Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Lou Jitsu reached over to the container his cage was next to where three baby turtles resided. He picked up the smallest one, a box turtle with small orange spots. He cupped it with both hands. “Well, aren't you cute. I will call you Green, and you,” he said as he reached over and grabbed the biggest turtle, a snapper, “Green Number Two. Aw, how can I tell you turtles apart?’ He wondered aloud. 

“Ah, the great Lou Jitsu.” A figure spoke from behind him. Lou looked over to see a large man wearing a horned mask. “Your warrior prowess is legendary.”

“My fighting days are behind me.” Lou told him with a scowl. “I will never harm another creature.” He leaned down and kissed the snapping turtles on the head. A bad decision on his part. Green Number Two bit Lou’s lip. He shrieked, pulling the turtle away. “Why, you little-!”

“Fighting will not be needed,” the man said as he ignored the scene in front of him.”Only your innate genetic gifts.” He said darkly. Lou glared at him.

Baron Draxum used his vines to raise the cage higher. It moved him over towards a large machine in the middle of the room. The front of the cage was pressed against it when the entrance opened. Another vine pushed him forwards quickly. He spun around as vines quickly closed off the front of the machine. He looked down to see the Baron holding the small orange turtle. “What are you doing with Green?!” He asked, a hint of fear bleeding into his voice.

“You’ve taken quite a liking to these turtles. Fascinating creatures, built for survival and defense, yet they are too slow to be effective fighters.” Vines wrapped around the three turtles, carrying them towards another part of the machine above him. “Until now, when I use your DNA to mutate them.”

“Wait! Stop!” Lou demanded. “I will not let you turn these innocent creatures into violent monsters!”

 The Baron chuckled as he flipped a switch. Lou couldn’t see above him, but he could hear a whooshing sound. 

“I know I said I’d never fight again, but…” He grunted as he managed to pull his arms out of his restraints. He pulled the vines in front of him apart and jumped down yelling “Hot soup!” 

He kicked off the stand with the lever, and used the momentum to knee the Baron in the face. The force knocked the Baron away, into the machine still holding the three turtles. The turtles fell out of the machine onto the floor. 

“What have you done ?!” The Baron demanded as he quickly stood up and ran forwards. The two fought together before suddenly their was a violent explosion above, quickly getting closer. “What? No! My ooze!” The Baron was knocked away when a piece of debris hit him in the face. 

Lou took the opportunity to quickly slide forwards next to the turtles. “Precious little creatures. I will save you little turtles.” He said as he quickly scooped the three turtles up in his hands. The smallest turtles reached up at him and smiled with the biggest smile Lou had ever seen. He felt his heart warm. He had to get them out of there. Creatures squealed all around him. Lou looked around before seeing a big red button. Taking the chance, he slammed his fist down, breaking the button in half. An alarm wailed as the creatures were released. He reached into his shirt and pulled out the rat from Big Mama’s cell. “You too my- ow!” He dropped the rat as it bit his thumb. “Why, you little-!” He was cut off as ooze spilled all around him, landing on his clothing and skin. He shrieked as he felt his bones beginning to rearrange themselves. His skin changed color as his clothes tore. Throughout all this, Lou Jitsu managed to keep a hold of the three turtles. 

“No!” The Baron yelled as he reached out. Flames spread all around. Separating the two. Lou managed to make his escape, running out into the Hidden City. Somehow he was able to find a way into New York. He hid in an alleyway taking deep breaths. How was he going to take care of three turtles?

°°•°°

The Baron stood in front of his lab as explosions rang all around him. “My life's work.” 

“We are so sorry that Lou Jitsu destroyed your lab. That’s L-O-U-J-I-T-S-U.” Munnin said from his side. 

“But at least your loyal, hard working gargoyles saved your life.” Huggin said. 

Draxum ignored them. He could still carry on with his plan, but he’d have to start from scratch. “It will take years to rebuild.” He thought aloud. “I must begin again.” He began to walk away before pausing and turning. His goyales were not following. “What are you waiting for? Up, up.” He patted his shoulder. 

They both turned to each other smiling before saying, "Job security!” at the same time with a high five. They flew closer and landed on his shoulders, making themselves comfortable. 

The Baron waited until the flames died down to inspect the damage. Most of it was in good shape, but it would take a long time for him to rebuild his lab. Then he’d have to redo his research. Luckily, he managed to save some of Lou Jistu’s DNA. He’d have to save it until he could restart, but he could do it. It looks like he’ll have enough for only one turtle. He could work with that. 

