Leo's P.O.V:
9:13 am
I whispered to Raph to follow me when we finished training. He did so and I led him outside the lair. "Does something seem off about Mikey?" I asked.
Raph thought for a second. "I mean, he did seem a little aggressive in training today. You think we should be worried?"
"I'm not sure..." I answered uneasily.
"What do you think is making him act this way?"
"That's the part I'm not sure about. Maybe it's the big change of not having any enemies? Maybe he's still traumatized from being kidnapped? I want to ask him but he might not tell us the truth, ya know?" I explained.
"Yeah, I do. Maybe we can keep watching him, and wait for the right moment to call him out," suggested Raph.
"Yeah, good idea," I agreed.
Raph then remembered something, "I heard April was gonna try and convince Mikey to go out. Maybe I'll join them to get a better idea at what's happening with him."
"Alright. Let me know what you find out," I said,
Raph left to go do what he usually does as did I.
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Mondo's P.O.V:
7:00 am
I've been texting Mikey for the past few days. He responds, but it's always in short sentences and the conversations aren't long. 'What is going on with him?' I thought to myself as I looked at the last text I sent him last night; a "You there?" text.
I was in the central room on the half pipe where I skate. I was just laying in the middle when I saw Leatherhead sulking as he was walking down the stairs. Leatherhead has been acting up lately too. I swear, if these two keep acting the way they are, I'm gonna lose it.
"Hey, Mondo, you got a minute?" I heard a gruff voice ask from behind me. I turned to see my leader Slash.
"Sure. Got nothing to do," I replied.
"Just wanted confirmation, you've noticed Leatherhead acting strange, right?"
My eyes lit up. I was so happy I wasn't the only one who noticed this. "Oh my god thank you! I didn't think anyone but me saw it."
Slash chuckled, "Well don't worry, you're not alone."
"Alright, so from my perspective, Leatherhead has been distant," I began.
"Distant? I was thinking reclusive," interrupted Slash.
"No no, my dear friends, the correct adjective is troubled," said a voice from above.
Slash and I looked up to see an upside down Rockwell. "Morning Rockwell," I greeted.
Rockwell nodded, "Greetings. I couldn't help but overhear the conversation between you two. My input is that Leatherhead is troubled."
"How do you know?" I asked, but then mentally smacked myself because the answer was obvious.
"Um, telepathy? Did you not..." began Rockwell, but I cut him off, "I- don't do that. I know what you can do."
Rockwell chuckled to himself, knowing very well my sass was all in good faith. "Anyways, after feeling his emotions, I can say with certainty that he is troubled. I don't know by what, because I didn't go too far into his mind."
"Well I tried talking to him and he didn't budge. At this point, if he doesn't let us help him, we'll just do it anyway," stated Slash firmly.
"Totally. But I don't want to do anything that'll upset him more than he already is," I added.
"Well if we don't help him, he's gonna be upset all the time. I know what we're doing is the right thing," stated Slash.
"Well I hope so," concurred Rockwell.
'Maybe,' I thought.
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Mikey's P.O.V:
11:00 am
"Hey loser!" yelled April as she burst into my room, "Time for me to turn in my favor! You wanna come?"
Sure, April, just bust right into my room. Not like I could've been doing something inappropriate or anything. "What favor?"
"Remember when Casey used us to steal the Kraang hard drive or whatever you call it from the school?" asked April.
I did. I got a flashback to that crazy janitor that chased me down the halls. I shuddered, "Yeah, I remember."
"Well Casey said you, me, and Mondo all get one special favor from him. And I'm gonna use it," said April.
"On what?" I asked.
April smiled, "I'm so glad you asked me. We're gonna sneak into a construction site."
I gave April a glazed look, "S'cuse me?"
---------------
1:00 pm
"Um, April? You sure you wanna do this?" I asked unsettled.
With us was Mondo, Raph, and Casey. Mondo, Raph, and I were wearing yet another set of Casey's clothes, which I despised with every fiber of my being. April told me to, "Suck it up buttercup," which I quickly obliged.
