Archive of Our Own ^beta

Raph barges through the fifth lab door of the day. It’s sickening that this place has so many areas filled with experimented on animals. The sweetest, most innocent ones he could think of turned into violent, bloodthirsty monsters.

And Mikey was trapped here somewhere with them.

He runs past several cages. Claws and arms poke out from them, attempting to draw his blood. He’d like to help them, but there’s not much he could do, and Mikey takes priority above all else.

Calling out for his brother doesn’t garner much response. He probably wouldn’t be able to hear him over all the sounds each mutated animal is making.

Roars.

Growls.

Yowling.

……Whimpering?

He stops in front of a cage, seeing something cowering in the corner. It was too dark to see it in there.

Raph thinks that this must be an animal they haven’t mutated yet. Maybe it would be alright to help just this one.

He breaks the lock off and carefully opens the cage. The whimpering stops and suddenly he’s lunged at. Raph barely has any time to react or even scream from how fast it moves.

A squeal of fear escapes from his mouth. Luckily, his kindness isn’t rewarded with a mauling. The animal clambers onto his shoulder and perches on top of the back of his shell.

There’s no opportunity for him to even see it.

He’s guessing it’s friendly, though? It hasn’t spilled any of his blood yet. Raph sighs. The place it’s taking is Mikey’s.

“Alright, you can stay up there, but I need to go find my brother.”

The animal lets out a confused noise. Raph holds onto it like he always does with his brothers when they’re hitching a ride on his shell and begins walking.

“His name is Mikey. He’s got spots and the biggest smile you’ll ever see. Mikey’s also super talented. Kid can bake, draw, and dance better than anyone.”

The animal squeezes him slightly. Raph can feel it wagging a tail. He wonders why it would get excited about what he’s saying but he knows he’d probably never get an answer.

“I love him. A lot. I’d do anything for him. We used to be even closer, but….older brothers aren’t so impressive to younger ones when they’re way more…..talented. Anything I do to protect him just seems like I’m tryna to be annoying to him. It’s fine because I love him and I won’t stop doing it, but I….just miss being cool.”

He feels something wet on the back of his neck and shudders.

“Ew! Did you just drool on me!? Come on!”

Sad, pitiful noises make him realize that he guessed wrong.

“Hey, sorry for saying all that….you’ve probably been through enough already.”

The animal rubs his cheek on the top of Raph’s head.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m not sad. Not as long as I find him.”

The animal rubs more as a response.

Raph smiles and continues walking. As he does, the animal begins trying to turn him a certain way. It’s confusing, but then he starts to think that maybe it knows where Mikey is.

Or he does until it leads him to an exit.

“I can’t go without my brother. Here, you get out, you’ve probably been trapped long enough.” He attempts to get the animal off but it refuses.

“Listen, I can’t-“

He suddenly hears the sound of a bunch of cages opening.

Change of plans.

He takes off running with the animal still held tight on his shoulders. Either the other animals are fast or he’s slow because they’re catching up fast.

The animal on his shoulders wriggles around a lot.

“I can’t let you down! They’re still coming!”

The animal doesn’t stop, eventually worming its way out of his grip. It lands behind him so he whirls around to finally get a good look.

No.

He can’t have been so stupid.

The animal now in front of him has claws, glowing red eyes, and spots.

“M-Mikey….?”

Mikey smiles sadly, shyly, as if he’d been caught stealing cookies instead of pretending he wasn’t mutated and hiding it.

Then, he turns to face the other mutated animals.

“No! MIKEY!” Raph screams.

Mikey growls loudly at the creatures as they come close. His marks start to flicker, as if they want to glow bright with his ninpo but can't anymore. Some part of Raph wonders what that means... but currently, he's terrified of what Mikey is going to do.

He's never heard him growl like that.

It's deep and guttural, much lower than Mikey has ever made his voice go.

Mikey suddenly lunges, running on all fours at the army of mutated monsters coming at them.

One creature that looks like it may have once been part wolf tries to swipe at him, but Mikey dodges it and swings his tail at him instead, sweeping out the hind legs and causing it to trip. Mikey's tail suddenly becomes sentient, grabs the hound and swings it like a club, knocking back several mutated animals before tossing the wolf like the world's furriest bowling ball. It slams into a row of oncoming beasts, slowing them down.

Raph can't let Mikey do this alone.

That's not what brothers do.

Not again.

He punches his fists together, creating two large hologram arms, and charges to join the fray.

Mikey is becoming wilder and wilder by the second, his grimace turning into a nasty snarl with sharp fangs beginning to jutt out. His eyes begin getting wider, the red irises glowing brighter and brighter. There are strange spines starting to creep out of his shell, the scales on his arms becoming sharp scutes like armor. Even his whipping tail -- which was much shorter before this crazy thing -- is starting to grow spines on it, the end practically looking like a mace or medieval weapon.

Raph is starting to get scared of his baby brother.

"Mikey! Mikey, you okay?" he asks, as he pushes several mutated raccoons and beavers aside.

Mikey doesn't respond beyond a gravelly low growl as he grabs a mutant badger by the tail and flings it into a wall.

How many animals are there?!

The hall is starting to fill up!

"Mike, we gotta get outta here! I can't hold these guys off for much longer!" he grunts, creating a few extra hologram arms to help ward off the rest. "Plus, I don't wanna hurt em!"

Mikey doesn't seem to hear him as he roars at the hoard. A few creatures start to back away in fright, before what looks like a mix between a boar and a porcupine starts running at them.

"That's our cue!" Raph shouts, grabbing Mikey. The spines and spikes protruding from his shell stab his palms and scrape his arms...

Mikey whirls around and bites Raph hard on the hand.

He yelps as he drops him. There's a mark on his hand, a deep indent. A small puncture wound begins to turn bright red. A tiny flow of blood begins to form just above his thumb.

Raph stares at Mikey.

Mikey glares back, the glow in his eyes bright as the blood on his hand.

"...Mikey...?"

His voice is a whisper. He can't stop shaking.

A moment passes and the glow in Mikey's eyes begins to dissipate, the spikes and spines slowly creeping back into his shell and skin. His tail smoothes out and starts to curl around his feet. His demeanour shifts, from one of a feral animal to a scared kid slowly coming out of a tantrum. He looks at Raph in fear as he realizes what he did. He whimpers, backing away slowly...

"Wait, it's okay! Really, I'm not mad, I --"

The mutant boar reaches them, slamming head-first into Mikey and throwing him into a wall. Mikey grunts with pain, a large crater forming in the drywall where he landed. He gets up quickly, his eyes immediately shifting back to red as he goes to retaliate.

Raphael watches in shock and horror as Mikey grabs the boar by the tusks and rips them out from his jaw. The pig squeals in agony and charges again, two smaller tusks quickly starting to grow back almost instantly.

"MIKEY!!"

"R--aph! Ra-- Come in, do y-- read me--?"

"Leo?!"

Raph looks down at his communicator. He totally forgot about it for a second... Leo and Donnie had been searching the other floors of the facility looking for Mikey, too! He should have let them know he'd found him --

"RAPH! I repeat, Raph, can you hear me?!"

"Yeah!" he shouts back over the screaming behind him. "I read you, Leo!"

"What the heck is all that noise?!"

"Long story short, I found Mikey. We need an escape, like, NOW."

"Donnie's on it," comes a second voice on the comms. "What floor are you on?"

"Five," he responds quickly, ducking from another mutant's attack. "I think we've been made. There were cages filled with animals and they all got released at once!"

"I'm coming now!" Donnie shouts. Raph can hear his hovershell whirr in the background, wind start whipping past the mic as he speeds towards them.

"Leo, where are you?"

"I just came from the basement. You guys will never believe what I found --"

"You can tell us on the way home, but we have to go NOW!!"

For a moment, Raph forgets that he isn't the leader anymore. For a moment, he's in charge and it's all on him to get them out. He's in control of everything and doesn't have to wait on Leo to make a self-sacrificing decision to solve everything like he tends to do.

"Okay, boss man. I'll meet you all outside in the turtle tank."

Raph sighs with relief.

"Got it. Donnie, ETA?"

"Right behind you -- oh what in the name of unholy science is that?!"

Raph turns around to see Donnie slowly coming to a halt, hovering over Mikey. The box turtle has defeated the boar at this point, slamming it hard into a wall until the boar slumped with a groan onto the floor.

"Is... is that Mikey --"

"Donnie, just find us an exit!" Raph shouts as he grabs Mikey, who doesn’t bite him again but struggles against his hold until he sees who's holding him.

"R-right... right... Uh, take a left, that window leads directly to the alley where Leo is waiting..."

The intercom buzzes again.

"What did Donnie say? What's going on with Mikey?!" Leo asks, his voice in a panic.

"Get the tank started, we're coming to you."

"But what about Mikey?!"

"He's here with us."

"Why doesn't he respond--"

Raph crashes through the window before he can answer, landing with a thud against the top of the tank. Mikey howls loudly, whining in fear and scratching at Raph's arms to let him go. He sees Donnie for the first time and makes a feeble chirp.

Donnie stares wide-eyed at him, mouth open and hands trembling.

Raph scrambles into the tank, holding Mikey tightly. Donnie follows after him, silently staring at his baby brother.

"There you guys are!" Leo yells, a wave of relief rushing over him. "I was starting to get really --"

He sees him.

"What... what happened to..."

"Just drive," Raph orders, holding Mikey close. "Just get us out of here."

Leo nods slowly, turning to Donnie. He receives the silent command and navigates the tank, speeding away.

Raph held onto his brother for half of the drive home before Mikey finally broke free and started scuttling about the tank, sniffing everything and nibbling on the edges of the console in curiosity.

"Hey! Hey now, no — bad Angelo, bad!" Donnie scolds, his shell concocting a mechanical arm with a spray bottle and squirting at Mikey.

He hisses at the water, scrambling away and crawling under Raph's chair with a low growl.

"I don't think he likes that, Don," Raph mumbles.

"Well, I don't like him trying to eat my baby," Donnie rebuts, gently cleaning the console and even giving it a kiss for good measure.

"What happened to him?" Leo asks, his voice soft and weak as he glances back at the youngest Hamato, still scrunched up under the eldest's chair, his eyes glowing and reflecting the light around him like a wild dog's.

"I... I don't know," Raph whines. "I didn't even recognize him at first."

Raphael hears Mikey make a sad whimper at that admission. Raph lowers his hand down, and Mikey rubs his face against his knuckles. Leo sets the tank to autopilot and walks over to look at Mikey.

He kneels down slowly, crouching on all fours to get a better look at him. Mikey slinks back slowly before recognition crosses over his face, and he gives his older brother a mild smile.

His tiny sharp teeth glint in the light, causing Leo to lean away and Raph to retract his hand. Mikey stops smiling.

"Oh, Miguel, what did they do to you?" Leo whispers, slowly reaching forwards to cup his face.

Mikey purrs at the touch, leaning into it. Leo tries to coax him out, gently tugging his face ever so slowly. Mikey attempts to retract at first, but eventually relents and allows the leader to softly pull his face out into the light for a better inspection.

Mikey's face is covered in scars, scrapes, scratches. His skin is no longer cerulean green, but a much darker, deeper shade of forest green. It contrasts sharply against the bright yellow spots that now cover his face, spotted across his cheeks and eyes, speckling all along his arms and legs. His hands and feet are now claws, and Leo wonders if Mikey can still draw or cook or dance with them. They are sharp, and small red bloodstains are underneath the dirty fingernails.

Leo swallows nervously.

Mikey chirps at him, trying to be positive. At least one thing is still the same...

Leo smiles, and brings him closer for a hug. Mikey sniffs Leo's shoulders and arms before attempting something similar to a hug. His arms drape over him, his tail wraps around Leo and curls over his toes on the opposite side. His tail had barely been more than two or three inches long before, now it must be two or three feet...

Mikey chirrs at him again, attempting to communicate.

"Are... are you trying to talk, bud?" Leo asks, pulling away just enough to get a proper look at Mikey’s expression.

Mikey's face scrunches up as he forces noises from his throat. Soft growls, low groans, grumbles and moans as he attempts to get his vocal chords to work properly again.

Tears start forming in his eyes, frustration bubbling up. His tail whips around in anger, slashing against the console and creating a small gash in the metal.

"Whoah, hey!" Leo says, grabbing Mikey's dotted and spotted arm.

Mikey stares at him in shock and fear.

He can't do it.

He can't get the words out anymore.

His eyes communicate basic emotions. Fear. Panic. Desperation. Utter grief.

"We'll figure it out, bud," Leo promises, rubbing Mikey's arm. "I promise."

Mikey blinks at him.

He tries to smile again. Without showing his teeth.

"Donnie," Leo calls. His twin is trying to fix the gash in the metal. "Goggles?"

Donatello pauses from his repairs and turns to Mikey, flicking his goggles down and inspecting his transformation.

Mikey flinches suddenly, whimpering as Dee starts inspecting him all over. Donnie grabs his arm and lifts it up to scan it, but Mikey starts struggling against him, crying like a little child. His eyes swap between Leo and Raph, begging one of them to help. He opens his mouth and moans at them, trying desperately to speak, say something. All he can manage is croaks and whines.

"Ah, ah...! Ah! Ah! Mmnghh! Ah!"

"Mikey, what's wrong?" Raph asks, worried.

"I'm assuming he doesn't like me poking around him," Donnie suggests. "I'm guessing it has something to do with whoever did this to him."

"What?" Leo asks, his voice cracking. "W-what do you mean?"

"Well, it's obvious enough that Mikey didn't do this to himself," Donnie says flatly. "Therefore, logically, someone else did this to him. He was in a lab, so I'm guessing scientists wanted to either study mutations on other mutants, or maybe they were just experimenting in general. It doesn't really matter at this point. They'll still have to deal with me."

Mikey's eyes widen at Donnie. He slowly relaxes, letting him continue.

"Anyways, I guess me examining him brought up traumatic memories. Scan complete, by the way," he announces, releasing his hold on Mikey's arm.

Mikey scuttles away, still slightly wary of his new surroundings. He creeps around the tank, looking at everything like it's brand new, like he’s never been in this tank before.

"Just don't go biting anything, okay?"

"Or anyone," Raph whispers.

"Did he bite you?" Leo asks in shock.

Raph shows him his hand, and Leo jumps to help clean and bandage it up. For such a small puncture, it's bleeding a lot. And who knows what else has been in Mikey's mouth? They can't risk an infection.

Mikey explores the tank and rediscovers the ice cream machine as Donatello uploads the scans and information to his network. The look on his face says that it probably isn't good news...

"What is it?" Leo asks.

"Just... complicated," Donnie assures him. "Nothing a genius can't fix..."

There is hesitance in his voice. Anxiety. Worry. Doubt.

Fortunately, Mikey doesn't hear it. He's too distracted by the overflow of frozen confections pouring from the nozzle. He flinches and hisses at the cold, sneering at it. He doesn’t like the cold very much.

After a few minutes, they arrive at the lair.

Splinter, Casey Jones Jr., and S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.2.0 wait at the garage as the turtle tank zooms in, the tires screeching to a halt as the automatic brakes kick in. The vehicle lurches slightly, then settles.

Splinter's foot taps anxiously. CJ twists and twirls his weaponized hockey stick in his hands. S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.2.0 hovers in circles over their heads. They wait in silence for the boys to emerge.

After a moment, Raph's head pops out of the window.

"We'll be out in a minute!" he shouts. "Just... figuring out some stuff..."

"Well, hurry up!" Splinter shouts back. "I want to know how your mission went."

"Did you find Mikey?" CJ asks nervously.

Raph doesn't answer, apart from a slight grimace; his Raph chasm wrinkles with stress as he slinks back into the tank.

From the window, CJ sees four figures in the vehicle. Four? Four!

"They have him!" He exclaims with excitement, tugging on Splinter's sleeve. "They got Mikey back!"

Splinter's face breaks out in a smile, looking up in desperation as he tries to get a glimpse. S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.2.0 does a backflip, whooping his signature phrase 'booyakasha!' at the good news.

"Where do you see him?" Splinter asks, leaning back and forth as he tries to spy his son.

"In the tank. I think he's talking with the others..."

CJ sees silhouettes moving around in the tank, but no real discernible figures.

One that he can clearly recognize as Raphael had walked back into the cockpit and started talking with the others, using animated movements to accentuate his point. They must be having a serious discussion, or an argument. The two other figures, Leo and Donnie, start putting in their notes, obviously not happy with something he's said or suggested. They all start arguing together. The fourth and smallest silhouette begins moving away, crawling onto the console and coming into focus... wait, what?

Casey's eyes widen when he sees the face staring at him.

The yellow spots against dark green skin almost make him look like a reverse leopard. Crouching on the console, slouching hard and pressing his face up against the glass, slobbering slightly as he watches CJ with intensity.

He feels like he is being hunted for some reason. The glowing red eyes freeze him to his spot.

"Future boy, what are you looking at...?" Splinter asks, looking up. He can't see from the angle he's standing at. He starts backing up to try and get a better view.

From inside the tank, one of the brothers pulls Mikey off the keyboard and away from the glass. Splinter couldn't catch a glimpse. He sighs.

"What is taking them so long?"

"I can message Donnie and see what's up," S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.2.0 offers, beeping quietly as he sends a signal into the tank.

After a moment, he gets a response.

"Donnie says they're still talking."

"What about?" Splinter asks, growing irritation and impatience bubbling up inside him.

S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.2.0 shrugs his rotors.

"That's it. I'm going in," Splinter grumbles.

"W-wait," Casey stutters, not sure what to do in this situation. He doesn't even know what 'this situation' is! But... was that really Mikey?

Splinter saunters to the floor hatch of the turtle tank and climbs up the ladder. He opens the hatch and starts to climb inside when a dark green blur suddenly zooms past him, knocking him down and running past him.

"AGH! Mikey! Catch him, don't let him get away--!"

S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.2.0 yells out an electronic cry of shock as he flies upwards, avoiding the blur as it blazes past.

"WHOAH! Look out dude, incoming!!"

Casey screeches in fright and lifts his leg away just as the blur zooms past him, barely missing him. It runs into the lair, turning a corner and disappearing.

"Mikey, come back! Pops! Are you okay?" Raph asks, panicking at the sprawled figure of his father on the ground.

"Uggggh.... someone get the number of the truck that hit me," Splinter groans.

"He'll be fine," Donnie says flatly, peering down at his dear Papa.

"What was that?!" CJ yells, running up to the tank to help Splinter. "Was that Mikey?"

"It -- uh," Leo mutters, nervously climbing down. "It... was..."

"What happened to him?" CJ asks with terror in his eyes.

"We don't know," Raph sighs. "Donnie did a quick scan, but we have yet to see the results."

"I'll go get the lab ready, then," S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.2.0 states before buzzing away.

"Orange...?" Splinter groans, looking up. "Where did he go?"

"Into the lair," Casey points. "Should we go after him?"

"Probably," Donnie says, already running after him. "He might try to attack the projector or something."

"What?!" Splinter yells, immediately running back inside. "My tv!!"

Shelter. Must find shelter.

Mikey scrambles around the lair after accidentally squashing something underfoot. The smell tells him it's someone familiar. The softness and squishiness of the body tells him it must be... uhhh.... the father. His name is... eeehh... rat? No...

He'll figure it out later.

Right now, he wants safety. Security. Familiarity and comfort. Not this metal moving thing.

He runs away from the vehicle he was shoved into and dashes into the corridor, past another person. He doesn't see the face. He catches the smell as he passes it. It's not as familiar, but he recognizes it. He doesn't remember how. He can't recall if it's a good smell or a bad one.

The figure jumps at his speed. Mikey isn't sure if he wants to attack it or leave it. He moves so fast that he doesn't get to pick, and simply allows the adrenaline to run him. Literally.

Shelter. Find shelter.

Mikey's eyes work differently now. The area is darker than the cage he lived in. His vision doesn't adjust, but shifts. He can't see shapes and lighting and colours so much as temperatures. Heat vision activates. He skids under something big and soft. It is very dark under here.

Not safe. Not shelter. Find shelter.

But what IS the shelter he so desperately wants? What is he looking for??

He hears something. He pokes his head out from under the cloth-covered structure he hid under -- the couch.

It sounds loud, lots of voices and sounds and noises and... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmusic? Music!

That is a word! He remembers that word! He likes it, he likes music.

The other sounds are agitating him, though. He covers his ears for a moment. He can't tell what is making the noise. There's no one in the room but him. He looks up and behind. Something in a rectangle shape is glowing brightly with mechanical heat. The noise is coming from that. He growls at it, but it doesn't seem to want to hurt him. Does it??

