“What is it?” Donnie asked.

“I know what this is.” She sighed. “Why are you looking for what this is darling?” She asked. Donnie wasn’t great at emotions, but her concern seemed genuine.

“Something’s wrong with my brother. We think this is what did it.” Donnie said quietly, fidgeting with his fingers and hoodie sleeves.

“Oh dear.” She tutted. “The composition is about half injectable medium, no effect on anything. The other half is Empyrean.” She explained. “It’s a rare, ancient substance. And incredibly powerful. Draxum used it to create his mutagen. It’s only available to the very wealthy because there’s so little left. But it’s so potent that you can dilute it to a one percent solution and see effects from it.” She explained. “I used it for a little while myself. Shortly after your father left the Battle Nexus, ratings were dipping. So I decided to experiment. We had willing participants test the Empyrean. It enhances physical strength tenfold, and mystic strength even more so. The other property it had was it made the subjects extremely suggestible. They would listen to anything we said, and do anything we asked. I got better ratings and more interest in the Battle Nexus. We ran it for a few weeks, but the participants began complaining of side effects. It causes intense withdrawal, it drops your body temperature, kills your appetite, and they complained of nerve pains.” She finished.

Donnie’s heart sank through the floor.

“The main problem I see here is the concentration. My boys were at less than half this concentration. I’m not sure what effects it will have on your brother at this level.” She said, almost apologetically. Donnie nodded, head hung low.

“I need to go. When do you want that date?” Donnie asked, voice quivering.

“We can figure that out later, go, be with your brother.” Big Mama said. Donnie quietly thanked her, standing up and jogging to the elevator. He hit the main floor button rapidly and dialled Leo as the doors closed, muttering to himself. Leo picked up after what felt like an eternity.

“What’s up, Dee?” Leo asked as he answered.

“I have bad news.” Donnie said, blinking away tears.

Chapter Text

“How’s he doing?” Donnie asked as he walked in. Leo sighed and looked over at Mikey. He hadn’t woken up yet, and he was still shivering. Raph was curled around him, and they had put a heated blanket over him, and his temperature was still much lower than Leo would’ve liked. Leo just shook his head. It was hard to treat someone who couldn’t even tell you what was wrong.

“Okay, so we at least know what Draxum was doing.” Donnie said. Leo shrugged and nodded.

“But why?” Leo asked. “Why would he go through all that, what was his game plan?” Leo sighed. Donnie shrugged.

“I think Mikey is the only one who can answer that for sure.”

“Do you think he’ll even remember anything?” Raph asked, he sounded almost hopeful. Leo couldn’t blame him. Part of him was hoping Mikey wouldn’t remember at least the last part. He could still see it in his head. Mikey, standing there, eyes clear. The small step, trying so hard to break free. Only to be pulled back. They all knew that Mikey would feel guilty about fighting them. Even if he had no control over it. Maybe it would be for the best if he couldn’t remember. Either way, there was no point in speculating. They’d find out one way or another. Leo couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept in his room. Raph had been velcroed to Mikey since they got back and had been trying to keep him warm, but Leo had been hovering nearby the whole time. Donnie on the other hand wasn’t keen on staying in the room. The guilt was etched into his face as he looked at Mikey, but they were twins. There was nothing Donnie could keep from him. He looked tense, hunched over and curling in on himself. Leo could practically feel his anxiety radiating off of him.

“Go, I’ll keep an eye on him.” Leo said. “We’ll let you know if anything changes.”

“Thank you,” Donnie said, turning on his heel and retreating away from the med bay and into the lair.

“You know you can go too? He has enough heated blankets, he’ll be okay.” Leo said, turning to Raph. Raph’s tail curled closer to Mikey and he shook his head.

“I’m okay where I am.” Raph said, tugging Mikey closer to himself. Leo nodded and sat down in the corner, pulling out his phone. There wasn’t much to be done. Not now at least. It was all just waiting for something to change, for Mikey to stop shivering or to start waking up.

Leo had to wait another day and a half for anything to happen. He was lounging in the common room with Donnie, watching him play a game while he took a break and scrubbed the smell of antiseptic out of his skin. He was never gone for long but of course, when he was gone that was when things changed. Leo jumped as he heard a scream. Exchanging a look with Donnie, he jumped up, and sprinted to the medbay, skidding into the room.

“What? What happened?” Leo asked, panic seizing his chest. Raph was sitting up, wide-eyed as he stared at Mikey.

“He moved.” Raph said, not looking away.

“What?”

“He moved Leo!” Raph said, voice cracking. Leo stared at Mikey, standing at the end of the bed and willing him to move. Something. Anything. And then he saw it. His hand twitched, and his face scrunched up.

Mikey opened his eyes and was immediately disoriented. He didn’t know where he was, didn’t know which direction was up. His head was swimming, and everything was freezing but it all burned at the same time. The pain shot up every inch of his skin, lighting his nerve endings on fire, like dynamite wicks. Mikey sat up abruptly, launching himself up, and standing unsteadily on a leg that screamed in pain as he balanced his weight precariously on his feet.

“Stop!” A frantic voice called, and Mikey whipped around, fists balled and ready to swing at whoever the hell it was. He froze as he saw Leo’s face, hand uncurling. “It’s okay, it’s alright,” Leo said. Mikey took a good look around him, seeing Raph in the med bay bed, and the familiar white walls of the med bay. Relief washed over him as his knees gave out, sinking to the ground, sobs choking him. Tears rolled down his face without his permission, crying loudly and messily. Leo crouched beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Immediately it felt like someone was jabbing a fistful of needles into his skin, and he screamed, wrenching his shoulder away from the touch and shaking his head. “Mikey, calm down, it’s okay, talk to me.” Leo said, giving him space.

“Everything-” Mikey gasped for breath, shaking as sobs interrupted him. “Everything hurts,” He cried. Leo looked up, past Mikey.

“Okay, okay, stay here, I’ll be back I promise.” Leo said. Mikey nodded, still crying. Leo disappeared, Raph shifting into Mikey’s view, kneeling down beside him, not touching him. When Leo came back, Donnie was trailing behind him, concern etched into his face. Mikey took in a shuddering breath, trying not to focus on the shooting pain going through his legs, despite how it threatened to consume every ounce of his being. Leo stepped past, rifling through the cupboards frantically, muttering under his breath.

“Breathe Mikey,” Donnie said, kneeling down beside Raph in front of Mikey. “I’m sorry, I know it’s bad, but it will pass.” Donnie promised. “It's a side effect of the withdrawal, it’ll go away eventually.” He tried. Mikey knew Donnie was trying to help, so he listened, nodding and trying to take a deep breath. Leo shoved past the other two, shooing them back so he could work. Holding out a small tub that had no lid, showing the thick white topical medication.

“This can help, but I need to put it on your skin. Will you let me put it on your hands first?” Leo asked. Mikey nodded. The instant the cream hit his skin, Mikey was screaming in pain, feeling like knives were being dragged through every nerve. Leo stopped, and Donnie shimmied past them, disappearing. When he came back, he was holding something. Mikey recognized it as one of his chewy necklaces.

“It’s clean I promise,” Donnie said, holding it out. Mikey was long past that though. Grabbing the necklace charm with his teeth, he nodded at Leo as tears rolled down his cheeks. Leo moved as quickly as he could, and after a minute Mikey’s shoulders sagged in relief. The cream was numbing his hands, and while it wasn’t pleasant per se, it was much better than without it. Leo visibly relaxed when Mikey stopped screaming in pain, and put the tub on the counter. Standing, Leo offered his hand to Mikey, and Mikey understood why he started with his hands. Helping Mikey up, Leo pulled Raph over to keep hold of Mikey’s hands, keeping him steady.

“I’m gonna put some on your legs so you can lay down for a while, okay?” Leo asked. Mikey nodded. While Leo and Donnie moved as quickly as they could, Raph led Mikey in breathing, trying to keep him calm. And after a little while the cream began to numb his legs as well. Leo helped Mikey into bed, laying him down, and watching Mikey wilt into the bed, seemingly relieved. Subtly Leo looked into the container of cream. It was only two-thirds full now, having used so much on Mikey. Even still Leo knew Mikey was in pain regardless of the numbing cream, but there wasn’t nearly enough to get him through this. Leo didn’t know how long this would last, how intense it would be, but he couldn’t bear to see Mikey in that much pain until it was all over. He needed another solution, and fast. Quietly, Leo excused himself from the room, wiping away rogue tears threatening to spill from his eyes. He couldn’t lose it. Not here, not when his brothers were counting on him. Leo didn’t really believe he was cut out for leading, but he was the assigned medic and the closest thing they had to a doctor out of all of them, which meant that Mikey’s recovery was on his shoulders. Leo walked into the bathroom, leaning against the sink. Looking up he saw himself in the mirror. Heavy bags hung from his bloodshot eyes, and he looked gaunt. Taking in a deep, shuddering breath, Leo turned on the water, splashing the cold water on his face he took another breath, trying to keep the bile down.

Opening the medicine cabinet, Leo rifled through the contents. Anti-fungal cream, useless, antibacterial cream, also useless. He went through every medication they had, all of the odds and ends he’d been able to collect or get April to buy and none of them were what he needed. Frankly, even if they had an endless supply of the numbing cream it wouldn’t work. Leo was shocked it had worked the first time. What he needed was something like gabapentin. Something to actually treat the source of the pain. But Leo also knew the only legal means was via a prescription. There was no way they’d be able to take Mikey to a doctor for a prescription. Which meant Raph couldn’t know where the medication was gonna come from. Leo vaguely remembered something about April’s new job. Digging around his bag for his phone, Leo dialled her quickly.

“What’s up?” April asked immediately as she answered.

“Where do you work right now?” Leo asked.

“Johnson’s drug mart, why?”

“Good, okay I need your help with something.” Leo explained. “Can I come over and fill you in?”

“Sure, usual spot?” She asked.

“Please,” Leo replied. They hung up and Leo steadied himself, blinking back tears again. He couldn’t think about how stressful this was or the fact that they had such a long way to go. One step at a time. Slipping out of the washroom, he made his way back to the medbay and peeked in. Donnie was gone, which was no surprise to Leo, and Raph was sitting beside Mikey’s bed, staring at him as if he’d flatline if he looked away. Mikey on the other hand was asleep, taking advantage of the few hours of rest the numbness would allow him. He was still shivering in his sleep, but he had no blankets on. Leo didn’t try to cover him in blankets this time. Looking at Raph, he knocked on the doorway, letting him know he was there. Raph still jumped, looking over.

“Can you keep an eye on him? I’m going out for a little.” Leo said. Immediately Raph looked panicked, and Leo realized that he should probably give him more context. “Relax, I’m just talking with April about getting some better meds for him, I’ll be back in an hour at the latest. Call me if he needs anything.” Leo reassured. Raph only relaxed somewhat, nodding and turning his gaze back to Mikey. Leo turned back to his phone as he walked into the lair, texting Donnie to stay on standby for now. The response was almost immediately, just a thumbs up but that was enough for Leo. Slipping out of the lair and into the sewers, Leo looked for the graffiti. Mikey’s idea had worked well, giving them an idea of where they were in the city based on the graffiti scrawled on the pipes. Leo walked in silence, heading to April’s apartment. When he popped out of the sewer, the sun had set and a distinct chill had settled in the air. Fall. Winter was approaching and fast. Leo scrambled up the fire escape, ignoring the window and going directly to the roof. There on the roof were discarded cardboard cutouts. Weird. Leo passed them by and sat on the edge of the building, his legs dangling over the edge, waiting. A few minutes passed by silently, leaving Leo deep in his thoughts.

“What are these?” April’s voice called from behind him. Leo turned and looked at the cutouts that she was pointing at.

“No clue, they were like that when I got here.” Leo shrugged.

“Weird.” She shrugged, sitting beside Leo and passing him a chocolate muffin. His one weakness, sugar. Leo thanked her and immediately began tearing into it, realizing how hungry he’d been. “Don’t inhale it, you're gonna choke,” April laughed.

“Don’t care,” Leo said, voice muffled by the muffin. She waited until he was done, watching the city below.

“So what’s the update?” She asked.

“Good news or bad news first?” Leo asked, shoving the wrapper in his pocket.

“Uhhhh good news?”

“Mikey’s awake.” Leo sighed.

“You don’t sound like that’s good news.” She observed.

“No not it is, it’s just. It introduced new problems.” Leo explained.

“Like what?”

“Well for one? He has nerve pain. Badly.” Leo sighed. He looked April in the eye. “It’s so bad April. I touched him and he started screaming bloody murder. I have never seen him like that before. It was horrific. I didn’t even know someone could make that noise,” Leo sniffled. “I’m such a bad brother for this, but I almost wish he was still passed out.”

“Hey, hey none of that. You’re not a bad brother Leo.” April reassured, shaking her head. She wrapped an arm around Leo, pulling him closer so his head was resting against hers. “You just want him to not be in pain anymore, right? That’s not bad.” She said.

“I guess,” Leo agreed, eyes going misty. He choked down the tears, trying so hard to not break down in front of her. But without his permission, a sob bubbled up out of his throat. April looked at him with concern, shifting so they had to sit up. Leo frantically wiped at his eyes but the tears just kept coming, they wouldn’t stop. “Sorry,” Leo sobbed, trying to calm himself down.

“Don’t be sorry Leo, it’s okay. It’s okay to cry.” She said. Gently she held his face in her hands, looking at him. “Have you cried at all since Mikey went missing?” She asked sincerely. Leo shook his head no. “Oh Lee,” April sighed. Pulling him into a hug, she cradled his head gently. “You’re allowed to cry,” She said simply. Somehow that’s what did it. The dam broke and Leo sobbed miserably into her shoulder, tears soaking into her shirt, leaving him barely able to breathe. It hurt how hard the sobs were wracking his body, but he couldn’t stop. It was like it had finally overflowed and he couldn’t keep it in anymore.

“I’m so scared April,” he sobbed into her shoulder, holding onto her like she was his only lifeline. “I don’t know what to do, I don’t know how to fix this,” Leo cried. He had always been the one to put them back together. But part of Leo was terrified that this wasn’t temporary. That they’d lost a part of their team for good, that their brother had lost part of himself that couldn’t be repaired. What if it never ended? If Mikey was always in this much pain? Sure Big Mama’s fighters had recovered, but how large had they been? It had been half the dose and they would’ve easily been twice Mikey’s size. Leo was terrified that Draxum had won.

“I know Leo. I am too. But we’ll take it one step at a time. Right?” She asked, her own voice quivering as she settled into her ‘older sister’ voice.

“Right,” Leo replied, still hyperventilating. April pulled back, holding Leo by his shoulders. She silently took in a deep breath, exaggerating the movements, and Leo copied her. She blew out slowly and Leo let go of the breath, taking another deep breath in until his lungs stopped shuddering. “Thank you,” Leo whispered. April nodded, hugging his tightly, Leo relishing in the pressure.

“Of course,” She said, as if it were inevitable, as if there were no world where she wouldn’t comfort him. And she might’ve been right.

There was a comfortable silence that lingered in the air, and they enjoyed it for a moment before Leo spoke once more.

“You still work at that drugstore right?” Leo asked.

“For now, why?” April asked.

“I need to get Mikey some better meds. I need your help.”

“What kind of help do you need?” April asked.

“Listen, you won’t have to do anything illegal. Me and Donnie will handle that part.”

“You say that like it’d deter me. Leo, our baby brother needs help. I’m already in.” She laughed, smiling warmly at him.

“You’re the best y’know that?” Leo snorted. “Alright, so I have a plan. I just need you to stall on your next closing shift, and try and get them to let you set the security system. Donnie will handle the cameras, and I’ll be doing the dirty work 'cause I know what we need.”

“And nobody tells Raph?”

“You’re a quick study.” Leo replied. They nodded at one another, finalizing the plans as April double-checked her schedule for her next closing shift.

Leo lingered longer than he should’ve. Truthfully he was reluctant to go back. But he was needed. So eventually he did begin climbing down the fire escape. The metal creaked and protested underneath his weight, and as he hopped down onto one of the platforms, he saw something in the corner of his eye. His head snapped up and he peered into the window. The room was dark, no lights to be seen. But the streetlights still illuminated parts of the room in a deep blue hue. Leo saw a shadow. It looked so familiar. Hunched over, an odd shape. It was humanoid but not really close enough to call entirely human. Leo squinted, trying to look closer at it, only for it to run away from the window’s view, long hair trailing behind it. Something felt so off about it. Leo could’ve sworn it was familiar. But he couldn’t place where he knew the shape from. Shaking his head dismissively, Leo climbed down the fire escape, offering one last ave at April through her window before he hopped down into the alleyway.

“Alright Don, you ready?” Leo asked looking at his brother. Donnie was focused on the screen on his wrist, tapping on it and doing something Leo didn’t care to understand.

“Just one second, aaaaaaaand I am in, disabling the cameras now.” Donnie said, grinning proudly. Leo grinned and stood from his spot on the roof of the building, grabbing his odachi.

“Time to work my magic. April are you in position?” Leo asked into his phone.

“You got it, they’re leaving now, we have maxium three minutes before they get suspicious though, she gets a notification when the system is armed.” April said.