°°•°°

Seven years passed before Draxum could finally begin his project. He’d managed to rebuild his entire lab, allowing himself upgrades and new equipment. He was finally ready. He mapped out what he would do this time. There was no one to stop him this time. From what it looked like, the mutation would put the turtle at a young age. He’d have to raise it. No matter, he would be able to deal with the little thing, with the help of his goyales of course.

He knew exactly what species to use this time. Known for their speed and intelligence. 

A red-eared slider.

Chapter Text

When Yon was old enough to walk, he had a small wooden sword shoved into his hand and was told to ‘train’ with it. He’d had no idea what he was supposed to do with it at the time, so he settled for chasing Huggin and Munnin around with it. They seemed like they had fun trying to dodge the stick, and it helped Yon get his energy out. He ran around giggling as they yelped and swiftly flew out of the way. Draxum never said anything about doing anything wrong so he continued. 

He spent a lot of his time trying to follow Draxum around. Somehow the man always managed to escape him. Yon didn't know why Draxum wouldn't spend him with him. He figured he must be very busy. He would probably make time for him tomorrow. 

He told himself that everyday.

°°•°°

When he was four, he was fitted for a training outfit. His little wooden sword was exchanged for a dull blade. He had a teacher who would show him how to stand, how to swing, and how to hold the best grip on his weapon. He never liked training. He kept getting distracted whenever his teacher would lecture him after doing something wrong. It was exhausting. Huggin and Munnin would watch from the sidelines as he got yelled at. His teacher has no patience for him. Even when he knows he did everything right, his teacher still found something to yell at him for. 

He eventually got used to the yelling. He would stand with a blank stare and listen to him yell until he stopped. Then he would fix what he apparently did wrong.

It always made him want to cry, but with his constant supervision it was made impossible.

°°•°°

When he was five, he learned why he shouldn’t ever call Draxum ‘dad’. He’d been too scared to leave his room for the rest of the day after Draxum had screamed at him. He even managed to close his door and block it before the gargoyles could get in. 

He decided to settle for Barry. 

°°•°°

When he was six, he learned what his name ment. He had overheard Barry talking about it to someone. Yon was japanese for the number four. He didn't know why Barry would name him after a number, but it must be because he was the youngest! Draxum must mean One, and Huggin and Munnin must mean Two and Three! They all had matching names! Yon found that extremely cool, but he didn't think any of them would like it if he brought it up so he kept it to himself.

°°•°°

Now he was seven, and Yon was mostly left to wander alone. He wasn’t allowed in Barry’s lab without his permission, which was where Barry spent most of his time. Huggin and Munnin would mostly fly close behind him as his designated babysitters. He liked to sneak away from the gargoyles whenever he had the chance. It was funny to watch them scramble to find him before Barry found out. He wasn’t allowed outside yet. Barry said he had to stay inside so Big Mama wouldn’t find him. He didn’t understand why she wasn’t supposed to know he existed, or who she even was, but he trusted Barry so he stayed inside. 

But sometimes he felt so lonely. He was by no means alone. He was constantly supervised, actually. He just…wanted more. He knew something was missing, he just didn’t know what. He felt it any time he saw red, purple, and orange. He felt it anytime he was awake during the late hours of the night. He couldn’t distract himself from the feeling anymore since Barry found out he'd wander around at night when he couldn’t sleep. Huggin and Munnin were told to sleep in his room to make sure he stayed in bed. He didn’t mind sharing a room, but he didn’t like the feeling of someone watching him at night. He would lay faced away from them and pretend to sleep. It didn't help that they took shifts so there was always someone to watch him. Huggin and Munnin were the biggest snitches Yon knew. He hates snitches. They were the biggest meanies ever.

Yon learned the phrase ‘snitches get stitches’ could be very literal recently . 

He had just finished his training lesson. His teacher had finally left after a long two hours. Huggin and Munnin got the great idea that they wanted to spare with Yon. Yon thought this was a great idea, but Huggin and Munnin didn't have dull weapons like Yon. They had to use the sharp weapons. 

None of them realized this was a bad idea until Yon had a large gash down the length of his upper arm. Yon screamed as he dropped his sword and gripped his arm. Blood flowed freely over his hand. Huggin and Munnin quickly dropped their own weapons and fluttered around him, unsure what to do. 

Barry came running in a minute later. “What happened?!” He demanded. 

Yon sobbed on the ground, unable to answer. He just pointed to the goyals flying around and sputtered out, “They- and swords- hurt me-” through his tears. 