Mikey slithers out from under the object he's been hiding beneath. He slowly stalks up to the device. He hisses at it. He whips his tail. It doesn't do anything. Just makes noise and light.

It is not dangerous. Just annoying.

Mikey runs out of the room.

He likes the extra space. It isn't cramped like the cage, or confined like that big metal vehicle.

Zoomies. Zooming around. Run. Free. Space. Freedom.

Mikey runs into another room. It is much brighter in here. His vision adjusts again, causing a minor headache between his eyes. It vanishes quickly. He glances around the room. There are countertops, cabinets, a table with benches.

Sanctuary? Safe?

It feels familiar enough...

He crawls around the room, sniffing.

It smells amazing. So many scents and aromas... how has he never smelled them all before now?? He had, once. But not like this! Not so strong and aromatic... It starts to become a bit overwhelming.

He jumps up onto a counter top and scratches at a cabinet door. After a few tries, he gets it open. It is filled with dishes and mugs. Mikey sniffs the mugs, bumping each one with his beak, trying to find a scent he can recognize. He finds one. Bitter, but the smell makes him think of the colour purple. Coffee...

Mikey hops down and starts looking around more. There is a big door at the end of the room. He hooks his claw around the door and pulls. There is food inside it but --

COLD!! Don't like it, we don't like it!

Mikey makes a small screechy noise as he slams the door shut. He shivers violently at the temperature. Whatever they did to change him, they made him very sensitive to the cold...

Mikey leaves the room... the 'kitchen'.

Another word! Yay!

Mikey smiles. This new place is much better. Helps his head. Helps his thoughts.

Mikey zooms.

Mikey pauses at an opening... it leads to a large empty tunnel.

Not empty...

Big metal thing? Big metal house??

Safe... Shelter...

Mikey goes towards the big metal houses. One has a series of keypads and locks on the door, pink and purple lights blinking from the inside. One has red designs and patterns painted over the doors, with hanging lanterns lighting up the windows. One has a hole with a curtain covering it from the inside.

Mikey presses his face against the tarp, pushing through it. He peeks into the room, looking around. There are weapons pinned to the walls and comics scattered across the floor, boxes piling up by the shelves with trophies and action figures, posters for music groups and sci-fi movies plastered and taped to the windows. It is dimly lit, causing his vision to switch in between heat-seeking and not. But it is inconsistent and shifting, causing a splitting headache as his eyes try desperately to decide which way to go before simply splitting the difference and causing everything to look like lava lamps.

Not shelter.

Mikey creeps to the next metal house... it has orange and yellow paint decorating it. Flames and chains and suns and smiles and silly faces. It's so bright.

The door is wide open.

Mikey slinks inside.

It isn't dark in here. There are fairy lights hanging all around, sparkling and illuminating the room softly. There are small lamps plugged in by the floor, and neon LED lights hanging from the walls. The room is full of colour, but not overpowering. Calming. There are shelves with toys and action figures. There is an entire wall covered with paper drawings. A desk with crayons, pens, pencils, paints, spray cans...

A hammock.

Mikey wiggles slightly, adjusting himself and calculating his jump. He leaps up into the hanging cloth, finding pillows and blankets filling it up. It is so soft...

He digs into it, grabbing it with his teeth and kneading it with his knuckles. Once he is satisfied with how it has been folded and jumbled, he buries his face into the blanket, churring and purring as he crawls into the space he has prepared.

It is dark, warm, quiet.

Safe. Shelter. Finally.

Mikey smiles.

"...Well he's gotta be somewhere -- did anybody check his room?"

A voice infiltrates the silence. A familiar smell. Blue walks in, disturbing the peace. Mikey doesn't mind. He's happy he's here. He can trust Blue. Blue smells trustworthy.

Blue quietly walks to the mound on the hammock and lifts the blanket up slightly.

Mikey beeps at him with a smile. His tail wags happily.

Blue smiles back at him.

"There you are," he says. "Welcome back to your little habitat, Mikey."

Leo had called the rest of the family into the room once he found Mikey.

The others creep in one by one, Casey and Splinter coming closest to get a good look at Michelangelo. As they get closer, Mikey hunches up under the blankets, a low rumbling noise coming from his throat as he tries to determine whether or not they are enemies.

"Orange?" Splinter whispers. "My son... do you not recognize me?"

Mikey pauses, his eyes wide and softly glowing. He pushes his nose forwards, sniffing. Splinter reaches his hands out for him to get a scent from. After a moment, Mikey chirps. Splinter passed the test.

Mikey glances over at Casey, still unsure how to feel. Casey reaches forwards, trying to let him sniff his hands as well. But Mikey squeaks nervously and retracts his head back into the blankets.

"He doesn't like me," Casey whimpers. "What did I do? Do I scare him?"

"I don't know, dude," Leo sighs. "But don't feel bad. You know Mikey, he'll love you again soon!"

Casey nods as he steps away. As he does, Mikey extends his head out again, looking around the room at the people watching him.

"Why doesn't he seem to recognize us?" Splinter asks.

"I'm not exactly sure," Raph answers. "I think he does recognize us, somehow. He knew me!"

"And he seemed to recognize me and Donnie well enough," Leo chimes in.

"It could be that he couldn't see us clearly."

"Huh?" Leo asks, turning to his twin. "What do you mean? He's blind?"

"No, not blind," Donnie corrects. His shell extends a hand with a flashlight in it, shining it at Mikey's face.

Mikey hisses at the light, squinting slightly and blinking hard. But Donnie's point is made when the group sees Michelangelo's eyes reflect and refract the light.

"Tapetum lucidum," Donnie explains. "It's a layer on the eyes beneath the retina that many animals have. It reflects light. And, as you probably (or at least, hopefully) know, we do not have reflective eyes. Mikey did not have reflective eyes before..."

The room goes silent. Raph begins to fidget.

"So... his vision is weird now?" Leo asks.

"In the most simplistic reply I can offer, yes, Nardo. His vision is weird. But I'd need to see what else this double-mutation has done to him to be positive."

"To the lab, then?" Casey asks.

"To the lab," Donnie nods, taking the blanket off Mikey and flinging it across the room.

Mikey yipes at the loss of warmth and hisses angrily at Dee, who jumps away in fright.

"Come on, Miguel," Leo offers, holding his arms out. "I'll carry you there, if you want."

Mikey glances up and down, then slowly creeps onto his arms. Leo expected him to climb in and let himself be carried bridal style, his legs dangling in his hold and Leo's arms supporting his back. Instead, Leo finds that Mikey wants to perch on his forearm, his tail wrapping around and clinging tightly to him. He places one of his feet on Leo's hand, all the weight gathering there. Leo stumbles for a moment, surprised by the strange positioning, but after a while becomes accustomed to it.

"Ah, okee then, I guess we're good to go?" Leo chuckles dryly, starting to walk out. "You guys coming, or what?"

Leo awkwardly carries his mutated brother out of the room. The others follow suit.

Mikey can't seem to stay still, making it hard for Leo to stay upright and balanced. He walks all along his arms, wriggling across Leo's shoulders and pouncing onto the next available limb as though Leo were a living, breathing jungle-gym.

Raph chuckles and extends his arm out, letting Mikey hop over and crawl all across him. Raphael's center of gravity is more defined, and because he's bigger he can manage Mikey's weight shifting all over him. Leo sighs with relief, though he does seem disappointed that Mikey gave him up for a more advanced jungle-gym...

Once they get to the labs, Mikey seems to go pale.

He sees the large computers, all the strange machines and devices. S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.2.0 flits around near the top of the room as the others start to congregate. It is dark in here. Very dark. Kind of cold, too.

Mikey chirps, high-pitched squeaks, as he slides down the back of Raph's shell and tries to slink away.

"Now now, Michael, we need to do some examinations," Donnie says, pressing a button on his wrist pad and closing the door.

Mikey yipes nervously, then cowers at the door, whining and scratching to be let out.

Donnie's expression softens and he steps over to him.

"Mikey, I promise that I won't do anything to hurt you. You know that, right?"

He extends a hand to his little brother.

Mikey sniffs it. He tries to smile, a small sheepish grin that wobbles weakly on his face. He whimpers, nuzzling his forehead against Dee's fingers. He tries not to cry.

Donnie reaches forward and pulls him into a hug, lifting him up and carrying him to the table in the center of the room.

Mikey can't stop fidgeting and moving around. He whines and chirps at everything and everyone. He definitely doesn't like the purple hovercraft creature, growling at S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.2.0 every time he comes close. Mikey's tail flicks dangerously at him.

"I don't think he likes me," S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.2.0 whines, flying as far away from Mikey as he can.

Donnie reaches onto a shelf and pulls out a pair of headphones. He offers them to Mikey, who sniffs them with curiosity. He mews in confusion at them. He probably can't tell what they are if he cannot see them properly...

Donnie places the headphones over Mikey's tympanum. His eyes go wide for a moment, unsure of what is about to happen. Donnie picks his lo-fi playlist for whenever he feels overstimulated. Mikey's eyes go even wider. His face makes the surprised Pikachu expression before he starts to smile, his purrs trying to match the pitch and tone as he hums along, his claws tapping to the beat and rhythm.

"He is successfully distracted," Donnie announces. "I can begin now."

"You scanned him in the tank," Leo reminds him. "What did those say?"

"To be honest, I could only really scan him for a few things, like mystic energy, technologies, structural facts, some odds and ins. These goggles aren't made to find specific medical changes, but they do notice interesting changes."

"Such as?"

"Such as Mikey's mystic powers seem diminished. His bone structure has changed significantly. Oh, and Mikey has added DNA now."

Donatello takes the silence as a sign to go on.

"Again, the goggles couldn't discern much, but from a quick glance, I'd say he was given feline, mammalian, and reptilian DNA. Cat, monkey, and lizard, I'm betting. Among others. I'm scanning him for more intimate details concerning the specific species and genus now."

Leo swallows.

"That's not going to... like, wreck his body, is it?"

Donnie stares at him.

"More than it already has?"

Raphael scowls at Donnie for his poor choice of words.

"I meant like, this mutation won't be a hazard to his health? With so many differing genetics mixed together... isn't that dangerous?"

Donnie's expression falters as he tries to keep his composure.

"I would hope the scientists who did this to him would have enough common sense to make that a priority."

"They wouldn't want their test subjects to not survive, that would be a failed experiment," Casey translates.

"They wouldn't want THIS experiment failing," he says, gesturing to Mikey, who is still obliviously listening to his music. "...If they knew what would happen to them afterwards."

"Meaning, Bootyyyshaker9000 is going to do some light arson later, hmm?" Leo smirks.

"I'll ready the disposal unit," S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.2.0 says somewhat ecstatically, producing several blowtorches from his mechanical body.

"After what they did to Michael? I'd probably take Draxum up on his offer to eradicate a few humans..." Donnie looks up drearily at Casey. "Oh, no offense."

Casey shrugs.

"It's okay. You made a lot of those kinds of jokes in the future..."

"Right... 'jokes'..."

"Can we get back to Mikey, please?" Raph asks, signalling for S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.2.0 to deactivate his weapons once he sees Mikey's wide and terrified eyes. "Is the mutation serious?"

"It's complex, I'll say that much," Donnie says, creating a 3D hologram of Mikey's genetic code. "This is what Mikey's DNA looked like before..."

He grabs the hologram and shows it to everyone. Mikey becomes fascinated by the tangible light in the room, and reaches out to touch it in awe. As he does, Donatello pulls up a separate hologram of his genetic code. It is different in a hundred ways, with extra bits and pieces, the new DNA colour-coded to better show off the ways it does not belong.

"...And this is what it looks like now..."

The group watch in fearful astonishment as Donnie begins to explain...

"See here, the scans show that Mikey has jaguar markers, now," he says, noting the dark blue marks on his DNA. "So there's the feline in him..."

"That explains the speed," Casey notes.

Splinter huffs as he stretches to crack his back.

"And the eyes too, I'll bet," Raph adds.

"See, there --" Donnie points to a series of yellow, red, and orange markers on the hologram, "-- That's baboon, mandrill, and proboscis monkey DNA. Baboons are aggressive animals, though mandrills are considered dangerous primarily due to their sharp canine teeth, which -- fun fact -- are bigger than a lion's!"

"That explains the teeth," Leo notes.

"And the aggression during the fight," Raph adds.

"But I find the addition of the proboscis fascinating!" Donnie interjects. "You see, they are a peaceful species! A tribal species of monkey, that do not attack unless provoked. My theory is that whoever did this to Mikey might have put that in to ensure Mikey's cooperation, or to balance out the predatorial animal tendencies, or maybe --"

"Can we move on?" Raph asks, getting uncomfortable with the subject of Mikey's mutation choices and why certain criteria were chosen.

"Oh. Sure. Fine. Well, this green bit here --" Donnie says, pointing to the next part, "this is boa constrictor Dna. And the teal marker next to it is plumed basilisk."

"Isn't that Jesus lizard?" Leo asks.

"I'm honestly surprised you retained that information, Leon," Donnie scoffs. "But yes. The Jesus lizard. Well done."

"What's that pink one?" Raph asks, pointing.

The five (minus Mikey of course) lean in closer to look at the markers. They are the most prominent, the most noticeable, the most numerous.

"That one stumps me," Donnie admits. "Oddly enough, it seems to act as a catalyst to the double-mutation, keeping the mixed genes from collapsing or overriding one another. It almost acts like a genetic glue to hold it all together... though, it does have genetic coding of its own, which means it isn't a formula that they made, but the DNA of some unknown species. The computer saw it and knew to mark it as a foreign DNA, and even to mark it as a dangerous one, but it couldn't identify what species it was."

"Wait a sec, what's that mean?" Raph peers closer. "The computer don't know what it is?"

"But then how did it know to identify it as dangerous?" Leo questions.

"That's what is so intriguing to me," Donnie notes, as he jumps into a rolling chair and wheels over to a computer on the other side of the room. "I must have made an identification of the DNA markers once before, but failed to properly note what it belonged to."

"Why not?"

"I was probably busy," he sighed. "Or just forgot."

"That doesn't sound like you," Splinter says as he walks over to his purple-clad son to watch him as he types.

"No, Papa, it does not. So I'm checking to see when I input that identification into the system, it will give me a clearer understanding of what it belongs to, and what dear Michael has been turned into..."

As Donnie types, Casey glances back at the foreign DNA sequence, studying the genetic codex and symbols. His jaw drops, his eyes abruptly go wide.

"Oh no..."

"What?" Raph whimpers. "What is it?"

"I know that look," Leo groans. "You know what he's been mutated with."

"I think so."

"...Wait, so if Casey recognizes that DNA, then...?" Donnie swallows hard.

"Yup," Leo says, his expression shifting uncomfortably. "It's exactly what we think."

"How can you be sure?"

"Remember on the comms, I mentioned that I found something in the basement of those TCRI labs?" Leo sighs. "Well, I found a sublevel that had immense amounts of security, but nothing that prohibited mystic portals. So I went in, and the deeper I went, the spookier it got. They had tubes full of weird ooze and odd glowing gunk, and in the very center of it all, I found... her."

Leo shivers at the mention. Raph looks like he's about to burst into tears. Donnie looks like he might throw up.

"They had her prisoner there. But I'm not sure you could call her a prisoner, maybe more like a corpse at this point. I'm pretty sure they were harvesting her for parts, stripping her of everything and using them in... their... experiments..."

All eyes go wide. All faces turn ashen. All heads turn to Mikey.

"It was the krang sister. Mikey's been mutated with krang DNA."

The group don't dare turn to look at Mikey.

He's still distracted by the holograms and lo-fi headphones. But that will not keep him for long.

"...Do we tell him?" Raph asks, finally breaking the tense silence.

"I... I don't know. I don't think we should," Donnie mumbles.

"Why not?" Casey asks. "He deserves to know --"

"No," Donnie says, standing up. "No. He... he shouldn't know. Not yet. Not until I can fix this."

Raph stares at him hopefully.

"...CAN you fix it?" he asks, voice breaking.

"Why, my dear Raphala, you wound me!" Donnie exclaims with dramatics, pressing the back of his hand to his fivehead as he pretends to swoon. "What little faith ye mortals have in the great and incredible power of one Hamato Donatello!"

"Can you get him back to normal?" Leo asks a bit more sternly.

"Yes," Donnie says with certainty. "I can 'make a fix, bro'."

Leo grimaces. That doesn't ease him as much as Donnie wants it to, but if he believes he will, then that is it. This is Mikey they're talking about, Donnie will do everything in his powers to return him to normal.

"In the meantime, what do we do?" Raph asks.

"Stay calm, don't get him riled up, keep him out of harm, etc." Donnie says as he starts to type on the computers again. "I'm activating 'Housebound Protocol'."

"On it," S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.2.0 nods, flying through a port in the wall and disappearing to work.

"What's 'Housebound Protocol'?" Leo asks.

"Have you never once wondered why Splinter didn't escape to the surface when he had rat flu?"

"...No?"

"Well, now you know," Donnie grumbles. "Basically, we'll keep Mikey inside the lair and help him adjust to the mutations while I search for an anti-mutigen formula."

"So... just play nursemaid?" Leo asks. "We're keeping it that simple?"

"I highly doubt it will be 'simple', Nardo," Donnie grunts. "Mikey will likely have episodes of PTSD from the experiments. His body will be adjusting and readjusting to the new changes he's going through. We've already seen a few reactions he may have."

"His vision," Leon noted.

"And his aversion to new people and new things," Casey bemoaned.

"And his vocal chords," Raph reminded.

"Among others," Donnie sighed. "So be on the lookout. I'll be compiling a list of animal traits from each of the species I named... Casey Jr., I hope I can rely on a list of Krang tendencies from you by tomorrow morning?"

Casey perks up and nods.

"You can count on me! I'll do anything for Master Michelangelo -- er, Mikey," he says, finishing with a nervous chuckle. "But... we don't tell him about the mutations? Or what he has in his DNA?"

"It's possible he may already know," Donnie suggests. "Or... well, it could be that he doesn’t understand anything other than basic animalistic urges, and wouldn’t comprehend us telling him."

"Wha-huh?" Raph questions as he tilts his head. "Donnie, you gotta use normal words."

Donatello rolls his eyes and sighs in exasperation.

"Mikey might have an animal brain now, not a mutant turtle brain. It is possible he may not understand us."

"He seems to understand just fine," Raph argues.

"So far, but most of our conversations with him haven't required anything of major -- um, I mean, we haven't asked him any BIG questions. Just small ones that are easy. Actually, I don't think we've asked him anything that requires a substantial answer yet..."

"So, Mikey is basically like... what, a pet now?" Raph demands.

"No, I didn't say that --"

"I refuse to accept that!" Raph shouts. "No, Mikey is still in there! I know he is! You didn't see him in the hallway, he understood me, he heard what I said and he responded! Maybe not in words, but he understood me! Mikey isn't some stupid animal, he--"

"Raph!" Leo scolds, pressing a hand against his chest.

Raphael pauses, and immediately looks to Mikey.

For a moment, he's the same old Mikey, sitting in a silly pose on Donnie's desk while he listens to pop music and sketches in his kneepads.

But then the mirage ends, and he's a feral creature crouched on the table, staring wide-eyed and frightened at Raphael, eyes glowing with that all-too familiar red in yellow shine. He wonders how he didn't recognize it before...

Raph is ashamed of himself when he has to look away from Mikey.

It's just those eyes... the same ones that haunt his nightmares every night.

He can't let them haunt his baby brother, too.

"Fine. Let's do whatever needs to be done. And NO ONE says anything about the you-know-what-aliens. Mikey doesn't need to worry about that right now."

The group all silently nod.

Donnie stretches as he gets up from his chair.

"Well, I have a long night of work ahead of me, so if you all please don't mind --"

Donnie shoos everyone away and out of the labs. As soon as the doors open Mikey scurries out, discarding the headphones in the process and dashing in every direction before circling back and landing at Raph's feet with a smile, asking to be picked up so he can climb all over him again.

Raph smiles awkwardly at him, and lifts him gently. Mikey's tail wags, slapping the back of Raph's shell as he perches atop his shoulders like a parrot on a pirate.

"Well, first things first," Leo says with an exhale, "Mikey needs some tending to. Let's get him a bath and see what we can do about those claws and injuries..."

Leo and Raph carry Mikey to the bathroom. He is confused and surprised as he looks around, examining the sink and toilet and tub.