“Three minutes is more than enough,” Leo proclaimed proudly. As Donnie rolled his eyes, Leo hung up his phone and traced the portal on the ground, hopping through with a salute to Donnie. The portal dropped him onto the floor below, in the store. The shelves were cast in shadows, the lights at the front being the only ones on, the rest of the store was dark. They might not have even needed Donnie, it seemed too dark. But it was better to be safe than sorry. They really could not afford to be seen right now. Leo looked around and spotted April, who was wandering the aisles filled with over-the-counter medication. Unfortunately, nothing he could use. She paused as she saw him and looked around, giving a thumbs up. Leo turned around and found the pharmacy nestled in the back of the store. Shutters blocked the entrance but that was far too easy for Leo. Tracing another portal on the shutters, he hopped through. Immediately he found himself in the dark. He fumbled and grabbed his phone, using the flashlight.

The shelves upon shelves of medication were revealed, each shelf casting long eerie shadows. Looking carefully, Leo tried to decipher the sorting system. There didn’t seem to be much of one. Sighing, Leo tried alphabetically, opening a drawer to see what was inside and going from there. Grabbing a random bottle, he looked at the label. Apixaban. Sighing he rifled through a few more drawers until he found one with a G in it. Glucophage. Closer. Painfully aware of the time, Leo rifled through the drawer, trying desperately to find the medication.

Leo’s phone chimed and he yelped briefly, checking it quickly. It was a text from April. She was warning him that they needed to go. Leo swore under his breath and began searching more frantically, checking the drawer below. Finally, he found it, the bottle. It was labelled ‘Gabapentin’. He pocketed the bottle and prayed that nobody would need it tomorrow. Frantically, Leo opened another portal, jumping before he could get a view of the other side. As a consequence, he dropped four feet down to the roof of the building, on top of Donnie.

“Get off me,” Donnie hissed, shoving Leo off.

“Aw come on, I’m your favourite and you know it.” Leo laughed.

“Did you get it?” Donnie asked.

Leo proudly held up the bottle, grinning. He couldn’t focus on the fact he didn’t know if it would even do anything. He had to stay positive. It had to work. They had no choice.

Chapter Text

Raph had fought his entire life to combat his anger issues, to try and suppress his frustration. Long ago, back when they were all still so small, he remembered that he had accidentally hurt Donnie. The guilt over it had remained his whole life. It had washed over him the minute Donnie started crying out in pain.

Afterwards, he had a long talk with his father. That was the day he learned he was simply too big to play rough with his brothers. That he needed to tame his anger because he was so much stronger than his brothers. Raph remembered crying and apologizing over and over, and their father had remained calm. Reassuring Raph, he explained that Donnie would be okay, that nobody was truly hurt that badly, but that Raph would need to coach his anger.

And so he had. For Raph’s entire life, he’d learned to have more patience, to get frustrated less, and to try and keep a level head even when his brothers made him irate. But not a single coping mechanism seemed to neutralize the acidic hatred and anger that boiled in his stomach, threatening to spill over. Here he sat beside Mikey, who was trying so hard to sleep, but couldn’t seem to stop writhing in pain. And Raph couldn’t do anything about it. He hated this feeling. Hated feeling useless. Hated himself for not stopping this. Raph had known something was up and this still happened. It felt like the past few months there was nothing he could do right, nothing that he could accomplish. It only added to the fire burning at his insides, screaming to lash out. All he wanted was to bite. Someone. Something. Anything. It didn’t matter, he just needed to get the feeling out. But that would require leaving Mikey’s side. Which he was not willing to do. Not yet.

Raph had spent the most time with Mikey, partially because of the guilt that ate away at his conscience. Leo spent a lot of time with Mikey as well, but Donnie wasn’t really seen that often. Raph couldn’t blame him. It was painful watching Mikey struggle to get comfortable, shifting constantly, covered in a sheen of sweat. They had just about run out of the numbing cream and Raph was getting antsy. Leo had assured him a million times that he had it figured out, that he had a plan, but Raph didn’t always have a lot of confidence in Leo’s plans. They had failed just as often as they worked.

Interrupting Raph’s thoughts, Leo burst through the door, large white bottle in hand. He grinned brightly and held up the bottle triumphantly.

“Your saviour is here,” He joked easily, eyes darting to Mikey. He froze in place and looked between the two brothers. “Is he sleeping?” He whispered. Raph shook his head.

“No luck,” He supplied. Leo nodded, looking at Mikey. Their younger brother’s eyes had glazed over and he seemed to be in a daze. Despite the sweat on his forehead, he was shivering vigorously, and shifted, seeming to look past Leo more than at him. Leo fumbled with the bottle, grabbing a cup and filling it with water quickly, shaking out a pair of pills into his hand. Leo gently ushered Mikey to sit up.

“C’mon hermano, you gotta sit up.” He said, voice hushed and gentle. Helping Mikey hold the water cup without shaking too much, he had Mikey take the pills.

“What are those?” Raph asked curiously.

“They’re a seizure medication but they’re used for nerve pain,” Leo explained.

“…how did you get those?” Raph frowned.

“Through completely and totally legal means.” Leo answered, not looking at Raph. Raph hated stealing but if this stuff really worked he would let it slide just this once he supposed. He didn’t bother asking any other questions, knowing he wouldn’t really like the answer he got. Ignorance is bliss. “Should start working in like half an hour,” Leo added, taking the cup away from Mikey and setting it on the counter. Leo looked at Raph, studying him for a moment quietly.

“What?” Raph asked, frowning.

“Go, I can stay,” Leo supplied.

“You sure?”

“Of course I am, you don’t have to be a helicopter parent all the time,” Leo laughed, but Raph could see past it. Nodding, Raph lingered for a moment, looking at Mikey, who still looked miserable. Managing to tear himself away, he stepped through the door and immediately felt the weight dragging him down. It was like someone had dropped a building on his shoulders. Slumping forward, Raph walked aimlessly through the lair. There was something he was looking for specifically, but he couldn’t put it into words. He just knew that he’d know when he saw it. Passing the kitchen, he paused. It wasn’t food. It wasn’t games or skateboarding either. Wandering down to the lower levels, his eyes fell on the training room door. Bingo.

Making a beeline for the training room, he shoved his way into it, eyes locking on a training dummy held up by a wooden stand. Raph’s chest constricted, eyes welling up with tears. It was like something was breaking inside him. Nausea rolled over him as he moved automatically, his body not his own. It was like he was a bystander watching himself as he stepped forward, pulling his arm back. Throwing his whole weight into the punch, he watched the chest of the dummy crack and cave in, breaking the wooden rib cage they’d given it. Without even waiting for the dummy to hit the ground, he lined up another hit, straddling the dummy’s waist and putting every ounce of anger into every hit. Splinters forced their way into his skin, he could feel blood rushing to his knuckles, could see them turning red, could feel them bruising. But there was nothing he could do to stop himself. No matter how much anger he poured into the hits, there was more to replace it. It was endless, an abyss opening in his gut, fuelling every hit like his life depended on it. Tears clouded his vision as they rolled down his cheeks, sobs choking Raph as he tried to get himself together. He’d never felt like this before, and it was terrifying. The rage was all-consuming, eating him alive from the inside out, destroying him.

Raph jumped, jolted back into his body as he felt a hand on his shoulder, whipping around, chest heaving as he breathed heavily. Behind him was Frankenfoot, tilting his head inquisitively.

“Buddy?” It groaned in what Raph had to guess was a concerned tone. Raph opened his mouth to answer and gagged, looking around panicked. Stumbling to get up, he ran for the garbage can, leaning over and spitting a mouth full of bile into the can, gagging and retching uncontrollably. His stomach finally calmed itself after a minute and he leaned back, sitting on his knees, trying to catch his breath. Even still, the anger ate away at him, an endless ocean of rage boiling inside his stomach. Nothing was working, nothing was getting rid of the feeling.

A sob bubbled out of Raph’s throat, and he shook his head, closing his eyes. He felt arms wrap around him, squeezing tightly. Immediately Raph leaned into the touch, sobbing into Frankenfoot’s paper shoulder. Really not the best idea but he couldn’t bring himself to push it away. It gently patted his shell, looking at him.

“Buddy?” It groaned again.

“I’m okay buddy,” Raph choked out, offering a strained smile. “I just… I need a minute.” He sighed. Lingering for another moment, he thought about what he could do. There was only one person he could really go to. Pulling away from Frankenfoot, he stood up, the weight still heavy on his shoulders. Waving weakly, he slipped out of the training room and through the halls, walking slowly down to the lower level.

Raph crept up to the door of his father’s room. As always, it was in a state of disrepair, but what was new was how clean it was. None of the usual clothing or clutter on the floor, no signs of dishes or food left uneaten. And instead of being in bed, Splinter was up. Well, he was sitting in his chair. His eyes were closed, so Raph automatically assumed he was asleep. Shaking his head, Raph turned on his heel, intending to try and figure something else out.

“Red?” Splinter asked, opening one eye, and stopping Raph in his tracks. “What is it?” He asked, his voice warm and welcoming. Raph paused in the doorway, fiddling with his hands, which were now covered in dried blood and were beginning to bruise. Splinter looked at his hands and frowned slightly. Hopping down from his chair, he walked over, gently grabbing Raph’s wrist. Leading him to the bathroom, he closed the lid on the toilet and pointed at it. “Sit.” He said softly. Raph listened, sitting down.

Splinter grabbed a towel and soaked it in cold water, bringing it over. Carefully he grabbed one of Raph’s hands, dabbing the towel over the knuckles. Raph hissed in pain and recoiled slightly, Splinter’s grip on his wrist tightened slightly, and held his hand in place. Looking carefully, Splinter hummed and let go, going back to the medicine cabinet. He grabbed the tweezers and a square of toilet paper.

“Hold still,” he cautioned. Slowly and methodically he pulled the wooden slivers from Raph’s knuckles, shushing him when he winced, and whispering promises that it would be over soon, that he was almost done. Raph couldn’t remember the last time he spent time with his dad alone like this, let alone the last time he felt cared for and looked after. It was blissful, even despite the sharp pain of the tweezers digging into his skin for the last few splinters. Once the wood was pulled from his knuckles, Splinter grabbed the towel again, gently dabbing away the blood, uncovering the bruised and raw knuckles below. Stepping away, he rummaged in the medicine cabinet before procuring a brown bottle. Raph instinctively tensed up, knowing exactly what was coming. Pouring the liquid from the bottle onto a cotton pad from under the sink, Splinter looked at Raph, waiting for him to decide when he was ready.

“I’m sure it’s fine,” Raph tried.

“Red…” Splinter chastised, looking down his nose at Raph. With a deep sigh, Raph nodded. Splinter gently dabbed at the wounds, and immediately there was a burning sensation that had Raph hissing wildly in pain, trying as hard as he could to not pull his hands back away from the sensation. “I’m almost done, I promise,” Splinter reassured, making one last swipe over the tender flesh. “Are you ready to talk about it?” He asked.

Raph nodded. “I think so,” He answered, honestly unsure himself.

“Then I’m ready to listen.” Splinter said, walking back to the sink. He opened the cupboards and rummaged around for the first aid kit, grabbing it and grabbing the gauze from the kit.

“I think something’s wrong with me Dad,” Raph began, voice cracking.

“How so?”

“I’ve tried so hard for so long to keep my anger under control. And I was doing so good. But now, since Mikey’s been home, it’s all I can feel.” Raph explained. “I’ve tried everything to fix it, I’ve tried every coping skill, every suggestion. It just… doesn’t work. There’s just more anger to replace it. I feel like it’s eating me alive,” Raph whispered, tears welling up in his eyes.

Splinter stayed silent for a moment, wrapping Raph’s hand in the gauze carefully. He wove it around each finger, making sure he could still flex his hands. Taking several silent minutes, he paid attention to each hand, making sure they were even.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he spoke. “Have you let yourself feel it yet?” Splinter asked.

“What?”

“My son, you have every reason to be angry. I’m just as angry as you are. Your family was hurt and taken advantage of. But you’ve spent every waking minute with your brother. You’re a wonderful older sibling Raphael, but it’s time to take care of you.” Splinter said softly. “Michelangelo is stronger than you give him credit for. You can step away to take care of yourself, my son. Let yourself feel the emotions. Stop forcing them down out of sight for your brother’s sake.”

Somehow those words seemed to break the dam holding everything back. In an instant, sobs began wracking his body, violently tearing through him as tears rolled down his cheeks, clouding his vision. Finally, he felt like he had permission to break, to be weak. The anger in his gut was no longer violent, no longer corrosive. It rolled over him, and he fell into his father’s arms again, as he used to when he was small enough to fit in Splinter’s arms, sobbing into his shoulder, staining his robes with tears.

“I should’ve stopped it, I should’ve done something-“ Raph sobbed miserably, Splinter’s robe clutched tightly in his fist.

“This is not your fault my son.” Splinter said, grabbing Raph’s face with his hands and looking him in the eyes. “You are not to blame. This is Draxum’s fault alone.” He whispered. Gently he pulled Raph closer, cradling his head carefully. “You did your best, that’s all we can ever ask.”

Raph didn’t know how long he cried for, it felt like an eternity, the tears just kept flowing, his head pounding and his breath uneven. It hurt, but when his eyes finally dried, he felt lighter. The difference was immediate, and it was a relief. He felt like he’d been carrying that with him forever, and now he was finally back to a place where it didn’t feel overwhelming. Splinter held Raph’s head in his hands, smiling at him.

“Better?” He asked.

“Better.” Raph nodded.

“Now, I think we could all use something to eat, don’t you think?” Splinter asked. Raph nodded again, sitting up. The pair of them stood up, and hand-in-hand they walked through the lair to the kitchen, opening the door. Raph took a seat at the island and watched Splinter, grab a step ladder, and drag it to the stove, preparing pots and pans and grabbing the bag of rice. He washed it off and measured the water in the pot, placing it on the stove carefully.

It was weird sitting in the kitchen, the smell of food wafting from the stove, but Mikey was nowhere to be seen. In the time Mikey had been gone, Raph hadn’t really seen anyone but himself spend much time in the kitchen. They subsisted almost entirely on cereal, sandwiches and pizza. But Splinter standing at the stove, humming quietly as he cooked was a welcome sight nonetheless. Raph didn’t know if any of his brothers remembered seeing their dad cook much, But Raph did, back when his siblings were much younger. The image of Splinter standing at the stove, cooking while Mikey clung to his back and watched intently was one of his fondest memories to look back on. Splinter busied himself, shoving around the stool he was using to reach everything, grabbing what he could.

“Can you get five bowls down for me?” He asked, looking at Raph. Raph nodded, hopping up from his place seated at the island and grabbing the bowls, setting them down side by side on the counter. Splinter grabbed the pot and began pouring the okayu into the bowls, setting spoons inside the bowls. Scuttling around the kitchen, he gathered a few things. In two of the bowls, he added chili oil, and scallions to all the bowls except one. He also added dried shrimp to three of the bowls and sesame oil to all five bowls. He handed Raph one of the two with chili oil.

“This one is yours, I will bring Donatello his-“ he said, picking up the almost plain bowl of okayu. “Can you bring Michelangelo and Leonardo theirs?” He asked.

“I will, thanks Dad,” Raph said, giving his father a quick one-armed hug.

“Of course son,” Splinter replied, smiling warmly at Raph. Holding two bowls, Splinter walked out of the kitchen, leaving Raph on his own. Raph grabbed the bowls, delicately balancing all three in his arms as he awkwardly walked from the kitchen to the infirmary room. Scaling the stairs in the lair, and winding through the labyrinth-like structure, he finally made it to the room. The door was closed and Raph sighed heavily. Instead of putting the bowls down like he should’ve, he instead gently knocked his head against the door. There were a few moments of silence, where Raph was really beginning to regret his chosen method of knocking, but before he could try again, the door opened, Leo looking at him through the door. Taking a second to process, Leo got out of the way, letting Raph into the room.

Carefully, Raph set the bowls down, handing one to Leo, and one to Mikey before grabbing his own and sitting, beginning to shovel the food into his mouth. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was, it was refreshing to eat something warm and comforting.

“Did you make this?” Leo asked through a bite of the okayu.

“No, Dad did.” Raph answered, mouth full and muffling his words. Confusion and surprise crossed Leo’s face, and Raph couldn’t blame him. It felt like forever since their dad cooked them dinner instead of Mikey.

“It’s really good,” Leo replied. Raph nodded, watching Leo’s eyes flick towards Mikey, following his gaze. Laying in bed, their youngest brother was struggling. Scooping up some of the rice porridge he tried to bring it to his mouth but his hand was shaking badly. All the food slid out of the spoon before it even made it to his mouth. Mikey sighed, face scrunching up in frustration. Leo and Raph exchanged a worried look, and Leo set his food down on the countertop beside him, rolling his stool over to Mikey’s bedside. Leo wrapped his hand around Mikey’s, steadying the shaking and helping him eat. Mikey looked humiliated and angry, and Raph couldn’t help but feel just as angry. Even something as simple as eating was such a chore for Mikey.

