Mikey slipped around the house, glancing behind his shoulder every few seconds. His nunchaku dripped from his sash by his side and he gingerly touched them from time to time. Sliding up to the metal door, he placed his head on it, listening to the other side for any signs of movement.
Hearing nothing, he nodded. "I'm not too late then." Slipping a few fingers into the T-Emblem, he pulled out a bag and opened it. Shaking the contents out, a ring of metal arms fell to his palm.
Squatting, he eyed the key hole for a few seconds before selecting the slice of metal that seemed like it would work the most. It slid inside and he moved it around, unconsciously sticking his tongue out as he focused on his task. Something finally clicked and he grinned, placing the lock pick back inside its brown sack.
"Got it!"
Opening the door, he walked inside and locked it behind him, before settling himself behind a bulky object that was covered with a blanket. At any other time, he would have loved to check out what Donnie was making, but right now, he had more pressing matters. And besides, Donnie would have just yelled at him, which was not something he was aiming to achieve right now. Setting his eyes on the door, he waited for it to open.
He did not have to wait long. Five minutes later, he could hear the keys jangling in the keyhole and he shrank even further behind the unidentified machine. He could hear the whoosh of the door as it slid open and closed again, and the heated muttering of Donnie as he walked across the room.
Actually, was hiding in his lab my greatest idea? Mikey thought, twiddling his fingers. He seems really upset right now.
A few seconds of silence passed by. "Why does everybody have to gang up on me!?" Donnie finally exploded. "I do as much as I can for them, and as hard as possible, but do they care? No! All they care about is themselves. All they want is what is right now, not what will help them in the future. Why do I even bother? I might as well just leave. See how they like it better," he ranted.
"Nobody wants you to leave, Donnie," Mikey said in a quiet voice.
Donnie's footsteps stopped. "Mikey!?" He stormed over to where he crouched behind his machine, his face glowering and his eyebrows drawn low. "What are you doing here? Did you see the invention?!"
"No, I didn't." Mikey stood up and opened his arms. "Hey, we don't hate you."
His brother snorted. "Sure feels like it." He walked away.
Mikey followed. "Are you really going to leave?"
"I might, if you do not stop bothering me. Mikey, get out."
"If I wanted to bother you, I could have looked at your invention. I could have messed up your lab. Heck, I would have joined the argument. But I didn't do any of those things. Why? Because I don't hate you." Mikey wrapped his arm around Donnie, who gripped the back of his chair. "Raph and Leo . . . they have their reasons for fighting. And you would have had the same ideas, if you were them. Just give them some time and they should come around."
Donnie sighed. "You really think it is that easy, huh?"
Mikey gave him his best cheerful grin. "Living with you guys most of my life makes me sure that is exactly how it works out."
He turned away. "Well not today."
"Don!"
"Mikey, just get out. I know you are trying to help, but please stop. I want to be alone right now." He held one arm as he stared at the floor.
Looking around, a small smile bloomed on Mikey's face when he looked at the invention Donnie had hidden under the blanket. "Well, I guess I will see what's under here then."
"MIKEY!"
He flinched, but kept walking towards it. "I really wonder what's underneath there?"
"Mikey, I swear, if you touch it, I will physically throw you out of the house and make sure nobody lets you inside for a week. You hear me?"
Mikey looked down at his body and sighed. "And yet another case of me wishing I was taller than I am now. Why couldn't I be like Raph? He's like three times my size!" But he kept walking.
"Mikey!"
He paused when he reached the object. "How about we make a deal? I don't look under here, and you can calm down about leaving this place?"
Donnie's fists were clenched. "And if I say no?"
Mikey blinked at him. "You would leave?"
"Nobody appreciates me here! Why should I stay?"
"Maybe we don't appreciate you now, but we still love you and would fight till our last breath for each other." Mikey stood tall, which was still half a head shorter than Donnie. A head shorter if you counted his goggles.
Don looked around the room. At the chemical solutions bubbling in glass jars. At the computer currently asleep on the big wooden desk. At the medical table in one corner of the room, where each of the turtles had rested before on multiple occasions. And at his newest invention which was draped under an ever present shadow. He sighed and slumped into his natural standing pose.
"All right. I have no idea what game you got that from, but you win." Placing a rueful smile on, he held out his arms.