Barry sighed and ran a hand down his face before crouching down. He not very gently removed Yons hand from the wound. “It's just a cut Yon. You can stop crying.” He stood up before turning to the goyals with a glare. “You two. Stitch him up then meet me in my lab.” 

After Barry left Munnin flew to get the first aid kit. Huggin was not very happy after Barry left. He landed on the ground in front of Yon with a glare as Munnin came back. “You know what they say kid. ‘Snitches get stitches'.” 

Now Yon ran through the halls towards the lab with week old bandages around his upper arm and the gargoyles behind him. Barry was in there now, hopefully he wouldn't mind if Yon stayed and watched him work. When he slid the door open, Barry was hunched over at his desk. 

“Barry?” Yon questioned, half hiding behind the slightly opened door.

Barry glanced over before looking back down. “Yon. What do you want?”

“Can I stay? Just to watch you. I won’t touch anything, promise!”

Barry paused for a second. “I suppose you can stay as long as you don’t break anything or wander too far.”

Yon beamed before quickly entering the lab. Last he had seen, there weren't as many flowers or glowy lights everywhere. The cages in the middle were new. “What are these for?” He questioned. 

Barry looked over. “Those are for holding experiments.” He answered.

“What's an experiment?”

“The process of testing a hypothesis.” 

“What's a hypo theme is?”

“ Hypothesis ,” Barry corrected, “and it's another word for theory.”

Yon blinked. “...what's a theory?”  

Barry sighed. “Yon, do me a favor and go grab me a pair of scissors. No rush.”

Yon blinked. “Where are they?” 

“The kitchen.”

Yon quickly nodded and ran out of the lab, the gargoyles, his ever present babysitters, not far behind him. 

He made his way to the kitchen and looked throughout the whole room. He couldn't find the scissors anywhere. He opened drawers, opened cabinets, climbed on the counters to see the top shelves, he even looked under the fridge. They were still nowhere to be found. The scissors weren't in the kitchen. He would have to look somewhere else. 

Yon refused to let Barry down.

Chapter Text

Having two older brothers was not easy. Mikey constantly felt babied all throughout his life. He remembers when he was younger he wished he was older than at least one of them, Unfortunately, Mikey couldn't change his age, and Donnie refused to try and help him. Mikey knew it was because he refused to give up his status as an older sibling, and because he thought it would be disastrous if Mikey was the oldest. Not that Mikey could blame him. He wouldn't give the status up either. 

Sometimes he felt like he could be a great big brother. If Mikey had a younger sibling, he'd let them do whatever they’d want. He’d also cook for them and draw with them and all the fun stuff Raph and Donnie did with him. For someone who didn't have a younger sibling, he sure thought about this a lot. 

Anyway, Mikey was getting ready for the funnest night ever! It was Cannonball Day! April works at a hotel with a pool on top so she was going to help them sneak into it. They were all getting ready in their own rooms. Mikey was almost ready, he just had to find his mask. Last he remembers, he’d thrown it on the floor last night. He crouched down and checked under everything, finding it buried underneath a stack of sketchbooks. He rubbed the soft fabric under his fingers. He still remembers when they each chose their colors. 

Mikey was six years old as their dad held out four brightly colored masks.

“Choose a color, my sons.” His dad said.

“Why are there four?” Donnie had asked.

“There are three of you. One would not get a choice if there were only three masks.” Splinter explained. Mikey looked down at the masks in his fathers hands. He really liked how the blue one looked. It was bright, but not in the same way the orange one was, and stood out as the only cool color. Mikey felt drawn to it, but after a few seconds he realized the orange one felt right. 

Mikey looked over and saw both his older brothers too felt drawn to the blue mask, but ended up choosing the purple and red ones instead. 

Mikey never understood why they’d all liked the blue one. It was an occurrence he’d noticed since that moment. Every time they had blue as an option, their eyes would linger on it before they selected their personal color. 

That didn’t mean they didn’t find a way to incorporate it into things. Mikey liked to use blue the most in his art. It made an appearance in every drawing he's ever made. Even the black and white ones with a splash of color. 

Half of Donnie’s inventions were blue, It evened out the purple that surrounded him. If there were two parts to an invention, half was blue while the other was purple. 

Raphs was more subtle than the others but it was there if you looked for it. He’d found two blue earrings one day and had put them on one of his mask tails. Some of his gym equipment was blue, either found or requested to Donnie. He’d paint his pinky fingernails blue and the others red sometimes. He even had blue sweaters and pants. 