Raph was tired of watching Draxum tear his brothers down, ruin his family, and humiliate and destroy Mikey because he could. Someone had to stop him. And Raph was more than happy to be the one to do that.

He really wanted to say that it was a moral battle, and that he had a hard time wrestling with the idea. But truthfully it wasn’t. Raph was fine with the violence he had planned, was fine with the idea of destroying Draxum the way he’d destroyed Mikey. It was an eye for an eye, and Raph didn’t care if the world went blind.

Chapter Text

Leo grimaced, watching as Mikey doubled over, retching into a bowl that sat in his lap. They had made the mistake of giving Mikey food, and he was not keeping it down. But the food had been a full day before. This was much more worrisome to Leo. They’d tried to keep him to liquids. Raph had made him a smoothie, that wouldn’t stay down, Leo tried juice, which came up immediately. It had been hours of trying to get fluids into Mikey, and everything came back up. Leo was getting desperate. He had a solution, he had the supplies. But he really didn’t want to have to use it. Mikey was worked up enough from hours of throwing up, he really didn’t need to get him more worked up. Leo sighed as Mikey looked up, eyes bloodshot and red, face scrunched up in pain. Grabbing the cup of water, he held it up to Mikey’s mouth carefully.

“Rinse,” He said quietly. Mikey opened his mouth, letting Leo pour the water into his mouth. Swishing it around, he spit the water back into the bowl, letting Leo take the bowl and the cup away. Leo could see the exhaustion wearing on him, he had been up all night after eating. It was taking its toll. His eyes had deep circles under them, and on the skin were little pinpoints of red, burst blood vessels under the skin from the force of throwing everything up, and there wasn’t much Leo could do to make it stop. Leo could also tell the dehydration was getting to him. Mikey was fatigued, he’d had a headache, though Leo was able to give him some painkillers for that, and he’d complained of dizziness. It was heading somewhere bad and Leo knew what he needed to do, he just didn’t like that he had to.

But he still wanted to wait. Loe waited hours, sitting beside Mikey’s bed, keeping him company and keeping an eye on him to make sure nothing happened. Every little while he would give Mikey water, and Mikey would slowly, carefully sip on it. It was progress, but Leo still wasn’t sure. Raph was in and out of the room and brought Leo lunch at one point. Despite encouragement, Mikey wasn’t sleeping, and wasn’t drinking nearly enough. After hours, Leo had to concede. There was no other way out of this. Sighing, Leo stood up, walking to the cabinets. He rummaged through the supplies, pulling out the IV kit they had, trying not to let Mikey see yet. Though he wasn’t sure Mikey was paying attention anymore. The small amount of success they’d had with small amounts of water was good, it meant he could take his medication at the very least. But it wasn’t fast enough progress. Which meant Leo had to pull out a new method to keep him hydrated. Leo steeled himself, holding the packaged, sterile needle in his hand. The reaction was immediate. Mikey stared at the needle, physically shaking and shook his head frantically.

“No,” He said, voice cracking. It was the first thing he’d said in what felt like forever, and normally Leo would’ve given him whatever he wanted to hear his voice. But neither of them had a choice in this case. He couldn’t give in this time, not when Mikey was showing signs of serious dehydration already.

“I’m sorry Mikey, we have to.” Leo said, sitting beside the bed. Mikey practically flew to the other side of the bed, pulling his arms in towards his chest.

“No.” Mikey said more firmly, shaking his head.

“Please Mike, I have no choice. I promise I’ll be fast,” Leo tried. That just seemed to make Mikey more upset. Tears were streaming down his face, and he seemed to be holding back sobs, trembling as he tried to get as far from Leo as he could. Raph, who had been silently observing, reached out to Mikey, gently grabbing his shoulder. Immediately Mikey screamed, shaking his head and pulling himself into his shell. Sobs poured from the shell’s opening, and Leo and Raph exchanged a look.

“Do we have to? Can’t we just keep giving him small bits of water?” Raph asked, voice pained.

“I wish. He’s thrown up so much and lost a lot of fluid. He’s only going to get worse if we keep doing what we’re doing, that amount of water isn’t enough.” Leo explained.

Raph sighed and leaned down, looking into Mikey’s shell. Leo didn’t have even the mildest clue what he could do, so he kept setting up. He grabbed a bag of saline, hanging it on the IV stand they had gotten out of the garbage. He strung the tube down the pole, through the motor that controlled the flow, trying not to think too hard about what he was doing to his brother. Going back to the cupboards, he rummaged around, finding a syringe, and filling it with the saline solution he kept stocked, swearing silently when he spilled a bit on the counter in the process. Sometimes Leo really hated being the only one who knew how to handle medical problems, but one of them had to learn, and nobody else had any interest in it. So Leo handled it. Even when it made him miserable. Raph, while Leo was working, had begun talking Mikey out of his shell, coaxing him out. Leo noticed a distinct lack of explanation for what was happening. But it was working so he kept quiet. Mikey had begun to poke his head out of his shell, looking at Raph apprehensively, his arms and legs popping out. Leo and Raph exchanged a look and Leo gently grabbed Mikey’s arm.

Immediately he was met with a screech like Mikey was being branded with a red hot iron. Mikey jerked his arm out of Leo’s hand, shaking his head and rocking, sobs choked out of his throat.

“I promise Mikey, it’ll be over before you know it. I’ll be quick,” Leo promised.

“No!” Mikey yelled, scooting over to the farthest point away from him that he could while on the bed. Leo sighed and took a step back, trying to think of what he could possibly say to make this better. Mikey was looking down, refusing to look at either of them, shaking as he sat still, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else.

Something caught Leo’s eye, and he turned, seeing Donnie standing in the doorway. He was staring at Mikey, and briefly glanced at Leo, eyes falling on the needle in his hands. Looking back at Mikey, he walked over slowly.

“Raph? Can you go get his shark?” Donnie asked. Raph nodded, quickly standing, tripping and righting himself in his rush out of the room past Donnie. Quietly, Donnie walked over to the edge of the bed. Reaching out he hovered his hand where Mikey could see it. Slowly, their youngest brother looked up, eyes full of tears as he looked at Donnie. They shared a silent glance, waiting a moment before Mikey nodded. Shifting over, closer to Leo, Mikey looked down, hands clenched closed nervously. Donnie silently climbed into the bed, sitting beside Mikey and gently pulling him close. Mikey rested his head against Donnie’s plastron, clinging to him tightly. Raph opened the door again, this time holding Mikey’s large stuffed shark, walking over in a hurried gait. Raph held the shark out and Mikey grabbed it eagerly, hugging it to his chest tightly, wrapping himself around it.

“It’s okay, it’s different this time,” Donnie whispered, hugging Mikey. “It’s not like last time. Draxum is gone, you’re safe.”

Leo held his hand out to Mikey.

“It’ll be over before you know it, and you’ll feel a lot better.” Leo promised. Mikey took in a deep, shaky breath and nodded, holding his arm out to Leo. Leo could feel him shaking and see tears streaming down his cheeks. Leo reached over and grabbed a rubber tourniquet, setting the needle down in the pouch at his waist. He felt around, persistently poking at Mikey’s arm. This was what he was worried about, none of the veins stuck out because Mikey was dehydrated. Leo got lower and lower, and he finally found a good stretch. But it was on the back of Mikey’s hand. Leo breathed out slowly.

“Okay, I have a vein, but it’s here,” Leo said, gently tapping at the vein and feeling the light spring back. Mikey stared, his breathing growing faster and faster. “It’s okay, it’ll just hurt for a minute. Then it won’t be so bad.” Mikey squirmed, pressing his face into Donnie’s shoulder before nodding. Leo tried to move quickly from there, cleaning the site and grabbing the needle.

“Okay, I'm gonna insert the needle into your hand here, I need a deep breath in,” Leo said, hovering the butterfly needle over the vein. He waited, listening to Mikey take a shaky breath in. “And out,” Leo said, as Mikey exhaled, Leo pressed the needle into the vein quickly, sliding the IV into the blood vessel. Taking the needle out, he taped the line to the skin so it would stay in place, he quickly rushed and grabbed the syringe of saline, plugging it into the IV and flushing the blood out of the line. Hooking up the line to the bag of fluids hanging off the IV stand, he turned to the screen. It was only at that point he heard Mikey sobbing into Donnie’s shoulder, free hand gripping the stuffed shark as hard as he could, his knuckles pale from the force. Leo set the fluids to go in over an hour, fast enough to stave off a lot of the dehydration symptoms.

Donnie was shushing Mikey in a soft, soothing voice, holding him securely, rocking back and forth slightly.

“It’s okay, you’re safe now,” he murmured. Leo knew his twin well enough to know he wouldn’t have done this of his own accord. Normally he left this sorta thing to Raph and Leo. But Leo also knew that Donnie would do anything for his brothers, and if Mikey needed his brothers, needed someone to hold him and tell him he was safe, he would do it. Leo felt awful about having to do this to Mikey, but they had no choice and he was the only one of them familiar with how an IV worked. Donnie looked up at Leo and Raph, pulling Mikey in closer. “I've got him.” He said simply. Leo took the cue and nodded, pulling Raph out of the room with him. “Can you turn the light off?” Donnie called. Leo paused, flicking the light off and watching them for another moment before stepping out.

Leo and Raph walked to the common room in silence, Leo flopping onto the couch with a heavy sigh, Raph settling in the beanbags on the floor. Leo turned his head to look at Raph, and Raph looked back at him.

“We have to find him.” Leo said, looking at the ceiling. Tears burned at his eyes, blurring his vision as he tried to blink them back. “He has to pay. We have to make sure this never happens to anyone again.” He added, ignoring the way his voice shook.

“You can say that again.” Raph sighed.

Leo tried his best to occupy himself by scrolling on his phone aimlessly, trying to distract himself. But guilt weighed heavily on his shoulders. Telling himself he had no choice wasn't getting rid of the feeling. He was better than Draxum, he knew that, but right now it didn't feel like it. The last thing Mikey needed was more needles, and an IV wasn't exactly pleasant in the first place, let alone when you're panicking that much. Leo didn't know how long it would take Mikey to recover from even just the mental part. That was Mikey's territory, Leo wasn't able to help with that. And it killed him. Healing physically wasn't the only aspect.

A noise at the door of the common room snapped Leo out of his thoughts, and he looked up, seeing Donnie walk into the common room, exhaustion visibly pressing down on his shoulders.

“He’s asleep.” Donnie filled in, flipping onto the couch beside Leo.

“He’ll be out for a while then.” Leo sighed.

“We should try and track Draxum down.” Raph said. Donnie nodded, leaning his head back against the couch.

“How?” Leo asked.

“Well, I could track where Mikey’s phone was while he was missing. See where he spent most of his time.” Donnie suggested.

“Good plan,” Raph said, hopping up from his spot. Donnie seemed reluctant to get up and get going quickly, but after a moment, he dragged himself up, Leo and Raph following him from the common room. They tiptoed past the med bay and made it into Donnie’s lab. Heaving himself into his chair, Donnie grabbed Mikey’s phone, which was sitting beside his computer, face down. Plugging it into the computer he brought up a program. One of the three screens lit up with a map, showing the city with holographic rectangles of buildings and the sewer system below. Donnie fiddled around, opening menus that Leo had not even the slightest idea of their function. He typed in the date and found the three trackers in the sewers as Leo assumed. But the other was several blocks away, a little orange dot. Donnie zoomed in and hummed in confusion.

“That can’t be right.” Donnie muttered.

“What?” Leo asked, leaning over his shoulder. Donnie waved him off and frowned.

“It’s April’s apartment building. Must be a fluke, lemme just…” he trailed off as he re-entered the date a day later. The dot didn’t move. Another date and the dot was on the roof. Another and it was back in the building.

“No, that's definitely the spot.” Donnie murmured. Leo paused, brows knitting into a frown as he thought. Originally he hadn’t given it much thought but…

“Can you tell what floor?” Leo asked.

“Looks like the fourth or fifth floor. Why?” Donnie asked.

“I need to check something.” Leo said abruptly.

“Leo wait-” Raph started.

“I’ll be back in a bit, just don’t wake Mikey, the IV will be fine,” Leo said, not giving Raph a chance to speak as he rushed out of the lab. Not looking back, Leo rushed through the lair, slipping out into the sewers. Following the graffiti, he practically ran to April’s apartment, rushing to get there. He hadn't given it much thought, and he was cursing himself out for not investigating when he was talking with April, of course there was a reason he was suspicious of the window. But now he needed to rush. Draxum could’ve left already, and Leo wanted to get there as soon as was physically possible to make sure he was still there. Skidding to a stop in the sewer, he caught his breath, trying to level it out so he wouldn’t be caught. Taking in a deep breath, he clamoured up the ladder, pushing the sewer cover out of the way, and pulling himself up. Immediately, he was greeted by the cool crisp air, and a black sky. The street light cast a yellow light on everything as Leo oriented himself and looked around. Leo stared at the rusted fire escape. There was no way he was gonna be able to get up there stealthily with the fire escape being that old and busted. With a heavy sigh, Leo looked around, trying to find a better way up. The building beside April’s was a bit shorter, not enough to put him level with the window, but good enough. Leo reached for his odachi, only to find that in his hurry he had completely forgotten to bring it with him. Swearing under his breath, Leo sighed and started heading around the building. Peering around the corner, he waited for a lull in the traffic, slipping around the streetlights. He froze as a car began turning his way, panic taking over. His body moved before his brain even processed it, diving for the edge of the building and rolling out of sight. Breathing heavily, Leo stood, dusting himself off and finding the fire escape. It looked even more old and rickety than the one on April’s building.

By some miracle, however, it did hold his weight, despite the screeches of protest. Leo moved quickly so nobody would look out their window and see him. Scaling the stairs, he reached the top and jumped, grabbing the edge of the building and pulling himself up over the edge of the roof. Ignoring the way his knee scraped over the concrete, he walked to the other edge of the building, realizing he probably should’ve at least brought Donnie. Whatever, his eyes worked… mostly. Leo stared, finding the right window, counting four windows up, and watched carefully. The light was on but Leo couldn’t see much of anything just yet.

Honestly, Leo didn’t realize how impatient he was until that moment. Seconds passed by like hours and Leo found himself fidgeting impatiently as he sat on the edge of the roof, trying to keep focused. He had no idea how long it had been when he saw movement finally. Leo leaned forward, staring intently at the window, waiting. Finally, he saw a figure walk into view. First was a deep blue robe, then Leo finally saw it. Draxum, approaching the window. Draxum looked side to side frantically, and Leo silently shifted, laying against the roof of the building, flattening himself against it so he wouldn’t notice his silhouette. Draxum leaned out of the window, scanning the surroundings and missing Leo entirely, shutting his blinds hastily when he leaned back. Leo wasted no time, scrambling up to get back to the lair. He practically jumped from the second level of the fire escape to the ground, and once he caught himself, he made a run for the closest manhole he saw, shoving the cover aside and slipping into the sewers. Not bothering to catch his breath, he ran for the lair, winding through the sewers blindly, relying on muscle memory. Seeing Draxum had sparked something in him, and he couldn’t shake the restlessness, the iron grip on his chest. Stumbling into the lair and tripping over his feet, he fell haphazardly onto the ground on his back and he was immediately met with Raph, standing over him.

“Leo! You okay?” he asked, offering his hand.

“I found him,” Leo wheezed, staring up at Raph.

Chapter Text

“Okay, look away, I’m gonna take it out.” Leo said, holding onto the IV port. Mikey nodded, looking at the ceiling, his other hand clinging to Raph’s tightly. Leo took the medical tape off his skin, holding the port down. Then he waited for Mikey to breathe out, sliding the IV out and holding pressure with a cotton ball immediately. “Hold onto the cotton ball,” he said. Mikey slipped his hand out of Raph’s, pressing down onto the cotton ball. “Good, keep pressure on that.” Leo said, stepping away. He trashed the tape and got rid of the IV line in their makeshift biohazard bin. Grabbing the roll of medical tape, he tore a piece off, stepping over and carefully taping the cotton ball down onto his skin. “You’re all good,” Leo said, smiling. Mikey let go. He wouldn’t look at Leo, wouldn’t look up at all.

Leo’s gut told him something was up. Something important that Mikey wasn’t saying. Pulling his phone out, he saw the time. They’d agreed to meet with April, and it was soon. Leo covertly texted Raph, asking him to go look out for April. Raph’s phone buzzed loudly and he looked at it, walking out of the room when he read it.

“Gotta go help dad,” Raph lied. Leo took advantage, sitting on the edge of Mikey’s bed by his feet, looking at him.

“What’s going on?” Leo asked.

“I don’t know what you mean.” Mikey lied, shrugging.

“You know exactly what I mean. You can tell me hermano, what’s going on in that head of yours?” Leo asked, nudging Mikey with his foot. “You been watching more ghost videos? Hm?” He probed, smiling. A smile cracked on Mikey’s face for a moment, and he shook his head.

“I don’t… I just…” Mikey said, looking at his hands as they fiddled anxiously. “You promise you won’t judge me if I tell you?”

“On Donnie’s life,” Leo promised.