Leo starts the faucet, and the loud spicket and water startle Mikey at first. He creeps towards it, but eventually decides it isn't evil and yells at it, trying to match its volume. Leo snickers at the sight. Mikey somehow hears this, and turns to look at him with a smile.

Leo tries not to let the fangs bother him. Mikey doesn't deserve to be thought of or seen as a monster. Even if he has monster in his blood, now...

After a few minutes, Raph -- who had left to gather some extra towels and soap -- reenters the room. Mikey runs to circle around his feet, curious as to what he has with him. Raph places the items down on top of the counter. Mikey sniffs each one with inquisitiveness.

"Which of these do you like better, big man?" Raph asks, opening two bottles of scented body wash and holding them out for him to smell.

Mikey sniffs both a few times before choosing one scented like citrus and honeysuckle.

Raph smiles as he begins to squirt the soap into the flow of water, bubbles forming under the waves and torrent of churning water.

"And Donnie thought he wouldn't understand us..." he chuckles. "Big brainy dum-dum underestimated you, huh?"

Mikey runs to the edge of the bath and stares, watching with excitement as the bubbles grow bigger and bigger. He points to the steaming water and suds, trying desperately to form words to express his enthusiasm.

"Ah, ah, ah! Ahhh, ha, hah!" he shrieks, a big and bright smile on his face.

Raph chuckles.

"Yeah, bubble baths are pretty fun, huh?"

"Should I go get the camera?" Leo jokes.

Raph rolls his eyes, looking away from Mikey for just a moment. Mikey tries to climb into the hot water before Leo scolds him.

"Ah-bup-bup-bup!" he shouts, causing Mikey to jerk away. "Not yet, bud, that water's too hot..."

Mikey cocks his head to the side in confusion. Too hot??

He looks back down to it. He reaches for the water again.

"Mikey, he said no, it's too hot!" Raph says sternly.

"Still think he understands us?" Leo scoffs, earning an irritated eye-roll from Raph.

Mikey jumps over the side and splashes into the water, smiling happily at the heat. Raph and Leo stare in shock, waiting for the screech of pain as Mikey is boiled alive, but no such cry comes. It's only giggling beeps and hums of comfort as he revels in the heat.

"...Maybe it's us that don't understand him," Raph wonders.

Mikey plays in the bath, blowing at the bubbles and throwing them in the air several times, then shrieking with laughter. He throws them at Leo and Raph, who try to dodge the assault but fail.

"Alright, buster, you've asked for it!"

Leo runs to the bath with a pitcher a scoops up a great deal of water, then pours it over Mikey's head. Mikey coughs and sputters at the water.

For a moment, Mikey looks panicked, as if something has triggered him. A flash of memory, the last time he was 'washed', if you could even call it that... But the panic subsides quickly, as he looks around the room and understands that he is home again. He sees the looks of concern on his brothers' faces as they wait for a reaction. Mikey splashes Leo back. Leo laughs, and returns the favour. Mikey fills his mouth with bathwater and spits it at Leo, who yells in disgust and calls for Raphael's aid.

It takes far too long for them to actually get Mikey cleaned. The first ten minutes are spent in a war of water and bubbles. The next ten are spent refilling the tub and mopping up the spillage.

Mikey smirks, having of course won the battle, yet relenting to let his brothers scrub the grime off his skin and the dried blood from underneath his claws. Raph is a little too rough with him, and Leo keeps getting soap in his eyes, but they are much better at washing him then the others were...

After having been scrubbed and having his nails trimmed, Mikey soaks for several minutes, just calming in the water.

It's quiet, now. Mikey is tired. The water is slow, soft, it envelops him entirely. Leo and Raph are talking about something, discussing what to do or who is in charge of what in the process of taking care of Michelangelo.

It's... new. It shouldn't be, but it is. Mikey was never 'taken care of' like this. In the other place, in the labs, 'taken care of' had much darker meanings. Getting clean was a horror -- there were no baths, there was just being shoved against a wall from the sheer force of a spray of water, limbs held in place as cheap soap was splashed on him and stung his eyes. But in the time he'd spent there, Mikey was only washed.... twice? Maybe? He can't remember anymore... He can't remember much right now... everything is foggy, his mind is slow and the comfort is making him... what is word... rrrrrrrrrrrelaxed? Is that right? Mikey hasn't 'relaxed' in... ever. He can't remember. But this is nice.

Mikey leans his head against the edge of the bath. The steam has long since gone. The bath is getting cooler. Mikey falls asleep...

A sharp pain in his chest.

Mikey's eyes widen.

His arms ache, his legs ache. His hands clench up, he grits his teeth and inhales sharply.

Leo is by his side, almost instantly.

"Mikey? Mikey, what is it?"

"He can't talk, Leo--"

"Well, he has to try! Come on, mi hermano, qué es?"

Mikey starts convulsing, shivering, shaking. His teeth chatter.

Leo takes the hint and places his hand in the water.

"The bath is cold," he says. "Mikey must be sensitive to cold now. Let's get him out."

Raph reaches in and pulls Mikey out, his body rigid and unable to move apart from shaking vehemently.

"Do you think this has something to do with why he prefered the bath when it was boiling? The heat didn't seem to faze him at all," Raph mentions.

"He might have some new physical needs," Leo says, grabbing a towel and rubbing Mikey profusely. "I hadn't thought of that..."

Raph signs to Leo.

'Donnie said he had reptile mutations... do you think this is some enhanced form of brumation?'

Leo signs back.

'Not sure... could be? In any case, let's keep him warm and comfortable...'

Mikey starts moaning again, trying to speak.

"Don't worry, buddy, we'll get you nice and warm," Raph assures him.

Mikey starts moving again, his fingers curling and extending.

He holds up his two hands, one with three fingers extended and the other adding a fourth. He taps them against his chin.

"Mikey, what..."

He repeats the motion. Four fingers lined up together, tapping his chin.

A sign for a single word.

'Talk.'

Mikey had found a way to talk.

"Did... Did Mikey just sign at us?" Leo asks, eyes wide.

Mikey repeats the motion again.

'Talk. Talk. Talk.'

"I think he wants to talk," Raph mutters.

"I think he wants US to talk," Leo adds, looking down at his baby brother. "You don't like being left out of the conversation, huh?"

Mikey shakes his head. It's hard enough trying to communicate when you can't say anything, but cutting him out completely? That's simply not fair!

"Sorry, bud, we just... didn't want to make you uncomfortable."

Mikey signs again, bending his middle finger so that only his thumb and pinky are pointed, starting at the top of his head and dragging down just below his chin.

'Why?'

"Well, we were worried you might get... upset if we talked about it," Raph admits, glancing between him and Leo. "I guess we shoulda remembered you know ASL..."

Mikey signs again, this time at Leo. He touches his hands to his chest, pivoting them towards each other twice.

'Animals?'

Leo gives him a confused expression. Mikey tries another one, his dominant hand forming a small fist with a finger pointing, mimicking a tail.

'Reptile'

"Oh... you read that?" Leo asks.

Mikey nods, a small chirp escaping from his throat.

"Well --" Leo looks up to Raph, who is waving his hand over his throat, trying to signal him to cut it out, don't say anything!

Mikey follows Leon's gaze back to Raph, who glances away and whistles nonchalantly, pretending to be distracted by something in the back of the room.

Leo snickers and rolls his eyes.

"You have some reptile blood in you now," Leo announces quickly.

Raph and Mikey's heads both snap back to him. Both of their eyes go wide, both of their jaws drop, yet their expressions totally different.

Mikey looks astonished and intrigued, a soft grin presses his lips as he contemplates what this means for him.

Raph looks utterly terrified.

"We think that might be why you got so agitated with the cold," Leo finishes.

Mikey shivers slightly, his hands trembling from the chills as he moves his arms back and forth, signing again.

'Cold. Not good. We don't like it.'

"We?" Leo asks.

Mikey blinks before signing again to clarify.

'Mikey doesn't like cold'

Leo does his best not to be put off by his brother referring to himself as a plural or in the third person, and chalks it up to just the fact that he hasn't used sign language in a long time, and is mixing or forgetting certain words.

Raph picks Mikey up from the floor, cradling him close.

"How about we get you back to your room where it's and nice and warm, hmm?"

Mikey purrs happily, snuggling deeper into the towel and nuzzling Raph's plastron.

The trio walk back to Mikey's traincar, where Splinter is gathering more blankets and pillows.

"Ah, boys! I was just getting the bed set up."

Mikey wriggles out of Raph's hold and jumps to his father, squeaking and croaking out noises of happiness.

Splinter chuckles softly, petting his son on the head. Mikey's feline instincts start to take over and he circles around him, nuzzling his head against his father's legs as his tail wraps his father's robe. Splinter's hand stays still, allowing Mikey's moving body to flow underneath it like water.

He watches as his youngest continues to encompass him, his fingertips stroking the broken shell and scarred scales as he passes. Splinter holds the tip of his tail in his hands, gently rubbing his fingers over the slick and smooth skin and quills. He can feel the spikier ones that raise up when threatened, making Mikey resemble a stegosaurus -- though currently they are smoothed down.

Michelangelo hums at his father.

Splinter looks down at him, tears in his eyes as he examines the face of his youngest son.

His baby, his sweet little boy that used to make him all kinds of drawings for fathers day and his birthday and Lou Jitsu appreciation day.

The boy who learned to cook so that their ailing father didn't have to, when his depression caused aches and pains that wracked his aging body and kept him bedridden.

The toddler that would beg his father to watch him dance, only for Mikey to just jump around and spin in circles to the rhythm of a new pop song while Splinter would clap and cheer with such adoration for his little boy...

Where is that child? Is he still in there somewhere?

Mikey looks up at him, concerned. His eyes sparkle, the yellow-tinted scleras and the glowing red irises and pupils covering up what used to be a white eye with dark green iris and black pupil. The colours are not the same, but the life and energy behind them are.

Splinter can't hold back the tears anymore, but he smiles profusely at his baby boy.

"There you are," he mumbles, crouching down to hug him tightly.

Mikey hugs him back, his tail twisting around them both.

After a few awkward minutes of silence, Splinter finally releases Mikey, who starts running around the room again playfully.

"Purple gave me a list of some tests he has planned for tomorrow," he recalls, wiping the last of the tears out from his fur and whiskers. "Small things, like an eye exam and saliva swab. He wants to try a blood test, if possible."

"Alright. Oh, by the way, tell him that Mikey has an aversion to cold now," Leo informs him. "And that he CAN understand us. We figured out how to use ASL with him."

Splinter's eyes widen with hope as he looks behind him at his baby boy. Mikey ignores them and their serious-sounding conversation, and instead jumps up into his hammock and plays with the pillow before jumping back down, still looking around and getting (re)acquainted with his room.

"Very well. Are you boys sleeping with him tonight?" Splinter inquires.

Mikey attacks his pillow, grabbing it in his mouth and shaking it with a playful growl.

"We'll stay for a bit," Raph answers softly.

Splinter nods, grimacing at the cushion being ripped to shreds.

"I'll have to buy more pillows, I think..." he jokes half-heartedly.

Splinter walks over to Mikey and kisses his head. Mikey mews at him and purrs happily, the tip of his tail wagging.

"Goodnight, my sunshine," he whispers before heading out.

Mikey makes a small call out after him, like a tiny yowl or cheery whine. He's calling goodnight to him.

"Alright, Mikey, I think it's bedtime," Leo announces, stretching softly with an exaggerated yawn to convince him of the lateness.

"Aaaaawwhh!" Mikey howls. It almost sounds like an actual word...

Leo is shaken by how human the sound is. But then again, it almost sounds like a sad cat yowl if you think about it.

"No buts, big man," Raph interjects, taking over for Leo. "You fell asleep in the tub. You need your rest. Pops just brought you all these nice warm blankets and comforters, see?"

Raph holds up one of the freshly folded sheets under the hammock.

"So let's get you into bed and cozy, hmm? Yeah? Sounds good, right?"

Mikey's brow furrows, though the corner of his mouth turns up. It's as if his expression is trying to say "Really? You think that tone is going to work on me?"

Despite this, Mikey rolls his eyes and saunters over to the hammock, wiggling his hind quarters before leaping up once again. He slithers under the blanket and gives out a single chirp of satisfaction.

"Good Mikey," Raph says, coming over to rub his brother's head. "We'll see ya in the morning, m'kay?"

Mikey moans at him, his eyes wide and sad. He wants them to stay.

"Alright, we'll stay," Raph sighs. He could never resist Mikey's puppy eyes before. Now it's as though he's even more of a puppy...

Mikey beams at him, chirping sweetly and cooing lovingly.

It takes all of five minutes of Raph rubbing circles on his head for Mikey to pass out.

"Is he asleep?" Leo whispers.

"No doubt about it," Raph chuckles. "Kid is in slumberland."

"Good," Leo sighs, taking Raphael's hand and leading him out of the traincar.

Once they are out, Leo starts whispering again.

"We need to talk. Mikey understood our conversation, so we can't do private communiques in ASL anymore."

"Okay? So, then what?"

Leo taps his head.

"Ninja mind meld?" Raph questions, making doubly sure he understands what Leo's getting at.

"Just for the stuff we don't want Mikey hearing," Leo answers, "or reading."

"Like the deets about his mutation, for example?" Raphael grumbles. "We agreed we wouldn't tell him!"

Leo widens his eyes and taps his head again. Raphael hears his brother's voice in his mind.

We agreed that we wouldn't tell him about the ang-kray. But I don't think it's that bad that he knows he has reptilian traits, do you? And like Donnie said, he might even know that he has it already!

Raph grunts.

Fine. You're the leader now, you can decide what we do or don't do in this situation. I can't stop ya. But... I'm worried for him.

Raph scratches his arm, a habit born out of stress.

He's... he's just a kid. And you know how hard it hit ME when I knew I had the krang in me... Mikey... I don't want him to hurt like that.

He's probably already hurting, Raph, Leo responds, taking his older brother's hands in order to get him to stop scratching. He needs us to be honest and upfront where we can be. Yes, I agree that telling him about the krang is probably not the best idea right now. But eventually he will need to know. We can't keep that from him. I don't WANT to keep things from him. If I can help Mikey understand himself, then I will.

Raph sighs.

"You're right," he says out loud. "I just worry a lot... about him, especially."

"I know," Leo sighs, pulling his brother into a hug. "But it wasn't your fault that this happened."

Raph squeezes Leo closer.

"...But it is."

Raph sits down on his bed, grabbing a stuffed bear and rubbing his thumb over its worn-down stomach.

The room is dim, but not dark. The main light is off, but the hanging lanterns he has strung along the wall give a warm red glow to the room.

Ever since his krangification, Raph's eye has been a bit sensitive. It waters easily, stings on occasion, and bright lights irritate him. He's started wearing sunglasses outside more often, even on cloudy days. Donnie offered to make an artificial eye to help, but Raph said no. He'd rather keep the eye, even with its attitude and quirks.

"I'm not ready to be a cyborg just yet," he'd joked.

He thought that much of a change would be too big for him, after all the changes he and his family have already gone through.

Now a mechanical eye doesn't sound so crazy or scary.

Raph hugs his teddy bear. It squeaks in his arms. He thinks of how similar it felt to holding Mikey before he got mutated...

He grimaces, scrunching his face up tight and pressing his hands against his head, trying to force the thoughts away.

Mikey is still Mikey! Just with a few new... he won't call them upgrades. Changes. Nothing that can't be reversed, of course.

But... what if they can't be?

Raph presses his hands even tighter against his head.

Stop it. Shut up. Shut up!!

He doesn't want to think about this. He doesn't want to think about Mikey. Not in this way.

He feels like he's betraying him somehow, thinking of him as a monster or a wild animal rather than a brother. But then, he feels like he won't be able to help him if he keeps thinking of Mikey as he was before, and not accepting that he is changed now. But then, he won't stay changed. But then...

"SHUT UP!" Raph yells to himself, slamming his fists against the bed frame.

His ninpo activates, giant red fists breaking the bed slightly and causing the edge of it to slip under his weight and crash against the floor. Raph yipes in alarm, looking down at the mess he's made.

"...Nice going, Raph," he grumbles, grabbing some boxes of dumbells from the corner of his room to prop up the extension on his bed.

He sighs, sitting down on the edge of the mattress again, head in his hands.

He tries to stay strong. He tries not to break down. His family doesn’t need that right now, they don't need a basket case or a worry-wart or whatever else they might call him. They need Raph, strong and brave and ready to take on the world.

But he needs Mikey... he needs his baby brother back, safe, sound, whole. Not broken, not bloody, not feral and confused. He wants Mikey home again. Home in his own body.

Raph starts crying. Although he's disappointed in himself for it, he is glad that he can finally get the tears out. He presses his face into his stuffed animals, trying to get it all out all at once.

Raph hates himself so much right now...

Because...

Because it is all his fault...

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"...But I don't see WHY we have to wait!" Raph gripes, Mikey sitting beside him, drawing random doodles on his arm wraps while he listens to the rant. "If we know that the place is doing villain stuff, shouldn't we go in to stop 'em?"

"I mean, Leo's decision does make a little sense," Mikey counters, taking a big yellow marker and drawing a smiling sun on Raph's arm. "It's a pretty big building, dude."

"I'm not saying we storm the castle," he responds, waving his arms in exasperation.

Mikey scolds him and brings his arm back down to continue his work.

"I'm just saying that we could scope out the place instead of ignoring it completely!"

"We're not ignoring it," Mikey corrects. "Donnie is gonna run surveillance on it. Leo's gonna have Cass and the girl scouts check it out. Besides, when did you become the go-getter? I thought you and your Raph-chasm would have preferred taking it slow and safe!"

"Raph-chasm?!" he sputters. "Is Leo still spreading that slander around?"

Mikey giggles.

"You do know we've been calling it that for years, right?"

Raph growls angrily.

"Dang it, Leo..."

Mikey giggles again.

"But for real, Raph... why are you so antsy?"

"I don't know... just a gut feeling. There's been reports of all kinds of crazy stuff since the invasion, and most of it has something to do with that new organization Donnie and April told us about..."

"What did they call it again? ESP?"

"EPF," Raphael corrects. "Earth Protection Force, or some junk. But the building they're occupying is labeled Techno Cosmic Research Institute."

"Doesn't sound so bad," Mikey hums, taking out a blue marker and drawing a mini version of Leo on Raph. "Sounds like a radio shack from the 90's or something!"

"Maybe, but it bothers me that this new weird mystery organization is everywhere." Raph shudders. "It's unsettling. What if they find us?"

"Find us...?" Mikey turns his head up. "What do you think they'd do?"

"I don't know. But I don't trust em. Something about it all just... bugs me."

Mikey is quiet for a second. He places the cap on his marker. He's managed to draw everyone in the family but himself.

"Well, if it bugs you, then... let's go check em out!"

"Wait, huh?"

"You're gut says they're untrustworthy? Then that's enough for me!" Michelangelo says, jumping up from his spot. "Let's go see how bad they are."

"But... Leo said..."

"Weren't you the one just complaining about how you didn't think we should stand still and do nothing?" Mikey challenges.

"I know. But Leo is the leader, and I want to show him that I trust him."

"We do!" Mikey exclaims. "We're not storming a castle, we're checking out the scene. Leo wants to wait until we can get some actual intel? Then let's help him along! Let's grab a few listening devices or something and place them along the windows."

"Well... that would help... but we leave at the first sign of trouble, okay?"

"Absolutely!" Mikey salutes. "Now, am I breaking into Donnie's labs to get the spy stuff or are you?"

Raph chuckles as he stands, cracking his knuckles.

"You get the spy equipment, I'll get the weapons. Meet you at the tank."

The two give quick nods to each other before heading off in separate directions.

Raph rushes to the training room and grabs the weapons. It is only then that he sees Mikey's doodles.

Oh, he should change his wraps. He doesn't have time to clean them off, and besides, he knows Mikey prefers to take pictures of all his doodles before getting rid of them.

Raph quickly grabs his sai and Mikey's nunchucks before heading to his room, grabbing a spare roll of black bandages, and carefully but speedily removing the one on his right arm. He just needs to replace the one arm, Mikey hasn't gotten to decorating the left yet. Maybe when they get back he can finish it...

He races to the tunnel, seeing Mikey leaning against the ginormous tire of the turtle tank as he waits.

"There you are! Ready to go?"

"Sure thing. Do you wanna try driving tonight?"

"Can I?" Mikey asks with excitement.

"Sure, why not? You need the practice."