"Yeah, is there any reason in particular that you want to explore this construction site?" asked Mondo.
"For starters, no workers are around here at this time. It's summer, remember? I think their manager or whoever is in charge gave them shifts for later on at night so they can work in less heat. In other words, we can stay here for a bit without getting caught," said April with a smile.
Her smile makes her look so innocent, but I'm pretty sure us doing this is illegal. But yet again, when has that ever stopped us? "Let's go," asserted April.
We followed her lead. "So Red, you still haven't answered Mondo's question specifically," pointed out Casey, "Why did you choose a construction site?"
"Because I feel like it's super dangerous and would make a really nice challenge for us to venture," answered April.
I didn't say it out loud, but in my mind I said, 'What is wrong with you April?'
"Absolutely nothing Mikey," spoke out April.
I frowned. "I can hear your thoughts, remember?" said April as she pointed a finger to her temple.
'Huh?' I thought, 'Forgot about that.'
"Alright guys, I'm gonna propose a challenge. See that up there?" April pointed to a crane that was high in the air, "First person up there wins."
"Hmm," said Casey.
"You're on," grinned Raph.
"Alright," complied Mondo.
"Sure, whatever," I sighed.
And with that, April yelled, "No rules allowed. Go!" and I was on it.
The crane was a bit of a hike to get to, so it'd be a while before I get there. I decided to split off from the group, so that I wouldn't risk getting sabotaged by them. I ducked under some bricks, jumped over some artificial stones, and bobbed and weaved by some cinder blocks.
From the corner of my eye, I saw something red whiz by. I looked over to see Raph gaining some speed. He was passing me. "Big mistake Raph," I smiled maliciously.
I took out my nunchucks and extended them. I swung them in a way that aimed for Raph's legs. He must've seen what I was doing, so he jumped, but stumbled when he landed. We were at about the same point.
"Hey! That's cheating!" exclaimed Raph.
"No rules allowed!" I retorted.
"Oh yeah?" Raph took out a smoke bomb from his belt and threw it in front of me. It exploded me and blinded me for a second. I rubbed my eyes and saw I was about to hit a pole. So I stopped in my tracks I outstretched my hands, which proved to help me from getting hurt. I looked at Raph who was long gone.
I snapped my fingers, "Dang it. Karma I guess."
"Hey Mikey!" called out April from above, "You need a hand?"
She was floating above, similar to Rockwell's trick. "Are you using telekinesis?" I asked.
"Yeah. No rules allowed. Come on, I can give you a ride," offered April.
I was hesitant at first, but then decided what the heck. I jumped high, and April caught me with her telekinesis. She brought me to her back and I hugged her tightly. "Let's win this!" exulted April.
She flew us over the field. We could see Raph and Casey looking up in disbelief. We were approaching the large crane when we heard a, "Cowabunga!" April and I looked down to see Mondo was driving a Front Loader. "Mondo!" I screamed, "Do you even know how to drive that?"
"Nope!" Mondo yelled back at me.
For something that looked slow, he sure was going fast. "Come on April, faster!" I urged.
I was actually getting into the competition now. However, Mondo was gonna make it to the crane first. "April, we're not gonna make it," I said defeated.
April chuckled, "He might make it first, but he's sure as heck not gonna make it to the top first."
And with that, April flew up higher, and we made it to the crane. She set me down and we sat at the top of the crane. I was enjoying the view. Being high up is so fun; I got to see everything from up here. "Haha, the others are gonna be so mad you helped me. But... why me?" I asked.
It was windy up here, so April's hair and my bandanna was flying in the wind. "Alright Mikey, let's cut to the chase."
April said that with a loud tone, which made me wonder whether it was because she was being assertive or just loud because of the wind.
"What are you talking about?" I inquired.
I then came to a realization. "Wait, is that why you helped me? So that I couldn't leave the conversation."
"Yep," answered April bluntly.