“I know I should be mad. I want to be mad, that would make it easier. But I can’t Leo. I can’t be mad at him.”

“Why not?” Leo asked, trying not to react visibly. It didn’t make sense to him, there was no world where he could fathom Mikey liking Draxum.

“It wasn’t always bad. For so long it was nice. He was nice. We spent all day together, and he paid attention to me. I feel awful saying it, I feel awful thinking it. But Dad never spent that kind of time with us. Not that I can remember. For the first time, I had someone’s undivided attention. We had movie nights. I didn’t have to fight over what movie to watch, I just showed him my favourite Jupiter Jim movies. We ate my favourite snacks, and we cooked together.” Mikey sobbed, shaking his head. “I’m an awful son.” He said miserably. It all sort of clicked together for Leo. He hadn’t thought of why Mikey would’ve stayed so long even when it seemed so obvious that something was wrong.

“Hey, don’t say that,” Leo said, shifting until he was sitting side by side with Mikey. “You’re not a bad son. You weren’t really that old when Dad sorta surrendered a lot of responsibility to Raph.”

“I know he tries, I know he’s doing his best… it’s just…”

“Draxum gave what he wasn’t giving.” Leo finished.

“Yeah.” Mikey whispered. Leo wrapped an arm around Mikey, pulling him close. “I love our family. But it was so nice to have somewhere to go. I just can’t bring myself to hate him after that. I don’t want him to get hurt, I don’t want revenge.”

Leo paused at that. Mikey looked at Leo, and Leo could feel his eyes boring into him. There was no way he didn’t know. They had never said a word of it to Mikey, but then again Mikey always had a talent for reading them like books. It was eerie. Leo chose to stay silent, leaning against Mikey.

“You’re gonna do it anyways aren’t you?” Mikey asked, though his voice didn’t seem as angry as Leo expected it to.

“Every time I look at you and everything that’s happened, every time I have to give you medication to function and not be in pain, I get angrier.” Leo confessed. “He hurt my baby brother. I want him to regret what he did.” Leo sighed. Mikey nodded.

“Don’t let them get out of hand please?” Mikey asked.

“I promise, we won’t let it go too far.” Leo agreed, though he was positive their ideas of ‘out of hand’ were vastly different from one another’s. Leo stayed there for a bit, rocking side to side as he held onto Mikey. It had been so long since he’d had time to spend with Mikey. It was nice. Leo’s phone buzzed impatiently, and Leo looked at it, seeing the text from Donnie in their not-so-secret groupchat. With a heavy sigh, Leo pried himself away from Mikey, standing up. “Get some rest, doctor’s orders. Got it?” Leo said. Mikey rolled his eyes, smiling and nodding, reaching for his stuffed shark plushie and sinking lower into the bed. Leo slipped out of the room, and walked his way to the common room, finding Raph and Donnie already there, Donnie curled up in a beanbag, Raph sitting on the couch, Leo’s sword beside the couch and Raph fiddling with his tonfas. Leo sat in the recliner, hanging his legs over the armrest and sinking down into the cushion.

“Hey, I got Donnie’s text? What’s going on? Did something happen?” April asked, ducking into the lair. Raph motioned for her to come over, and she flopped onto the couch beside Raph, leaning against his arm.

“We need a favour.” Donnie said, cutting to the chase.

“Sure, what do you need?” April asked, leaning forward.

“Well, we’re planning to go after Draxum. We need you to stay here and keep Mikey home.” Raph explained.

“What? No, I want in, I have to come with you guys!” April protested.

“Please April, we just need like an hour-” Leo began.

“No! He’s my brother too! I want to help!” April said, shaking her head. “Listen I know I haven’t been around cause of school, but he’s my baby brother, I want to kill Draxum just as badly as you guys do!” She explained.

“April please,” Donnie said, standing up. “We need someone to stay with him.”

“We want you there with us too,” Raph chimed in. “But Mikey is stubborn. We need someone to stay with him or he’s gonna follow us. Dad can’t do it, Mikey knows how to get past him, Sunita can’t do it, she’ll cave in to him. It has to be you,” Raph pleaded.

April still seemed on the fence, however. “You guys promise you’ll be careful?” She asked, gently grabbing Raph’s face and staring at him. “I am not gonna let him hurt another one of you, got it?” She said, voice cracking.

“We promise.” Leo said, nodding. “We’ll text you if we need help, okay?”

“If you’re longer than an hour, I’m looking for you guys.” April added.

“We wouldn’t expect any less,” Donnie said, smiling. April popped up and quickly hugged Donnie, grabbing Raph’s hand and pulling him into the hug, Leo walking over and joining on his own.

“We’ll see you in an hour,” Leo said as they broke away from the hug. April nodded, lingering and watching them duck out of the lair, weapons at the ready.

The journey through the sewers was fast, they were all in a rush and all knew where to go based on muscle memory alone. They hadn’t told April where Draxum was operating out of. She didn’t need to know, not yet. Maybe not ever. Raph led the group, climbing up the ladder and shoving the manhole cover aside before popping into the alleyway, followed closely by Leo and then Donnie. Raph replaced the cover out of habit, while Leo climbed the rickety and rusted fire escape, only pausing when he was on the right floor, directly in front of the bedroom window.

Leo didn’t even bother with a portal, instead, he let Donnie approach the window. Spikes stuck out of the bottom of his tech-bo, and he jabbed the window, a web of cracks lacing up the glass. Raph moved to approach the window, but Leo beat him to it, elbowing the weak glass, the shards crumbling to the bedroom floor with a loud shattering noise. Leo opened a portal just out of view, motioning for Donnie and Raph to wait, similarly out of view. Reaching into the room, he pulled the window up, lounging on the windowsill, waiting. Footsteps rapidly approached and Draxum walked into the room, eyes widening when he saw Leo. His face quickly returned to neutral, but Leo had already seen the fear in his eyes.

Motioning for Donnie and Raph to go through the portal, Leo turned, swinging his legs into the apartment, feet hovering over the broken glass. “Hey buddy, figured it was time to make a house call.” Leo said, staring at Draxum, face void of expression. Draxum turned to get out of the room, only for Donnie and Raph to step up, herding him into the room.

“How’d you find me?” Draxum asked in disbelief, head flicking between Leo and the other two rapidly.

“Doesn’t matter. All that matters is we did find you. We’re gonna take a walk, how’s that sound?” Leo asked, leaning back and rolling somewhat gracefully out of the window and onto the fire escape, leaving the window open for Draxum to follow. Leo felt something wrap around his ankle, and without looking, he cut the vine and heard a dull thud followed by a groan of pain. Peering into the window, he saw Draxum doubled over, Donnie holding his bo staff at the ready. Leo had never been so proud of his twin. Raph shoved Draxum forward onto the glass.

“Get out.” He said gruffly, tonfa’s digging into Draxum’s spine. Draxum hastily climbed out of the window, immediately attempting to flee past Leo, a large vine erupting from the concrete below. Leo grabbed him by the collar roughly, dragging him back and holding his odachi to his throat.

“I wouldn’t try it.” Leo said coldly. Draxum froze, and before Leo could react, another vine erupted from the ground and barrelled into him, throwing him from the fire escape, sword knocked from his hand. Raph dove over the side of the fire escape immediately, red light encasing him as he hurtled past Leo, landing on the concrete and holding his hands out to catch Leo, cradling him in his massive projected hands. Leo rubbed his head and sighed, looking at Raph. “You’re two for two now,” He laughed. Raph cracked a smile.

“Guys! A little help?” Donnie called from the now very broken and warped fire escape. Looking up, Raph’s mystic energy dissipated, dropping Leo onto the ground on his feet. Above, Donnie was frantically trying to keep Draxum busy, but the vines kept growing out of one another, tripping him and making him stumble. Draxum took advantage of it and slid down one of the vines, redirecting it to make his escape. Leo swore under his breath, watching Raph take off running after him. Donnie followed suit, his shell opening and turning into a hoverpack that quickly sped after them. Leo frantically scrabbled for his sword, tripping over his feet as he scrambled to follow. Cutting a portal open, he dove through it, finding himself caught up with his brothers, a few hundred feet from Draxum who was utterly destroying the roads, vines tearing up the concrete as he made a desperate beeline away.

“Don! Where’s he heading? Any nearby exits or safe places?” Leo yelled. Donnie looked at the screen on his wrist, frantically pulling up a smaller version of the map they’d used to find Draxum, only this time there were several gateways highlighted in yellow. Donnie focused in on a smaller portion, following the path Draxum was taking before he looked up again.

“He’s going for Central Park! There’s a gateway to the Hidden City there!” Donnie called.

“I’m heading for the park then, make sure that’s where he goes!” Leo shouted, cutting another portal, and diving headfirst through it. When he was spit out on the other side, he was in Central Park. Looking around he got his bearings, trying to find the entrance to the Hidden City. it was a little difficult without Donnie, but Leo just kept his eyes open. He was near a small pond, hidden behind a patch of bushes. Looking around, something caught his eye. An old woman, hunched over, pulling her coat around her shoulders was looking both ways, checking for anyone seeing her. Leo ducked behind the bush, staring intently through the brush. She turned to the rock in front of her, and a glow began emitting from the craggy face of the boulder before she stepped in. Bingo. Leo made a run for it, skidding to a stop in front of the rock just as he heard a commotion. The stragglers left in the park all began yelling and running. Leo had a good idea of why when he saw a large, thick vine erupt from the grass, followed shortly by Draxum, glancing behind himself. Leo steeled himself, guarding the rock as Draxum blindly made his way towards him and the rock. Behind him was a winded-looking Raph, and Donnie, madly trying to dodge the massive vines shooting towards him. Unable to keep where he was, Leo made a run for them, sliding under a vine and cutting a portal into the air. Sliding through it, he popped out in front of Draxum, swinging at him as he fell. Draxum yelped and held out his arm to protect his face, the blade dragging through his flesh easily. A vine came for Leo’s head, and he cut another portal in front of himself, the vine disappearing into it until another portal popped out in front of Draxum, the vine hitting him in the head and knocking him back.

Donnie took the opening, and with more strength than Leo knew Donnie had, he was rapid fire slamming his staff into Draxum, using the momentum as it spun to land even harder hits. Anger was etched into his face like stone, and he jabbed the staff into Draxum’s chest, knocking him off the vine. Below Raph was waiting, like a shark who smelled blood. The minute Draxum was on the ground, Raph was on him, slamming his fist, reinforced by the tonfa, into his nose. Switching his grip and flipping the long side of the tonfa to the outside, Raph jabbed the wooden beam into Draxum’s ribs, not giving him a moment to breathe as he wailed on him. Leo slid swiftly down the vines, sneaking behind Draxum. Raph locked eyes with Leo, both of them nodding. Leo cut a portal, and Raph aimed a solid blow to Draxum’s sternum, stunning him and sending him flying back. Vines tried to reach up and catch him, but Leo was quick to slide in and cut them off, leaving Draxum reeling back into the portal. Leo pointed up, to where Donnie was hovering. The portal opened, dropping Draxum down. Donnie followed and a large hammer-like block expanded on one end. Donnie slammed the hammer into Draxum, sending him to the ground swiftly, a small crater forming where he landed.

Coughing, Draxum spat onto the ground, resulting in more blood than saliva. Leo started towards him, only to find his ankle entrapped. Before he could cut through the vines, his arm was dragged down to the ground, his wrist strained with the force of the pull. Leo yelped loudly, the noise catching Raph off guard. Immediately he turned on his heel, running to Leo. Vines rose from the ground behind Raph, grabbing him by the neck and lifting him from the ground. Leo’s eyes widened, and he tried to adjust his grip on his sword, but the vines tightened, forcing him to drop the sword. Donnie rushed to them, only for another vine to shoot out, grabbing onto the blades of the hoverpack, crushing them effortlessly, and sending Donnie hurtling to the ground. Leo cringed as Donnie hit the ground with a sickening thud. He waited a moment. Then another. Donnie wasn’t getting up. Leo began frantically struggling in the vines as one wrapped around Donnie’s ankle, dragging him to where Draxum stood.

Leo’s panic gripped his chest, making it hard to breathe, seeing Raph scrabbling at his neck desperately to try and breathe, and Donnie, unconscious, being dragged through the dirt. For a moment it seemed final. Like they had somehow lost. An orange glow emanated from behind Draxum, casting a halo of brilliant warm light to surround him. Before Leo could comprehend it, everything was lit up, a fiery glow cast on the surrounding trees. Draxum crumpled to the ground, and behind him, being supported by April, was Mikey, a fiery aura around him, eyes glowing a bright orange, and a look of pure fury and hatred that Leo had never seen from his brother before etched into his face. April was practically carrying Mikey, and Leo could see jagged orange lines webbing up his arms and legs. April carried him around Draxum’s body and to his brothers. Lowering Mikey to the ground, Mikey sat on the grass, the fiery orange aura receding, his eyes dimming. Mikey pressed his hands into the grass. The glow moved underground, deeper until it was gone. Another moment passed, and then all the vines were consumed by orange, the massive web of plants left behind by their fight and Draxum fleeing disintegrating to a fine grey dust that hid in the grass. The vines holding the three of them disappeared and Raph dropped to the ground, coughing and wheezing, trying to breathe.

April was beside Raph in an instant, trying to coach him in his breathing, while Leo limped over to Donnie, ankle feeling less than okay. Leo knelt next to Donnie as Mikey dragged himself over, worry creasing his face. Leo checked Donnie’s breathing and heartbeat, breathing in relief. He didn’t dare roll him over, not yet. Looking over his shoulder, Leo watched Raph, who was finally taking in deep breaths, though they were a little shaky and uneven. Raph had begun to walk over to the others, looking at Donnie, seemingly terrified.

“He should be okay. He’s breathing at least.” Leo said, gently squeezing Donnie’s hand. There was a small twitch in response, which made Leo feel a bit better. April grabbed Donnie’s staff off the ground, and Leo’s sword, handing Leo his weapon and struggling for a moment with the staff before collapsing it down and slipping it into Leo’s pouch at his hip. Leo looked at Mikey, eyes darting to his arms. The orange cracks persisted, only having lost their glow. There were small trails of blood dripping off his arms, but he didn’t seem concerned with that. “Let’s get home before people come around to investigate.” Leo said, standing with difficulty. Raph nodded, picking Donnie up. Leo helped Mikey up, supporting as much weight as he could. Raph turned around, and with some help from April, Leo lifted Mikey up, letting him cling on to the shell spikes. Once they were all ready to go, Leo cut a portal into the air, and stepped through, followed by Raph and April. The five of them emerged in the sewers. Leo’s eyes took a minute to adjust, and he looked around, trying to find where they were.

“This way,” April said, grabbing Leo’s good wrist and gently tugging him to the left. Leo and Raph followed her as their vision finally adjusted to the darkness. It was a bit of walking and a few twists and turns before they finally made it to the lair. Leo hobbled through the entrance, greeted by their dad, who was sitting, waiting for them. Splinter’s eyes widened.

“What on earth happened?” He asked. Leo laughed, a bitter edge to his voice.

“What hasn’t happened?” Leo said, sighing. That answer didn’t seem to satisfy Splinter, but Leo didn’t have it in him to explain everything.

“I’ll tell you in a bit Splints, I just wanna help out first,” April filled in when nobody else said anything. This seemed to placate Splinter enough, and he nodded. Leo led Raph through the lair to the med bay. Raph placed Donnie in one of the beds, and carefully shifting Mikey, put him in the other one. Raph immediately began inspecting Mikey’s arms, but Mikey was quick to pull them away.

“Let me see,” Raph protested.

“Nuh-uh big man, no playing doctor,” Leo said, walking over, grabbing the penlight off the counter on his way. He hobbled to Raph and motioned for him to lean down. “How are you feeling? Any pain? Fuzziness? Weird feeling in general?” Leo asked, flashing the light in his eyes quickly, checking the pupillary response. After verifying everything was okay, his eyes darted down to Raph’s neck. There was a red ring around his neck, slowly beginning to turn purple, concentrated over his windpipe. Draxum really was trying to strangle Raph.

“My head hurts,” Raph answered, drawing Leo’s focus.

“Yeah, that’s pretty normal. Go get some rest, stay in a dark room for a bit, tell me if it’s not better in two hours, got it?”

“But-” Raph began.

“Nope, no helping, go rest.” Leo said firmly. “I’m fine out here, now get out.” Leo said, shoving Raph out of the door.

Raph looked miffed, staring in shock. “Leo-”

Leo cut him off, closing the door and leaning against it as the handle jiggled. “Go away!” Leo yelled through the door. Mikey was stifling laughter, staring at him. Eventually, they heard some grumbling, and Raph walked away. “April can you make sure he actually goes and rests?” Leo sighed. Knowing Raph, that would be an uphill battle, and frankly, April was the only one of them who would be able to manage it.

“You sure? You don’t need help here?” April asked, looking between Donnie and Mikey.