Mikey squeals with delight as he climbs in, Raph following suit.

The two drive away, making plans while Raph gives Mikey impromptu driving lessons. They joke, they laugh, Raph clings to his seat when Mikey's turns come in too sharply.

"Park over there," Raph says, pointing to an alley closeby to the targeted building.

Mikey nods with an "aye-aye, cap'n!" as he makes another sharp turn and hides the tank in the alley, activating a cloaking device Donnie came up with recently.

"Okay, got the listening doohickeys?"

"Right here!" Mikey says, reaching out and producing several small, round baubles with purple centers.

"Alright, so all we're gonna do is ninja up there, ninja a few of these around the perimeter, and then ninja out."

"That sounds just like the time future Leo saved a war camp!" Mikey giggles. "Or whatever Casey Jr. said."

"Uh, okay?" Raph offers. "I'll pretend like I understood that."

The two exit the vehicle and slink around the block, coming up on the building.

It looks like a normal building. No more than 13 stories, small windows with frosted glass, a rotating door that leads to a small lobby, a few security guards and an intern behind a desk. Above the door is the acronym TCRI, bright and silver surrounded by white LED lights. There's graffiti on the side of the wall, with what looks like an artist's rendition of the 'New York Heroes'. Mikey takes a quick selfie with it before getting back to the unsanctioned mission.

"You take the left side, I'll take the right," Raph whispers. "We don't have a lot of listening gadgets, so use 'em sparingly. Got it?"

"Got it!" Mikey whispers back.

He takes his chucks out and swings them up. A long glowing chain activates, and Mikey starts to scale the wall, swinging to the opposite side.

Raph starts pressing the small devices to the wall, doing two for each floor. Once the gadgets stick to the bricks, the purple centers start to blink.

After about five minutes, Raph's phone buzzes. He pulls it out to see that he's getting a call from Donnie.

Uh-oh.

He declines the call.

He presses two more devices to the wall before Donnie calls him again. Raph groans and pulls the phone out, answering it.

"Hello?"

"Oh, Raphala, where are you?" Donnie asks. His tone sounds cheerful and fake. He can tell he's seething.

"Um, nowhere..."

"Nowhere? Really? Then, would you care to explain to me why I am getting bombarded with notifications about my spy tech being activated? And why when I checked the garage, the tank was gone? And why I cannot find you, nor Mikey, nor your gear anywhere within the lair??"

"Um... bad connection?" Raph tries.

"What are you doing."

"Nuthin'," Raph says, his voice squeaking. He clears his throat and tries again. "Just, y'know... ninja stuff."

"I still have my subdermal trackers, dum-dum," Donnie groans, clearly disappointed with his brother's lying skills. "I can clearly see your location, Raph."

"Shoot, I forgot about that," he hisses. "I mean, uh..."

"Is that Raph?" Leo's voice comes into the call.

"Oh no," he groans.

"Let me talk to him."

"You had your chance," Donnie speaks into the phone, before handing it over to Leo.

"Raph. Where are you. What are you and Mikey doing with the listening devices."

"Okay, well, we were thinking," he starts, moving away from the alley for a moment as he talks with Leo on the phone. "We were thinking that maaayyybeee it would be a good idea to get some surveillance on the TCRI place before our next big mission, and so --"

"And so you ignore the fact that I said to wait?!" Leo yells angrily. "Raph, we TALKED about this! I thought you said you were gonna let me be leader without pulling these kinds of stunts behind my back!"

"I'm not pulling any stunt! All we're doing is setting up the devices, then leaving! We just wanted to try and see if we could get any intel on them to help! We're not stupid enough to just go in and mess around, ya know!"

"Where's Mikey?" Leo asks exasperatedly. "He isn't answering his phone."

Raph turns back to look at the building he's walked away from. He looks up, and can see Mikey standing on the roof, looking around.

"He's on the roof," Raph sighs. "I'll go and get him."

Raph puts Leo on hold as he runs back to the building. Once in the alley, he starts jumping between walls, doing impressive parkour as he bounces back and forth and flips off of fire escapes until he's at the roof.

But Mikey isn't there.

Raph walks to the other side of the roof and looks over the edge.

Mikey isn't on the ground.

He notices a vent panel has been jimmied open.

"Oh no."

Raph grabs his phone.

"Um, Leo? I think he went in..."

"WHAT?!" Leo screams at him, causing Raph to pull his phone away from his ear. "Why would he go in?!"

"I don't know!" Raph whimpers. "I told him we were only doing the exterior--"

"You shouldn't be there at all!"

"Should I go in after him?"

"No, don't -- wait for a minute, call him, maybe he'll answer you."

"Okay, yeah, I'll do that," he says, trying not to panic. "Call you back soon."

Raph hangs up and quickly dials Mikey.

It rings once before he answers.

"Shello?" he whispers.

"Mikey? Where are ya?!" Raph hisses at him. "I thought we said no inside stuff!"

"I saw a weird van pull up," he explains. "They took a krangified person in through the back."

"They what?"

"Yeah, I know. I wanted to see what they were gonna do with him."

"Mikey, I think you should get outta there," Raph whimpers.

"I will in just a sec, I think I found the room where... huh..."

Mikey's voice trails off.

"Mikey? Mikey, what is it?"

"I'm not sure... hold on a sec, 'kay?" Mikey whispers, his voice soft and secretive.

"Mikey, get out of there, now!" Raph scolds.

Mikey doesn’t respond.

Raph waits for him to say something. Anything. He hears Mikey gasp quietly.

"Ohmigosh," he whimpers. His voice is weak and his breathing fast. "Okay, that's enough for me, I'm coming out now!"

"Mikey?! What did you see, what's going on?"

He hears a clattering sound, a stifled gasp, muffled shouting.

"I dropped my phone," Mikey whimpers in fear. "I think they heard me."

"GET OUT NOW!" Raph yells. He dials Leo, adding him to the call.

"Raph? What's going --"

"Mikey's been made," Raph says in a panic.

"Get out of there, now!"

"Leo?" Mikey whispers nervously. "Is that you?"

"Mikey, we're on our way now, just get out as fast as you can! Don't worry about whether or not you're seen, just get out!"

"I'm trying!" Mikey cries nervously. "I'm stuck in the vents!!"

Raph hears a loud clang, followed by Mikey's screams and a thud.

"There he is!"

"Get him!"

"Come'ere, kid!"

Mikey yells in protest, terrified screams as he shouts at them to 'let me go, stop, leave me alone!'

Raph yells out into the phone. He's not sure what he yells, only that he wants Mikey back. He hears Leo yelling, too.

"Raph! Leo!" Mikey screams.

"MIKEY!!" the two yell back in unison.

The line goes dead.

A blue light ignites besides Raph, and Leo jumps through immediately, gasping for air as he stares down at Raph, who is on his hands and knees, holding the phone like it was Mikey's only lifeline.

"Where is he?" Leo pants. "Where is Mikey?"

Raph can't do anything but shake.

Mikey got captured... Because of him...

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Raph lifts his face from the army of plushies he has been confiding in.

He takes in a deep breath.

He stands, going to a drawer and pulling out the wraps from that day. Almost a week ago.

The drawings are still there. The sketches and doodles are all intact. The image of a family is there, with each member colour-coded. Red, Blue, Purple... but it's missing their Orange brother. He never did get to finish that portrait.

Raphael leaves his train car and walks over to Mikey's. The door is wide open.

Inside, he sees Leo, slumped over on a beanbag chair and snoring softly, his mouth fallen open.

He hadn't said anything about sleeping in here.

He must've wanted to check on Mikey, too...

Raph grabs of one the extra blankets and pillows and adjusts his brother so that he can sleep more comfortably.

He takes residence in another beanbag chair opposite him.

Once settled, Raphael watches Mikey, who is sleeping peacefully and undisturbed, his tail swinging from side to side and his claws twitching on occasion.

Raph sighs.

Tears silently streak down his face as he cries himself to sleep.

Raph is awoken by a buzzing and quiet jingle of music under his thigh.

He groans as he reaches down and pulls his phone out, quickly answering it before the ringing can wake up the other two.

"Hhheello?" he mumbles sleepily.

"Ah, Raph, good morning. Casey Jr. gave me the list of Krang attributes to look out for, so I was wondering if Michael would be up for another round of tests and scans?"

Raph groans slightly, rubbing his hand down his face. His fingers catch the dried mucus left over from when he was crying last night.

"Donnie, what time is it?"

"7:30AM. Good morning, by the way."

"Mornin'. Why so early?" he complains. "Couldn't this have waited until a decent hour?"

"April is coming over later today, and I wanted to get the examinations out of the way before she arrives."

Raph yawns and stretches.

"Fine... Sure thing, Dee. I'll wake the guys and meet you in the lab. Though I assume you already knew we slept in Mikey's room..."

"I would have joined you, but I was busy..."

"You didn't stay up all night, did you?"

"No... I passed out sometime around 3:15."

"Donnie," Raph scolds. He is all too familiar with Dee's tendency to overwork himself when he has a big important project.

"I'll have a nap or something," Donnie half-heartedly promises. "But Mikey is first priority."

Well, Raph can't argue with that. He'd probably do the exact same thing.

"Fine. But just make sure you're not gonna kill yourself over this, okay?"

Donnie hesitates before humming out an answer.

"Mhm. See you in a few."

He hangs up before Raph can address the hesitation. He rolls his eyes and yawns again before standing up. He wonders who to wake first. Leo is probably the one to get ready initially, since he can help corral Mikey if the zoomies kick in again. And two heads are better than one. He's the better choice to wake up first.

And yet, Raph finds himself going to Mikey's hammock instead, rocking it gently and rubbing Mikey's back.

"Heeyyyyy, bud, time to wake up..."

Mikey hums at him, soft and quiet moans. His throat vibrates, and he twists his face, scrunching up as he buries himself into his pillow. Something about the expression and tone sets Raph off. It sounds tired, but there's something else in the sleepiness... he sounds scared. Sad.

"Mikey? Big man? Are you okay?"

Mikey's eyes snap open.

He sits erect, glancing around the room, trying to gather himself and take in his surroundings. His breaths are shaking, rapid. His eyes dart back and forth, settling on Raph and peering at him.

"Mikey?" Raph asks nervously. He reaches a hand out for the little brother.

Mikey gives it two sniffs.

His expression changes. He relaxes, relieved. His eyes get glossy with tears, and he mews at Raph, who presses his hand against his cheek.

Raphael knows what happened. He's seen himself go through this so many times after the invasion, during the weeks recovering from krangification.

Mikey just woke up and forgot he was home and safe. He woke up and thought he was back at the TCRI labs.

Raph sighs and rubs the tears from Mikey's cheek. Mikey leans into the touch and hums.

"Hey bud, wanna help me wake up Leo?"

Mikey's eyes light up as he looks to where Leo is lying on the beanbag. Mikey chirps with enthusiasm as he jumps down quickly and runs over to his brother, pouncing on Leo and knocking the wind out of him. Leonardo gasps and coughs and hacks, arms flailing around as he struggles to gather himself.

Raph has to muster all his strength to keep from doubling over in laughter.

"Okay, well, good morning to you too, Mike," Leo coughs, patting Mikey on the back with a groan.

Mikey beeps in response, a big and bright grin on his face.

Raph clicks the lights on, Leo and Mikey groaning at the sudden brightness. Leo covers his face as his eyes dilate, though Mikey grunts in discomfort for a moment before he seems to adjust.

"What time is it?" Leo asks, turning to Raph.

"Seven thirty-sumthin'," Raph says. "Donnie wants to do some more tests with Mikey."

Mikey's head spins at the word 'tests'. He whinges nervously.

"It's just an eye exam and saliva swab, if I remember right," Raph assures him. "Donnie ain't gonna do anything to make ya uncomfortable or hurt ya."

Mikey squirms a bit before nodding with a deep exhale. His shoulders relax. He slowly climbs off of Leo, who yelps in discomfort as Mikey steps on his legs with all the grace and tact of a newborn ostrich.

Raph leads the way to Donnie's labs, though Mikey groans again and squints once they get to the dim halls. Leo follows after them quickly.

Donnie is waiting for them at the lab doors, smiling with a cup of coffee in his hands.

"Ah, hello dear brethren," he says with a smile. "Mikey, I hope you slept well."

Mikey signs 'good morning' at him. Dee's eyes expand. Raph forgot he hadn't seen Mikey communicate yet.

"Well, let's get this started, shall we?" Dee says with a smile, ushering them inside.

Mikey crawls into the lab and jumps up onto the examination table from the previous night. His tail taps nervously against the side. S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.2.0 is asleep, charging on the highest shelf. Mikey watches the AI drone nervously, peering at him with suspicion as Donnie readies for the exams.

"Now, Mikey, before we begin, I want you to know that I'm not going to do anything that makes you uncomfortable or upsets you," Donnie explains. "Think of this as a... a yearly physical, or a check-up. Not that we ever had those before... but the process is the same. I just want to make sure you're healthy and see some of the changes you've gone through so I can get an idea of how to properly take care of you. Okay?"

Mikey nods with a churr.

"Okay then. I'm going to start with an eye exam. We didn't really get to do that last night, after discovering the tapetum lucidum."

Donatello grabs a small pin light and shines it in Mikey's eye. Mikey hisses at the light before reeling back, holding his head and groaning.

"What? Is it too bright?"

'Vision,' Mikey signs. 'Vision changes when light. Head hurts.'

"What does he mean, 'vision changes when light'?" Leo asks.

Donnie scratches his chin as he inspects the eye he just shined a light in. The pupil doesn't dilate to accommodate to the darkness, but shifts from round to a slitted oval.

"Mikey, describe what you see. Not so much what is in the room, but how you perceive it."

Mikey looks at Donine, and he notices that he doesn't look him in the eye, but stares directly in the center of his face. After looking around for a second, he signs to him.

'Shapes, blurry edges, no details. Silhouettes. Heat. Mikey sees heat.'

"Mikey has infrared vision now," Donnie proclaims. "That's probably a result of the boa DNA. Snakes have heat-seeking vision."

"Wait, so if he can only see temperatures, then that explains why he didn't immediately recognize Splinter or Casey," Leo realizes. "He couldn't see their faces?"

"Precisely," Donnie says, Mikey nodding along. "But Mikey, what happened when I shined the light in your eye?"

'Vision changed,' Mikey answers. 'See things better. Colours, shapes, light.'

"So, the infrared only activates when it gets dark?"

Mikey nods.

'Hurts head when switches. Headaches. But Mikey prefers normal vision, easier to see. Sometimes vision blurs... mix, and gets confused. Can't switch right when light not dark enough. Hurts bad then.'

"Does it hurt now?" Donnie asks.

'Just a little. Computers shining.'

Donnie pauses before going to the wall and flicking the light switch on. The three groan at the sharp brightness that follows. Mikey blinks and hisses, but soon his pupils round out again. He glances around the room, and he smiles when his eyes settle on Donnie.

'Purple! See colours now!'

Donnie smiles, then grabs a tablet to take notes down on.

"I'll let Papa know to maintain proper illumination in the lair for you to keep the headaches at a minimum... Anything else eyesight-wise?"

Mikey shakes his head.

"Very well. On to the next thing..."

Donnie goes to his desk and grabs a swab.

"Open wide for me, okay?"

Mikey obeys, his teeth not quite so long and sharp as they were the night before during the fight. Donnie makes a mental note to ask about them.

Dee hands the swab to Leo, the designated medic, and he gently scrubs the inside of Mikey's cheek. Once he's finished, Donnie hands him a tiny vial to store it in.

"I'll be studying this later," he says, taking the sample from Leo and placing it in a storage compartment by his computer. "Thank you, Michael."

"And Leo," the slider adds.

"And Leo. Although, I would also like to do a blood test if possible..."

Mikey whimpers at this, and starts scooting away from Donnie.

"Only if you agree to it, Michael," he says quickly. "I promised not to do anything that would upset you. The saliva will suffice for now. I'll only ask for a blood sample if I really need it, okay?"

"What do you need the saliva for, anyway?" Leo asks.

"His DNA."

"I thought you had that?"

"I have a virtual scan of it," Donnie clarifies. "And all it does is tell me what's not him inside him. The saliva isn't for that, it's to help reverse-engineer the mutations and come up with an anti-mutagen."

"You can do that from just some spit?" Raph asks, intrigued.

"...We'll see," he mumbles, turning away from them and typing on the computer.

Raph notices the hesitation again. But Donnie gets back to work before Raph can bring it up or think about it anymore.

"Mikey, do you mind if I do some small inspections of your person?"

Mikey tilts his head, furrowing his brow.

"I want to look at you closer," Donnie tries again. "See what physical changes you've gone through."

Mikey chirps in understanding and bobs his head 'yes'. Donnie starts walking around him, lifting Mikey's arms as he flips his goggles down.

"Nardo, can you take notation while I inspect our brother?"

"Sure thing," Leo says, quickly grabbing the tablet for him.

"Write down exactly what I say, okay?" Donnie orders. "I won't be able to understand your dum-dum gibberish otherwise."

Leo gawks in disgust and makes faces at Donnie's accusation, which entertains Mikey to the point of giggles. Leo smiles and winks before writing down Donnie's observations.

"Make a note: Michelangelo's shell is rougher, the scutes more pronounced and rigid. Part of it looks like scarring, but it also looks as though the breakage may act as an outer-armour for the underside of his shell..."

Donnie moves down the line, carefully taking Mikey's long whipping tail and tracing his fingers along it.

"His tail has grown as well... previous size was, in general estimation, three inches long. I don't have the exact measurements currently. His post-mutation tail is now..." Donnie pauses to measure. "...65 inches, or just over five feet."

Leo whistles in astonishment as he writes down Donnie's notes.

"What did they feed you to make you grow like that, Miguel?" he jokes.

Mikey exhales, a soft huff through his nostrils. A pity laugh. Though, Leo realizes that the mention of the labs has made him a little uncomfortable, and he starts squirming under Donnie's intense gaze. He should have thought of that...

Go hold his hand, Leo telepathically says to Raph, who jumps slightly at the unannounced use of mind meld. He nods and goes to Mikey, taking his hand and rubbing it gently to soothe him. Mikey starts to relax again.

"Make a note," Donnie continues, "Mikey's tail is covered in special scutes and scales that lift up and act as barbs or spikes."

Dee gently tucks his finger under one such scale and raises it. A series of other scales lift up in company with the first. He checks to make sure it doesn't cause discomfort for Mikey, and when it doesn't, he goes to the very tip of the appendage.

"The scales at the end are more elongated then the rest. And sharper. And it appears --"

He pries the scales up. A series of them lift in unison with the ones he has fiddled with, surrounding the tail in a circular pattern.

"-- it appears that they are also in a different arrangement than the rest. My hypothesis is that the scales on the majority of his tail are for protection and defense, but the scales on the end are for offense and attack."

Donnie smoothes them down.

"Are you doing alright, Angelo? Can I keep going?"

Mikey doesn't respond.

"Angelo?"

Donnie circles back to the front of the table, looking at Mikey's face. His eyes have glossed over. He looks bored, almost asleep. His expression is one of resignation. Donnie quickly waves his hand in front of him.

"Mikey? Anybody home?"

Mikey blinks and comes back.

'Sorry,' he signs. 'Zoned out. Habit.'

"Habit?"

'We don't like tests, zone out to not get scared. Did a lot of tests before. They poke and pull. Hurt. Make Mikey sad and scared. Zone out helps.'

"You mean you disassociate," Donnie clarifies. "Okay. I'll try to finish up as quickly as I can..."

"Mikey," Raph interjects. "What kinds of tests did they do?"

Mikey's face scrunches up again, his gaze goes past Raph to an empty corner of the room as he tries to focus, think back. After what feels like an eternity, Mikey responds.

'Can't remember.'

"Whaddya mean?" Raph asks anxiously.

'Blur,' Mikey signs. 'Can't remember things. The other place is hard to think in. Mikey likes this place better, helps head to think more. Helps to remember.'

"Do you remember how you got mutated?" Donnie asks.

Mikey waves his hand on a tilt back and forth. Sorta.

'Just remember hurts. Too bright. Bad people, they scare us. Scared a lot. Sleepy after. They do lots of tests.'

Raph whimpers quietly.

"Mikey... do you remember how you got captured?"

Mikey thinks about it.

'Remember falling. Remember scared. No more after.... Not much before.'

Raph swallows. He wants to say something, wants to apologize... but then he locks eyes with Leo, who raises his brow at him and shakes his head, knowing exactly what Raph is thinking, even without the mind meld.

