It starts like any other day, except today Mikey is bored and feeling like the lair, as a whole, needs a little excitement. However, Mikey doesn't think a simple water balloon to the face is going to fix anything…at least, not just a plain water balloon. He's not really sure what gives him the idea, but once he thinks of it, there isn't much that can stop him. Mikey's evil smirk is enough to send even the bravest of his brothers running for cover. Luckily, all of his brothers are out right now, so no one can see the mischievous glint in his eyes.
Even though he's almost completely alone in the lair, Mikey still makes his way towards the bathroom with ninja stealth. After all, there's no way to know how long his brothers will be gone. Not to mention, Mikey is pretty sure he knows what will happen if he disturbs Master Splinter's meditation. Mikey refuses to risk having such a glorious prank ruined by an untimely brother or three, or worse, his Master's ire. He doesn't even bother to turn on the light. Instead, he just grabs what he needs, and then makes a mad dash to the kitchen. This is the tricky part. Master Splinter could appear from anywhere at any given moment, and the last thing Mikey wants to do is explain why he has April's shampoo in the kitchen.
He grabs what he needs out of the top cabinet, knowing that no one is going to miss the cornstarch - since he does almost all of the cooking, anyway - and then hightails it to his room, where the rest of the supplies he needs are hidden. He laughs manically as he thinks about the potential expressions on his brothers' faces when he ambushes them. This is going to be one of the greatest pranks he's ever pulled.
XYZXYZ
Raph trudges through the sewers, grumpy and annoyed that Mikey got to stay home while the rest of them had to go do sewer tunnel surveillance replacement. He understands why Don was insistent that he only needed Leo's and Raph's help. After all, Mikey has a bad habit of breaking the tiny sensors Donnie likes to use and Mikey's goofing around would have slowed them down, but that doesn't mean that Raph isn't infuriated by his current predicament any less. Especially, since Donnie has spent this entire time being obnoxiously nit picky about everything.
"Okay, stop right there." Raph grumbles as he pauses and waits for further instructions. "Yeah, that's a good place." Raph gets to work on placing the sensor, and then Donnie hums, and Raph just knows he's about to say something that's going to make him want to punch Don in the face. "No, a little more to the left…now right…not too much."
Raph growls and he's about ten seconds away from shoving the sensor down Donnie's throat and telling him to do it his damn self, but, before he can, Leo grabs the sensor from his hand and moves it to where Don wants it.
Donnie smiles as he clasps his hands together. "Okay, guys, that's the last one. We can head home now."
Raph sighs in both relief and exhaustion. He didn't know that replacing sensors for three hours could be so draining as well as vexing. "It's 'bout time." Raph gets to his feet and wipes as much of the sewer gunk off of him as he can before reaching out a hand to Leo and pulling him up as well.
Leo gives a small appreciative smile and then groans. "I just hope Mikey hasn't completely destroyed the lair while we were gone."
Raph and Donnie nod their heads in agreement, and Raph does his best not to think about it. All he wants is a shower and little down time with Spike. He's got some nice crispy lettuce leaves at home that he knows Spike will just love.
XYZXYZ
Leo leads the way home, happy to be done with their task so soon. Three hours is nothing when Donnie is feeling this persnickety about the sensor placement. At this point, Leo's just pleasantly surprised that Raph didn't explode, although Leo knows he was close to it towards the end. Still, it's been a good day, all things considered, and he's looking forward to a nice quiet night, provided Mikey hasn't decided to have another movie marathon while they were gone. Leo's not really sure how one turtle can make such a mess by just watching movies, but he guesses that's just Mikey.
XYZXYZ
Donnie wants nothing more than to get back to the lair as soon as possible so he can run a system diagnostic test and make sure everything is working correctly. He did what he could while they were placing the sensors, but he would rather know sooner rather than later if the three of them need to head out again to fix something. Once that's done, he can focus on something a little more entertaining, like the upgrade to the Shellraiser. He's fairly certain that he can find a way to fit more manhole covers in without slowing them down too much, but that's a project he'll need to save for later. Right now, he's just glad that all of the sensors were placed with minimal grumbling from Raph.