“I’m sure, I’m not sure Raph will listen to me though.” Leo sighed. April nodded and slipped out of the med bay, leaving Leo with an unconscious Donnie and Mikey. Leo looked between them and hobbled over to Donnie. Admittedly he could’ve used Raph’s help with this part, considering how his wrist was screaming at him. Whatever, he’d figure it out. Leo couldn’t adjust the bed so this would probably wreck his back. It was fine. More or less. He circled the bed, and placed his knee on the edge of the bed, reaching over Donnie for the opposite side of his torso. Carefully grabbing onto his shoulder and hip, Leo leaned his weight onto his knee and began pulling his shoulder towards himself, slowly and surely rotating him, even though his wrist was in agony. Then he began pulling Donnie’s hip over until he was lying on his side. Leo stopped and took a moment to catch his breath, grimacing when he realized Donnie was on top of his arm. After carefully pulling Donnie’s arm out from under him, Leo looked up. Mikey was staring at Donnie’s back, not saying anything, just looking in horror.

Bracing himself, Leo circled around the bed and saw why. The battle shell was destroyed, the metal and plastic framing crushed, the circuitry was mangled and the whole thing looked like it was beyond repair. Which was not good news for Leo. Grimacing, Leo unclasped the battle shell, easing it away from Donnie’s soft shell. Discarding the machinery on the ground, Leo grabbed the lamp nearby, turning it on and angling it at Donnie’s shell. None of the metal or plastic had punctured his shell thankfully, meaning Leo wasn’t gonna be dealing with open wounds. There was however a large bruise blooming from the centre of his shell, turning the green to a sickly blackish blue colour.

Leo was honestly terrified there was internal bleeding, but he had to wait for Donnie to wake up to deal with that. All the bruising symptoms could look like internal bleeding, but it could also just be bruising. Leo decided to leave Donnie on his side to keep pressure off the bruise, and he took a deep breath. Sitting on a stool, Leo rolled over to the cabinets, grabbing the rubbing alcohol, some cotton rounds and some bandages before rolling to Mikey’s bed.

“Arms?” Leo asked. “No needles this time I promise,” he added quickly. Mikey shifted so he was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding his arms out to Leo.

“Is Donnie okay?” Mikey asked, wincing as Leo began cleaning away the dried blood with the cotton rounds.

“...Do you want my honest answer?” Leo asked.

“Yes.”

“I don’t know. I don’t think he’ll die or anything. I just don’t know the extent of the damage. I don’t know enough about his artificial shells to know how much it helped.” Leo sighed.

“I do!” Mikey said, sitting up, eyes lighting up. “I was there when he built his last one, he told me he built in crumple zones for all his shells, something about cars during a crash. They crush because they’re taking the impact instead of the driver.” Mikey said excitedly. Leo felt the worry drain out of him.

“Of course he did,” Leo laughed, smiling as he finished winding the bandages around Mikey’s arms, moving to his legs and cleaning the dried blood from the skin. “We still need to wait for him to wake up to see if anything is wrong but that does help, thank you, Mikey.”

“...Leo?”

“Yeah?”

“I have to tell you something.” Mikey said nervously. “You’re not allowed to get mad, you’re not allowed to freak out. Got it?”

“What do you have to tell me?” Leo asked, frowning and looking up at Mikey.

Mikey took a deep breath, making eye contact with Leo.

“...We have a sister.”

Chapter Text

Donnie woke up in an unfamiliar room, panic immediately spiking through him. The last thing he remembered was fighting Draxum and falling to the ground. Then pain spread through his back and neck, then nothing. Just dark. Bolting upright, his head whipped around, ignoring his muscles screaming in pain until his eyes finally settled on Mikey and Leo. Leo was sitting on a stool at the counter, trying to wind bandages around his wrist with one hand and seemingly failing, though his eyes had snapped to Donnie.

“What happened?” Donnie croaked, voice rough and throat sore. Something felt… off. His shoulders felt lighter than usual.

“You want the long version or the short version?” Leo asked, unwinding his wrist and rolling the stool over to Donnie’s bedside.

“Short,” Donnie answered, relaxing slightly.

“We won, Mikey kicked his ass and we came home. You’ve been out for like a few hours.” Leo said succinctly.

Donnie paused, reaching around and feeling his shell, ignoring how his muscles screamed at him. When his hands touched his bare shell, he began looking around again.

“Where’s my battle shell?” He asked.

Leo grimaced and rolled away, stooping down to grab something and then rolling back. He held it up and Donnie’s heart sank. The battle shell was mangled beyond repair. The circuitry was destroyed. Of course, Donnie had designed the shell to break that way, but it didn’t make it any easier to see weeks of hard work destroyed just like that. Donnie swung his legs over the side of the bed, setting the shell down. He had only been in the room for a few minutes and he was already so uncomfortable, his skin crawling like it was itching to leave the room. Leo however seemed to already know this without a word, and he was grabbing his penlight, rolling in front of Donnie, blocking his escape.

“Bend down,” Leo said, motioning for him to lean forward.

“I’m fine Leo,”

“I’m sorry which one of us knows more about brain damage again?” Leo said. Donnie rolled his eyes and sighed, leaning forward for Leo. His twin was quick, checking his pupillary response. Once he was satisfied, he leaned back, penlight tossed onto the counter. “Any pain? Dizziness?” Leo asked. Donnie took a moment, trying to move his neck. Immediately he regretted it, pain shooting up his neck and into his jaw. Donnie grimaced and hissed.

“Neck,” Donnie answered. Leo looked relieved, nodding.

“How far can you turn your head before it hurts?” Leo asked.

Donnie began to turn his head, slower this time, barely able to move before his muscles began screaming. Leo hummed and rolled backwards on the stool, huffing and crossing his arms.

“I don’t have any imaging, but I don’t think anything is fractured or anything…” he muttered under his breath. Turning away, Leo rolled himself to the cabinets and began rifling through them, shoving bottles of miscellaneous medication out of his way as he leaned down, trying to grab something. When he finally emerged, he was holding a bottle with a purple label and an oddly creepy wooden puppet. Leo rolled himself to the sink, filling a cup with water and struggling to open the bottle with just one hand. Rolling back over to Donnie, Leo handed him the water and shook out two pills into his hand before replacing the cap. “Muscle relaxers and ibuprofen, they should help the pain.” Leo said. “I’m pretty confident it’s whiplash. Other than that you have a very nasty bruise on your back, so I’m banning artificial shells.” Leo said casually.

“What? No, no you can’t do that-“

“Can and did.”

“The shells aren’t a problem! They’ll protect my shell.” Donnie protested.

“Turn around.”

“What?”

“Turn around.” Leo repeated, motioning for Donnie to stand up. Hopping off the bed, he faced the wall. “Alright, where is the pressure on your battle shell concentrated?” Leo asked.

“My shoulders and the outer sides of my shell, why?” Donnie asked. His question was immediately answered when Leo pressed against the outer edges of his shell, and a dull pain struck him, making him writhe in pain and jump out of range.

“The bruise is concentrated where the weight would be supported. You’ll just be repeatedly injuring yourself. No artificial shells.”

Donnie always hated it when Leo was right. Sighing, Donnie relented, nodding and sitting back on the bed. Leo rolled back over to the counter, grabbed the discarded bandages, and began to wrap his wrist again. The wrist looked swollen and sore, but Leo didn’t let on if he was in pain or not, weaving the bandage through his fingers and over his wrist. Donnie stood again, fidgeting as he avoided looking too closely at the bandages on Mikey’s arms and legs. Without waiting, Donnie silently slipped out of the med bay. The grime and dirt on his skin felt like hell, and he needed to fix it before he started to panic. Passing by their rooms, Donnie slipped into the washroom. Grabbing a washcloth, he soaked it in warm water, wiping the dirt off of his face. Looking into the mirror, he saw his face. There was a streak of mud on one side of his face. Carefully he wiped it clean, revealing scabbing underneath, the trail of scrapes running down his face. He had seen better days honestly. Curious, Donnie grabbed his phone, turning around and taking a picture of the mirror. The picture showed a deep blue, almost black bruise on his soft shell, circling the outside and blossoming inwards. Donnie grimaced, studying the picture. It looked so much worse than Donnie had expected it to look. Maybe it was time to try and remodel his artificial shells.

Donnie’s shower was quick and he immediately busied himself once he was dried off, going to his lab and sitting at his desk. Rifling through the mess on the desk, he procured a sketchbook and a pencil, beginning to sketch a new shell.

He threw himself into this new project, spending countless hours on the design, not accepting anything less than perfection. The problem was designing a shell that dispersed the force if it had to crumple like that again. Maybe this time he’d make the crumple zones larger? Less reinforcement inside? More reinforcement? Padding? All the ideas swirled around in his head, each with their own merit and deficits. It was borderline infuriating. Donnie was struggling to perfect the shell. In all honesty, he was scared. The amount of damage done to his battle shell was horrific. Donnie didn’t want to imagine what that would’ve looked like on his own shell. He would need to get working on replacement materials too. Maybe it needed to be stronger. The research alone was leaving him with so little time during the day. Donnie found himself avoiding dinner with his family. His shell had begun to heal, the bruising fading bit by bit each day, but Donnie kept the picture as a reference. Showing what zones needed refining. Ideally, he would be able to take another fall like that without the bruising.

The design he decided to settle on was one with a trampoline-like interior structure that would absorb the force and cradle his shell, expanding and stretching to accommodate and slow the fall. Of course, he still needed to find a way to include all the tech inside, but circuit boards and power banks would come later. They were always his favourite part, it was like Tetris.

Donnie stretched, his shell aching as it pressed against the back of his chair, Donnie hissing at the sensation. Slowly he pulled himself up, sighing heavily. It was late. He really should be going to bed. But he didn’t really want to in all honesty. Every time he fell asleep he found himself in the air, plummeting to the ground. It was so stupid but it made Donnie jerk awake every time, covered in sweat and the wind knocked out of his chest. Shaking his head, he walked out of his lab, closing the doors behind him. Making his way for the kitchen, Donnie passed the med bay. Curiosity gripped him and he peered in, intending to check on Mikey.

Donnie’s heart dropped when he saw the empty bed. Immediately his chest felt like it was being crushed in an iron vice. Donnie’s phone was already out of his pocket when he heard it, sniffling. Carefully, Donnie stepped into the room, looking around. He circled the bed, and there, just out of view of the door, was Mikey on the ground, wiping at his eyes with the heels of his hands. Donnie was not good with crying. Stepping forward he knelt down beside Mikey on the ground, looking at him.

“Why are we on the floor?” Donnie asked, sitting on his heels.

“Just hanging out,” Mikey laughed bitterly, sniffing as more tears welled up in his eyes.

“Mikey?”

“...I fell.” Mikey admitted, looking utterly humiliated. And angry. It wasn’t aimed at Donnie though. It seemed much more like he was angry with himself. Donnie got up, dusting off his knees and offered Mikey a hand. Mikey reached up, grabbing onto Donnie’s wrist for more security. Donnie leaned down and helped Mikey get up, supporting his weight until he was sitting on the bed.

“What was it?” Donnie asked, sitting beside Mikey. “Like the reason you fell, I mean.”

“I stood up and was holding onto the bed but then I tried to walk away. My legs just won’t hold my weight, I couldn’t keep my balance.” Mikey shrugged. “I thought it would be fine.”

The gears in Donnie’s brain were already turning, rotating over and over, chugging along with a million ideas. Donnie wasn’t good at emotions, wasn’t good at talking. But he was good at building. He couldn’t fix Mikey’s emotions, but maybe he could build something for it. “I need to tell the others, you know that right?” Donnie said quietly, mind already running through his knowledge on these sorts of things while he spoke.

“I know.” Mikey sighed. Donnie leaned against Mikey for another moment, before pulling his phone out once again, sending a text to the group. The response was almost immediate, Raph being the first one to get there, huffing like he had run to the room. Donnie would’ve wagered money that he did. Leo was a few seconds behind Raph, peering in. Raph opened his mouth, but Leo got to it first.

“Are you hurt?” He asked. Mikey shook his head.

“I’m fine,” he muttered under his breath. Donnie took his cue and stood, Mikey immediately being crowded by the two older siblings. April was also in the groupchat, asking if everything was okay. Donnie responded, telling her he was fine, though Donnie doubted if Mikey was actually fine or not.

“What happened?” Raph asked, crowding Mikey.

“I tried to stand up, I’m fine,” Mikey said, gently pushing Raph away.

“Why were you trying to stand up?” Raph asked.

“Because I’m sick of this! I’m sick of being in this room! I wanna go to my own room, I wanna sleep in my own bed, I want to draw and paint and make dinner! I’m rotting away in this stupid bed, it’s miserable and I’m fucking tired of it!” Mikey snapped, eyes shining, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. Donnie winced. He hadn’t actually thought about it much, but it made sense. “I just want to go back to normal.” Mikey said voice barely a whisper. Leo reached out to Mikey, who pushed his hand away gently. Donnie silently left, slipping away and making a beeline back to his lab.

Flipping through the blueprints he’d made, he kept flipping until he found a blank page, grabbing his pencil. Shaking the mouse, his computer came back to life, screens popping back up. Donnie closed the tabs and reopened new ones. Scouring Google, he tried finding information. As he went through article after article he had begun looking up mobility aids, trying to find what could help. Most of the articles spoke of physical therapy, and while the patient was in the hospital, but not when they were at home. So, skeptically, Donnie turned to social media. Searching every hashtag, and every phrase he could on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Tumblr, all of it, he tried to find experiences from people who were disabled and needed to use mobility aids. There was such a wide range of different experiences, but he finally came across a few different guides, explaining what aid would be best in certain cases. He devoured each one, reading them fervently and writing everything he learned down on the sketch pad, messily charting everything. When he was satisfied with his findings he began to chart what would be the best option.

With several gruelling hours of studying, Donnie had settled on a plan. Right now, while Mikey had no balance and couldn’t take any steps without falling, a wheelchair would work best. It would give him freedom and independence without him being at risk of falling and not being able to get up on his own again. But Donnie had hope it would get better. Independently he decided that he would also get his hands on some crutches for Mikey, they would bear weight for him and give him more options for where he could go, and hopefully transition to walking on his own again. Now he just needed the supplies.

It made sense to Donnie that the hospitals nearby would have a lot of broken equipment. He just needed to know where the equipment went when it broke. This would be a little harder to find out, but nothing Donnie couldn’t manage. He spent hours every day monitoring the hospitals, trying to find where they offloaded all their junk. In the meantime, Mikey had begun physical therapy with Raph, an attempt by the eldest to make Mikey a bit happier with what he’d been dealt. However, by the amount of swearing and crying that came from the training room, it wasn’t quite going as it was planned. Donnie finally figured it out, jumping to his feet excitedly as he watched the truck go from the hospital to a landfill. He needed this win badly. Waiting for nightfall was excruciating though, he couldn’t exactly go during the day. Even if he was human that would’ve been difficult.

Donnie honestly had no plan, he was going to try and find the equipment and then? Yeah, he had no idea. The stuff he needed would be big, but he didn’t want to tell Raph. Raph couldn’t keep a secret from Mikey to save his life. And Donnie needed this to be a secret, the stakes were way too high. He didn’t want to disappoint Mikey. Donnie double-checked he had his staff before creeping to the lair entrance, creeping into the sewer pipe. He knew exactly where the stuff he needed would be and how to get there. His window of time was limited though.

“What are you doing?” Leo’s voice came from behind him, making Donnie jump as he whipped around, shushing Leo.

“Not so loud,” Donnie hissed.

“What are you doing?” Leo whispered, not really any quieter.

“...Nothing.”

“Doesn’t look like nothing.”

“I need parts for something, I’m going to the dump.” Donnie relented.

“Oh. Well, why are you sneaking around? Nobody’s gonna stop you or anything.” Leo said, shoulders relaxing.

“Mikey can’t know,” Donnie filled in.

Leo just stared at him, looking confused.

“Walk with me,” Donnie sighed. Admittedly he could use the extra hands, and he didn’t have the time to explain everything to Leo and get to the dump in time. “You know how Mikey’s been falling lately?” Donnie said. Leo nodded, grimacing. “Well I did some research, trying to see what could help him, and I started learning about mobility aids, and I think he’d really benefit from them. The only problem is I need to build them myself. It’s not likely we’ll find a wheelchair or anything that’ll help him in his size. From all my research the best aids are customized to fit their person. I’m heading to the landfill closest to the hospitals, I’m hoping to get my hands on a wheelchair or some metal. Get some of the parts I need, I just need the big stuff, I can probably build the others. But I also want to study the structures so I know how to make it support itself-”

“Don, you’re rambling.” Leo interrupted.

“You get the idea.”

“Yeah, I think I see it. Can I help?” Leo asked.

Donnie would never say it out loud but he was so grateful that Leo offered his help. This was new territory for Donnie. Donnie made weapons, computers, vehicles. Not medical equipment. Medical stuff was squarely Leo’s thing. He would have a better idea of how this stuff worked. Donnie and Leo talked the entire way to the dump, emerging out of the sewer pipe a few hundred metres away. The talking stopped entirely as they approached. There weren’t any guards, but there would be surveillance. Donnie was the first to scramble up the chainlink fence, dropping down on the other side. Leo looked at his ankle, still bandaged and then at the fence. With a heavy sigh, he began to slowly scale the fence, before dropping over to the other side, rolling to avoid pressure on his ankle before standing up again and giving Donnie a thumbs up. They walked in silence as they approached the landfill, scaling their way down the hill into the main basin. Immediately Donnie flipped down his goggles, searching for the stuff. Leo seemed a little unsure of what to look for, but as Donnie began separating things from the main piles into his own pile, Leo began to get an idea of what he was looking for.