Not a good time.

Raph sighs and chokes down what he wants to say. He'll have time later.

"Mikey, can I ask you why you keep referring to yourself as multiple people?" Donnie asks.

'Voice,' Mikey signs.

"You... hear a voice in your head?"

Mikey has a look of frustration as he tries to explain as best he can. It's hard, he doesn't have all the words he needs.

'Word missing... don't know sign for it... stink... inside stink...'

"Inside stink?" Donnie asks, raising an eyebrow. "Does something smell bad, or --"

'No, inside stink... inner stinks... in stinks...'

"In stinks...? Instinct!" Leo exclaims. "You're saying there's a voice in your head that sounds like an instinct?"

Mikey nods, chirping happily that Leo understood.

"So, this 'Instinct', does this sound like your own thoughts? Or a separate personality?" Donnie asks, slowly spiralling in possible diagnoses. "It could be DID, or schizophrenia, or auditory hallucinations, or..."

Mikey shrugs.

'Voice tells Mikey what to do. Instinct takes over when really scared or danger. Instinct in charge a lot in other place. That why no remember much.'

"Kinda like 'Savage Raph', huh?" Raphael interjects.

Mikey beeps in response, nodding and pointing at Raph as if to say 'Yeah, what he said!'

"Alright, so Mikey has a form of dissociative identity disorder," Donnie diagnoses. "Leo, write that down. In the meantime, Mikey, I'm just gonna look at your hands, feet, and teeth, and then I'll stop for now, okay?"

'Okay' Mikey signs, ready to be done.

"Great."

Donnie takes Mikey's claw in his hand and turns it over.

"Hey, look! Mikey has beans now!" Raph exclaims, pointing to the small squishy, leathery, heart-shaped pads on Mikey's palms.

"They are paw pads," Donatello corrects. "Another quirk from the jaguar mutation..."

Mikey's eyes go huge as saucers when he hears that. Apparently he didn't know about that animal trait.

"Leo, make a note... Mikey's fingers are much more pointed now, his nails seem sharp and shaped. Unsure yet if that is by nature or nurture... As for his feet, there is some webbing between the toes, possibly a trait from the basilisk DNA. Oh, and a dewclaw; see this curved nail here?" Donnie says, pointing it out. "Fascinating. Alright Mikey, smile for me real quick?"

Mikey bares his teeth for Donnie.

"Hmm. Not as sharp or elongated as they were last night. Mikey, do you know if your teeth can retract on command?"

"You mean like Toothless?" Raph asks, getting just the teensiest bit excited to have a brother with fictional dragon traits.

Mikey nods, and signs again.

'Happens when angry or danger. Threat. Teeth grow big. Aches after.'

"Got it. Leo, write down that his teeth can extend and retract when Mikey feels threatened. Also, Mikey, seeing as how your teeth are sharper now, does this affect your diet in any way?"

Mikey taps his fingers against his knees as he thinks it over.

'Mikey gets hungry for meat a lot. But likes other foods still. No cold. Cold hurts. But definitely hungry for meat.'

"Got it. I'll instruct Papa to add more beef and proteins to the grocery cart."

Donnie leans back with a proud smile.

"I think that's all for now, Angelo. You did very well."

Mikey smiles brightly and makes an eeeeee noise in response.

'Thank you, Purple!'

Donnie's smile wanes.

"Purple? Why'd you call me Purple?"

Mikey's happy expression falls. He looks embarrassed, afraid.

'Purple... is name?'

"N-no... not, not really," Donnie stammers. "You called me that earlier... but I thought you meant you could discern my mask -- Mikey... You do remember my actual name, right?"

Mikey is silent. His lip quivers softly as he looks between his brothers, asking for help. But they look just as scared and helpless upon the realization.

"Mikey... do you... remember who we are?"

Mikey is unable to answer. He just keeps looking at the three of them, eyes begging for help and watering quickly. His mouth opens and closes several times over, though no sounds emerge.

At long last, his hands -- shaky and trembling -- desperately sign a message.

'Purple... Blue... Red... brothers. Knows, Mikey KNOWS. MIKEY KNOWS, MIKEY KNOWS -- BROTHERS, BROTHERS, BROTHERS, BROTHERS...'

Mikey starts crying, simply signing that one word over and over again. Brothers, brothers, brothers...

Donnie rushes to his side and holds him closely.

"It's okay, Angie. You know us. You remember us. That's good, that's very good, you're okay... I'm sorry Angie, I didn't mean to --"

Mikey starts hiccuping and grabs at Donnie in despair, clawing at him and wrapping his tail around him tightly, as if getting closer to him will reignite some missing link in his spotty memory. He refuses to let go. His cries are wet, wobbly, uncontrolled. They sound like they belong to a child ten years younger than Mikey.

Donnie halts for a moment. He trembles. He grips Mikey tightly, rubbing his back. He notices the ridges on his shell start to raise. The scales on his tail begin to lift up. Mikey is highly uncomfortable. Donnie needs to calm him down before his 'instinct' can take over.

He gives him quiet shushes and waves his brothers over, who immediately come close and wrap their arms around him as well, Leo rubbing circles on his head while Raph takes Mikey's free hand.

'Sorry,' Mikey signs against Donnie, his eyes squeezed shut as he suck-up cries. 'Mikey... broken. Mikey knows Mikey broken. Doesn't want to be...'

"You don't have to be sorry, Michael, it isn't your fault," Donnie assures him. "I promise, I will fix you. You won't stay 'broken', you're not 'broken' at all! You're just... just..."

Donnie doesn't know what term to use. Mikey can't be broken...

...But he is. Donnie will always hate himself for admitting this, if only in the deepest part of his subconscious, but Mikey is broken now. His shell looks like it was literally shattered and then glued back together. His hands and feet are reformed, disfigured talons. He can't speak. He can't (or at least, has yet to) walk upright. He can't remember things that are highly important, like the past week or what his father looks like. By his own admission, he sometimes isn't even in control of his own self.

Mikey forgot what their names were.

That is not normal. Especially for him.

Michelangelo isn't himself anymore.

It's been a few minutes, and Mikey's breathing starts to slow. He's calmed down. He's still shaking slightly, but otherwise...

He's not fine. None of them are 'fine'. But he's finished crying, at least.

Donnie sighs and asks Mikey if he'd be willing to do one more test quickly. He feels Mikey nod against his chest.

Donnie lets the others go get breakfast while he prepares the final examination. Raph carries Mikey into the kitchen, where Casey has taken over as head chef in Michelangelo's absence. Apparently, future Mikey taught him some recipes, including deep-fried rat... which, actually, doesn't taste that bad. Though today, Casey has opted for pancakes and bacon. Mikey smells the bacon first, and his tail starts to weakly wag, though his expression is still exhausted from the crying.

"Good morning, Michelangelo!" Casey Jones Jr. says with a smile. "Ya hungry?"

Mikey nods as Raph lowers him down on the bench by the table.

"I'm guessing he wants strawberry pancakes?"

"Those are his fav, how did you know --" Raph stops and rolls his eyes. "Right. Future. You know everything."

"Well, maybe not everything," Casey chuckles. He turns back to the flapjacks, hiding the shift in his expression. "...I didn't know this would happen..."

Mikey signs something to Leo, who nods and turns to CJ.

"Mikey wants extra bacon with his pancakes. New diet, he needs more meat."

"You got it, sensei -- I mean, Leo."

Casey inhales, balling his fist up in soft frustration before exhaling and going back to focus on the food. He's been doing better at not calling them by their future names, but every once in a while he slips. It doesn't seem to bother anyone... apart from Casey Jr.

And Leonardo.

Casey finishes Mikey's meal first, handing a plate stacked full of pancakes and bacon to him. Mikey's eyes go wide, his pupils huge. He starts to drool at the food, sniffing it once before ravenously devouring it. Mikey doesn't even use a fork or knife, which at this point doesn't surprise anyone. But he does cause a bit of a mess, smearing the syrup all across his face and splashing some on Raph, who has the misfortune of sitting directly besides him.

"Mikey, calm down! There's plenty more where that came from," Raph says with a soft chuckle as he wipes the sticky sauce off his arms.

Mikey slows down a bit, but continues to eat like a feral creature, tearing the bread apart with his teeth and using his hands to hold the food down. He follows each pancake with two slices of bacon, chewing loudly and growling in contentment between bites.

Leo grimaces at the sight.

"Mikey, bud, maybe try eating with your mouth closed?"

Mikey stops suddenly and looks up at him, a pancake dangling from his jaw and his entire face covered brown with molasses. Casey has to turn away to keep from laughing at the sight. Mikey slowly muches the pancake back up into his mouth, and tries chewing with it closed.

"Better," Leo says with a weak smile and weaker stomach.

The boys continue breakfast, with Mikey watching the others and how they eat to get an understanding of what to do. He sees the silverware being handled, how there is an unused fork and knife by his dish. He picks the fork up slowly. It feels awkward in his hand, his fingers are too long for it now. His hands can't remember how to hold it properly. He fumbles with it, pressing against the pancake, stabbing it several times and trying to lift it up to his mouth. He is utterly offended when the pancake falls off the fork and splats on the plate again, splattering drops of syrup across his plastron.

Mikey grumbles softly, discarding the fork and going back to just using his hands and teeth to eat with.

He knows they are watching him struggle. He knows they won't say anything just yet. He knows that they feel just as uncomfortable watching him try to eat as he feels being watched.

Ten minutes later, Raph and Leo's phones ding. Donnie is ready for them.

Mikey quickly gets wiped down and then walked back to Donnie's lab, where he has apparently set up a whole CT scanner. Mikey stares at the big machine with anxiety.

"Mikey, this is the last test for today, I promise," Donnie says, smiling kindly at him. "Nothing else after this one. It will only take 15 minutes, won't hurt you at all, you don't even have to do anything other than just lay still for a bit. You can even take a nap in there, if you want."

"When did you build this?" Leo asks, running his hand along the machine's mouth and peering inside.

"A long while back... after the whole incident with the mind-reprogramulator..."

"The what?"

"Nevermind. I've definitely not been scanning your brains on occasion when you were asleep. Mikey, can you handle this one last test for me? All I'm gonna do is look at your brain for any injuries or traumas," Donnie asks, kneeling down to look his little brother in the eyes.

Mikey stares at the machine nervously. He signs at Donnie.

'Safe?'

"Perfectly safe," Donnie promises. "Can you do it?"

Mikey doesn't sign back, but moves over to the machine, jumping up and crawling inside.

"I'll take that as a yes," Donnie mumbles, going to help adjust Mikey's position for the scan to work properly. "Just lie back nice and easy, and try to relax. You can listen to music while you wait if that helps," he offers.

Mikey reaches his hands out and signs 'yes please'. Leo grabs the headset for him and lets Mikey choose what music to listen to.

Fifteen minutes of silence go by. Mikey does eventually fall asleep, the early rise compounded by the profuse sobbing from earlier having exhausted him, and the music is the icing on the cake. Once they hit the ten minute mark, Mikey's eyes slip shut. By the thirteenth minute, he's snoring softly.

Donatello's monitor beeps at him, a black and white image of Mikey's brain showing up on the screen.

"Okay, here we go..." Donnie says with a deep exhale, rolling his chair over and studying the scan thoroughly.

"Well?" Leo asks, leaning over his twin. "Survey says?"

Donnie is quiet for some time, hands folded under his chin as he makes certain of what the machine has deduced. He points to an area of the brain with a whiter marking filling the grey matter.

"See this area here?" he says softly. "The white means he's had head trauma."

"The white?" Raph repeats. "Donnie... there's a heck of a lot of white on that scan."

"I know. Look at these markings here," he says, pointing around the image to several parts of Mikey's brain that are slightly discoloured. "These indicate electrical injury."

"...Electrical?" Leo questions, his tone irritated and voice hot with anger.

"Yes," Donnie says, his tone also getting quite unhappy. "Electrical injury. I'm going to kill every one of those TCRI dunderheads..."

"Donnie," Raph says sternly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "The injuries aren't permanent, right?"

"There... there is some minor scarring," Donnie answers quietly. "But it should heal. Leo would know better."

"With Draxum's mutations making us virtually indestructible and quick-healing, I'd say he'll be fine," Leo says with a nod after giving the scan a once-over. "But the scars do affect his brain with things like short term memory... probably why he doesn't remember much about his captivity," Leo works out.

"So, he's got amnesia basically?" Raph asks.

"No, not amnesia, just head injuries," Donnie clarifies. "It's a symptom of any kind of trauma. It could be he blocked the memories... or if I am correct about the dissociative identity disorder, then he wasn't fully cognizant when certain things occurred -- almost like sleepwalking. Or, it's possible that the contusions he received knocked them loose, in a manner of speaking," Donnie suggests. "He has the memories, but can't access them yet. As time goes by and he heals properly, the memories will find their places and he'll be better."

"There have been all kinds of stories about this kind of thing," Leo chimes in, "where someone was in a car wreck and forgot everything -- even how to talk or eat or read, and needed to relearn their whole life from scratch. As time passed on, they got better and eventually their memories returned."

"Exactly," Donnie concurs. "It happens all the time with trauma patients. So I'm sure Mikey will be fine..."

Raph hears the hesitation again. He squeezes Donnie's shoulder. Donnie places his hand over Raph's, patting it in recognition of the comfort.

"So... what do we do in the meantime?" Raph asks.

"I can look up a list of ways to treat memory loss," Donnie says, quickly typing on the computers. "Or you guys can take over on that while I work on the anti-mutation cure."

"I can handle it," Leo volunteers. "No prob, bob. No problem, Boblem. No probert, Robert. No 'probbles' at all."

Donnie rolls his eyes, which are starting to look rather bloodshot. Raph doesn't let that go unnoticed.

"Dee, maybe you should get some rest now..."

"I'll be fine," he refutes, pushing Raph's hand off his shoulder. "I just need to work on a few things and then I'll take a siesta..."

"Don, seriously, you promised --"

An alert from the computer interrupts Raphael's scoldings. Donnie pulls up the security feed from the surroundings of the lair.

"April has arrived," he announces. "...Let's go break the news to her."

Splinter is the first to meet April as she walks in. She's carrying several bags that hang from her wrists and arms. Apparently she went grocery shopping before she got here.

Splinter walks over to her and nods his head in greeting.

"Ah, April. Good to see you again..." he sniffs the air, his demeanour immediately changing from composed host to excited foodie. "Ooooh, is that tiramisu I smell?"

April laughs as she reaches into one of the bags.

"All for you, Splints," she says, handing the box of cake over to Splinter, who grabs it with a huge grin.

"Aha! Come to big papa! Thank you, April, this is very kind of you."

"Anything for you and the guys," she says with a smile. "Speaking of which, how's Mikey doing?"

Splinter pauses.

"...How much have they told you?"

"You know Donnie, he likes to be vague and build up suspense for dramatic effect. But he texted me last night to say how the mission went."

"Did he?"

"Sometime at like, midnight or 1AM," she grumbles. "Just to say that the mission was a success and they got Mikey back. I asked how he was, and all he said was that he was alive and conscious. But I haven't known Donnie all these years to not know when he's hiding something. So, how is Mikey, really? Is he okay?"

"It's difficult to say," Splinter mumbles, walking back into the lair with April. "He's... he's awake and can communicate, to some extent. He can walk and even run. But... I'll let you decide when you see him."

April is unsure what he means by that, but lets it slide. She's sure she'll find out in a bit.

The three other Hamato sons and S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.2.0 come into the room to greet them. Leo is first, rushing in with haste. Raph comes in after him, his pace quick but not as swift as Leon's. Donnie meanders in last, his stride slow and somewhat sluggish. He looks exhausted. He is followed by his loyal robot son, hovering over him.

"Hey, family!" April cheers, leaning in for a hug from Leo, who takes half of the bags from her as Raph takes the rest.

"'Sup, April!" S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.2.0 greets, doing a quick backflip and rotor/fist-bump for her.

"'Sup, Shelly. Your upgrades look cool, btw."

April turns her attention back to the turtles.

"How're you holding up?"

"Well enough," Leo mutters, "All things considered. At least, I haven't had a emotional breakdown yet!"

Raph looks embarrassed. Apparently he can't match that boast.

"Where is the man of the hour?" April asks. "I got some new paint pens for him."

Leo looks uncomfortable.

"Uhh... we left him in Donnie's lab. I think he's still asleep... let's get these groceries into the kitchen for now; we'll tell you about everything."

April nods sadly as she follows the guys.

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"Hold him still!"

"Stop struggling!"

"Get me 20 Cc's of the mandrill, the boa, and the -- crap, he's gotten loose again!"

Mikey shrieks as he jumps down from the operating chair and dashes to the exit. A guard blocks his path, a cattle prod in his grip. He flicks the switch on it and a loud grinding sound ignites as blue sparks fly from the end. Mikey makes a quick turn and dodges him, running to a corner of the room and cowering. The doctors surround him angrily.

"Where's that frost gun?"

"Over there by the table!"

"Antagonizing little cretin! You'd think he'd have learned his lesson from the last time!!"

One of the men in white comes back, brandishing a long thin airgun with a blue stripe down the middle. A special weapon made specifically for him, for when he acts out. The doctor points it at Mikey and pulls the trigger. A gust of icy air shoots out directly at Mikey. He screeches in pain as the shock of temperature causes his body to go rigid. He falls to the ground convulsing and shivering, painful stabbing sensations prickle across his entire body. He almost feels like he's dying. He can't move.

The guards grab him roughly. He can't move to fight back. Mikey sobs and screams.

He hurts so much, there are so many hurting places on his body.

Needles that have broken the skin to inject what Mikey can only assume is poison because of how much it hurts.

Bruises from where he has been forced into places with other animals to see how they interact. They are never friendly. Mikey is the only one to ever walk out of the room again. Instinct is efficient and ruthless.

There is no love in this room. Only hate. Only pain.

Mikey is taken back to the chair and strapped down. He howls.

"I'd advise you not to do that again," a doctor says with anger burning in his eyes. "Or else there will be consequences."

Consequences worse than what is happening now? He doubts it.

Syringes prick his arms. Oozes and slimes and ghastly liquids are shoved into his veins and bloodstreams. He can feel it doing painful things to him, he feels his bones shift and crack and grow and shrink. His teeth snap into new formations and his fingers start to elongate, the nails splintering and curving into talons.

Mikey sobs. Why is he here? Why do they hate him? Where are the other ones?? Where is Red, and Blue, and Purple? Where did they go, why have they left him behind? Did they escape this place? This place is all he can remember, apart from them. He only recalls needles and linoleums and cages and cold and pain and tears and hatred and fury and longing and loneliness.

Why did they leave him... didn't they love him, once?

Didn't anybody love him once?

No. No one could ever have loved anything from this place.

No one could have loved whatever it is that Mikey is.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

Mikey's eyes snap open, tears streaming down his cheeks.

He doesn't recognize this room. It's another cage? It's a small white tunnel, he's stuck inside, he needs to get out!

Mikey clambers around, whining and crying like a puppy stuck in a kennel. He somehow manages to make a backwards shimmy out of the tunnel.

He is in Purple's lab. He wants to leave, now. Right now.

Purple and Blue and Red aren't in here. Where did they go?

The door is open. Mikey rushes out, calling for them.

He howls, long whining hoots that anyone within the lair could hear. Why don't they respond? Where are they?

They left him again...? They left him. They left.

Gone. Gone. Gone.

Mikey starts to whimper.

Should have known they would leave...

No, they wouldn't leave!

Then where are they?

Somewhere... Brothers are somewhere... He'll find them eventually.

No trust. Something bad. Smell something bad.

Mikey smells it, too. Where is the bad smell coming from?

It's not a disgusting scent. In fact, it is, in some ways, very nostalgic. There are traces of coconut oil in it. Sweet scents. But it is a bad smell.

Something dangerous is in the home.

It's coming from the kitchen...

Mikey goes into hunting mode. He digs his talons into the cracks between the bricks in the wall. As he climbs, the pads on his palms shift, tickling sensations that give pins and needles on his hands. Miniscule hairs create Van der Waals forces, causing a suction effect as Mikey starts to scale the wall and crawl to the ceiling.

He sneaks along the top of the hallway, following the bad smell.

Mikey cranes his neck down to peer into the kitchen. Everyone is inside, unloading bags and boxes and containers of food and supplies.