"You petty little-" I began, but April cut me off, "Why are you being distant from us? Did we do something?"
She sounded genuinely concerned, but a part of me was too hurt... too angry to care. "Listen to me April, what goes on with me is my business. If I wanted anyone's help, I would've asked."
"Well you don't seem to be wanting help from anyone, but you certainly need it. That's where I come in," explained April.
"Ugh," I rolled my eyes, "Do the others know about this little stunt?"
"No. This was all completely my idea. Come on Mikey, just explain what's wrong," urged April.
"Can't you just read my mind? I don't feel like explaining everything right now," I crossed my arms.
"Well, my powers are little more complicated than that. Yeah, I can read minds, but I only read so much. My record is the conversation Subprime had with Yourik, and even then-"
"Excuse me?" I exclaimed.
April had that oh-crap-face. "You what?"
"Um, nothing," shrugged off April.
"No no, don't try avoiding it now. What do you mean that was your record?" I pressed on.
April looked like she had an idea. "Alright, tell you what, if I tell you what I'm talking about, then you have to tell me why you're acting like this."
"Ugh, fine. It's deal," and I actually meant it.
"So back when Yourik was dying because we injected him with a sedative, Subprime was basically talking to him. The thing is, Yourik was speaking Kraang language, so none of us knew what he was saying. But me and Rockwell have telepathy, so we can translate what he's saying. That's exactly we did," April seemed really calm about this. It's like she doesn't know I'm seconds away from exploding if she's talking about what I think she is.
"For some reason, Rockwell wanted me to put my hand on your shoulder so you can listen in. If you didn't know that, me and Rockwell are able to share a portion of our telepathy with others. But only for bit."
"So... what you're saying is... you went into my mind and made me invade their privacy?" I growled.
"Well, I wouldn't put it like that," started April.
I was fuming. I couldn't believe she and Rockwell did that. Those Kraang had a right to privacy and so did my mind. "Alright April, you wanna know why I'm acting like this? It's because of all of you," I started letting everything come out.
"You guys have all lied to me, or left me out, or did something that made me feel some type of way. Everyone except Donnie. And I'm tired of it. That's why I distanced myself. Because the further I was away from the problem, the better. You happy now?"
April looked at me with disgust. "Are you serious right now? THAT'S why you're acting like this? Because of something I'm sure none of us did on purpose?"
"That's not the point April. The point is I wanted to be alone," I argued.
April shook her head, "Well then by that point, you're supposed to ask for help or confront the problem. Not stay by yourself and surround yourself with your own misery."
"Whatever April, whatever," I simply said.
From our side, we heard, "Mikey?"
It was Raph who spoke. Mondo and Casey were with him. 'Wow, they got here fast,' I thought to myself.
"Raph," said April as she got up to leave, "Talk to your brother. The rest of you come with me. Let's give em some space."
Raph jumped up to the crane while April, Mondo, and Casey began climbing down the ladder that lead up to here. Raph sat down next to me, and he looked at me. I didn't bother looking back. I stared forward.
"Mikey..." Raph but a hand on my back, but I tensed up.
He must've realized, so he quickly but his hand back to his lap. "Why didn't you tell us?"
I stayed silent. "If we did something that hurt you, don't you think we would've wanted to help you. We don't want you angry at us; At any of us for that matter."
I stayed silent again. "Mikey, I don't want you to feel this way. If it makes you feel better, I kinda know how you feel."
I perked my head up. "The other day, when you were kidnapped by the Kraang, I had asked Mondo what you guys were talking about on the roof. He, being a good friend, didn't really tell me. And it made me feel a little left out. Because if something is wrong, I wanna be there for you Mikey."
"Raph," I sighed, "Just stop. You made your point. Maybe I was in the wrong but I'm still hurt. So please, stop trying to make me feel better or appeal to me."
Raph nodded. "I'll always be here for you little brother."