None of them were doing this on purpose. Mikey was sure no one else had even noticed but him. 

Anyway, Mikey tied the mask around his head and ran out of his room. He was all ready to go. As he made it to the moat, he saw his brothers already waiting for him. “Sorry, I was looking for my mask.” Mikey apologized. 

“It's all good Mikey.” Raph said as he ruffled Mikey's head. 

“Raph stop!” Mikey protested while laughing and trying to escape.

Eventually his escape attempt was successful and they were all ready to go. As they made their way across the rooftops, they didn't notice the strange meeting taking place below them, nor did they notice two large figures chasing a small dog. 

Donnie quickly made a makeshift zipline connecting to the building across from them. Raph radioed April. “Yellow submarine, are we clear?” He asked.

“Affirmative red rover.” April responded. She was already at the pool to make sure they could use it. 

“Copy.” He turned to Mikey and Donnie. “Alright boys, it's go time.”

They all quickly attached their harness to the wire and launched themselves off the building. As they made it over the pool, they each released their harnesses. 

“Cow-” Mikey yelled. 

“A-” Donnie continued. 

“Bunga” Raph finished. 

“Cannonball!” They all yelled as they landed in the pool. April cheered beside them as they splashed all the water out of the pool. 

“You must be this rad to ride that ride.” Mikey said as he pointed to himself repeatedly.

Donnie walked over typing on his wrist tech. “Well based on our velocity and entry angle, I concur. We rad.” He said as he celebrated with Mikey. 

“You guys crushed it!” April said from the top of the pool. “Gimme five! Or three.”

They all pulled themselves out of the pool to high five her. 

“Couldn't have done it without ya April.” Raph said as he crossed his arms. “Our girl with the plan!” April bounced her hair bun a few times. 

“And keys to the roof.” Donnie said as he grabbed them. 

Mikey laid his arm across her and Raphs shoulders. “Let's go Bungee dunk the hoops at Ruckle park.”

“Game on!” April cheered. “Just one thing first. Wet floor and dry pool.” She said as she threw the signs down. “ work is done here. Donnie, can I hitch a ride?”

Donnie turned around. “No probbles.” April quickly jumped on as Donnies battle shell transformed into a hover shell. 

They all jumped off the roof to the next one when Mikey hears a crash behind him. They all spin around to see Raph had crashed into the wall. “Hey, hey guys hold up. Poor thing looks lost.” Raph said as he pointed to a creature on the ground. Raph jumped down beside it. They all quickly followed him. 

“Aww. Hey little guy. Whatcha doin’ here? Come to big Raphie.” He said in a baby voice. 

Mikey snickered behind him with April and Donnie. 

“What? Pets love me alright? I am at one with the animals.” Raph defended himself. 

Right before the strange dog thing jumped up and clawed at his face and jumped into April's arms. 

“It looks so weird. What is it?” Mikey asked, leaning towards Donnie. 

Donnie stepped towards April and the dog thing. “Maybe it's some kind of nuclear Saint Barnard?” He guessed. 

Two large figures, about the size of Raph, suddenly showed up. Raph gasped. “Humans! Initiate plan H.”

They all came out from where they hid behind April. “Excuse me sirs. Do you happen to know the way to the local science fiction convention that we are currently dressed for?” Raph asked.

“Snazzy alien turtle outfits, huh?” Mikey added in a nerdy voice. 

“We are just typical, normal humans who got lost in the middle of our normal, everyday human lives. Nailed it.” Donnie jumped in. 

“Dude you gotta start comin’ to rehearsal.” Raph whispered. 

The two men started coming closer. “Give to me creature, how you say, pretty please? Or I'll destroy you.”

Raph and April started back talking to the guys, talking about steps and stepping, until the men had enough and started glowing purple. They transformed into giant weird looking dudes on huge dogs. They had large weapons they pointed at them. 

“Oh I bet they're from Jersey.” Donnie said nonchalantly. 

The dogs charged at them, and Donnie shot his tech bo at them before failing miserably. The strange little dog suddenly teleported to fetch Donnie's Bo before bringing it back. Donnie got distracted by this before he was shot into a brick wall. Donnie got back up and began fighting again while Raph and Mikey took on the other one. 

Mikey and Raph hid behind metal beams before realizing it wouldn't work. They quickly discussed a new play before Raph was throwing Mikey at the villain. Mikey tried to use his nunchucks against him but ended up repeatedly smacking himself with them. The villain quickly broke Mikey's weapons. 

Mikey felt a burst of anger. “My chucks!”