Elated, Mikey ran into him and wrapped his arms around. He felt the comforting weight of his brother's arms around him, tight, but not firm with muscle like with his other two brothers. In a way, it felt nicer, because it did not feel like he was hugging a rock, and it reminded him of his secret promise to always protect Donnie.
Giving his little brother a last pat on the shell, Donnie stepped away with a smile. "What would we do without you, Mikey?"
"Well, you would have been halfway to Canada by now," he replied, happy to have restored his favorite brother's happiness. Donnie chuckled and looked at his work in progress. "Do you want to work on it? I can leave, then."
"No, wait!"
Mikey froze, a slight crease lining his forehead. "What?"
Taking up a breath, Donnie walked over to his Invention and gripped the blanket. "I know how curious you get. Would you like to see my invention?"
His eyes widened. "You really mean it?"
Donnie gave a small nod. "I will not say something intentionally if it is incorrect. Well, on a normal day."
"Oooh, that is why Raph never tells you a secret anymore."
His brother bopped him on the head lightly. "Ready?"
"Ready as I'll always be!" Mikey responded back with a solute.
With a flourish, Donnie threw back the cover off his invention. It waved all the way to the floor leaving a spectacular object in its place.
It was shiny, its wall seat reflecting Mikey's wide eyes as he stared at the contraption. A headset, or what looked like something that fit over the eyes, hovered above it, dangling from the ceiling.
"Cool!" Mikey exclaimed. Then paused. "What does it do?"
Donnie gestured to the machine. "Let us find out!"
Mikey squirmed around while his older brother lowered the headset over his eyes. "Is this like a VR game?"
"Yep! All right. Just stand straight--Mikey, relax. Now lift your chin a little. Can you stop moving around for once!? Just look straight at me. Okay, there, hold it." The headset lowered itself onto Mikey's head and over his eyes.
"Wow, it is so dark here!"
"It should be. I made it that way." Donnie puffed out his chest. "All right. In a second, you should see something."
Mikey watched the darkness in front of his eyes for any change in the lack of light. "Wwhat am I supposed to see?" he asked after a moment.
"You tell me." Donnie laughed. "It is different for every person."
Mikey tilted his head. "How do you know that?"
"Studies that I have been looking through. This is not a completely new technology, I just modified it. See anyth--"
The black in front of his eyes suddenly shifted to a bright white. Mikey jerked back with a short scream, which turned louder and louder.
"Donnie!" He groped in front of him, like he was trying to swim from something, but the headset held him fast. "Please! Help me! I don't wanna go!"
With wide eyes, Donnie ran over to his brother and grabbed his hand. "Ow!" he shouted, drawing his arm back. In his imagination, he envisioned his hand crackling with lightning. "Mikey, what is happening?"
"Turn it off!" Mikey pleaded, trying to pull the headset off his face.
Racing toward the computer, he jammed his finger into the power button. With a heavy sigh, it turned off.
Donnie whirled around. "Mikey! Are you okay?"
With shaking arms, he slowly peeled the headset off him.
"DONNIE! Open this think of junk of a door right now!"
Casting a wild glance at his younger brother, he raced to the door and opened it. Raph came barging in and Leo was not far behind.
"What in shells name is going on here?" Leo demanded. "Mikey, why were you screaming like that?"
Feeling everybody's gaze on him, he slowly shook his head with a wince. "Whatever happens," he breathed out, "please do not blame Donnie." After he said that, his eyes rolled to the back of his forehead.
-----
Hey guys! I am back! Wiiiiith another TMNT story of Mikey. *Sigh* I know I really need to finish Adventure Awaits but this was too cool to keep in the bag! Anyway, I hope to work on it soon. Also, I have another idea for TMNT, not sure if I will actually do it, but just today I daydreamed of myself getting paired with Mikey as a small team, with people that I knew from my life getting teamed up with other characters from the movie. Anyway, it sounded cool, so I might do it. I might call it TMNT School or something like that, maybe something cooler. Let me know what you think! And I hope you enjoy Stronger!
Also, if you are wondering, Mikey is fifteen. Leo and Donnie are sixteen and Raph is seventeen.
*Note, I do not own TMNT or ROTTMNT. I just steal their characters for myself. >:)