They searched for what felt like hours, Donnie procuring several things. He took the rubber feet off a pair of underarm crutches, and took several metal canes, tossing them into the pile. Donnie felt like he struck gold when he found a hospital wheelchair, grabbed the wheels off it, and tossed them into the pile, along with whatever else he could find, including a set of rollerblades and the bottom of an office chair. By the time they found everything, they had been there for ages. Donnie began gutting everything, taking the wheels off of the rollerblades, taking everything he needed, and occasionally handing stuff to Leo to rip apart and salvage. When Donnie was finally happy with everything, he grinned, gathering everything into his arms and handing some of it to Leo. Donnie made his way to scale the hill out of the landfill to get everything home and sterilized sufficiently, Leo trailing behind him.

Getting over the fence was difficult, and getting the stuff into the sewers was even worse, but they managed to get everything into the sewers and walk it home. They were getting back just as the sun began to peek out above the horizon. They made a run for Donnie’s lab, narrowly avoiding Raph, who had just woken up. Donnie and Leo dropped everything onto the floor in a heap. Donnie began sorting it all, most of the metal scrap on one side with the wheels they’d acquired, and on the other side the other metal scrap and rubber ends. When he was finally done, Donnie sat back on his heels, looking up at Leo.

“How good are you at sewing?” Donnie asked.

“I mean I know how to do stitches, I could probably try? Why?”

“I don’t wanna ask Raph for the cushions I need.” Donnie answered.

“I’ll see what I can do.” Leo sighed. Donnie grinned excitedly, looking at all the supplies around him, excited to get his hands on the project. Donnie popped up and slipped past Leo.

“I call dibs on the first shower!” He called.

Behind him, he could hear Leo yell “Not fair!” as Donnie hurried to the washroom.

Donnie was days into the intensive welding and building. He had several pieces queued up on his 3D printer, all of them taking what felt like forever. The real issue was trying to get Mikey’s measurements for the equipment. Donnie knew his height, but the rest of the measurements were a mystery. That he had asked Leo to get. The internet had proved vital, as he was able to track down the blueprints for a wheelchair that would suit Mikey and a pair of crutches that he could use once he transitioned out of the chair. Donnie felt like he had to work so much faster than he would’ve liked to. Raph was doing physical therapy with Mikey and Donnie had seen what those sessions looked like.

Donnie could remember looking into the training room after hearing a loud banging noise. There, on the floor, was Mikey, crumpled into a heap while Raph tried to no avail to help him back onto his feet. Mikey looked miserable, angry. He wouldn’t let Raph touch him, shrinking away from him like his touch was acid. Mikey’s face was scrunched up in frustration, his hands clapped over his ears. It stuck in Donnie’s brain, and wouldn’t leave him alone. Every time he took a break from building, he could see it all over. Donnie had been avoiding Mikey since then. Leo seemed to be in the same boat, usually working on the cushions that Donnie needed, sewing the materials together. Donnie was in the middle of trying to force a metal bar to bend just right when Leo walked in, placing the cushions on the table. Donnie paused, trying to catch his breath, Leo walked over to the 3D printer to look at the progress on the footrest.

“You know you can ask Raph for help.” Leo said, leaning against the wall beside the printer.

“I don’t want to risk it, he can’t tell Mikey.” Donnie sighed, shaking his head.

“Why can Mikey not know? I think knowing he’s getting some independence back would make him feel a bit better honestly.”

“Because,” Donnie said. “Because I can’t disappoint him.” He muttered. “I don’t know how to make this stuff. None of us do. I don’t know if this thing will stay together or if it’ll fit him. I have no idea how this is going to turn out.” Donnie relented, voice cracking. “I will not make him upset. Not now, not after everything that’s happened. So he can’t know. Not until it’s perfect. Not until I’m done.” Donnie said, vision blurring. A wet splotch landed on the blueprints, and Donnie frowned in confusion, looking at the ceiling. No leak. Gingerly he touched his face, feeling the wet tracks of tears rolling over his cheeks.

Leo seemed taken aback, silent for a moment. Leo slowly approached and gently placed a hand on Donnie’s shoulder. Shrugging him off, Donnie stepped away, blinking hard to try and get rid of the tears in his eyes.

“You need a break. April is off school soon.” Leo said.

“No, I need to monitor the pr-“

“I’ll watch it.” Leo said. “Get some food and go hang out with April. It’ll still be here when you’re done.” Leo said, voice soft and reassuring. Donnie nodded. Very quickly he darted in, hugging Leo tightly.

“Thank you Nardo.”

“Of course.” Leo answered, lightly wrapping his arms around Donnie, careful to not disturb the remnants of the bruise on his shell. Donnie let go and grabbed his hoodie, slipping it on as he left the lab. Donnie stopped in front of the med bay doors, looking in. Mikey was curled up on the bed, staring at the wall blankly, not moving. Before he could decide otherwise, Donnie’s feet were moving, bringing him with them. He was not even remotely equipped to handle that kind of emotion. It was better like this, better that he didn’t stop. Right? It had to be.

Donnie only briefly stopped by the kitchen, grabbing some snacks before he left, and slipping out into the sewers. His footsteps echoed through the sewers as he walked, making his way to April’s house. When he got to her apartment, he texted her, sitting outside on the fire escape, waiting for her response. He didn’t need to wait long, she answered shortly, followed by her window being pushed open, and her head popping out.

“Why haven’t you been responding?”

“It’s a long story.” Donnie replied, shaking his head.

“You wanna talk about it?” April asked.

Donnie paused. Even thinking about explaining everything made his chest constrict and his stomach twist itself into knots. He shook his head no. April didn’t probe, didn’t ask any follow-ups, just moved out of the window and motioned for him to come in.

“Come on, I rented a new movie, I think you’ll like this one.” She said. Donnie was endlessly thankful as he slipped into the window and the apartment, following April to the kitchen in silence. “My mom is working tonight, we’ll be clear until morning.” She filled in. Donnie nodded, pulling the snacks he brought out of his pockets and putting them on the counter. It consisted almost entirely of gummies and juice boxes. April pulled down a box of microwave popcorn and stuck a package in the microwave. Once it was cooked, they made their way to the living room, April and Donnie flopping onto the couch. They were on either end of the couch, but it was close enough for Donnie. April turned on the movie and they sat in relative silence, broken by the two of them looking at one another and laughing at the movie together. Donnie couldn’t remember the last time he’d done this. It felt like forever and a half ago. This was a nice change of pace. It let Donnie rest his mind for a bit, forget about everything, about the enormous task he’d taken on alone. It wasn’t so bad anymore.

By the time the movie was over, April was feeling pretty exhausted. She yawned, stretching and reaching for the remote, turning the TV off.

“That was so stupid, wasn’t it?” She asked Donnie. In response, she got a quiet snore. April looked over and saw Donnie, curled up on the other end of the couch, sleeping soundly. She smiled and stood up, careful not to wake him, and rushed to her room quickly. Grabbing two blankets, she set an alarm on her phone and walked out, blankets bundled up in her arms. She dropped them both on the ground by the couch, grabbing one and covering Donnie with it before grabbing the other and settling back on the other side of the couch, curled up under the thick fabric. “Night Donnie,” She mumbled, resting her head against the back of the couch and letting herself drift off as well.

Chapter Text

“Leo?” Mikey asked, fiddling with his phone’s orange case.

“Mm?” Leo replied, rifling through the cabinets to bring some semblance of organization to the medication stored below.

“...Do you think I could go back to my room?” Mikey asked, staring at Leo’s shell hopefully.

Leo paused, sitting up on the stool, his ankle still wrapped tightly in bandages to support him. He sighed and turned around, looking at Mikey. Mikey didn’t need him to say it. He knew the answer already.

“Why not?” Mikey whined, shoulders sagging.

“Listen, if you had a normal bed I’d say yes. But you don’t, you have a hammock. I’m just worried if I send you back to your room you’ll fall and not be able to get up. The hammock isn’t stable enough to support you getting back up.” Leo explained. Mikey knew he was right. That was most of what they had been practicing lately, making sure Mikey could make it into bed on his own without help. It was possible now, but just barely. Mikey crossed his arms and huffed, looking away, biting back tears. “I know,” Leo sighed, gently tapping Mikey’s knee. “Be patient, it’ll come back.” Leo tried.

“You don’t know that Leo!” Mikey snapped. “None of us know.” He choked out, voice wavering. “Let’s just face it, I’m not going back to normal.”

“Don’t say that,” Leo said, face falling. Mikey was normally the optimist, but the past few weeks had drained him of all his optimism. It was wavering and crumbling around him, leaving him isolated. There was no point in pretending or keeping up the facade. Mikey just gently pushed Leo away, turning his back on him, and facing the wall. He stayed silent and completely still as long as he could, waiting. Eventually, Leo sighed and the sound of his steps faded before stopping, the door opening. “I’ll let you be for a bit, but if you want to talk, let me know, okay?” Leo said. Mikey only offered a nod in response.

Mikey was getting desperate. He was sick of this, sick of rotting away, sick of being in pain. Some part of him, a dark part that lay deep in his gut that hadn’t ever surfaced, wished he’d never been saved. Draxum had done terrible damage, but while Mikey was being dosed with Empyrean he had felt so good. Endless energy, the thick warmth that radiated down his limbs, the relief from the pain and the cold. The way his brain emptied, the turmoil, the constant overload running through his mind at all times quieted. It had never been quite this bad. Before all of this Mikey would’ve just been doing things, occupying himself to silence the white noise in his brain. Training, skateboarding, cooking, art, exploring. Whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted to. Gripping the pillow he was clutching, his knuckles going pale with the force his fingers dug into the pillow, he mourned the loss of his freedom. He was trapped in this bed unless someone helped him out. Leo tried his best to take him places, but it didn’t help much. An hour or two out of how many other hours he was confined to the barren white walls of the med bay.

It was taking a toll on his mental health, and on his self-worth. It was hard to stave off the feeling of being useless, of not being worth anything when there were no distractions other than his phone. It was probably for the best that he couldn’t walk anywhere, cause if he could he probably would’ve tried to find Draxum. Feeling this useless was more than Mikey could handle, and it had resulted in lashing out at his brothers quite a lot. Mikey always felt awful afterwards, the taste of his liquid hot anger choking him as he was left alone to think about it. He was slowly turning into someone he didn’t recognize. And it was terrifying to think that he was changing so much, that he couldn’t stop himself from becoming someone truly awful. Especially when Mikey had spent his whole life carefully carving himself to be the person his brothers could count on for support, to be the person in their family to shoulder the weight of their mental health. It was years of work undone before his eyes just because of a few weeks confined to a bed. At this point, Mikey didn’t even want to go back to normal. All he wanted was to be in his own room.

Mikey wasn’t really religious, but there had to be someone out there. Someone listening. Even if it was just something. Mikey was desperate enough to try it, tears streaming down his face as he pleaded for it to stop. The fine print didn’t matter, he didn’t care about how it would stop. Just that it would stop. Even if that meant he was gone for good. The desperation writhing in Mikey’s throat was suffocating, and it would’ve been satisfied with any resolution.

“Hey big man,” Raph’s voice came from the door, pulling Mikey out of his trance. Mikey looked up, letting go of the sheets and wiping his eyes. Raph opened his mouth to say something, concern written in the way his brows scrunched together.

“I don’t wanna talk about it.” Mikey interrupted before Raph could ask. Raph closed his mouth and nodded.

“You still good to do physio? You don’t have to, we can skip a day-”

“No, no I still want to.” Mikey said, scrambling to convince Raph he could still do it. It was miserable work but he was not going to pass up the opportunity to get out of the med bay. Raph nodded, walking over and scooping Mikey up into his arms. Mikey had grown resentful of the fact that Raph had to carry him, wanting more than anything to just be put down and have people stop touching him all the time. But he kept his mouth shut. Raph didn’t need to know that, he was worried enough about Mikey. Raph walked him through the lair to the training room, setting him down on the soft, padded flooring. It was the one room Mikey couldn’t hurt himself in, hence why they used it for physical therapy. Raph grabbed a chair and set it beside Mikey, holding it steady. Raph didn’t need to tell him what to do, they’d done this a thousand times it felt like. Mikey, with great effort and straining, began pulling himself up to stand beside the chair. Relying mainly on his arms was his only option, his legs felt useless, like a newborn deer's legs, weak and unstable. Mikey huffed as he pushed himself up from his knees, carefully gathering his legs underneath him, and grabbing Raph’s shoulder for support as he got higher. His legs shook, but he was standing.

“Do you want to take a step?” Raph asked, looking at Mikey. Mikey stared back at him, eyes wide. He grinned and nodded excitedly.

“Yes.” He said without thinking about it. Raph nodded, helping Mikey straighten up. Raph stepped back slowly, Mikey awkwardly shuffling forward, still clinging to Raph’s shoulders. Raph took another step back, Mikey following, only this time when he shifted his weight to one foot, his leg crumpled underneath him and he fell to the ground. Raph caught him, slowing his fall.

“That’s okay, let’s try again,” Raph said. Mikey fought back the frustration and nodded. So they tried again. And again. And again. Mikey went from two steps to one, to none. His legs slowly began giving out faster and faster, not letting him progress. Mikey lost count of how many times he tried, exhaustion weighing him down like it was dragging him to the floor each time.

“It’s okay,” Raph repeated as Mikey fell again.

“It’s not okay!” Mikey yelled, anger erupting. “Stop saying that! None of this is okay!”

“I’m sorry big man I didn’t mean it like that,” Raph said gingerly, gently touching Mikey’s shoulder. Mikey pulled his shoulder away.

“Why can’t I do this? Why can’t I just do it,” Mikey whispered. “It’s so stupid, these things are so simple, why are they so hard?”

Raph sat beside Mikey, looking at him mournfully. “It takes time,” He answered.

“I know. Everyone keeps saying that. But it never actually happens. I feel like I’m going backwards.” Mikey choked. “If I knew it was going to be this hard, I wouldn’t have wanted you guys to save me.” He added, his voice barely a whisper. Mikey froze as he realized what he just admitted, looking at Raph. His older brother’s face was slack with shock, tears welling up in his eyes. “No, no it’s fine, I’m fine, I didn-” Mikey was cut off when Raph pulled him into a hug, Raph’s arms holding him securely, cradling his head. “I’m sorry.” Mikey whimpered, sobbing into Raph’s shoulders, the weight of what he had been carrying alone finally boiling over. “I’m sorry,” he repeated. Raph shushed him, rocking back and forth.

“We can get through this, I promise things will get better Mikey,” Raph said softly. Mikey nodded, squeezing Raph gently as he cried silently into his shoulder. Raph wrapped himself around Mikey, enclosing him. Mikey felt so safe, and so, so small. But something about it was refreshing. For just a moment, Mikey was a little kid again. Too young to know the gravity of everything happening, too young to feel the devastation. Raph lifted Mikey up, walking out of the training room. For a moment, Mikey was dreading, thinking they were going back to the med bay. But instead, Raph walked past the doors. Mikey looked around in confusion until Raph deposited him in the common room on a pile of pillows. Raph wordlessly began to rifle through the movies, before picking out one. Mikey recognized the cover. Jupiter Jim Sails the Seven Galaxies. Raph put the DVD into the player, aiming the projector at the wall and turning it on before walking back and sitting with Mikey.

“Thank you,” Mikey said quietly, leaning against Raph contentedly.

“No problem big man,” Raph answered.

Leo had been acting weird, he wasn’t talking as much as he had previously. Raph was the one spending the most time with Mikey at this point. And Mikey hadn’t seen Donnie in days. It was frustrating, mostly because he couldn’t chase them, couldn’t follow to see what was going on, and nobody was telling him. The only real-time Mikey was out of the med bay was when Raph took him into the training room to do physical therapy. Raph had made a strict schedule out of it, and they were in the training room by eleven in the morning every day. But today was different. Raph was nowhere to be found, and instead, Leo was sitting beside him, anxiously looking between his phone and the door. It was half an hour past when he’d normally be in the training room and it was making Mikey restless. As much as physical therapy was hell, as much as he hated it and wanted to quit, it was an hour where he was doing literally anything other than laying there in bed.

“What’s going on?” Mikey asked for what felt like the millionth time.

Leo’s reply was the same as it had been for the past half hour, the same anxious, excited tone. “You’ll see.”

“You’ve said that for the past half hour,” Mikey whined, crossing his arms over his plastron.

“And I mean it, you’ll see.” Leo said, grinning widely as he stared at the phone he was holding. It just made Mikey more irritated, but he kept his mouth shut, trying to keep the venomous words behind his teeth. A few more minutes passed, Leo standing and peering out of the door. Mikey could hear Raph giggling in excitement in the hallway. “Okay, Mikey close your eyes,”

“Why?”

