The air was tense as everybody finished up their dinner of pizza and put everything away. Nobody said a word as they all spilled out into the sewers, with Mikey practically crawling from soreness, each thinking their own thoughts. Mikey wondered what they were as they crept along. Were they worried that they would see the man again? He knew that he was. He did not want to work for the man at all.
Like, how come he did not pick Raph? He is strong. Or Leo? He is practical. He even turned down Donnie and he is super smart! Why did it have to be me? he wondered, following his family. And where the heck is Master Splinter?!
He touched his Kusari-fundo hanging by his side. Since he had broken his first one earlier, he did not usually use it anymore, even though it was an amazing weapon. Now though, he wanted it close, just in case they would encounter any trouble. And plus, the little sun weight would hopefully cheer everything up.
When they finally popped through onto the world, they felt the drum of the rain beating against them.
"Well, I think this should be a quiet night," Donnie said. "Nobody would want to do anything on a rainy night."
"Haven't you watched enough movies, Don?" Mikey asked. "During a rainy night is when everything goes on."
"Yeah. In movies."
"And movies are based on real life. Mostly," he added after a pause.
Leo chuckled. "All right. Danger or no, we should still stretch our muscles in fresh air while we can."
"Sounds like a dream," Raph muttered. "If I wanted a shower, I would've taken one at home."
"Good thing we can still do that when we get back," he said optimistically, striding forward. "Let us move onward, twin and older and younger brother!"
Donnie grumbled, "I am not your twin." Mikey giggled and skipped, matching his brother in blue's steps. As he skipped, he felt his muscles get a little less tight and they hurt a little less.
"Where are we moving onward to?" he asked, climbing up a fire escape ladder.
Leo shrugged and hung off, pretending to peer into the distance. "That's the adventure!"
"Cool!" They all clambered to the top and looked around.
"Well, at least the view is still clear," Don said, surveying the city with a squint. "Somewhat." He pulled down his goggles.
"Next time, we're checking the weather forecast," Raph grumbled, shivering.
Mikey felt the cold creep into his body too, so he started doing flips. "Doing this should warm us up," he told his brothers when they looked his way. "We don't exactly want to fall asleep here."
"Ha, fall asleep in this rain?" Raph snorted. But he started sparring the air and Donnie began to jump around.
"How about a race to the New York Central Park and back?" Leo proposed.
Mikey froze midway through a landing and his position broke when he thumped to the floor. He groaned and sat up. "Are you serious?"
"Leo . . . in this weather?" Donnie asked. "Are you sure?"
The young leader shrugged. "Why not? As you said earlier, we might not have a busy time, so we might as well enjoy ourselves."
"But it is still pretty light outside! I can see the people walking from two blocks away!"
"You are also wearing your goggles," Mikey pointed out, standing up. A breath of wind rushed past them and he shivered, hopping from foot to foot.
"Well--" Donnatello took them off. "Oh. I guess you cannot see them from here." He placed them back on. "But seriously Leo! This is dangerous! Usually you tell us not to do reckless things like this! And why? Because we could be seen!"
Leo stood up with his chest slightly out. "And?"
"I-I, w-what?" he sputtered.
"Come on! Chillax!" He walked to the edge of the building. "Let's have a little fun once in a while! Who wants to race?"
"Me!" Mikey shot his hand up into the air.
"Raph?"
The oldest turtle shuffled. "Well, it's really not safe."
"We will be fine," Leo promised. "And if anything happens, you all can blame it on me."
Giving a quick glance at Don, Raphael nodded. "Alright. Who's ready to race? Bet you dogs are gonna be so slow!"
"Ha!" Mikey laughed. "I am the fastest here!"
"But I am the most practical," Leo said. "I would be able to find any shortcut there is."
"Shortcuts are for losers!" Mikey stuck his tongue out. "A real ninja would not need them."
Leo placed his hands on his hips. "On the contrary, a ninja would never take the long way, if there was a shorter one to take."
"Guys!" Donnie protested. "Stop!"
"Three against one, Don," the brother in blue said. "Total win. Sorry, twin. Hey, that rhymed!"
"We are not twins!"
"The race starts in three!" Mikey shouted. Everyone but Don lined themselves up against the corner of the building. "Three . . . One, go!"
Mikey shot off, grinning when his brothers protested behind him. "Ha, ha, slowpokes!" he threw over his shoulder. "See you at the finish line!"
He sped ahead, losing his brothers in the dim lighting. The rain continued to pelt him, but he barely felt it. From the little exercise he had just done, his body had warmed up and his muscles no longer felt so sore. He felt like he could fly, do anything! With a smile, he charged on, hopping from building to building, knowing exactly where the park was even in the dark.
His heartbeat fluttered in its rib cage, like it felt his joy at racing, and winning. His feet barely seemed to touch the floor and his movements felt so free. It was almost like flying, and he gripped his Kusari-fundo, glad that he brought it. Apparently, the little sun did warm things up.