Rat is in the corner of the room, wiping his eyes. He was crying. The human who made breakfast is also in here, quietly rummaging through the pantries and cabinets as he places things away. He looks like he might cry, too. Blue, Red and Purple are holding someone in their arms. She is making a lot of noise, weeping and wailing and sobbing in their embrace. Apparently everyone was crying.

They must love her.

But she smells bad. She has the bad smell. Why trust bad smell?

The bad smell is human.

We don't like humans.

No... we don't... but the male human made the food for us! We trust male human?

NO. No trusting humans! Bad humans! They do terrible things to us. Mikey must not trust humans. Only Instinct. Instinct kept us alive.

Instinct kept Mikey alive...

The male human seems to sense something is watching them, and looks up. He yelps in surprise.

Red, Blue, and Purple turn to look at him, then at what he's pointing at. The girl looks up at Mikey and screams in fright.

He hisses back at her, growling loudly as his tail whips underneath him. The scales and scutes start to lift, the ridges on his shoulders and thighs raising high. His tail becomes a spiky bludgeon.

Let Instinct take over. Instinct will keep us safe.

Mikey can do it. Instinct Might hurt brothers.

Instinct is better. Stronger. Instinct is --

MIKEY CAN DO IT, he snaps back in his mind. His tail cracks like a whip again as he snarls angrily.

The human girl yipes and hides behind Red.

Mikey starts to creep along the ceiling, watching them. Making sure that the evil humans don't do anything to hurt Rat or brothers.

Red follows him around the room, raising his hands and guarding the girl.

"Mikey? Hey Mikey, come on down, bud..."

"How... how is he doing that?" the girl asks.

"Lizards can climb on walls," Blue mutters. "Remember we said he has lizard DNA now?"

"I can't believe... that's really Mikey?" the girl whimpers quietly, grabbing Blue's arm.

"It's him," Blue says. He sounds sad.

"Mikey, come down?" Red begs.

Mikey sneers at the girl.

"What? April? You remember April, right?"

Mikey snaps at her, baring his teeth. The canines are growing longer and longer.

"Mikey, she's your sister," Red enunciates.

Mikey's expression softens. Sister? Like brothers?

"Yeah, mi hermano, she's cool! It's big sis April!" Blue joins in, patting her on the head. "See? She's one of us!"

Mikey croaks at her, cocking his head in confusion.

Don't trust her. Don't trust them. Humans are evil. Humans did this to us. They hurt us, and kept us from brothers, and made us sad and scared. She will hurt you!

Red walks directly underneath Mikey and holds his arms out as far as he can. Mikey lowers himself into his embrace, dangling upside down from the ceiling for a moment before readjusting and wrapping his torso around Red's forearm, his spine twisting with flexibility that surprises his brother.

"Boa constrictor?" he asks, looking at Purple.

"I guess," Purple answers with a tired shrug.

Mikey keeps his eyes on the human girl. She cautiously starts stepping closer, holding a hand out to him.

"Mikey? It's me, April. Please say you remember me...?"

Her voice wavers. She sounds so sad.

Humans can be sad?

Humans only CAUSE sad. How can this human be sad?

Her eyes become glassy and blur over. She sniffles. Her nose is red and her cheeks are rosy. She was crying. She was very sad. Why is she sad now?

Did MIKEY make her sad??

Mikey mews at her. He feels bad now. Her fingers touch his beak. He takes in the scent on her hands... lotions, perfume, coco butter from her curls. Mikey doesn't remember her face, or her voice. But he remembers these scents. And they do smell safe. He loves these smells, though he can't remember why. His eyes water, the scents activating some distant and foggy recollection of a warm embrace and a soft hand against his head and the feeling you get when laughing too hard.

She might be human... but he loved her once. He can love her again.

Mikey purrs, closing his eyes and leaning his face into the touch. He hears her stifle a sob, stroking her hand across his forehead and down his cheek. Tears pool in his eyes and seep through. Soon enough, she's wiping the tears away.

The humans were never gentle like this in the other place. They never loved him. But she loves him.

He was loved once. He is loved again.

Mikey is becoming more and more comfortable around April.

At first, he barely lets her touch his head. Only when his eyes are closed. 

She gets the feeling that he's trying to hide, or is suppressing some not-so-happy emotions or memories. From what the guys were able to fill her in on, Mikey went through... a lot. It makes sense that he would be rather averse to touch, especially from humans.

He treats Casey Jr. the same way, growling softly if he gets too close to him. He only allows him to deliver food, and sniffs each meal with caution.

But by lunch, he lets April rub his shell, stroke his tail, and even hug him. He lets Casey hold his hand and walk beside him and give him little snacks and treats that he knows he will love.

At one point, while the group are sitting around and conversing, Mikey crawls over to April and sits in her lap. He eventually curls up and falls asleep, his tail wrapping around the back of her..

"Awww," she coos. "This is so adorable! He's just like Mayhem!!"

April softly pets Mikey's head, stroking the back of it and tracing down his neck to the edges of his shell. She can't rub the fractured carapace as well as Dee, Leo, or Raph. Their hands are rougher and don't get caught on the sharp edges of the scutes.

"So... what are the plans now? How are we going to fix this?" she asks quietly.

Leo clears his throat.

"While Don-Tron is working on a cure for the double mutation, I've been doing some Googling on how to handle Miguel's memory issues..."

Raph and April snicker softly.

"...And I came up with this," Leo proudly proclaims as he produces printed sheets with a bullet list of points and instructions. "Tips to help improve memory!"

Leo clears his throat and straightens the papers as he begins to read them off.

"Tip one: Exercise. Physical activity will help blood flow through the body and into the brain. Most doctors recommend around 150 minutes weekly of physical activity."

"So... how many minutes is that daily?" Raph asks, his brain trying to understand the maths.

"150 minutes is 2.5 hours, Raphala," Donnie grumbles. His eyes are starting to droop, and he leans against Leo to rest.

"Two and a half hours ain't so bad, I'm sure he could knock that out in a day!" Raph exclaims cheerfully.

"Continuing," Leo says, going down the list. "Tip two: Stay Mentally Active. Keeping his mind exercised is just as important as the physical exercise."

"How do we exercise his brain?" Raph asks, tilting his head.

"With things like games, puzzles, hobbies, reading, etc."

"Can Mikey read?" Casey wonders aloud. "I mean, after everything? Is that still something he can do??"

Leo furrows his brow.

"We haven't tried that yet... But we can teach him how to read again, if needed. Besides, he can read ASL!" Leo says with a snap of his fingers. "I'm sure he'll be fine. Now, on to the next one... Tip number three: Socialization. Mikey needs to spend time with us to help with things like mental depression and stress. In addition, our being around him will likely jog some of his memories! And we definitely want him to be comfortable around those he doesn't recall as well, so let's keep that up... Which means more visits from people we trust."

April and Casey Jr. nod in unison.

"Tip número cuatro: Staying Organized. This is more for things like short term memory loss, but still useful, since we don't yet know the full extent of Mikey's mental trauma. So far he's doing well, but it never hurts to cover every base. The less Mikey has to worry over, the better. That means no more messy leftover dishes in the living room, Dad."

Leo sends a jesting glare over at his father, who is sitting in his couch munching on the tiramisu. Splinter grumbles back at him, but nods all the same.

"And on to tip five: Getting Proper Sleep. Poor sleep schedules have been linked to memory loss, which is no real surprise, let's be honest. And it doesn't even mean just staying up late, restless sleep is the same. Mikey needs rest, along with activity. Seven to nine hours of undisturbed slumber is best. But because of... what happened to him, it's possible that Mikey might have nightmares or trouble resting peacefully. So, we'll need to take some shifts and schedule sleepovers and turtle piles."

"Raph's fine with that," the snapping turtle says with a smile.

Dee raises his hand and grunts out a soft "ditto".

"Great. Next up on the list is: A Healthy Diet. Mikey's eating needs have changed somewhat, but it's nothing we can't handle. Three meals a day, meat and protein with each one if possible, and of course fruits, vegetables and whole grains."

"Good thing I just went shopping," April says with a grin, stroking Mikey's head again.

He purrs in his sleep and nuzzles his beak into the underside of her knee. His soft breath tickles her skin, but she doesn’t dare move.

"Tip number seven: Manage Chronic Health problems. We gotta stay on top of any issues Mikey has. Which, he probably will. The site I checked didn't have anything on turtle mutations, but it mentioned things like high blood pressure, obesity, and depression."

"Uhhh.... I dunno if obesity is one we need to worry about with Mikey," April says, looking him over. "Kid's thin as a rail... didn't they feed him in the labs?"

Leo, Raph, and Casey exchange glances. Well, that explains breakfast, they realize...

"He might not have obesity or high blood pressure, but the trauma he endured could have resulted in depression," Splinter interjects. "And most likely anxiety."

His sons know that he is talking from experience.

"We'll be on the lookout for that. But he does have some interesting new physical things we need to be careful about," Raph chimes in. "For instance, his aversion to cold."

"Right," Leo says, pointing at Raph. "We need to keep the lair warm for him, or else he goes into shock. We kinda found that out the hard way last night..."

"Also, his eyes -- the lair needs to be properly lit up during the day. Which means, we need a few extra lamps, because the mood lighting around here ain't gonna cut it," Raph says, looking around the room at all the dark corners they haven't gotten to decorating with neon signs and lights yet.

"I think we also need to be careful about his shell," April notes.

"Why? What about it?" Leo asks, leaning forward, much to Donnie's irritation. He is still slumped against him for support.

"Look here, these bits that are raised up? Kinda look like armadillo armor?" April says, pointing it out. "If you look underneath, you'll see he has a kind of... softer shell. It almost looks like Donnie's soft shell, but different. Almost like reptile skin, y'know? But it feels sensitive..."

"Okay, so be careful about Mikey's undershell," Leo says with a nod. "Got it. This shouldn't be too hard!"

"In the meantime, let's come up with some stuff we can do with him to keep him occupied," Raph says with a smile.

"Right! He's pretty energetic, so the exercise won't be an issue."

"Could we risk taking him to a park?" Casey asks. "I mean, when it's in the evenings or empty?"

"I doubt it," Leo exhales. "He might run off or get lost. And it isn't like before, when we could just wear hoodies and pretend we were normal. People might recognize us now. And we can't risk the TCRI scientists or the EPF finding him again."

"I can build sumfin' for him," Donnie mumbles sleepily. "Monkey bars or whatever... cat tower to climb on. Sumfin'. Angelo would like that..."

"Do you think he can still draw?" April asks.

"He could barely hold a fork, so maybe not..."

The room falls quiet and somber.

"...But, we can still try, right?" April offers.

"Yeah... yeah! Of course!" Raph proclaims. "Mikey loves to make art, no matter what! He can still play around with it if he wants... maybe not with his more expensive stuff, like the fancy markers and junk; we'll work our way up to those. Better start small..."

"I can buy him some crayons and coloured pencils!" April offers. "And my college has this huuuuge roll of paper that they use for the drawing club! I bet they wouldn't notice if one or two rolls went missing..."

Leo rubs his hands together mischievously.

"Oh, I'm all in for that."

"We can schedule movie nights more regularly," Splinter offers, taking another bite of tiramisu -- and then promptly choking on it, after the chocolate dust does down his windpipe because he talked with his mouth full.

"Sure, but not too late in the evenings. Okay, Pops?"

Splinter raises a thumbs up as he hacks and chokes on the cake.

"Cassandra has some puzzles and friendship bracelet kits for the girl scout meetings," Raph interjects. "I'm sure she'd let us borrow a few for Mikey."

"And Donnie can find some easy-to-read books down at the mystic library!" Leo adds. "Right, Donnie? ... Donnie?"

Leo turns around to see that Donatello has fallen asleep against his back.

The group collectively roll their eyes.

Raph helps Leo to lift him up. Donnie murmurs in his sleep, even opens an eye just a wink, but promptly falls back into his rest.

Leo starts to carry his twin back to his room where he can sleep properly. Raph goes to April and picks up Mikey as well, getting an idea...

The group follow Leo into Dee's traincar and watch as the brothers take his battleshell off and tuck him into bed for a good long nap. Leo is sure to get one of Donnie's more comfortable and oversized sweatshirts and wrap it over him. Once he's situated, Raph gently lays Mikey on top of the softshell. The mutated box turtle wiggles into place on his brother's chest, where he can absorb his heat and feel his breathing. A weighted blanket is thrown over the two as the final touch.

"There," Raph says with a soft smile. "Now Donnie won't be getting up for a while."

April and Leo chuckle softly. Splinter smiles sweetly at his sons, and they leave the two to their well-deserved rest.

The day went on pretty quickly after that...

April and Casey helped make plans with Leo and Raph up until around 4PM, when Mikey came running down the halls and pounced on Leonardo from behind, knocking him flat on his face. Donnie came stumbling through a few minutes later, his mask askew and eyes still conveying a need for more sleep, but seeming generally rested for the most part.

They'd made sure to entertain Mikey as best they could, playing a few games and letting Mikey wrestle with them. And by "them", it was mostly just Raph.

Raphael'd never had trouble when it came to sparring with Mikey before. Sure, the kid was strong and fast, but Raph was always the one to beat all his bros no matter what. Now he actually had to work to hold his own against his littlest brother. Mikey's play-fighting was chaotic and swift; his movements were a blur and Raph could tell he wasn't holding back on his strength anymore. Or maybe, Mikey had forgotten how to hold back...? In any case, he'd knocked Raph on his tail more than once and Raph looked up to see Mikey perched on his chest with a great big grin. Well, at least he was having fun.

After dinner -- which had a lot of proteins and meats for Mikey of course -- they'd all settled down for a Lou Jitsu movie.

That was very interesting to witness.

They'd nearly forgotten about the issue with Mikey's eyesight. Mikey had hissed when the lights were dimmed and the projector flashed, the sharp contrast of lights causing distress for the mutant. But they couldn't keep the lights on for Mikey because then no one could see the screen properly. So they had to find a way to watch the movie with the lights on. They eventually came up with an odd compromise -- by shining a lamp over just Mikey, while the rest of the room was darkened. It worked well enough.

Mikey was confused at first, unsure what the movie was. For a moment, he seemed to think that it was almost like a window, and the people were real. He tried to attack it once. It was then that they realized that Mikey had a fierce disliking of humans now. It was generally assumed, but never confirmed. Well, he confirmed it now. He'd not gotten around to mentioning it beforehand, which would have been helpful to know before April came over...

Mikey watched the rest of the film with intensity. Slowly but surely, he became invested, and at one scene he heard the very familiar catchphrase.

"Ahh!! AH! AH!!! MMMMNNNGHH, Mmmmmaah! AAGH!" He shrieked, pointing and jumping and screeching with excitement.

"Yes, Mikey!" Leo laughed, his joy overflowing, knowing he remembered something. "Hot soup!"

Mikey bounced ecstatically. Even more so at seeing the enormous smile that his brother bore in his honour now. Donnie smirked. Raph's hands stimmed with glee. April chuckled at Mikey's enthusiasm. Splinter laughed happily and pet his head sweetly.

By the time the movie was finished, April had to leave to get back to her studies. But she promised to return when she could after class the next day.

"See ya later, bro-bro," she said with a smile as she knelt down next to Mikey and pet his head.

Mikey chirped in response, smiling at her happily.

The rest of the night was a mix of different things. Donnie peeled off to work on the anti-mutagen, Leo went to talk with Casey about... 'things'... and Raph helped Splinter clear the living room of dishes and leftover popcorn.

Mikey takes the opportunity to explore the lair some more. He goes into every room, stays for about five minutes to investigate, then goes to the next interesting place.

He pops into Dee's lab first. The room is dark again, but after the movie had ended Mikey had gotten used to the darkness and his infrared vision returned. He sees a blorb of heat sitting in a chair, typing away on a desk. The computer screens give off some heat, but not as much as the consoles and hard drives beneath the desk. A flying object hums and whirrs above them, generating a similar amount of heat. It floats much higher when it detects Mikey. There isn't much else to see in the room. He goes up to Donnie and chirps at him, though Donnie doesn't responded beyond head rubs.

He got bored quickly and left the room to go look around. He found Raph and Splinter talking as they washed dishes. The kitchen was brightly lit, and Mikey's vision switched over again. He wandered in circles around the table, listening to their conversation without processing a single word. He just liked hearing their voices. But eventually he got bored of that too, and wandered out, looking around the halls and skate room and training room...

He comes across Leon and Casey next. The two were talking in private, though Mikey hadn't picked up on that. They are standing just beyond the traincar bedrooms, and Mikey wonders what they are doing so far away. His infrared had come back, causing a minor headache but he muscles through it as he scurries toward the others. He notices that the closer he gets to them, the further away they creep from the lair. Why? Why are they getting farther...

"...all I'm saying is that I get it, I really do," Casey mutters softly.

"You get it? You get looking at your family and not knowing who they are anymore?" Leo argues.

"Yes. That's every day of my life, now..." Casey responds.

"...I hadn't... I didn't realize... I'm sorry, dude, I just... You're right. And I don't mean to be a stranger to you, I'm really trying to be who you want me to be, but I--"

"I don't WANT THAT, Leo! You shouldn't have to change who you are now to fit who you were once to me. You'll never be him..."

There is a pause of painful silence.

"...And you don't have to be."

"But... I need to be, don't I? Not just for you, but for them -- for Raph, and Donnie, and --"

Leo suddenly turns towards Mikey and snaps.

"Mikey! What are you doing here? We're having a private conversation, do you mind --!"

Mikey jerks back nervously, looking between them.

He didn't know... he couldn't tell they weren't facing him. He thought they saw him... He didn't mean to...

Leo sighs and steps over to him.

"I'm sorry for yelling. You startled me, that's all. C'mon, let's go hang in your room for a bit, okay?"

Leo turns to Casey.

"We can continue this conversation later."

"I don't think we need to," Casey responds, folding his arms. Mikey can't see his expression, but his voice sounds... agitated.

Leo sighs as he leads Mikey back into his traincar.

"Oh, by the way, I found these," Leo says, once Mikey's eyes have readjusted to the light.

He hands him a pair of nunchucks.

"Snagged em while searching for you at the labs," he explains. "Figured you'd want them back."

Mikey looks down at the wood and chains. Are they a gift? Important? He doesn’t recognize them at all. He snorts at the weapons, then grabs them in his mouth and tosses them away.

Apparently they aren’t interesting. Leo makes the oddest expression when Mikey discards his signature chucks, but he masks it pretty quickly, offering to try and entertain the kid until it's time for bed.

The two try everything, from Mikey experimenting with some of his paints to Leo reading a few of his comics to him like bedtime stories. Mikey and Leo converse about a few things, such as who April was and why she'd come.

Mikey signs to Leo to ask what to call him if "Blue" isn't his actual name. Leo is extremely patient with him and helps him to memorize the sign for his and his brothers' names. Leo makes sure to say the names as he signs them, helping reiterate and solidify them in his little brother's mind.

After several minutes, Mikey finally starts yawning and presses himself against Leon's chest. Leo lifts the baby brother up and carries him to his hammock to sleep in. Mikey chirps out a 'goodnight' before succumbing to sweet, sweet sleep.

Leo hums as he tucks Mikey in, folding the blanket edges under his arms. Leo has to admit, Mikey is one heck of a trooper. He is scared, scarred, lost in his own mind, but still hopeful and cheery as ever, and 100% willing to work on himself to get better. He was already starting to remember things, and he'd come to trusting April pretty quickly despite the animosity he has for humans now... Maybe this won't be so hard. It won't be so bad...

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

“Mikey, it’s not that bad-!”

"No- no! You don't understand! It was my fault! It's me! It's always been me!" Mikey shouts, grabbing the front of his orange jacket, tears rolling down his cheeks as he pouts.

“I know you burned it twice now but you’re being super dramatic.” Leo rolls his eyes as he dumps a plate into the trash.

Mikey looks up at him and pouts a lot more.

Leo sighs and walks closer, patting Mikey’s head.

“You’ll get it, eventually! Took me a while to stop burning stuff.”

Leo only started making his own food maybe a year or two ago. Maybe closer to a year since Raph panicked about them burning themselves.

He is way more paranoid about Mikey so this practicing is supposed to be secret, but it won’t be if he keeps crying.

Mikey wipes his eyes but still hiccups.

“I-I keep messing up. Making it too hot and leaving it too long….I….I just want to be as good as you….”

Leo pulls him in close.

“You will be! Just gotta practice. Maybe you’ll be a big chef and you can make me all the food I want!”

Mikey sniffles.

“I-I can be?”

“You’re already good at soooo much stuff, why not? My super cool, talented little brother!”