“Hey!” Raph jumped in. “Why don't you pick on someone my size!” One of the giant dogs started chasing Raph around before he ran into a beam and fell to the ground. 

April stepped up to defend her fallen brothers, but a purple orb appeared around the dog creature. She tried to keep a hold of it, but they managed to take it from her. They opened a gateway in a brick wall.

Suddenly a random delivery guy on a bike came riding through, thinking it was a shortcut. They watched him ride straight into the portal, unable to stop in time. The villains quickly ran in. Mikey heard April yell before he saw her quickly run in behind them. They tried to chase after her, but the doorway closed before they could reach her. 

“April!” Raph yelled. 

“I think she's okay cuz there's no like, April bits on the ground.” Donnie said. They checked behind the wall but found nothing. 

Mikey was looking at the front of the wall though. The marking on it looked strangely familiar. He thought about where he had seen it before, before realizing his dad his the same symbol in their living room. 

They all quickly raced home before trying to plan how to get the object with the symbol. They tried asking for the living room for the night, but their father was too lazy to get up and move. 

“Plan one didn't work. New play!” Raph began. Eventually, Mikey got tired of trying to find a way to grab it, and eventually just grabbed it. “Alright, listen up. We need 10 chickens, a gallon of rubber cement, and-”

“I got it.” He said, holding it up.

“How'd you get it?” Raph asked.

“He always passes out after milk and cake.” Mikey deadpanned. 

Mikey's brothers looked over the chair and saw that yeah, splinter was out cold and covered in cake crumbs. 

They quickly made their way back to the wall so they could go rescue April. Raph stood in front of the wall with the object. 

“A few hours ago I would have called this foolish and impossible. Now I just call it foolish.” Donnie said next to him. Mikey looked over. 

“Say what you want Donnie . Raph will pull it off, cuz if he doesn't, we'll lose our best friend forever.”

“Mikey don't say that. You know he chokes under pressure.” Donnie told him. 

“He’s even more self conscious when you talk about it. And then you can smell his fear.” Mikey whispered.

Raph heard him anyway as he spun around and said, “Stop talkin’ about my fear stink!” He turned back around and tried to open the gateway. Mikey and Donnie watched as he began punching the wall in hopes that it would work. He threw the object at the wall and it bounced back and hit him in the face. Mikey quickly caught it and took matters into his own hands. 

He was able to open the portal before they all jumped in yelling “cannonball!” on the way down. They stared at the giant creatures that passed them. 

“This place is so cool!” Mikey said.

“Guys over here!” Mikey heard April whisper yell. He spun around.

“April!” He ran over and gave her a big hug, his brothers following close behind. 

“Where are we?” Raph asked. 

“Some kinda hidden city under New York!” April exclaimed. “I've been exploring.”

“Cool!” Mikey said. “Where's the weird dog thing?”

“Over there!” April pointed towards some creepy looking laboratory. They started walking towards it. When they opened the doors, they saw a giant organic room inside. Mikey heard Donnie fangirling behind him. They looked down from a ledge, seeing the little dog and the delivery guy. 

“We gotta help them!” Raph began.

April quickly shot him down as she said, “Wait! Someone's coming!” 

They watched as a door opened and a tall sheep man walked out. The delivery guy began talking to him about calamari and pig butts. 

The man ignored him before walking over to the dog. “So nice of you to return my vial.” He said in a deep voice. Mikey watched as he reached into the cage and ripped it off the little dog's neck. The man walked back to the delivery boy and said, “you are about to be a part of an experiment that will change the very nature of humanity.” 

They then watched as the man turned the delivery boy into an imitation crab.

“The mutation worked! Just like it did all those years ago.” 

“Mutation? You mean like us?” Raph asked. 

“Could we be part imitation crab?!” Mikey asked. 

Donnie laughed. Then said, “You are not kidding are you?” 

“We can't let that sheepman do anything to that dog!” April panicked. 

“But we don't have our weapons!” Mikey said. 

“Guys who needs weapons? We're ninjas!” Raph exclaimed.

April interrupted him. “I know where there's a room full of weapons.”

She left them towards a weird slide where they fell into a weaponry room. They began looking around before Raph said “Guys! How about we take the glowing ones!” 

Mikey looked over and saw four glowing weapons, all in each of their colors. The first one he noticed was a blue one. It was small, almost child sized. Why anyone would need a child sized sword, Mikey didn't know. He tore his eyes away towards the orange one and grabbed it. It was a chain with a ball at the end. Raph grabbed the red one while April grabbed the purple one to hand to Donnie. 

