It had been a few weeks since the incident and things were finally starting to revert back to some semblance of normalcy once more. Though they were all still shaken and getting used to what would have to become the new 'normal,' everyone was mostly healed from their injuries. Most had only been minor, a few cuts and bruises here and there to show from their battle, but the Foot had been less than compassionate, and were not above striking to kill.
The four brothers were on a routine patrol, but had noticed some strange Foot activity going on around one of the many office buildings in New York. They took purchase on the edge of a building across the street and watched, trying to get an idea of what was going on.
"It looks like they're...Stealing? Why would they be stealing stuff from some random office like that though?" Donnie pondered.
"Maybe we can beat the answers out of them," said Raph, grinning evilly and pounding his fist into his hand in such an aggressive way that it made Leo fear for whichever Foot Ninja would end up taking on his brother in battle. Raph, and his three brothers, had been cooped up in the lair for weeks on end, per Splinter's orders, after a particularly vicious fight with Shredder's goons. Though none of them were too badly injured, it was enough to scare Splinter into hiding, his four sons in tow.
Weeks upon weeks in the lair with no escape or refuge was practically torture for the four of them, and especially Raphael, and by this point, he was itching to hit something other than his punching bag (or his younger brother).
"We don't know what they're doing, Raph. We need to investigate before we mindlessly beat them," Leo responded pointedly. "Besides, I don't know if we should go seeking out fights with them, after the last time."
He trailed off and watched, almost predatory in nature, as more was stolen from the building, Foot soldiers lugging televisions and computers and as much expensive stuff as they could possibly carry. Leo was tempted to leave it alone and let the authorities handle it, much to the displeasure of Raphael, when a man was dragged away from the building by a Foot ninja.
It seemed as if the homeless man had been digging through the dumpsters at the side of the building when the raid had begun, and he had finally been found cowering behind it. A ninja practically carried him out and dropped him on the pavement, holding a knife to his throat.
Now was not the time to sit around and watch; a man's life was in danger. The turtles jumped into action, Leo diving towards the man in an attempt to save him. The ninja heard, and quickly whipped the knife from the man's throat and held it up to block Leo's katana. Leo distracted the ninja long enough that the innocent man managed to escape, tears streaming down his face, pitiful whines escaping him as he ran.
The other three turtles leapt into battle as well, each taking on about ten ninjas. Their respective fights were all going fairly smoothly, since most of these Foot ninjas seemed to be new recruits, when Rahzar decided to make his presence known.
The giant dog mutant sidled up behind Mikey, who had been cheerfully gloating, and punched him into the nearest wall. Mikey grunted upon impact and looked up to see the monstrous mutant rearing back for another strike. He dove out of the way, barely missing the potentially fatal hit. While he dodged one punch though, he failed to notice the second strike coming moments later. Rahzar's long, pointed claws pierced Mikey's arm just above the elbow, going straight through and out the other side.
Mikey stared in disbelief, eyes wide in horror at the sight, not yet feeling the pain that would inevitably come.
Rahzar ripped his claws back out of the young turtle's arm, making sure to tear through any still-connected flesh. The arm made a terrible, fleshy noise as it fully disconnected from Mikey's body and hit the ground.
Mikey continued to stare, not fully processing the fact that the arm lying on the ground used to be his, or how the blood pouring out of the remaining half of his upper arm was flowing too fast, and that he needed medical assistance fast.
And then came the heart-wrenching scream.
His brothers all halted their battles to find the source. They knew the voice all too well, but they had never heard such agony held in a single scream in their lives.
Raphael and Donatello immediately sprang forward, going to their brother's rescue. They couldn't see what had happened, but they both knew that Mikey was not a skilled enough actor to pull off such a convincing cry for help, meaning this was serious.
Leo didn't leave his own battle, though not for wont of trying. As soon as he turned away to find Mikey with his other brothers, the ninja he had been fighting swiftly jabbed his knife into Leo's plastron. It felt as if his gut was on fire, and he looked down to see the hilt jutting out of his plastron almost comically.
He didn't cry out. He knew that Mikey needed more help than he did. Mikey came first.
With the knife still buried in his plastron, a managed to escape the fight and find his brothers.
Most of the Foot ninjas had fled by now. With all the commotion the turtles had created, there was no doubting that the police would be showing up very soon.
When Leo finally found his brothers, he wanted to throw up. Whether that was caused by the sight in front of him or his own injuries, he would never be sure, though he suspected it had something to do with both.