Raph stood up and began walking towards the ladder. "You wanna get down from here? Or do you want to-"
Raph got cut off. It sounded like he got smacked by something. I turned around to see him falling backwards. "Raph!"
"Ohh!" yelled Raph in shock. He fell over the edge. "Raph no!"
I took out my nunchucks and extended them. I jumped to the edge and threw my chain down there. Raph was falling, and if I didn't save him, he could fall to his death. "Come on come on COME ON!" I yelled.
The chain was getting close to Raph's leg. But just as it was gonna wrap around him, the chain stopped. It had reached its full length. "Raph!" I screamed in horror.
Raph looked like he finally got his act together, and took out his grappling hook. He aimed it just right, and the hook wrapped around my chain. Raph finally stopped falling. He was hanging on for dear life. I couldn't tell whether he'd survive or not if he fell from this height. Raph grunted, "Mikey, my arm! I can't press the button to raise me!"
I looked at his arm. It was a bit misshapen. His arm must've dislocated when he held on to his grappling hook and when gravity pulled his weight down. "I'm slipping!" yelled Raph.
"Raph hold on!" I called.
'Dammit where's April's telekinesis?' I thought to myself.
"Hey Mikey!" called out Raph, "Whatever happens, don't give up on people."
"Don't say stuff like that!" I screamed, tears forming in my eyes.
Raph looked up and smiled at me, but I could tell he was scared. He always had that look. Then, his arm let go. "No!"
Before Raph hit the ground, he stopped in mid-air. I looked down to see April outstretching her arm. Casey and Mondo were holding her so she didn't fall off the edge.
But she looked like she was struggling. "April, oh thank goodness, you're the best!" thanked Raph.
"Raph, I can't hold on to you," April's hand was lowering, "I can't focus. I used too much of it when I carried Mikey and I up here."
Raph looked down. "Maybe you should. The fall isn't that high, maybe I can make it without getting hurt?"
"Raph that's concrete down there. I'm not sure I want to risk it," said April painfully.
Raph was literally floating in the air, slowly but surely sinking to the ground. "April," said Mondo strained, "I'm not sure how much longer I can stop you from falling."
"Same Red. It's like something strong is pulling you off the edge," described Casey.
Raph looked to the ground under him, "You see April? If you don't let go, you'll be pulled with me."
"No April! Please, just hang on longer. I'll throw my grappling hook to Raph. Raph, grapple to something, quick!" I yelled as I tossed my hook to him.
Raph caught just as April lost her strength and let go. "Woah!" exclaimed Raph as he aimed the hook between the holes of the crane. The hook went through it, but just as it tightened so Raph could climb up, I heard a loud and very audible crack. I looked down to see Raph sprawled across the floor. "Raph?"
I couldn't tell what happened. "We need to get down there!" ordered Casey. I ran to the ladder and began climbing down as the three others also climbed down.
Just as I reached the bottom, I saw Casey lifting up an unconscious Raph who had blood coming from his mouth. My stomach twisted into knots. "Is he...?" I began.
"No, no he's still breathing, but we need to get him somewhere. Where's closer?" questioned Casey.
"We can't bring him to one of the human hospitals," reminded April.
"Well then let's bring him to our lair," I suggested, "It's closer than the Mighty Mutanimals. Maybe Donnie will be there?"
"I sure hope so, because he's our best bet," said Casey.
Since we didn't drive here, it was gonna be a hike. We started running for the nearest manhole cover whilst avoiding any people so they didn't see us running with a body. I turned on my T-phone and called Donnie. "Donnie, you at the lair?" I asked when he picked up the phone.
"Yeah, why?" he asked.
"Get anything medical you can find. Raph's been hurt and I think his shell is cracked," I quickly explained.
"Shell is cracked? Wait what happened?" questioned Donnie with immense concern.
"I'll explain to you when we get there. Just be ready," I commanded.
Donnie complied and hung up, probably to get everything ready. "Hope we make it in time," I said to myself.
I don't know what will happen if Raph doesn't pull through.
End of Chapter 21