Mikey smiles and giggles, rubbing his face into Leo’s shirt.

Leo smiles too, hugging him closer.

It wasn’t a lie.

He believes it 100%.

Mikey can do anything.

He’ll always be there to cheer him on.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

Leo comes back to reality, the memory still vivid in his mind.

He cups Mikey's speckled cheek with a smile.

"I'm still gonna cheer you on, king," he whispers. "No matter what. You've got this..."

Mikey murmurs something in his sleep, and Leo can almost swear it sounds like an actual sentence or phrase. It might have been wishful thinking, the sound was too soft to actually hear. But Leo will go to his grave convinced that he'd heard Mikey mumble in his sleep...

Love you.

Leo smiles and gets ready to take the first sleepover shift.

Mikey wakes up, and the first thing he feels is someone wiping tears away from his cheeks. He opens his eyes to see Red Raph standing there, whispering loving shushes at him. Leo is asleep on the beanbag again.

Mikey whines at Raph. He wants to tell him what he saw, what he did. He wants to ask him to hold him tight and never let him go again. He tries.

"Chirrup," he croaks.

Miraculously enough, Raph gets the message and wraps his arms over and under Michelangelo, lovingly lifting him up and cradling him close.

"You okay, big man?" he asks, rocking him back and forth.

Mikey nuzzles his face into Raph's shoulder. He sniffles and sobs without making a noise. Raphael hums a gentle tune to him, like he used to do when he found Mikey having a nightmare as a kid...

Huh. Mikey remembers that. That helps...

Mikey smiles at the happy memory. It replaces the ache in his chest from the bad memory...

Mikey smiles even more when Leo gets up and joins them, rubbing circles on Mikey's head. He purrs at the touch.

"Morning, Miguel," Leo says with a smile. "How're you doing?"

"Chhrrrrr..."

"Ready for some breakfast?" he asks with a smile.

Mikey's tail wags with all its might. He's starving.

Raph didn't expect to find Mikey crying in his sleep. He'd asked what he was dreaming about during breakfast, and Mikey had sheepishly signed something about a mutant that he'd had to fight in the labs. But he didn't give many details. Raph wanted to offer comfort again, but for whatever reason Mikey flinched when he touched his shoulder and refused to return the affection like he had that morning. Something felt off, Mikey felt far away...

Raphael had resolved to do something with Mikey that would make him smile again. That's what he's doing now, as Leon and Donnie are cleaning up the kitchen from breakfast.

Raphael follows after his baby brother, who trots back to his bedroom to play with the paints he and Leo found last night. He's dipping his hands in the small bottles and scribbling messy doodles onto the sheets scattered across the floor.

"Hey Mikey, whatcya drawin'?"

Mikey looks up with a shy smile and signs to him.

'Brothers. R-A-P-H, D-O-N-N-I-E, and L-E-O.'

"You remember our names?" Raph asks with excitement.

Mikey nods and signs that he and Leo practiced their names the night before. Raph smiles brightly as he sits across from Mikey.

"That's amazing, Mikey! I'm so happy for you!"

Mikey's shy smile grows bigger. He squeaks out a gleeful beep, his tail wags and the very tip of it taps against the floor several times.

"Hey, I know you're busy with drawin' and artsy stuff, but do you think Raph could try sumthin' with ya?"

Mikey nods, intrigued. He wipes his fingers off on the paper, and gives Raph his full attention.

"Okay. Now, this is just an exercise, it's okay if it doesn't work on the first attempt, but we might as well try, right?"

Mikey purses his lips and tilts his head in confusion.

"I want to see if I can help you figure out how to talk again."

Mikey's eyes go wide as saucers. Is he serious? Could Mikey actually talk again?

"I know, I know, but you can make sounds with your throat, right? It's just to try. Can we try?"

Mikey nods ecstatically. He so badly wants to talk again, he's so desperate to communicate with his voice.

"Okay! Great! Let's try this... I know you can growl. Can you make the growling sound for me? Grrr?"

Mikey nods and begins to vibrate his vocal chords.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrghh..."

"That's great! Okay, now just the 'rrrr' sound."

Mikey mimics Raph as he purses his lips and produces a softer growl, enunciating just the 'R's.

"Great! Now, try saying 'ah'?" Raph asks. "I've heard you do it before, it's easy, right?"

Mikey nods, making the 'ah' sound, opening his mouth wide and unintentionally giving Raphael a glimpse of the many sharp fangs and canine teeth he has now.

"Good, good. Now, let's try a new one. Can you make the 'ff' sound?"

Mikey's expression falters. He concentrates, following Raph's instructions as best he can. He presses his teeth against his tongue and blows air through.

"Thhhh...?"

"Try it like this," Raph says, pointing to how he bites his lower lip.

Mikey tries, but bites down too hard at first and yipes.

"Gently!" Raph yelps nervously, reaching for Mikey. "Gently! Don't bite down so hard, just... softly place your upper jaw on your lower lip."

Mikey tries again, carefully resting his teeth against his lip and gently blowing.

"Fffffffft? Ffff!"

"Nicely done!" Raph congratulates. "Okay, let's review those sounds again. 'Rr'?"

"Rrrrrrrhh..."

"Ah?"

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!"

"Ffff."

"Pffff!"

"All three together?"

Mikey clenches his fists and concentrates hard.

"RRrgghh... Aaaahh... Ffff... RrAhhPpFfff... Rrrraafff... Rraff? Raff. R-Raff! Ah!! RAFF!!"

Mikey looks up in shock and sheer delight. His eyes sparkle and he almost starts crying.

"RrAAaFfFf!!" he shouts in excitement, pointing at himself and then at his brother as he realizes what he had him learn to say. "Raff! Raff!"

"You did it, Mikey!" Raph cheers ecstatically, grabbing Mikey's hands and shaking them with joy. "I knew you could! I knew you could do it!! Hey, wanna go show our brothers?"

Mikey nods furiously.

Raph stands up and ushers Mikey out, who zooms away quickly but halts to wait at the end of the hall.

The two waltz into the kitchen where Leo and Donnie are just finishing up the dishes.

"Excuse me, boys," Raph announces, swelling with pride. "But Mikey has something he'd like to show us!"

"Oh?" Leo says, pausing a conversation he and Donnie were having. "What's up, Miguel?"

Mikey saunters into the doorway with ego and self-admiration, sitting himself down and lifting his head up high to loudly proclaim...

"Raph."

Donnie and Leo freeze.

"Did... did he just... Mikey, did you just say Raph??"

Mikey and Raphael beam.

"He sure did! We've been working on phonics and enunciation."

"That's so AWESOME!!" Leo yells, running to Mikey and wrapping him up in a hug. "Ohmigosh! Can he say my name, too?"

"Well, he only just learned how to say my name, but we can practice yours. You wanna give it a go, Mikey?" Raph asks.

Mikey nods and chirps before repeating the only word he can say.

"Raff! Rapfh! Raph!"

"Okay, I think you can make the 'ee' sound alright, so let's focus on the 'L' for now. Make the 'rrr' sound again for me?"

Mikey does, and Leo practices along with him.

"Rrrrr..."

"Rrrr..."

"Okay, now, while you make the 'R', press your tongue against the back of your teeth."

Mikey looks confused, but Leo gives it a go.

"Rrrrrrlllll--! Ah! Hey! I never realised that... How did you know to do that?" Leo asks.

"When Mikey was a turtle tot, he had that speech impediment where he pronounced his 'R's and 'L's as 'W's. I had to help him figure out how to say them properly," Raph explains. "I guess that's why I wanted to do this speech therapy with him."

Leo and Mikey share a smile and awww at him.

Mikey goes back to focusing on the enunciation, making a soft rumble from his throat that turns into the Rrrrrrgh sound. In the middle of the 'R's, he presses his tongue against his teeth.

"RrrrrrrrllllLLLLL!" Mikey bounces and laughs. "LLLLL! LLLLA! LA! LALALALA!"

Leo laughs along with him. Donnie smiles and huffs out a soft chuckle. The room is laughter and smiles and the lightest feeling of happiness and genuine joy that has existed in this home since Mikey had been taken from them. In this moment, there is healing and wholesomeness. And nothing could break it.

Over New York, a series of small drones fly through the skyline and scan over the city, searching for something... or someone.

One such drone hovers over a specific area, going round in circles as it scans a series of buildings and alleys.

The scans and video footage is transmitted live to a security room in the Techno Cosmic Research Institute Labs, a branch of the Earth Protection Force. A woman is watching the video feed, eyes never blinking and expression totally blank. Her gaze darts from computer to computer, screen to screen. She is looking for anything out of the ordinary.

A door behind her opens. Two men with walk into the room, one in a white lab coat and one wearing a dark uniform and carrying a small weapon on his belt.

"Ah, hello Ms. Campbell," the lab coat greets as he stands behind her, leaning against her chair. "How is it coming along?"

"The drones are functioning properly, Dr. Chaplin," she states flatly.

"Is that so?" he asks, his tone irritated. "Then explain to me why drone 5574 keeps going in circles?"

"Drone 5574 is programed to locate the escaped experiment," she responds cooly. "It is following the embedded tracker."

"A stroke of genius to install trackers in them all," Dr. Chaplin sighs with exasperation. "In case events like this occur... But why is it just circling the one area?"

"It cannot use the artificial recognition software to locate the experiment."

"Why is that?"

"Could the experiment have removed the tracker?" the young man in black uniform asks, stepping closer.

"Impossible, it was unconscious when we inserted it, completely sedated!" Dr. Chaplin says with aggravation and exasperation.

"Then, perhaps the drone is malfunctioning?"

"Ms. Campbell here says all the drones are working properly," he rebuts. "She is never wrong."

"I suspect that the experiment is hiding," Ms. Campbell states. "Either in one of the buildings, alleys, or perhaps even in the sewers."

"Hmm. It could be. Have you detected any movement from the alleys?"

"Negative."

"I doubt it could have lasted this long hiding unseen in any of these buildings... my guess is it's in the sewers. We'll start searching down there... In the meantime," Dr. Chaplin says, turning back to the agent behind him, "Bishop, take a small group of men and do some reconnaissance. I want to make sure he isn't hiding in plain sight. Any idiot could see him and sell him to some circus sideshow or -- god forbid, post a selfie with him. The last thing we need now is publicity, so be discreet."

"Very well. What are you planning to do?" Agent Bishop asks.

"The sewers are too reckless of a place to send a squad in yet. We'll send in some drones to look around."

Dr. Chaplin smiles.

"We'll catch him again soon. There's no doubt about that. He is TCRI property. He could hold the key to so many genetic discoveries and uncoverings... but first, to recapture him. Ms Campbell, I trust you don't mind staying here to watch the feed?"

"I will be fine," she says, still not having taken her eyes away from the video feed.

"It's almost like you were made for this stuff," Dr. Chaplin jokes, as he and Agent Bishop walk out of the room, leaving Ms. Campbell to watch the computers alone again.

"Llllleeeee--- ohhhh? Llleeeo! LEO!" Mikey shouts, tail flapping wildly and threatening to smack someone upside the head.

"You did it, bud!" Leo squeals, grabbing Mikey and hugging him close. "Ahh, music to my ears! My name has never sounded so good!"

Mikey giggles and sqeaks with joy before pointing to Donnie.

"Ee! Eee!" he says, hoping they get the hint.

"You wanna learn Donnie's name?" Raph asks. Mikey nods.

They spend the next ten minutes working on enunciating the 'D' in 'Donnie'. It's harder than they expected, and Mikey mostly uses the 'T' sound as a cheat. His voice is gravely and scraggly, worn out and scratchy. But it's there. Just a little out of use.

The vocal exercises and enunciation techniques slowly start to get on Mikey's nerves. He's trying, it's just so hard! And to him, he thinks he IS saying properly, it sounds right! But not good enough for the others.

But it's worth all the irritation, because when Mikey finally makes that 'D' sound, the room erupts into cheering. Mikey is elated.

The rest of the afternoon is spent teaching Mikey to speak again. They focus on sounds, pronouncing them as best as possible. Mikey understands the language, he just has to re-train his throat and vocal chords and tongue. But by lunchtime, he can say various basic words and phrases, such as his own name, Leo and Raph and Donnie and Splinter and Casey, food and cold and human, hurt and happy and scared and angry... among others. Simple things to help him express himself in quick moments. He's getting the hang of it pretty quickly.

Lunchtime is fun, Mikey shows off his new vocabulary to Casey, who he was calling male human until he learned his actual name. Casey looks a little hurt by that admission, but is blown away when Mikey says his actual name to him, not just signing! Splinter actually starts crying when he hears Mikey's voice, withered and hoarse as it is.

After lunch, Donnie insists on doing some work and suggests that Mikey have fun with the others, looking at Leo specifically.

Leo takes the hint and goes to get a bunch of puzzles, books, memory games, etc. Things to help Mikey exercise his brain.

Mikey, Raph, Leo, and Casey try to work out a huge jigsaw puzzle together in Mikey's room. Mikey seems to understand it well, his eyes moving fast and brain piecing it together. His problem-solving skills are on point. The only issue he comes across is getting to pick up the pieces. His talon-like fingers are too big and sharp, he ends up tearing the paper designs on top of the puzzle pieces. The others help him as much as they can, and soon enough they're halfway through.

Until Donnie walks into the room with an enormous grin on his face.

"If I might have your attention for a moment, I believe I have created something quite ingenious!" he states with excitement.

Mikey knows this excitement, he recognizes it well. He vaguely remembers having this same excitement whenever he finished a really good drawing or came up with some new... what was the word... razzmatazz!

It must be why he and Purple Donnie hung out a lot before... they are both imaginative creators, and probably wanted to share their work with people who they knew would appreciate it. Mikey doesn't quite recall any of these fabled events, but... in his mind's eye, he can see and imagine it so clearly.

Mikey jumps from his seat and runs up to Donnie, purring and circling around his feet in anticipation.

"D-Dee! Dee make? Mikey see! Mikey see it!"

Donnie smiles enthusiastically and leads him to a room filled with ramps and skateboards. The rec room. They look around in confusion, wondering what Donnie's come up with this time. Dee halts, turns around dramatically, and points upwards.

Mikey cranes his neck and gasps in pure delight.

From the ceiling is hanging hoops, bars, levers, huge tubes with windows, rope swings, ladders, and even a slide! Donnie made him a jungle gym!

Leo whistles in astonishment.

"Geez, Donnie, when did you have the time to make this?"

"After the conversation about the importance of physical exercise yesterday, I got to work on blueprints and designs. I made most of the materials last night, and finally finished setting it up about half an hour ago. It is ready for use!"

He turns to his mutated brother.

"Would you care to do the honour of breaking it in?"

Mikey shrieks in delight and rushes for the gift his brother made him. He leaps up and grabs onto the rope dangling from the ceiling, scrambling up with light speed and swinging as he does. He jumps from the rope to a tube tunnel, scurrying through it and then leaping to the monkey bars, doing all kinds of gymnast moves and even using his tail as an extra arm before swinging to the slide and whooping on the way down.

"Well, that didn't take long," Leo jokes.

"Do you like it?" Donnie asks with anticipation in his voice.

Mikey squeals and shrieks in delight, rushing to his brother and pouncing on him, twirling around and around in his arms.

"MIKEY LOVE!!! Dee make... make Mikey happy! Mikey LOVE DEE!!"

Donnie grips him tightly, hoping to hide the tears in his eyes as his little brother shouts in his ear. He doesn't care, he doesn't mind. Anything for Angelo.

Mikey lets go of Donnie and dashes back to the upside down jungle gym and plays with it over and over again, looking down at them from the windows in the plastic tunnels and chirping at them, as if asking them to join in the fun.

Leo smiles and ribs his twin.

"Well done there, Don-Tron."

Mikey is dozing off a bit, letting his thoughts seep in like molasses, slow and sticky and enveloping him completely.

He had been enjoying the privacy of the tubes, resting in them for a bit as his mind wandered and he watched Raph and Leo teach male human Casey how to skateboard. They'd been doing that for a while, and it is now early evening, possibly around 5PM or so...

He comes back to reality when the memory of the labs is interrupted by April calling for Leo.

"Leo! Hey, 'Neon Leon'! Where IS everyone?"

"Rec room," Leo shouts back.

Mikey pokes his head out of the aperture and watches as April runs in, sees the jungle gym and stops to point at it, her mouth opening in surprise as she wants to ask a question before shaking her head and staying focused on topic.

"Leo, Cass just texted me -- there's an issue happening at the Chelsea Piers! It looks like that komodo-mutated Kristoff Van Bradford, and all-star-player-turned-billionaire-owner-slash-coach-slash-recording artist, Tim Dunkman!"

"Those guys?" Leo asks, riding his board up the skate ramp and landing with a twist. "Wow, whou'da thunk we'd hear from them again!"

"So I guess it's hero time, huh?" Raph calls back, jumping down from the opposite ramp and tossing his skateboard onto a nearby bench. "Alrighty then! Let's get our gear and --"

Raph pauses, and turns to Leo.

"Sorry. Uh, what's the move, leader?"

"April, text Cass to try and hold them off but stay safe," Leo responds after thinking it over. "We'll be there soon, just need to figure out a few details."

"On it!" she calls, grabbing her phone out and typing quickly.

"Okay, next up... someone has to stay and keep an eye on Mikey."

Mikey yells his protests, swiftly clambering down from the jungle gym and expressing his utter disinterest at being left behind. Leo seems to ignore him as Casey walks over.

"I can stay, if you need me to..?" he offers.

"Great. Mikey, is that okay with you? Do you feel comfortable with CJ?"

Mikey utters sounds and scoffs as he tries to think of words that can help.

"Mikey... g-go! Mikey... angry, Mikey go! Mikey... not love alone, Mikey go w-with brothers! Mikey... ssss... ssssstttt... stttrrrong! Mikey strrrong, Mikey not, not..."

"Weak?" Raph offers, trying to help with word association.

Mikey nods at Raph. "Mikey... help! Mikey good help, Mikey not weak!"

"It's not about strength or weakness, bud," Leo says, crouching to lay a hand on Mikey's shoulder. "I just don't want to risk losing you again. And I 100% believe that you could kick their butts no problemo, but you need your rest. The last thing you need is to go on a mission and risk getting hurt while you're still recovering."

"Awwwww!" Mikey whines loudly.

"No buts, mi hermanito," Leo says firmly, standing tall. "You're staying here for now. We'll only be gone for a short while, and then we'll be right back."

Mikey pouts and crosses his arms, hoping this will change their minds. It doesn't, and Leo starts to lead Raph and April out of the room to go and fetch Donnie.

Mikey chirps sadly at them and tries to follow before Casey places a hand on his shell, causing him to pause. Mikey whimpers at him, begging him to stop them, or let him go. But Casey doesn't lift his hand. He strokes his shell softly, but seems kind, sympathetic. Mikey sits.

Mikey gazes sadly as his brothers walk out carrying weapons. Donatello stops to glance back at Mikey, a worried expression on his face. He keeps walking, though. Mikey follows after them quietly, watching as Leo swipes his sword and creates a portal in the air.

Mikey's eyes widen.

When did he learn to do that?!

The three others step through the portal before Leo, who turns back to see Mikey giving him a sad expression.

"We'll be back soon," Leo promises, a soft smile on his face.

Mikey takes in the smells sifting through the portal. Water. Fish. Smoke from cars and boats and machines, something like rubber from balls like the ones he and the other experiments were given to play with...

Leo steps through, and the swirling blue light vanishes. Mikey yipes a quick whinge, then runs to where it was a second ago.

"Don't worry, they're okay, they'll be back!" Casey promises.

Mikey is not happy about this. He wants his brothers back now.

They left you again. I knew they would. Betrayal. Betrayal. Betrayal.

Mikey starts running immediately.

"Wait, Mikey!! Where're you going?!" Casey calls after him.

Mikey isn't sure. He's following his nose for now... He dashes back and forth, looking for the exit...

He finds the garage where the tank is, but doesn't understand how to navigate the tunnels... Casey runs in after him, out of breath.

"Mi-- wheeze, wheeze -- Mike, Mikey! Would you -- gasp, gasp -- would you slow down for just a second?!"

Mikey can't. Mikey has to be fast. Mikey has to be swift. It will be bad otherwise.

The labs taught us that.

Mikey finds a hatch high up in the ceiling. There's a ladder. Mikey runs to it, despite the shouts of disapproval Casey yells. Mikey makes it all the way to the top and inspects the hatch.

Unscrew. Lift. Simple.