Mikey was curled up, leaning on the wall behind him, knees brought up to his chin, covered in blood, staring off into the distance with a glaze in his eyes, as if he was not mentally there.
At least he didn't seem to be in much pain at the moment, Leo thought bitterly, though he didn't seem to be feeling anything, judging by his lack of response to anything Donnie did. Donnie had removed his elbow pads and instructed a very pale Raphael to hold them firmly on the wound to staunch the bleeding. Donnie himself was on the phone with April, demanding a ride back to the lair pronto, all the while trying to bring Mikey back to reality.
When Raph finally noticed his presence, he did a double take before bringing Donnie's attention to the knife imbedded in Leo's gut. Leo's insistence on helping Mikey first was not fought hard, as their youngest brother was growing paler by the second.
Finally, a few agonizingly long minutes later, April showed up in her dad's van, and helped get Mikey into the back. She ordered Raph to drive so she could help with first aid in the back, and they sped off without another moment's notice.
The ride was simultaneously the fasted and slowest passage of time Leo had ever felt, as he tried to help April and Donnie in the back seat without jostling his own wounds too much. When they finally arrived at the lair, they all clambered out of the vehicle and got to Don's infirmary as fast as they could.
They must not have been very quiet because Master Splinter rushed out of the dojo not a moment later to see what the commotion was all about. He immediately began helping as soon as he had fully digested the situation, taking care of his oldest's wounds while Donatello and April worked to save their youngest.
After many long hours of work, Donnie and April exited the infirmary, exhausted and covered in blood. Raphael, Leonardo, and Master Splinter all had hopeful looks in their eyes as Donatello told them all that Mikey would live and make a full recovery. That hope died soon after as he told them Mikey's arm could not be reattached, and that he would have to learn to live life one-handed.
That had been a while ago, and Mikey was finally starting to recover. He admitted that it had been hard to accept the fact that his life may never be exactly the same again, but he was starting to get used to his situation.
He and Leo had healed with only minor hiccups along the way and no long-term lasting consequences. Donnie had worked day and night for weeks to make sure the two of them made it through alright. It had been stressful for everyone. As much as Leo, Raph and Splinter wanted to help, there was not much to assist with. Casey too seemed to be feeling a pressure to relieve the situation, visiting the mutants as often as he could.
None of them had slept much, and Splinter had grounded them again, more confident than ever that the Foot were too powerful now to be taken on by just his sons. Leaving their lair at all was too dangerous at the moment.
It was with this in mind that Mikey stepped into the kitchen, weak legs carrying him to the cupboard where they kept the mugs. As guilty as he felt about the situation, about his own failures as both a ninja and a brother, he knew that sulking in Donnie's lab would not alleviate either his physical or emotional pain. He also knew he was not the only one suffering at the moment. Leo had gotten hurt too, and he too would be left with a huge scar to remind him of it every day. To remind him of Mikey's failure.
Stop thinking about it. Just make the damn tea.
Mikey put the kettle on, then opened the cupboard and grabbed his favourite mug. As much as he normally hated tea, he figured he should learn to grow up a little. That battle had reminded him of that thoroughly. Stop being a child. You're almost an adult. Act like it. If your brothers can handle growing up, then so should you.
He was startled from his thoughts by a voice permeating the kitchen.
"Need any help?"
He was starting to hate that question. Just because he had lost his arm, now he was a helpless child.
Even your brothers treat you like a child. A helpless little baby. A baby who can't even make fucking tea without needing an adult to hold his hand.
"Nah, I got it covered, bro," Mikey replied, fake grin plastered on his face.
Leo calmly stepped over to the cupboard and picked out his own mug, placing it next to Mikey's on the counter.
"You know," he said softly, "You don't need to pretend to be happy all the time. Especially not when things like that happen." He gestured to the stub that was left of Mikey's arm.
"What are you talking about, dude? I'm fi-"
"Quit it with the act, Mike. We're all worried about you. All you've been doing is locking yourself up in your room for the past week and a half. You need to stop hiding from us and let us help you."
You need to stop acting like a god damn child and learn to be a fucking grown-up.
They both stood in silence. Mikey understood the sentiment of Leo's words. He understood that now they were finally going to kick him off the team. Kick him off the team until he could learn to be a real ninja. Until he could be as good as the rest of them. Until he could protect himself rather than rely on his brothers.
Until he could learn to be equal.
But he could never be equal now.
They were all still whole. He was missing pieces.
Tears began to come to his eyes as he stood there. Soon enough, as Leo stood completely dumbfounded by his side, the tears fell. He closed his eyes tightly, ducked his head and grasped the stub of his arm, still wrapped tightly with bandages.
