Lost in the Fight

Chapter 27 - Turtle Tales

"You're way too weak to get up."

"I can't babysit you all of the time!"

Abruptly twisting his head to the side, Donnie appeared to be turning away from the glass, when in all actuality, he was turning away from his siblings.

As Leonardo and Raphael carefully eased their battered brother back down onto the cot, Michelangelo suddenly came bursting into the lab. His blue eyes lit up with joy when he saw that Donnie was conscious, but those same eyes soon constricted into a glare that he flashed at his two oldest brothers.

"Hey! No fair! How come you guys didn't tell me Donnie was awake? You're totally trying to hog him all to yourself, aren't you?" While he made his scathing accusation, the youngest brother pointedly put his hands on his hips in a huff.

Apparently, some turtle had woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, and for once, it wasn't Raph.

"Yeah, it's all part of our big conspiracy to steal Donnie away from you, shell for brains!"

More often than not, oil and water blended together better than Raph and Mikey did. Sometimes, just his baby brother being in the same room as him could instantly grate on Raph's nerves. The hotheaded turtle was sure that Mikey was one of the main reasons he was so disgruntled all the time. Well, that and Leo's holier than thou crap. Between his hyperactive youngest brother and his domineering oldest brother, it was a wonder the loose cannon known as Hamato Raphael hadn't gone off the deep end yet. His brainiac brother was the only turtle in the family that he didn't want to punch in the face on a ten-minute basis, but that was probably just because Donnie spent most of his time cooped up in his lab . . .

"I knew it!"

A condemning finger was pointed at Raph, and then at Leo, as Mikey scrunched his face up into a scowl. He was acting as though he had caught onto some treacherous scheme his two oldest brothers were behind. A scheme that didn't actually exist, other than in the youngest turtle's overactive and overstimulated imagination.

"No one's trying to 'hog' anyone, Mikey. We didn't let you know Donnie was awake because it's earlier than you usually get up and whenever we wake you up before you think we should, you gripe about it the rest of the day." Leonardo attempted to justify their actions, taking a little less snippy approach than Raph, but there was still a detectable trace of frustration in his voice.

The orange-masked turtle tapped his chin in consideration before accepting his eldest brother's excuse.

"It's all good, bros. I forgive you."

With that said, Mikey waltzed over to the cot in exaggerated swagger and took a seat next to Leo.

Now the leader in blue was certain they were pushing the weight restrictions of Donatello's cot. The portable bed definitely wasn't designed to withstand the mass of four giant turtles.

For his injured brother's sake, Leo pushed himself off the cot so as not to test its structural integrity any more than they already had.

From his new vantage point beside Donnie, the oldest turtle could already see that his hotheaded brother had a smirk on his face that was steadily growing in width.

That was never a good sign . . .

"Oh boy, oh boy, Leo! Did you hear that? Mikey forgives us for not doing anything wrong. I know I'll sleep better at night now!"

"Don't mention it, bro. That's just the kind of turtle I am. We all know I'm the most forgiving, generous, handsome, and bedevilent brother," Mikey declared, giving his brothers a knowing wink and two thumbs up. He was completely unaware of the fact that Raph had been mocking him and that 'bedevilent' wasn't actually a word.