Swinging it around, he attacked random things from his imagination and won multiple wars by the time he saw the park. Slowing down, he placed his little sun weapon back into his sash and slid down the side of the building, into an alley.
This was the place he knew his brothers would be in once they arrived. Seeing nobody, he laughed and punched the air. "Let's go! I won!" He smiled and settled down to wait for his brothers.
Time seemed to crawl as he waited. Mikey started to hop around again, shivering under the light mist.
It was only when it became really dark and Mikey needed to exercise around again to stay warm that he started to wonder where his older siblings were. Taking out his T-phone, he checked his messages, but noticed that he received no calls, or anything. Frowning, he climbed up the fire escape and started to look around.
"Maybe they missed this alley and are in another?" he told himself, peering down a side of the building. Since his eyes were used to seeing in the dark, he knew that what he was looking at contained no large mutant turtles, only a bunch of plastic trash bags. He got up and walked to the other side, but this one was blank.
Worry started to drip into him one drop at a time and he ran to the next building to check the alleys there. But every time he looked down, he saw nothing other than human items. No three fingered brothers waving to him. No grins from masked ninja as they lept out from behind a trash can.
"Guys?" Mikey called out into the wind. "Where are you?"
His heartbeat sped up again, and this time, it was not from excitement. Gulping, he ran back the way he came from. "Leo! This isn't funny! Show yourself! Don? Where are you guys?"
He heard them before he saw them. "Get away from us, you monster!" Raph was shouting, making Mikey suddenly feel sick to the stomach. He pushed on, stopping at the edge of the rooftop he was on to look down at the next one, and he gasped.
Like a shadow, a man stood in the center of the rooftop. He was facing Raph, who was guarding his two younger brothers behind them. Both lay on the ground.
"For the last time, where is Michaelangelo?" the man growled, making goosebumps dance on Mikey's skin.
"I don't know, and you never will!"
The man stepped forward. "Then I guess you will suffer like they are."
"No!" Mikey leapt off the building, grabbing his Kusari-fundo and lashed out with it. It sailed in a perfect arc, hitting the man in the back of the head. "Leave them alone!"
He heard a crack and smugly grinned while tugging his weapon away from the man. But when he met Raph's gaze, it melted right off.
"Get out of here. NOW Mikey!"
The orange turtle flinched. "What? No! You guys need help! I'm not leaving!"
"I SAID RIGHT NOW!"
The man slowly turned, holding the back of his head. "Bad idea, Mikey," he said, tasting his nickname.
"You won't call me Mikey!" he shouted at the man, looking away from Raph.
"Why? I thought you liked it?" He advanced on him.
"MIKEY! If you don't run away, I swear, I will pummel you into a pulp!"
"But WHY?" he shouted right back.
Raph hesitated for a second. "Because you were right. About everything."
"What?" Mikey frowned at his brother, not watching the man anymore. Which was when he lunged.
"MIKEY!" he heard his brother shout as he screamed, feeling himself being thrown to the ground.
"Get . . . off!" he said, struggling against the man's strong arms.
The man laughed. "Not a chance," he sneered. "And now you will be coming with me."
"I will NOT work for you and your stupid portals!" he said, pushing his arms off his chest. Since the man was grabbing his hands and now the weight was off his chest, he could use his legs to kick him, which he used to his advantage.
Bending his left leg, he kicked the guy in the side.
"How do you even know . . . about the portals?" the man gasped, clutching him even tighter.
Mikey did not answer him. Instead, he lengthened his leg and tried to push him off.
He laughed. "You really think that will get me off?"
A red and white first appeared in front of Mikey's face, and he gasped, but it drove straight into the man, flinging him away from Mikey.
His oldest brother started dragging him away by the arm. "Mikey. Get out. Now."
He tried to pry his brother in red's fingers off him, but to no avail. "I can help! You won't be able to fight him off alone!"
"And you won't be able to fight him at all!" Raph said. He let go and held his shoulders, facing him. "Mikey. This is not your battle. I know you want to help, but just look at Leo and Donnie! They could not fight him off!" His face softened.
Mikey tried to wrench out of his grip. "But if this is not my fight, when is it? Should I just let you get hurt instead?"
Raph took a breath. "You are not going to leave?"
"No!" He shook his head vehemently.
"Fine." His brother let him go.
Mikey relaxed and gave him a smile. "Thanks--"
"I'm sorry for everything," Raph interrupted quickly. He pulled out a blue sword from his back and swung it in a circle, creating a blue portal in the air. Before Mikey had any chance to react, his oldest brother pushed him Into it.
He fell onto a table overflowing with pieces of paper, and it created a slide which he rode till he fell to the floor. "RAPH!"
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Man, I love this chapter. How about you guys? How would you react if you were in this situation? Get ready for chapter nine, because that will come later today! 😏😃😃😃