“No, I'm good. I'll never let you go.” He said to his tech bo. “This looks interesting though.” He swiped a crystal off the stand and walked over to his brothers. He looked at the glowing sword on the display. “And this.” He reached up, grabbed it, and tucked it safely in his battle shell. No one questioned why he took it. 

They returned to the other part of the lab. The villain was monologuing as they tumbled through the slide thing. They landed on a platform above him, drawing his attention. 

“Give us the dog thing!” Raph demanded. Donnie piped in with an addition, then April, and it continued until it got too confusing to keep up with. Mikey let his eyes wander. They landed on the man in front of them, looking up at them with big glassy eyes.

Mikey saw him mouth ‘Your beautiful’. 

Just as Mikey saw April about to jump down, a tiny voice caught everyone's attention.

“Barry, I found the scissors!” 

A tiny boy came running into the room. Mikey felt the urge to tell him not to run with scissors, but the man in front of them, Barry, said something first. 

“Yes, yes, thank you. You can leave now.”

It was said harsh and mean and Mikey saw the little boy's face crumble into hurt and confusion. 

The little boy stopped in place, and Mikey could see he was a turtle. “What? But you said I could stay?” His little voice wobbled, trying to keep his emotions at bay.

“And now I'm telling you to leave. Go.” He said sternly.

“But-” 

“ Go! ” He used a pink vine to push the little turtle away. The kid stumbled back before falling. His face scrunched up as he looked up at the man before he turned and ran away. 

Mikey heard everyone yelling at the sheepman for how he treated the little boy, but Mikey was focused on the kid. He hadn't run out of the lab, only out of sight. Mikey saw him hiding behind some vines to the side. 

Suddenly his brothers and sister jumped down and began to fight Barry. Mikey quickly joined them, running over vines and fighting huge robot things, before April got caught in some weird vine trap and his weapon began glowing. Suddenly it spun out of control, taking him with it. He spiraled up the giant pillar in the center, before crashing to the ground. He groaned as he heard a small gasp to his side. He looked over and saw the little boy looking up. Mikey followed his gaze and saw the pillar sparking and beginning to collapse. Mikey was distracted by this and didn't notice Raph and Donnie get caught until he was being flung into a wall beside them, encased in the same strange vine trap. 

Donnie used his goggles to look around, before seeing what Mikey had seen before. He interrupted the villain monologue saying, “I don't know if this is part of your plan but the lab is about to explode!”

Everyone began to panic as the Baron, who'd called himself Baron Draxum, looked up. 

He sucked in a sharp breath as he quickly opened a portal and ran through, the gargoyles quickly following. 

Mikey heard a strangled gasp as the kid ran out from where he was hiding. “ Barry wait! ” He screamed as he ran towards the portal. 

It closed before he could get there, and he had to stop before a giant piece of scaffolding landed on him. Mikey watched as the little boy dodged falling pieces and a piece broke off, hitting the boy in his arm. The kid cried out before spinning around trying to find an escape. Mikey saw him panicking before popping into his shell, not knowing what else to do. 

Somehow, Mikey found the strength not even Raph has found to be able to break free of his restraints. He ran towards the little shell on the ground, picking it up and cradling it close. It was so tiny compared to him. He heard his brothers yelling his name behind him. He quickly ran back over and saw the dog had escaped his cage. As he joined the group the little dog teleported them away from the lab, back to the gateway where Mikey quickly used the object with the symbol to open the gateway, holding the little boy tightly in one arm. They all jumped through, landing in a pile on the other side. April made sure the little dog was okay, while Raph noticed Splinter's object was broken. 

Mikey, on the other hand, stayed on the ground as he held the little boy. He could feel him shaking. “Guys.” He said, trying to get the others' attention. They continued talking over him, trying to figure out a name. “ Guys.” He said more firmly. It worked and they all looked down at him. Raph blinked in shock before crouching down. 

“He was still in there?! I thought he ran out!” 

“We need to go, people's blinds are starting to open.” Donnie said.

“What are we supposed to do with him?” Mikey asked, concerned. They couldn't just leave him here. Someone would see him. 

Mikey could see Raph thinking. “We can take him home for now, until we figure out if he has somewhere else to go.” 

With that, the four, now five, made their way back to the lair. Something told Mikey this wasn't just some random kid. He felt a strange sort of connection to him that he couldn't explain. It was similar to how he felt with Raph and Donnie, but somehow different.

It kind of felt like… oh.  

Big brother instincts.