“Just do it,” Leo said, waving his hand at Mikey. The excitement was a bit contagious, so, despite wanting to pout more, Mikey closed his eyes. He could hear something. It was hard to describe. There were footsteps and quiet muttering and murmuring, but there was also something else.

“Okay, open them,” Leo said. Mikey opened his eyes, first looking at a very queasy-looking Donnie, and Raph, flapping his hands wordlessly. Then it caught his eye. The orange frame. It was a wheelchair. There were two extremely small wheels at the front on either side of the footrest, and two larger wheels on the back. A thick cushion was bolted to the frame, tilted slightly up, and there were no handles, no armrests. The back was short, about half of what normal hospital chairs had. The frame was a metallic orange colour that stood out amongst the black of the rest of the chair. Before Mikey could form words, tears were streaming down his face, sobs erupting from his chest.

Donnie stepped around the chair, opening his mouth, his face barely hiding the devastation. Before Donnie could say anything, Mikey was launching himself at his older brother, hugging him and sobbing into his shoulder, being careful of the bruises on his exposed soft shell.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you Donnie,” Mikey whispered, not able to stop the tears from rolling down his face.

“You like it?” Donnie asked, voice barely a whisper.

“I love it,” Mikey said. Donnie had just wheeled Mikey’s will to live into the room. Had casually handed him back his freedom, his independence, but Donnie had no idea how much it meant to Mikey. How much he needed this. There was no way for Mikey to put into words how grateful he was. This was everything. Pulling away from Donnie, Mikey turned to Leo. “Can I?” He asked. Leo grinned and nodded, pushing the chair closer to the bed. Raph moved to help Mikey into the chair, but Mikey gently pushed Donnie and Raph away, taking in a deep, albeit shaky, breath. This was something he wanted to figure out on his own. Carefully he slid off the bed, holding onto it for support, legs shaking as he took a step, still holding onto the bed. Awkwardly he shifted and turned around, sitting heavily in the chair, shifting his feet into the footrest. A grin crept onto Mikey’s face, and he giggled with excitement, turning the wheelchair in a tight circle.

It felt too good to be true, the past months had been so catastrophic that Mikey couldn’t believe something was going his way for once. This was new and foreign. And he relished in every second of it.

“I made it so you can get around while you’re healing,” Donnie explained, grinning. “I have a pair of crutches to help as well when you’re doing better.” He added. Mikey squealed and flapped his hands in excitement.

“I can go to the kitchen now!” Mikey exclaimed. “I can cook something again!” he added. Mikey saw the way Raph’s face contorted into a frown, but he disregarded it. There was nothing that would bring down his mood, not now, not when everything was perfect. Mikey turned the wheels and carefully wheeled himself out of the med bay door. It was incredible, being out of the med bay on his own for once. Donnie trailed behind Mikey, a satisfied grin stretched across his face.

“What are we doing first?” Donnie asked.

“Cooking something, race you there!” Mikey giggled, pushing the wheels forward.

“Not fair you have wheels!” Donnie laughed, jogging to keep up with Mikey as he made his way to the kitchen. Admittedly his arms were a little tired, but Mikey wasn’t about to stop. Stopping in the kitchen, Mikey basked in the warm orange lights that dimly illuminated the kitchen.

“What do I cook first?” Mikey asked, turning around to face Donnie, who had slowed, stopping in the doorway.

“Do we have the stuff for pizza?” Donnie asked, shrugging. Mikey’s face lit up and he began rushing around the kitchen, grabbing the ingredients for the dough, and gathering them into a bowl on his lap. The counters were a little high, but Mikey wasn’t going to let that slow him down. Setting everything on the counter, he grabbed the measuring cups and began combining the wet ingredients and then the dry. Taking his time, he meticulously made the dough, chatting aimlessly with Donnie while he sat at the island, Mikey having to repeatedly wash his hands over and over to make everything. The dough was difficult and very labour intensive, Mikey was admittedly sweating by the time the process was done and the dough was stretched and on the pizza stone.

Mikey rolled his way to the pantry, rifling through the stuff there before procuring the tomato sauce they always used, setting it in his lap as he got the mozzarella and pepperoni from the fridge. Mikey was half tempted to add broccoli, seeing as it was a big favourite of his, but he knew his brothers' feelings on it so he skipped it for now. Grabbing the cheese grater as well, he made his way back to the cutting board, pushing the dough to the side. Setting the grater down, along with the cheese, sauce and pepperoni beside the cutting board. Grating the cheese and cutting the pepperoni hurt his arms from keeping them up, and admittedly Mikey got sloppy towards the end, taking small breaks to get the feeling back in his hands and let his muscles rest. By that point Raph and Leo were in the kitchen, all four of them chatting easily while Mikey busied himself with spreading the sauce.

“You need a hand?” Raph asked, seeing Mikey taking a break, letting his arms rest.

“No, I’m good!” Mikey cheered, taking another moment before spreading the cheese and pepperoni onto the dough. Raph walked over to grab the pizza stone, but Mikey beat him to it, picking up the stone and placing it on his lap, rolling to the oven.

“Any trouble maneuvering?” Leo asked, leaning over the island beside Donnie, grabbing a stray piece of pepperoni and eating it.

“It’s not as hard as I thought. My arms are tired though.” Mikey replied, opening the oven. Carefully, he put the pizza stone into it, closing the door and setting the timer. They chatted while they waited, Donnie rambling to Mikey about making the wheelchair, and Mikey excitedly planning out what stickers he was going to decorate the metal frame with. The pizza came out of the oven a while later, and Raph helped cut and serve the pizza.

“Oh my god I missed your cooking,” Donnie shouted through a mouthful of pizza.

“No offence Raph but ditto,” Leo said.

“None taken, I was getting sick of my cooking too,” Raph snorted, taking another bite of the pizza.

Donnie was the first to finish his food, excusing himself to his lab, followed shortly by Raph and Leo. Raph offered to help clean up, but Mikey was quick to kick him out so he could enjoy being alone for once. Mikey did however notice the fact that Raph pulled Leo aside as they left together, the two of them disappearing out of view. Mikey thought nothing of it, cleaning the kitchen. The dishes went into the dishwasher and the counters were wiped down of any stray flour or bits of food.

Mikey was admittedly exhausted, but it was a pleasant exhaustion, welcome after weeks of doing almost nothing. Mikey would take this over boredom any day. Slowly and leisurely, Mikey pushed himself to the med bay, looking to retrieve his phone. Muffled voices were coming from the direction he was headed in, they grew louder with each foot he travelled. Mikey frowned, slowing as he strained to listen to the conversation. Predictably it was Leo and Raph.

“-not ready yet?” Raph’s voice asked, barely audible. Mikey approached the doors, moving in closer.

“It’s good for him!” Leo responded.

“What if he tries to leave again? What if he overdoes it? What if he gets hurt?”

“Then we deal with that when it happens. We can’t just assume it’ll happen.” Leo sighed.

“You don’t see what I see Leo, you don’t hear what he says during physio.” Raph pleaded.

“Raph didn’t you see how happy he was? I haven’t seen him that excited in months. We can’t take this away from him. Especially with how hard Donnie worked on it.”

“I’m the leader Leo-“

“And I’m the closest thing to his doctor. Raph you have to let him have this.” Leo interrupted. Mikey flinched as he heard Raph growl.

“If anything happens this is your responsibility then.” Raph said. Mikey scrambled to get himself into a neighbouring room, hiding behind the doorway as the med bay doors flung open and Raph stormed out. Mikey peered around the corner, watching Raph disappear into the lair, heading for his room. Pausing, Mikey gathered himself, thankful that Leo was on his side at least. Rolling his way to the med bay, he pushed the door open, Leo, who was sitting on the stool, head in his hands, looked up and offered a strained smile.

“I forgot my phone…” Mikey said quietly, rolling to the bed and grabbing his phone. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

“You heard that huh?” Leo sighed. “Nah, I’m okay Miguel, just stupid bickering.”

“Didn’t sound like stupid bickering.” Mikey answered.

“How’s the chair?” Leo said, changing the topic.

“It’s good, I’m getting used to it but it’s nice to get around the lair without being carried.” Mikey said, smiling. “Thank you,” he added.

“Of course,” Leo said, a more genuine smile crossing his face.

“Do you think I could stay in my room now?” Mikey asked hopefully. “If I fall I can use my chair to get up, and I can always come back to the med bay if I need to,” Mikey said quickly before Leo could say no. Leo snorted and nodded.

“I don’t see why not,” he said, shrugging. Mikey squealed with excitement, flapping his hands and rolling to Leo, hugging him tightly.

“You’re the best! I love you!” He cheered, rubbing his cheek against Leo’s affectionately. Leo laughed and squeezed Mikey gently, tapping his forehead against Mikey’s in return for the affection before pulling away.

“Enjoy your freedom,” Leo said, Mikey nodding and rushing to get out of the med bay. Maneuvering the chair, he headed for his room, rolling in and breathing in.

The air was stale and filled with dust, the usual smell of incense and candles gone. The room was exactly as he had last left it. Blankets and pillows piled in the hammock strung across the room. It felt like forever since he’d been in his own room, the walls covered in graffiti and paint splatters, random posters plastered on the walls and a string of fairy lights lining the corners of the room where the ceiling met the walls. Mikey made a detour, turning to the side and turning the fairy lights on. Their warm orange glow radiated comfort. Closing the curtain to his room, Mikey wiped at his eyes, grinning. He had been home for a while now, but this was the first time he felt like he was really back. Something about being back in his own space was relieving. Like it was all finally over. Mikey relished in the cluttered mess of his room, the sketchbooks and supplies scattered around every surface. With a grin, he rolled to the hammock in the centre of the room, putting the breaks on his chair, and locking it into place.

Stepping off the footrests, he braced himself, breathing as he pushed on the chair, helping him stand up. His legs were fairly stable under him and he grinned. Somehow it was so much easier when nobody was watching, no pressure to get it right the first time around. Pressing down into the middle of the hammock, Mikey kept it in place, turning around so his back was facing the hammock. With another deep breath, he gently bent his knees despite their angry creaking and soreness. With the smallest hop he had ever done in his life, Mikey managed to sit in the hammock. Grinning to himself, he shifted so he was lying down, staring at the ceiling, dotted with glow-in-the-dark stars that weren’t quite glowing because of the fairy lights.

He was finally home, and things were finally going back to normal. Mikey felt so at peace, calmness washing over him, lulling him to sleep as his arms ached pleasantly and he clutched blankets to his chest.

He made it. He was free.

Chapter Text

“Here, try this,” Donnie said, picking up the bright orange crutches. The forearm cuff was a deep black, as were the handles, wrapped in the same grip Leo had on his sword and that Raph had on his tonfas. Mikey unfolded his legs from under him, letting them hang off the edge of his wheelchair, grabbing the crutches from Donnie. Taking a breath, he let Donnie help him get the right grip on the crutches.

“Why didn’t you just use the ones from the hospital? The underarm ones?” Mikey asked, looking at Donnie. Truth be told he wasn’t sure how these would help, and he didn’t really trust them quite yet. Mikey had gotten used to not falling with the wheelchair, and he really wasn’t keen on starting the whole learning process over again when he had just learned to get in and out of the chair on his own.

“Those are really built for short-term use, we don’t know how long it’ll take you to gain back your strength.” He explained. “Besides, those work better when you have one leg you need to keep off entirely. These are better for balancing and walking with both legs when you need more support instead of keeping off of them entirely, plus these are easier on your wrists and shoulders.” Donnie ranted. It was evident he’d put a lot of thought and research into this. Mikey’s mouth was dry, and he felt nauseous, the overwhelming need to gag barely kept at bay. He blew the breath out of his lungs and stood, putting his weight into the crutches. To his shock and joy, they stayed steady, and Mikey finally realized that was what the rubber on the bottom was for. Mikey looked up and saw Donnie grinning excitedly, hands flapping wildly. Carefully Mikey tried taking a step in the way that felt most natural for him, using one side of the crutch to follow the same leg, and it worked somewhat but Mikey felt unsteady and like he was going to fall. Mikey grimaced, looking at Donnie who was now studying him, a deep frown etched between his brows.

“Here, sit for a second,” Donnie said, pushing Mikey’s wheelchair over to him. Mikey sat on the cushion and awkwardly shifted his arms so he could take them out of the forearm cuff. The stretch admittedly hurt a bit. Donnie took the crutches out of Mikey’s hands gently. “Watch what I do, then I’ll get you to copy me, it might work better.” Donnie said. Donnie put both crutches forward and made a show of pushing his weight into the crutches, and lifted himself forward, one of his feet leaving the ground and landing slightly before the other. It looked awkward and Donnie was hunched over the crutches because they weren’t set for his height, but Mikey felt like he got the idea. Walking over, Donnie handed the crutches back to Mikey, and Mikey nodded. Using the crutches like a cane in one hand, he pushed himself to his feet, and put them on properly before he started to wobble.

Stepping back, Donnie nodded encouragingly to Mikey. With a deep breath, Mikey swung the crutches forward, then used them to lift himself, landing first on his right, then left foot, as Donnie had. This felt much better, he felt more stable and more confident. Grinning widely, Mikey looked up at Donnie, seeing his brother hopping from foot to foot happily.

“How does it feel?” He asked excitedly.

Mikey paused, looking down and grinning. “It feels good,” He answered. It felt good to be back on his feet for the first time in what felt like forever. Mikey blinked away tears, laughing excitedly. “It’s perfect, thank you, Donnie,” Mikey said, walking over to his brother and wrapping his arms around him, careful not to squeeze the bruise on his shell as he leaned against Donnie. “Does this mean I can leave the lair?” He asked, looking up at Donnie, his chin resting on his plastron.

“Ask Leo, I don’t wanna get yelled at, nice try though,” Donnie laughed, gently ‘pushing’ Mikey away, though it was Donnie who actually moved back.

Mikey rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, scoffing. “Fine, I’ll go ask him,” Mikey sighed. Looking behind him, he eyes his wheelchair. He had more trust in the chair, his arms were strong enough to push him as much as he needed. But he also wanted to practice walking with the crutches. Donnie seemed to see his struggle, looking at his wheelchair.

“I can tag along and bring your chair if you want? April’s coming over for movie night anyway,” Donnie suggested.

“Please,” Mikey replied, nodding. Donnie offered a reassuring smile, and Mikey made his way to the door. It was slow, much slower than the chair, but it felt so good to be back on his feet, if not slightly painful. The chair had given him free rein of most of the lair, specifically their rooms, the kitchen, and the med bay. But the common room was up a couple stairs. Not many but that didn’t really help. Mikey had tried learning to climb the stairs on his own and pull his wheelchair up, but it had proved difficult, so rather he had his brothers move the chair while he crawled up the stairs and back into the wheelchair. The way up to the lab was much worse, and Raph had to carry Mikey and the wheelchair up the stairs. Mikey wasn’t exactly keen on continuing that. Making their way out of Donnie’s lab, Mikey looked down into the lair. Taking a breath, he turned and headed to the stairs.

It was unexpectedly terrifying looking down the stairs knowing he had to go down. A tense minute passed, Mikey, staring at the stairs, sweat forming on his forehead as he began shaking lightly.

“Do you want me to get Raph?” Donnie asked after a long pause.

“...No. I wanna do it on my own.” Mikey answered, voice strong even as his confidence wavered. Honestly, it probably would’ve been reassuring if Raph was there. But Mikey wanted to prove he could do it. Besides, the worst thing he could do is fall. He had fallen thousands of times, if not hundreds of thousands. And Donnie was right there, if he needed help, his brother was there. It didn’t sate the fear, but it tempered the flames, and that was enough. With a deep breath, Mikey put his crutches down on the first step, using the same method and easing himself down the step. It was easier than his brain had convinced him it would’ve been. With a slight grin, Mikey made his way down the next step, then the next, and the next. All his life Mikey struggled with his attention span, but he was laser-focused on the stairs and making it down, completely oblivious to Donnie struggling with his wheelchair behind him. Mikey barely realized it when he reached the ground, pausing and looking up finally.

The realization hit him and he grinned, whirling around to see Donnie huffing as he struggled to keep control of the wheelchair without it rolling down the stairs and barrelling into Mikey’s legs.

“I did it! Holy shit! I did it!” Mikey cheered.

Donnie took a second at the bottom of the staircase, catching his breath before smiling at Mikey. “You’re picking this up way faster than I thought you would,” He praised. Mikey squealed and let go of the handles, shaking out his hands while balancing on his own, putting them back after a moment.

Mikey excitedly made his way to Leo’s room, the movements coming more naturally every step he took. His excitement to tell his big brother what he did also helped, fuelling him to move faster. Pushing his way into Leo’s room, he looked around the disaster zone that was Leo’s room and saw him lounging in a bean bag chair, reading a comic. Leo looked up, his eyes lighting up before he jumped to his feet, carefully avoiding the ankle he hurt.

“They’re finished!” Leo said excitedly, walking over. He reached for one of the crutches. “Can I see?” He asked. Mikey nodded, pulling his arm out of the cuff and putting his weight into the other crutch as he handed it to Leo. Looking it over, Leo studied it, checking the rubber at the bottom and the cuff and handle up top. “You did good work,” He said, looking over Mikey’s shoulder to Donnie, who looked exceedingly smug at the praise.