It is simple. Mikey twists the manhole cover and pushes it up. He climbs out and looks around.

LOUD. VERY LOUD.

Mikey ignores the blaring sounds of traffic and the overwhelming smell of bad humans. It's everywhere. He crawls out of the manhole and slinks to the shadows, watching. Looking. Smelling.

Saltwater. Fish. Smoke. Rubber. Look for those. SMELL.

Mikey smells. He can very faintly pick up the scent. He hears Casey yelling after him as he climbs the ladder rungs to give chase. Mikey dashes away over the wire fence behind him before the male human can take him back down.

Mikey is swift and unseen. He manages to snake himself about in secret, dodging all eyes as he follows the scent of saltwater and fish to the pier. Once there, he finds the smells of rubber and smoke. He follows it to a section of the pier where several warehouses and complexes are being evacuated as a reptilian man with long blonde hair, and a tall and thin man wearing a mystic amulet around his neck are demolishing the place.

"Dis will teach you imbeciles to underestimate Kristoff Van Bradford!"

"And I will not let my career be a shambles! If I can't have the basketball championship, then NO ONE CAN! Nobody one-ups 'The Dunk'!!"

The two men create chaos and smash the sports equipment as a young woman fights against them, drawing their attention away from the crowds.

"Kaliiii MAAAA!!" she yells, flipping as she dodges their attacks. "Is that the best you can do?! A BABY COULD FIGHT BETTER!"

Mikey ducks in and watches from a corner. This female human smells like the male human he ditched back at the lair. He wonders...

Mikey suddenly hears a familiar sound. A roar that should terrify him, but instead fills his chest with warmth and a joyful feeling of comfort and safety.

Raph lunges forwards, his entire body covered in red light as a ginormous version of himself that covers him up like armour slams his fist into the komodo man. He flies backwards and lands in a basketball store.

"This would be a lot easier if you'd just show us how to do the Seven-Deadly-Vipers move!"

"Kinda in the middle of something, now!" April shouts back.

Mikey sneaks in closer. His brothers are here. Mikey wants his brothers.

But they betrayed you, and left you...

Never.

Leo slides in, his moves quick and calculated. He slashes the air as Raph throws an entire canister of baseballs into the portal he creates. A separate portal activates across the way and slams into the back of the man wearing the amulet. He yells in pain before clutching the amulet tightly, his body contorting in odd ways before transforming into a giant cyclops creature.

"I am SO glad I kept the magic jewel from that archway!" he cackles, grabbing several of the balls and tossing them back at lightning speed.

Leo dodges them, creating a new portal that lands him on top of the cyclops. As the Dunk struggles to reach behind him and grab the turtle, Donnie creates a huge ray gun that sucks up the Hudson River and shoots it at the two villains, soaking them both and slamming them into a wall. Leo creates one last portal behind the Dunk which reopens above a dented basketball hoop. The celebrity flies into the portal and falls into the net, getting stuck upside down in it. The amulet slips off of his neck and clatters to the floor, the one-eyed monster transforming back into a man with a groan.

"Now that's what I call a slam DUNK!" Leo proclaims proudly, doing a quick fistpump.

Meanwhile, Kristoff Van Bradford crashes into a soccer goal and becomes tangled in the net. Raph grabs the two ends of the goal with his hologram form and wraps them around the man, effectively tying him up.

"All wrapped up, eh?" Raph tries.

Leo boos him in jest.

"The jokes are my thing," Leo scorns. "The hero speeches are yours."

Raph rolls his eyes and smiles as he hangs up the green-skinned actor and pet komodo dragon next to Tim Dunkman so they can't escape.

"Is that everything?" Raph asks.

"I think so," Leo sighs, turning to Donnie. "What's the damage?"

"Structurally, not as bad as it could have been. As for the publicity, I think a few people snapped some chats of us," Donnie informs, clicking away on his wrist tech. "But nothing substantial. We're in the clear. The police are on their way now, so we should get going."

Leo nods, ready to lead the way when he stops, his gaze catching Mikey's eyes glittering from the shadows. He peers at him before his eyes widen and his mouth falls open with shocked anger, realizing what the glowing eyes belong to.

"MIKEY?!"

Uh-oh.

The others turn to watch as Leo storms over to where his brother is hiding. Mikey slowly creeps out with soft chirps, hoping it will smooth things over with his infuriated older brother. It doesn't.

"Mikey, what did I tell you?!" he shouts. "I said you needed to stay home! I said we'd be back soon! How in the f--"

"LANGUAGE!" Raph shouts quickly.

"--ffffffffrrick did you get here?!" Leo grumbles.

"Mikey smell brothers, Mikey follows," he explains. "Mikey no like alone. Mikey want brothers."

He looks at the expressions of the people watching his scolding. They don't like that he's here, either.

"Mikey... do bad?" he asks hoarsely, looking up at Leo with sad puppy eyes.

Leo stares back at him, trying to keep from falling for those big eyes again.

Don't fall for it. Don't fall for it...

He lasts five full seconds before closing his eyes and sighing, relaxing his tense shoulders and kneeling down next to his brother.

"Mikey... I just want you to be safe. I can't lose you again."

Lost. Not betrayed. Mikey was lost?

He stores that information away to ask about later...

In the meantime, Leo hoists him up and lets him ride on his back as he takes him home.

"Come on guys, let's get outta here..." he groans.

"I need to stop at the junkyard," Donnie announces. "I need more supplies for some of my tech."

Leo gives a nod and the group hurry away from the pier, avoiding the crowds as they travel to the Repo-Mantis scrapyard.

Mikey clings close to Leo, feeling guilty for making him mad and disobeying him. He whimpers softly, nuzzling closer and resting his cheek against the area between Leo's shoulder and neck. Mikey vibrates his throat, murmuring his self-pity and hoping Leo can tell how sorry he is.

The group arrive at the scrapyard. It's quiet.

"You think he closed for the night?"

"Not like it matters," Donnie says as he slips through the entrance. "I'm not paying for his scrap metal."

The team wander into the area as Donnie flips his goggles and begins scouting for the items he needs. After a few minutes, something in Mikey stirs. He lifts his head high, sniffing the air.

"Mikey? What's up? Something bugging you??" Leo asks, feeling the change in his attitude.

Mikey's tail spikes raise. The scales on his shoulders lift and curl into quills.

Donnie's goggles sight something in the distance as well, and he grips his tech-bō.

"Be on alert, there's something up ahead..."

Mikey starts to growl.

"What--"

The group are suddenly ambushed as a series of pink and purple people start charging them, climbing from the trash and rubble and rusty metal, roaring and snarling. Their bodies are covered in eyes, globs of putrid flesh and veins, claws that protrude at odd angles, spines and extra arms and faces where they shouldn't belong.

"AGH! Krang zombies!" Donnie screams.

Mikey roars back at the creatures and leaps off of Leo's shoulders at them --

Only to be caught midair by Raph, who grips him tightly and pulls him back.

"RUN!" he shouts loudly.

The team runs away from the horde, seeking whatever shelter they can get. Another group of krangified zombies start running from around a mountain of crushed-up cars, herding them towards the very back of the landfill.

"This way!" Donnie yells, leading them to a small building that Repo-Mantis works out of, trying to open the door. "It's locked!"

Raph creates a giant fist and punches the door down, revealing a cowering Repo-Mantis from the inside.

"Ack!! What're you doing here?!" the mutant bug man yells, jumping away from them. "What the heck is that thing with you?! It's not one of them, is it??"

"Donnie, get the door!" Raph bellows, ignoring the frightened villain and carrying Mikey over to another area of the room and setting him down. "Mikey, you stay here!"

Repo-Mantis stares at the double-mutated freak in fear, slowly scooting away.

"How long have they been here?!" April shouts as she helps to board up the windows, while Donnie creates a special ninpo door that bolts into the framework of the building.

"Three days!" Repo-Mantis sobs. "I've run out of onion rings and pork rinds!"

"You've been holed up for three days?!" Leo yells. "How are we supposed to get out of here?!"

"Why not use your portal swords?" April points out.

"Take me with you!" Repo-Mantis weeps, crawling on his hands and knees as he begs the heroes. "Please! I need to use an actual bathroom so badly!"

"Okay, ew."

"We can't just leave these guys here!" Raph rebukes. "We gotta take care of the horde, or else they'll just go after other innocent people!"

"Right, okay, so if I can make a quick portal to the lair -- April, Cass, you go get the formula and --"

The door shakes. The walls pound loudly, drowning out anything Leo says. The ceiling starts to cave in.

"Here they come!!" April screams.

Raphael stretches his arms out and backs everyone away from the door. One last stand...

The door holds. But the walls and windows do not. The monsters crash through, growling and howling as they all burst into the shabby shack.

Mikey unexpectedly scurries underneath Raph's legs and approaches the zombies. He roars at them, his scutes, scales, spines, and quills raised high and sharp, his talons extended and his fangs to their full length as he snaps and snarls at them.

"Mikey!" Raph yells.

Suddenly, he's back in the hall, and Mikey is about to fight an army of mutant, mangled animals, and turn into something terrifying that he should never have been forced to become...

"No! Not again!"

Mikey roars loudly at the krangified, and the horde freezes...

They stop.

They stare blankly at Mikey, who stands in between them and his family. He clicks angrily at them, his tail cracks like a whip. The horde slowly backs away. Mikey moves forwards, pushing the zombies back and out of the broken down hut they were invading. One of the bigger krangified zombies staggers forwards, growling at him, barking in defiance. Mikey roars in response.

Raph, Donnie, Leo, April, and Cassandra stumble outside to watch this strange altercation. Each member of the team dazed and confused as they watch Mikey. Repo-Mantis just runs the heck away while he still can.

The larger zombie rushes Michelangelo, who is more than ready for him. He swipes his tail under his legs, knocking him down instantly. His tail grabs the zombie and whips him around, throwing him into a pile of metal with a loud crash. The creature staggers and whimpers as it embarrassedly limps to the back of the horde...

Mikey howls at them again, and the krangified stand at attention, cowering under his gaze. Mikey's throat makes a deep and guttural clicking, a warning for them to stay in line or else.

"What... what is he doing...?" Leo asks, voice barely a whisper.

"It... it looks like an animalistic intimidation stance," Donnie responds, just as thunderstruck as his twin.

Mikey snarls at the horde, and they cease their offensive stances, slowly sitting or laying down on the ground at Mikey's command.

Mikey sits down as well, his scutes and scales lowering as he calms.

He turns his head, smiling brightly at his brothers. His tail wags with pride at a job well done.

"Mikey do good?"

Donnie stares at Mikey, the box turtle's tongue hanging over his lip in that silly expression he would make on occasion before the mutation happened. The 'blep', he called it.

Mikey sits in front of the giant horde with the biggest grin on his face, beaming as if he'd just shown them how he'd trained a new puppy to roll over. He is somehow oblivious to the horrific danger he was just in...

Leo steps forward nervously and starts to pull Mikey away from the krangified crowd.

Mikey is confused. Didn't he do a good job? Aren't they proud of him? Are they still mad at him?

They don't look mad. They look scared. Scared of the horde, and scared of...

Mikey?

Monster.

Mikey churrs at Leo, furrowing his brow anxiously.

"Lllleee-oh? Why Leo s-s-scared-d-d? Mikey do good?"

"Y-you did... uh, you did good, you did great," Leo stutters, not looking at him but keeping his gaze glued to the zombie mob. "April, Cass, I'm going to open a portal now. You take Mikey, drop him off and grab the formula."

Leo sounds so scared. His voice is soft and chilled and shaky. His arms wobble as he carefully drags Mikey away. Mikey doesn't want Leo to be mad at him again, so he follows his directions. Leo's hands shake as he slices the air and creates a blue portal. Mikey is led through the blue light, and instantaneously finds himself in the lair again!

Casey is pacing back and forth with a phone in his ear as he redials the guys. He yipes when the trio jump in.

"Come on, pick up, pick-- Ah!! What -- Mikey?! How, what, I was just calling Leo --"

Casey stiffens when he sees Cassandra. Mikey notices this, but the others are moving quickly and are focused on their mission and don't pay any mind to him.

Mikey sniffs around, confused. How did he get back to the lair so fast? The sensation from the portal is familiar, and Mikey's mind foggily recollects a memory of him and Leo jumping through these blue things a lot...

April and the other human Cass rush away to Donnie's lab, leaving Mikey alone in the halls with Casey, who slowly creeps to him and starts to check him over as he scolds him.

"Mikey, what were you thinking running off like that? I was worried sick, I thought you might've gotten lost, or recaptured, or hurt -- and what was I supposed to do if Leo came home and saw you were gone?! They already hate me here, they're too scared of me to talk to me like I'm a normal person, and now I'm the guy who almost lost their brother --"

Casey freezes, realizing he's said too much.

"Uh... don't, please don't repeat any of that to the guys. I just... I'm struggling to fit in here, and I lost the one most important thing to this family. I'd get disowned if I wasn't already estranged to them..."

Mikey chirps at him sadly, nuzzling his beak against Casey's chest.

"S-s-sooor-r-r-ry..."

Casey sniffles and hugs him.

"It's okay, Mikey. Just... don't ever do that again?"

Mikey beeps at him with a nod.

Cass and April run past the two of them, carrying several boxes of glowing blue vials.

"We'll be right back, just gotta take care of something!" April shouts as they go through the portal again.

It stays open, and Mikey wants to see what they're going to do --

But Casey pulls hims away softly, saying something about needing to clean him up from the mud on his claws.

Mikey is taken to the bathroom, his hands and feet cleaned until they hear the clambering of feet against stone. The others have finished with whatever it was that was so important and returned. Mikey skedaddles out of the bathroom and greets them happily, if not a bit nervously. He thinks they may still be a bit sore about his escape...

But they don't look mad, they all look tired and wrung out. Donnie's hands are stained with glowing blue.

"...That giant squirt gun you made with your ninpo was perfect, Dee," Leo compliments, stretching his back out. "It got pretty much all of em at once..."

"Yes, well, I need to go and wash this toxic elixir off of my hands..."

Mikey runs up to Leo with a happy chirp and rubs his face against his fingers. Leo strokes his head gently.

"Hey, Mikey. Glad to see you're okay... we're gonna have a talk about you running out, though."

Mikey whimpers, but is relieved that Leo's anger and scoldings will be over soon. The sooner the better. He wants Leo to be happy with him again... He doesn't like the sadness that hangs around him, it reminds him too much of... of... of what?

Nevermind, it doesn't remind him of anything at all. He just doesn't like it.

Mikey then goes to Raph, asking for head pats from him, too. Raph smiles and rubs his thumb across Mikey's forehead.

"That was pretty impressive, big man," he chuckles. "I didn't know you could do that... How did he do that, Donnie?"

Mikey runs over to his third brother, circling around him and asking for head pats as the genius does his best to explain hypotheses and theories.

"Well, it seems that Mikey's... erm, 'leading genome' allows for him to sort of... control the others that also carry the same genome. My guess is that Mikey could be something like... the alpha male of the species."

"Alpha male?" Raph asks. "So, they saw him as the leader of the pack?"

Mikey whines quietly, waiting for Donnie's headpats. He lifts his head up to nuzzle against his fingers.

"I think so," Donnie says. "I'd have to do some more studies of the DNA sample, and I'd much prefer--"

"AAAAGH!"

The room is struck silent as Mikey screams in pain, pulling away from Donnie's stained hands, the glowing blue liquid sizzling against Mikey's forehead. He tries to wipe it away, but it burns his hands. Mikey screams and cries, the others screaming in chorus as they rush to help. April wipes the toxins off with her sleeve, Leo runs to his aid and inspects the injuries, Raph goes to pick him up and carry him somewhere safe, Casey goes to get water and rags, Donnie reels back and keeps his hands far away from his brother, Cass helps to direct them all and keep the calm.

Mikey sobs as his hands smoke softly, the blue liquid like acid against his skin. The burning against his head continues, the pain immense. It's searing through him, reverberating throughout himself. Casey Jr. returns and helps Leo start treating the wounds, cleaning the remaining smudges away with water as quickly as possible. The acid is gone, but the pain lingers for eternity. Mikey is lost in the deafening sound of everyone shouting orders at each other, everyone touching him at once, lifting him up and carrying him away.

Mikey squeezes his eyes shut and cries, the tears seeping through as the burning lingers...

Just stay still. Let it happen. Let it happen, and let it linger, then it will end. Just let it happen...

Mikey is laid down on a table. Or a bed, he's not sure. Leo commands the room, giving orders and instructions that Mikey doesn't understand. Salves and ointments are applied. A sharp stinging starts in his forehead where the burn is, the same sting pricks his hand. The sting fades, as does the burn. Mikey's head and hand go numb. His claw is swathed and a bandage pressed against his head.

As the doctoring continues, the room quiets and calms...

Needles are pressed deep into his skull. Injections are made.

Tiny wires are set against his arms. They shock him, over and over and over again.

Syringes dig deep into his chest. Fluid fills him up, burning his intestines like fire.

Someone grabs a scalpel and begins to make incisions. Blood leaks from the open wound.

Something pink and wriggling is shoved onto him, into him. It integrates into his flesh, becoming one with him. It crawls under his skin, it crawls into his mouth, his eyes, his nostrils. He suffocates from it. He gags on it. He chokes from it. It won't kill him. But it sure wants to see him suffer...

Mikey hates this. Mikey hates himself. If he weren't him, maybe he wouldn't be punished like this...

Mikey lets it happen. There's no point in fighting, it will just make it worse. Mikey just lets them hurt him, slice him, change him, kill him. Mikey lets the pain etch away at his mind, scraping him away piece by piece. Destroying him.

Mikey waits for the pain to end.

It never does.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

Leo wipes the tears from Mikey's face, trying to calm him down.

"I'm so sorry, bud. I know it hurts," Leo whimpers.

Leonardo wants to cry so badly. He wants to sob. He wants to scream and shout out his pain and frustrations at the universe for letting this happen to him, to Mikey, to everyone --

"This is my fault," Donnie moans. "I should have realized that the formula would hurt him. I should have been more careful. I should have --"

"I shouldn't have let him escape," Casey interjects. "If anything, it's my fault for letting my guard down..."

"No," Leo corrects. "if I'd just stayed behind, or had Raph or Donnie stay behind, then he would have been okay, he wouldn't have run off. If I'd -- if I'd been better, smarter, s-stronger... I..."

"It's no one's fault but mine," Raph weeps quietly. "I took him to the TCRI building in the first place. I did this. It's my fault."

"Oh please," Cass scoffs. "All this blame game is getting ridiculous! You all did the best you could! You made mistakes, sure, so WHAT?! It's not like you intentionally tried to hurt him! You're all so focused on what you did wrong that you can't focus on how to make it right or how to move past it!"

The three turtle boys stare wide-eyed at Cassandra Jones.

"If you want things to get better, act like they will! And soon enough they will! Half of this whole thing is a mind game you play with yourself! Do you want to lose?! No! Do you think that after I quit the Foot, I moped around like a pathetic weakling?! NO!! I knew that my mistakes were big, but I could work past them and make up for everything! I could do something amazing if I put my mind to it, and I am! So stop acting like there's nothing you can do to change things, and start actually changing things! Starting with your perspective!"

The boys hang their heads sheepishly. Casey stares at his future mother in amazement.

"Yeah... Cassie's right," Raph mumbles. "We can't keep focusing on what we did wrong. We need to move forwards, not backwards."

"Darn right, I'm right!" Cass whoops. "I'm always right! HAH!"

Raph smiles and chuckles softly. Leo sighs and sits besides Mikey, rubbing his face as the baby brother finally relaxes.

"Okay. Move forward. Got it."

Donnie's gazes diverts to an empty corner of the room as he ponders a few things. He ponders how this mutation is far beyond what he expected. He ponders how everyone -- his brothers, Splinter, April, Mikey, everyone -- is counting on him to reverse the process.

He ponders how he's been pondering all night, every night.

He ponders how this is not his area of expertise; he's the tech guy! Sure, he know some science facts, he knows a few trivia tidbits about animals and stuff, but not enough to reverse engineer a cure all by himself! He ponders how he has no idea what to do or where to start.

He ponders about going backwards... back to the beginning. To the first mutation.

Donnie leaves the room and pulls out his phone...

Draxum is in the process of remodeling his home lab. After the events of the invasion, Draxum managed to help protect the Yokai from the krang dogs that made their way down into the Hidden City, and in doing so cleared his name and reputation. As a reward, his criminal record has been expunged.