"I'm sorry," he said in a hushed tone, barely above a whisper.
Leo didn't know what to do. His brother was standing in the kitchen, crying and apologizing, after being told not to hide from them. What was he to do? He hadn't expected something like this to ever happen.
He reached out and wrapped his arms around his little brother, feeling how skinny the younger turtle had become after so much bed rest, and after all the stress his body had been through. That his mind had been through.
He felt Mikey's arm wrap around his back. Even with only one arm, Mikey still gave the best, most genuine and comforting hugs.
"There's nothing you need to be sorry for, Michelangelo."
Mikey took a stuttering breath in, and faltered slightly as he said, "B-but I do! I messed up so bad th-that you got hurt! And- and now, we can't even leave the lair! All bec-cause of me!"
He buried his face in his brother's shoulder as he cried. Leo was shocked. His little brother, his baby brother, was more upset about Leo's injuries and their punishment than he was about the fact that he now only had one arm.
The kettle began to whistle, startling the both of them. Mikey removed himself from his brother's grasp and wiped his eyes as he attempted to calm his breathing.
"Mikey..." Leo began, not knowing where to even start. Mikey looked up at him, eyes puffy and red, skin still stained with tears.
"Mikey," he started again, "This isn't your fault. None of it was. It's not your fault that we lost that battle, or that we're banned from leaving the lair, or how I got stabbed. And it's definitely not your fault you lost your arm.
"Rahzar is an insanely talented warrior. There was no way even I could go up against him by myself. It would take all of us working together to even have a hope of taking him down. He's incredibly powerful and you trying to take him on by yourself is unbelievably brave."
"Or unbelievably stupid," Mikey cut in, voice still watery and wavering.
"It wasn't stupid. What was stupid was me expecting us to be able to take on the Foot like that. We knew they were stronger than ever before but I still ordered you guys to risk your lives to fight them. If anything, this entire thing is my fault. You shouldn't be blaming yourself for my mistakes, especially not when you're the one who got hurt."
"But Leo, you got hurt too! And it was because of me that you even got hurt!" Mikey cried out, voice raising in exasperation upon learning his brother blamed himself for problems he had caused in the first place.
"Mikey." Leo said sternly.
Listen to him, Mikey. That's all you're good at. Being a follower and a child. Even now, Leo knows you're never going to grow up or learn from your mistakes. Look at the way he's crossing his arms. he knows, Michelangelo. He knows and he hates you for it. He hates that he has a scar on his plastron now to remind him every day of what a failure his brother is. Look at the bright side though. At least he has two brothers who aren't complete fuck-ups.
"None of this is your fault, Mikey. Me getting hurt isn't your fault. You getting hurt isn't your fault. Nobody expects you to carry this problem all by yourself. We're all here to help you. None of us love you any less for what happened in that fight. We all love you, Michelangelo. We all love you, no matter how much you think we don't."
Mikey's eyes welled up with tears again. As much as the voice in his head kept telling him none of that was true, and that he deserved to lose his arm for being such a failure, Leo was a terrible liar, and he seemed completely genuine right now.
The corners of Mikey's lips upturned slightly as tears came pouring down his face once more.
"I'm sorry," Mikey repeated. Leo knew though, that it wasn't said for the same reason he had said it the first time. This was a show of mutual understanding. As much as they would both, would all suffer in the wake of this disaster, the two of them knew with complete certainty that they would make it through together.
Mikey wrapped his arm around Leo's neck again in a quick show of appreciation for Leo's words. Leo put both his arms around Mikey and squeezed, grasping him as if he might disappear if he let go. When they finally separated again, Mikey grabbed Leo's favourite tea from the cupboard and began pouring water into the mugs. Though it was a little more difficult with only one hands, Leo let him do it by himself. Perhaps he understood that Mikey needed some form of independence right now.
They moved to the table, sitting across from each other in silence for a moment before Mikey finally spoke up.
"Thanks, Leo. For everything."
"Thank you too, little brother," Leo replied, hushed, trying not to shatter the peaceful moment, "I love you."
"I love you too, bro."
Then the silence returned, a soft, peaceful feeling washing over the both of them like a calming wave. They knew now, with complete finality, that Mikey losing his arm would not hinder them as a team. They would fight through it tooth and nail and come out victorious, because for as care-free and childish as Michelangelo seemed, he was stronger than any injury a foe could inflict upon him. They were all strong. They would fight through this.
And they would win.