“Of course I did, it’s my work, you shouldn’t sound so shocked” He preened.

“You built a robot butler who tried to kill you,” Leo said, tone dropping as he reeled in Donnie’s ego.

“That was cause you messed with him! He’s not murderous anymore!” Donnie protested.

“Uh-huh, sure,” Leo teased, handing the crutch back to Mikey. “Can you show me?” He asked, focusing back on Mikey. Mikey nodded excitedly, turning around and back into the main floor, which was free of Leo’s ‘clutter’. Mikey walked with the crutches, forcing himself to look up and focus on where he was going, rather than focusing on his feet. Turning around, he waited for Leo’s reaction.

“You’re a natural!” He cheered, walking over and affectionately rubbing Mikey’s head, a proud grin on his face.

“Does this mean I can leave the lair now?” Mikey said hopefully. “Not the surface, the Hidden City!” Mikey amended. Immediately Leo’s face dropped and Mikey’s heart sank.

“Well… I don’t see why you couldn’t physically-” Leo mumbled. Mikey lit up again. “But-” Mikey’s smile faded once more. “Are you sure you even want to go?” Leo asked tentatively.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Leo fidgeted uncomfortably. Mikey looked at Donnie to back him up, but Donnie looked just as apprehensive.

“I think he means it might not be ideal mentally or emotionally,” Donnie filled in.

“Yeah.” Leo sighed. “I’m glad you’re doing better physically, but Mikey, are you sure you could handle going back to the Hidden City? You spent a lot of time there. And so does he.” Leo explained.

“He’s still wanted, he’s a fugitive, he’d have to be stupid to stick around.” Mikey mumbled. “Besides, how are we gonna know it’s too much unless I go there?” He added in protest.

“Go where?” Raph’s voice apparated from behind Mikey, who jumped and scrambled to steady himself with his crutches, whipping around.

“He wants to go to the Hidden City,” Leo said before Mikey could stop him or explain on his own.

“Oh, that's easy. Absolutely not.” Raph said, crossing his arms. “It’s way too dangerous down there, you’re not going.”

“I’m not a baby Raph! I can handle it!” Mikey protested.

“I’m the leader, I’m saying no. Under no circumstance are you going down there. Not after all this.” Raph said firmly. A fire lit itself in Mikey’s chest, red-hot anger consuming him and warming his chest in the most unpleasant way. Raph’s words only served to fuel Mikey’s desire to go to the Hidden City. Gritting his teeth, Mikey bit back the words he knew he would regret, turning around and grumbling to himself, going into his room and angrily yanking the curtain closed, leaving his brothers staring at the curtain.

“...Good job, you really handled that,” Leo rolled his eyes, sighing and walking back to his room, Donnie heading for his lab, leaving Raph standing alone in the lair.

“Don?” Mikey asked, peering into the lab, leaning on his crutches.

“Yeah?” Donnie asked absentmindedly, watching something on his computer screen.

“I need a favour.”

Donnie spun around, pausing whatever he had been watching and looking at Mikey. “What’d’you need?” He asked.

“I want to get out of the lair and I want someone with me.” Mikey said. Seeing Donnie opening his mouth to say no, Mikey rushed to continue. “Y'know, since I’ve been on my feet for a few days and I’m not really needing my wheelchair to get around all the time. I wanna go to the Hidden City, and I know you think it’s a bad idea but it’s the only place I can go in public without worrying about the whole turtle thing.” Mikey rambled quickly, nerves building as he kept talking. “And there’s something I wanna do really bad. No, I need to do it.” He corrected himself. “And I know Leo wasn’t really keen on me going but I think it’s necessary exposure therapy and he did say it wasn’t because of my legs that he was worried, and mental health isn’t really his area of expertise-“

“Slow down Angelo,” Donnie interjected. Mikey shut his mouth, looking at Donnie pleadingly, using his best rendition of puppy dog eyes. “I’ll go with you, but only if you agree to go with your wheelchair.” He sighed, standing up.

“…really?” Mikey asked.

“Yeah. I trust that you know yourself well enough. But you haven’t been walking long, so I don’t want you to get too tired or be in too much pain and have no way out. So the only way you’re going is in your wheelchair.” Donnie explained with a shrug. “Besides, you’re either gonna go with me or on your own. I can’t actually stop you.” He added, his voice slightly bitter.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Mikey cheered excitedly, turning around and moving as fast as he could to get down to his room where his wheelchair was waiting. Mikey had gotten pretty fast and resourceful with his wheelchair, sometimes still needing it on bad days. Maneuvering to the entrance of the lair, he waited excitedly for Donnie. Donnie met him there, barely able to follow Mikey who was excitedly moving as fast as he could to get to the nearest Hidden City entrance.

Reaching the graffiti-coated wall wasn’t exactly easy, involving Donnie and Mikey having to climb a ladder and pull up the chair after them. The good news was that it fit. The bad news is that even though it was relatively lightweight, it was still heavy and clunky to bring up. Still, they made it, both covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Donnie looked at the wall and tried to open it. The graffiti flickered weakly and Donnie sighed in frustration.

“I gotta go back for the compass.” He muttered.

“No, you don’t.” Mikey replied, rolling closer to the wall. His hand began to glow a brilliant orange, warmth flowing into his hand as he drew the familiar symbol on the wall. The door opened before them, and Mikey grinned slyly at Donnie as he rolled through the gateway, his brother following behind, muttering something under his breath. They were spat out into an alleyway, beyond were the crowded streets of the Hidden City. Mikey looked at Donnie who grimaced at the crowd.

“Where do you even wanna go?” Donnie asked.

“I have something I need to do. Follow me.” Mikey said, knowing very well that Donnie was not going to be happy with their destination. But he would be significantly more lenient than either of his two eldest brothers. Mikey navigated the streets with ease, getting deja vu from every twist and turn. He could pinpoint every alleyway Draxum had hidden in. Mikey could’ve sworn he felt the hand holding his wrist and the needle pricking his forearm. Shuddering as he passed another alleyway, tainted by the memory, Mikey kept on, ignoring the look from Donnie. As nice as it was to get out, that wasn’t what this trip was about. This was about something so much bigger.

“Y’know it’s really funny, it looks like we’re headed to the Battle Nexus arena.” Donnie said with a nervous laugh. Mikey stayed silent, guilt written over his face. “We’re not actually going there right Mikey? Cause that would be dumb. Super dumb. Returning to the arena.” Donnie said when he didn’t get an answer. Mikey avoided Donnie’s probing eyes. “Angelo we’re not going there right?”

“...We are…” Mikey admitted.

Donnie stepped in front of Mikey’s wheelchair, standing between him and the arena, arms folded. “Mikey, this is a bad idea. What could you possibly need to do there? You can’t even walk on your own.” Donnie said.

“I’m not going to fight.”

“You’re damn right you’re not. But we’re not watching one either.” Donnie said firmly.

“Good, I don’t wanna watch.” Mikey shrugged, moving to go around Donnie.

Donnie stepped in front of the chair again. “Michelangelo. What is going on?” Donnie demanded.

Mikey paused, fidgeting uneasily. “Here, just follow me,” Mikey sighed, turning his chair around and leading Donnie away from the road, into the cafe tables of a coffee shop. Mikey parked at a spot next to a table, gesturing for Donnie to sit down. Donnie eyed the chair and frowned, sitting slowly.

Deep breath. “We have a sister.” Mikey admitted.

“Huh?” Donnie said, staring.

“Draxum, he made more than the four of us. There’s at least one more of us.” Mikey explained. “But she lives with Big Mama, she’s her assistant. When Draxum had me infiltrating the Battle Nexus, I saw her, I met her. Well, met is a strong word. I know of her. I need to tell her about us. I need to tell her about Dad. If she’s living in conditions half as bad as I was, she needs help.” Mikey stared at his hands, fidgeting with them.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“I told Leo.”

“What?” Donnie shouted, getting glares from the other patrons. “Why don’t I know about this?”

“I didn’t know how to bring it up or when,” Mikey admitted guiltily. “I need closure on this. Please, Donnie, we have to try.” Mikey pleaded, looking at his brother. Donnie sighed, shaking his head.

“Fine. I’ll go with you.” Donnie said, standing up. Mikey grinned excitedly.

“Thank you, Don,” He said, beginning to head back to the arena.

Getting into the arena was a bit more difficult than normal, the woman sitting at the entryway eyeing the wheelchair suspiciously. Mikey had to sweet talk his way in, assuring her it was temporary and he just needed to go in to support another fighter, giving the name of a fighter he saw all the time when he was fighting in the arena, Leatherhead. She finally relented, and let them in, Mikey thanking her and rolling into the entrance. Mikey was grateful most of the building had ramps and elevators. Getting through every security checkpoint, Mikey mentioned Leatherhead a few more times.

“Who is this Leatherhead guy?” Donnie asked after the third doorman.

“Former champion, nice guy, not the most stable but nice.” Mikey shrugged. “He was Big Mama’s big money maker a few years back, he started losing on purpose so she would let up on him a little.” Mikey whispered. Donnie looked mildly horrified at that idea, frown etching itself between his brows. Mikey steered them through the hallways, and through a room full of large, strong-looking yokai, a banquet table on one side and doors on the other. Mikey slipped through the door unnoticed, followed closely by Donnie. The hallway was lined with doors, but these had nameplates, gold and engraved with various names. Mikey kept rolling over the floor, looking to his left and studying the nameplates. Stopping in front of one, Donnie squinted to read it.

‘Frida.’ It read.

Mikey took in a deep breath, pushing the door open. Inside, there was a masked and hooded figure, who immediately became defensive, grabbing what looked to be a small knife from her hip. Mikey shot out his hands, showing that they were empty.

“Wait! Wait! I need to talk to you!” Mikey said quickly.

“Get out.”

“Please,” Mikey pleaded. Donnie didn’t have to see his face to know he was pulling the puppy dog eyes on her. She growled from behind her mask, pulling it off. She was small, looking similar to Mikey in all honesty, aside from the orange freckles splattered over her face, one large patch over one of her eyes.

“Make it quick.” Frida said coldly, stepping away from them. Mikey rolled deeper into the room, maneuvering so that he wasn’t blocking the door, dragging Donnie to follow by his wrist.

“We’re siblings,” Mikey blurted out. “We have the same fathers, we’re family.” He said quickly.

“No, we’re not,” Frida snorted, leaning against her desk.

“I promise I’m not lying. Your human DNA, it comes from Hamato Yoshi, you’re a Hamato. Baron Draxum is the one who mutated us, those are our fathers. Baron Draxum kidnapped Hamato Yoshi and tried to make super soldiers out of his DNA, his first experiment was on turtles, us. But the lab exploded, and we must’ve been separated, our dad, Yoshi, brought us to the human world and mutated into a rat, he raised us. You’re our sister, there’s two more of us too,” Mikey explained.

“They’re no father of mine.” Frida said adamantly. “Listen, I believe you. We’re both mutant turtles, it’s not like we were both made by chance. But you’ve got this completely backwards.” She explained.

“What do you mean?”

“My family is Big Mama. The hotel staff. The Nexus regulars.” She said.

“But they’re not, you don’t have to stay here, you can come with us, you can get away from all this.” Mikey offered.

“I don’t want to. Listen to my words, I am not interested in leaving any of this. This is my life. And I like it. I love my mom, I love my job. I love the hotel staff.”

“But your fami-“

“We’re not family!” she yelled. “Family has nothing to do with how you were created or whose DNA you have, it’s the people who were there, it’s the people who raised you, who helped you become who you are. I’m sorry you’re not content with your family, but I’m perfectly happy with mine. I’m not leaving with you, I’m not interested in meeting my “brothers”, I want you to leave me be. We’re not family.” Frida said firmly, grabbing her mask and pulling it back on. “When I get back, you better be gone, or I’m calling for backup and letting Big Mama handle you as what you are. Trespassers. Nothing more.” She spat, walking out of the door.

Mikey felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up, seeing Donnie frowning.

“I’m sorry Mikey-“

“No… she’s right…” Mikey mumbled, looking down at the floor. It all clicked into place for him, her words the catalyst. “We gotta go home.” Mikey said quickly, rolling the chair out of the room quickly.

Mikey peered around the corner, looking into his father’s room. There he sat, meditating on the floor. Without saying anything, Mikey walked across the floor, the carpet dampening the sounds of the wheels. Getting to the bed, he parked the wheelchair, using the bed to steady himself as he got up and lowered himself down to the floor across from his father, pushing the chair away, out of the way so he could see his father.

“Where did you disappear to?” Splinter asked, not opening his eyes.

Mikey paused for a minute, searching for the words. “I needed to do something in the Hidden City.” He admitted, crossing his legs with a bit of difficulty. “I need to talk to you,” Mikey added, blurting it out before he could stop himself, the guilt in his chest practically choking him with its venom.

Splinter opened his eyes, nodding at Mikey. For once he seemed to be there, present and willing to listen. It loosened the words caught in the back of Mikey’s throat, prodding him to continue.

“I’m sorry,” the words tumbled from his mouth, moving faster than he could think. “I’m sorry for disappearing, I’m sorry for going to him. I should’ve listened to you, all of you.” Mikey confessed, staring at his hands. “I just… I thought that maybe we could’ve been family. That we had an obligation to him because he created us. I wanted him to have a second chance to be part of our family.” Mikey said. The rest was on the tip of his tongue, the confession that was begging to be laid out and taken off his shoulders. Shame burned on his face as Mikey was faced with the realization of just why he had chosen to leave. Of the fact that he had tried to run from the problem instead of talking about it, something he’d chastised his brothers for doing for as long as he could remember. Drawing his knees to his chest, Mikey stared up at the ceiling, looking anywhere but his father. Not ready to see the hurt he was about to inflict. “Sometimes… I get jealous of Raph, Leo and Donnie. They remember more, they had more of you. I… I can’t remember any of it. I know you did your best, I know you were trying. But it still hurt so much. I wanted to be close to a parent. I wanted to have what we used to have. I should’ve told you I know, I just didn’t want to hurt you. I didn’t want to start conflict. I thought I had a second chance with Draxum.” Mikey sniffed, hot tears blurring his vision.

A heavy, loaded silence hung in the air, suffocating Mikey as he waited for his father’s response, for him to say something. Anything. Instead, there was a shuffling noise, and as Mikey looked down, a pair of arms encircled him, pulling him close and cradling his head.

“I’m so sorry, my son. I didn’t see you were hurting, I didn’t realize that you still needed me.” He spoke softly. “You boys are growing up so fast, I didn’t want to slow any of you down.”

“I’ll always need my dad,” Mikey sniffed, tears rolling down his cheeks, burying his face in Splinter’s shoulder, hugging his father back, clinging to him like he was a toddler again. Fighting down the sobs in his throat, Mikey paused, sniffing quietly. “Dad?”

“Yes?” Splinter replied, his own voice wavering.

“...Why didn’t he want me?” Mikey asked, voice barely a whisper. “I did everything he asked, I helped him, I made him safe. I taught him about humans. Why wasn’t I enough?” Mikey choked, a sob bubbling out of his throat as he buried his face deeper into Splinter’s shoulder. “I tried so hard and I just wasn’t enough to change for.” He wailed miserably, voice muffled by the fabric of his father's robe, soaked through with the tears that ran down his cheeks.

Splinter squeezed Mikey closer, as if he was trying to curl around his son despite their height difference. “It was never anything to do with you, my son. I promise it was never your fault.” He said, voice filled with pain and anguish. Mikey sobbed louder, squeezing himself against Splinter, clutching his robes in his fist.

They sat there for what felt like hours, Mikey slowly calming down. When Mikey finally pulled his face out of his father’s shoulder, he wiped at his face, the blurriness from the tears clearing. Someone coughed, and both of them whipped around, seeing everyone standing outside the door. Raph looked down guiltily, as April and Leo shot him a glare, and Donnie scrolled on his phone. “How long have you guys been there?” Mikey sniffed, laughing slightly.

“Long enough,” April replied, shrugging and walking in. The other three lingered in the door until April sat beside Mikey, reaching out and grabbing his hand gently. Her thumb gently rubbed over the back of his hand. “I’m glad you’re home.” She said quietly, smiling warmly at Mikey.

“Don’t do that I’m gonna cry again,” Mikey laughed, wiping his eyes with the heel of his free hand. Leo walked in, flopping down beside April, and Raph followed behind, dragging Donnie with him to sit on the other side beside Splinter. Without a single word, Raph dragged the blanket off of their dad’s bed and began pulling everyone around, rearranging them until they were in a massive turtle pile, Donnie only mildly protesting with an offended squawk. Raph hugged them close, and Mikey rested his head on Splinter’s shoulder, holding April’s hand still.

For the life of him, Mikey had no idea why he had been willing to give this up for Draxum’s approval and affection. Cause right at that moment, there was nothing better, no place he’d rather have been. How stupid had he been to give up time like this and waste it chasing greener pastures that were always just out of reach? Sighing contentedly, Mikey settled in, closing his eyes, the exhaustion weighing heavily on him, but feeling more at peace than he ever remembered being previously.