I was the smartest among us...
I helped sensei collect everything to make our lives better...
I did more than anyone to make our home a decent place...
They all took me for granted. Well, not that I had any problem with it. It's what I'd like to do, tinkering with stuff and fixing what other people considered garbage. Over the years of self-teaching and scavenging, I now had a vast majority of knowledge in building almost everything from trash and a huge laboratory of my own. Part of it was from our enemies though. Every time we clashed with the Foot clan or raided the Kraang's stronghold, I acquired some more bits of technology to feed my starvation and to secure our safety. There's so much I could do with just some computer chips, wires and some rusted tools.
I couldn't say the same for my medic field though. I learned everything I could from sensei, books and internet. I broke into pharmacies to take what we needed, didn't forget to leave behind the money sensei's been saving when he was still human. I did help my family with illness and injures, but that's only at the beginning.
Our battle against the Foot and the Kraang, not to mention their army of mutants, escalated over the years. We had many allies, but mainly, there's only us. Eventually five was downed to four when sensei left us due to old age. He used to help me tending my brothers, now there's only me left. Yet the war went on...
We tasted our first huge blow literally, when a Foot ambush left us with a bomb in an abandoned warehouse. The blast took one of Raph's arms as he tried to shield me. I still remembered yelling how idiotic he was, with tear filling my eyes when I tightened the band on his bicep to stop the blood flow. No amount of medic skills could help growing his arm back. But Raph refused to sit out from the fight. He insisted me to make him another arm, ignoring my explanation of how difficult it was. He trusted me that much, how could I disappoint him?
It took me weeks to build a mechanic arm, another month to attach, and several months more for Raph to get use to it, but the result was gratifying. I couldn't forget how ecstatic he was when he crushed his first Kraang bot in his fist. He said something about me building stuff like that to help them win the war, and I believed him, gaining more confidence. But we celebrated too soon...
A direct confrontation with the Shredder removed Mikey of one leg. Even now, his agonizing scream still haunted me. Pain killers, morphine... Try to name a drug I hadn't tried to ease his pain. But that wasn't the worst. The void look in his sky-blue eyes was the most horrifying thing at the time. Without being asked, I built a leg. He was reluctant at first, but the joy restored in his eyes as he leaped from rooftop to rooftop soon proved otherwise. We had a boost in our force, pushing back our enemies to the shadow of New York. I had high hope that I'd never have to replace any of my brothers' limb ever again...
My wish came true, in the most twisted, cruel way possible. A mutant with gigantic jaws took out half my side when I was forced to turn my back on him. I didn't remember much, since I was in and out of conscious constantly. Later when my brothers told me what they did, I couldn't thank them enough. Raph managed to worked Metalhead, and Mikey thought of connect our minds together, so that I could filled my body with artificial organs to replace those that were lost. As impossible as it sounded, I was able to save myself from death thanked to their insane decision. But at that point, I started to doubt...
We were too fragile. We couldn't endure explosions, We could be chopped to pieces if we're not careful. We made mistakes. We were flawed. How could we ever hope to win this war if one of those days, four might be downed to three, or two? My brothers were all I had now, and all they had was me. If something happened to any of us, what would the rest do?
I dove into studying. Armed us with everything I could think of. Covered us with the latest technology scavenged. I didn't spare any moment to rest, fearing that if I stopped, one of my creations might malfunction and cost us of what we had left. No matter how much my brothers told me to relax and trust their fighting abilities, I couldn't. How could I when after each battle, scars marred their bodies and mine even more, overlapping with old ones?
They trusted me though. My inventions helped saving lives, securing victories. Every time we cheated death with the help of my gadgets, they all looked at me as if I was their messiah. When I had to modify our bodies to match our enemies' strength, they nodded without a second thought. Soon we became the most fearsome threat to the Foot and the Kraang, turning their own technology against them. Still, flaws remained...
One miscalculation. One wrong number. That's all it took for the Kraang to shoot down our Shellraiser. We never suffered such failure in a very long time. That made it a huge blow to each of us. But Leo took it the hardest, both mentally and physically. When we got back to the lair and I could check over him, I found a large chunk at the back of his head was missing. It's a miracle he's still alive. I later found out that all the modifications I did to our bodies, coped with all the machines plugged into us were what made such miracle possible, but at the time I almost fainted at the sight, if it wasn't for Leo holding my hand, Raph and Mikey calling out to me how much they needed me. I had to make a quick decision. Time was running out as light faded from Leo's eyes and color drained from his face. I refused to let him go just because of one stupid mistake. I wouldn't lose another member of my family. Not when either of our bodies still draw breath...
The metal scalp fitted Leo's head like a glove. The chips I fixed from the Kraang helped stabilizing him, making him whole again. It was one of those chips the Kraang used to control their bots with their brain, I just had to adjust it to cooperate with what's left of Leo's brain, and it performed beyond expectation. Precise calculation, thorough planning, lightning speed decision... It's like a whole new Leonardo. The countless victories followed after his surgery proved that he's the final state that we all looked up for, what we truly needed for absolute salvation. I probably should apply this to the rest of us as well, since that would ensure it three times more, right?
The moment I inserted the chips to my head through Metahead, I instantly felt the difference. All the knowledge I craved for, all the information I never dreamed to obtain... all flowed into me and lined up there for me to use as I saw fit. We erased the mutant army in no time. The Foot surrendered to us when they see the Shredder's head dangling from Leo's spiky hand. There's only the Kraang left, and they were the hardest enemy of all. It's like they summoned all their force from Dimension X just to eliminate four mutant turtles. But by that time it was already too late for them. I managed to get my hand on more of their weapons, cracking them open like eggs. I didn't want to leave Raph and Mikey out, so I convinced them to install those chips like Leo and I did. There's probably some glitches here and there, since they didn't seem to agree at first, but after I put the final piece, all was well.
The mighty army of the Kraang stood no chance against four turtles mutated by their own chemical ooze, armed with their own technology and weapons. They soon surrendered as I myself held up the brain of their leader for everyone to see. Leo used to say that all this achievement would be impossible if it wasn't for me, and I knew that it's true, since there's no one else dared to oppose us now. Four humanoid, talking, walking turtles stood proudly under the sunlight, looking down to the city below that was once our battlefield, with our enemies cowering in fear at our sight...
Yes... our enemies... The Foot... The Kraang... The mutants... The little creatures crawling all over the Earth's surface, in and out of buildings...
... What ware they called again? Human...?
... Was that the word...? Was that how they're called...?
...
Target acquired!