XYZXYZ
Mikey can hear them making their way towards the entrance, and he practically has to bite his tongue to keep from giggling hysterically. Master Splinter is still meditating, and his brothers are completely unsuspecting. Mikey is in the perfect position to get all three of them. He's jumping from one foot to the other repeatedly back and forth, desperately trying to contain his excitement, but Mikey can't help it. This is possibly the greatest thing that has ever happened to him. No one will know what hit them…literally. He quiets down and waits for his unsuspecting brothers with a giant grin on his face.
XYZXYZ
Leo pauses in front of the entrance to the lair, although Raph has no idea why. He waits for a few seconds trying to sense something, but there doesn't seem to be anything that signifies danger. Still, Raph knows from experience that Leo tends to be more perceptive to these kinds of things than the rest of them, so he halts. "What is it?"
Leo shakes his head as if to clear it. "It's nothing. It's just…it's quiet."
Raph raises an eyebrow ridge, unsure if that's supposed to mean something to him. "So?"
Leo rolls his eyes at Raph, something that would normally irk the more aggressive brother, but right now all Raph wants is to go inside and head straight for the shower. "We left Mikey home alone. Shouldn't the TV be blaring or something?"
Raph huffs out a breath at Leo's paranoia. "He's probably just reading his comics or something. Stop being so paranoid." Raph shoves past him and pauses for a second. "Besides, he's probably done watching TV for today and has already moved on to destroying some other part of the lair, or he's aggravated Master Splinter enough that he's already been sent to his room."
XYZXYZ
Leo sighs heavily as he follows Raph. He'll never admit it out loud, but Raph's probably right. Leo braces himself as they open the door. He's sure that they are going to walk into a giant disaster zone, which is why he breathes out such a heavy sigh of relief when he sees that everything is exactly how they left it. However, the relief only lasts for a single moment before dread sets in. If Mikey wasn't watching TV and creating a giant mess, then Leo is left wondering what exactly he spent the last three hours doing.
The answer comes almost immediately after. Donnie steps over to where Leo is standing and drops the bag he was using to carry the sensors, and that seems to be some sort of signal, because before Leo knows what's happening all three of them get pelted with… Leo's honestly not sure what. He crouches down as another barrage comes at them and heads for cover, though there doesn't seem to be anything to hide behind. It's times like these that Leo thinks they need to rearrange their living space to be more tactically versatile. One thing he does know for certain, however, is that when he gets his hands on Michelangelo, the most hyperactive turtle is going to be sorry.
XYZXYZ
Donnie doesn't know what the substance that's currently dripping from every inch of his body is, and he's fairly certain that he doesn't want to know. It smells horrifically and Donnie isn't sure how something so goopy can be this sticky at the same time. It seems to be a Mikey original concoction, which means that it's most likely nontoxic. At least, Donnie hopes it's nontoxic. He ducks and follows Leo's lead as the two of them try to navigate out of Mikey's range. However, Don never knew water balloons could reach such distances. Donnie is left wondering exactly how much ammo their little brother has and how exactly he's able to get off so many in such a short amount of time. Hopefully, the most energetic turtle didn't spend the whole three hours they were gone preparing this little ambush, otherwise there might be something far worse in store for them.
XYZXYZ
Mikey laughs uncontrollably as he launches more goop balloons at his brothers. He can't help but giggle as the three of them scatter, desperately trying to avoid the balloons. There's no place for them to hide. Mikey made sure of that. He chose his perch well, and now the three of them will suffer the consequences of a bored Mikey left to his own devices for so long. He giggles at the look on their faces as Leo and Donnie try to take cover behind the beanbag chair and throws two more balloons their way, forcing them to seek refuge elsewhere. Raph, on the other hand, has given up on trying to avoid getting hit and is desperately searching for a way to get to Mikey's perch, which only makes the energized turtle laugh harder.
XYZXYZ
Raph growls and promises that when he gets his hands on Mikey, the most obnoxious turtle is going to beg for mercy. "I'm going to pummel you, Mikey!"
Mikey scoffs as he launches more balloons. "Yeah, how? Doctor Prankenstein is untouchable."
"You're going to run out of ammo eventually, Mikey." Donnie pipes up from somewhere across the room. Raph hasn't actually seen him or Leo since they first walked into the lair, but he's guessing by the agitation in his brother's voice that, at the very least, Donnie isn't fairing much better than he is right now.
"You have to know that the three of us are going to gang up on you now." Leo's voice is coming from the same direction as Donnie's, so Raph guesses that the two of them stuck together. It figures Donnie would feel the need to follow Fearless, even on their home turf.
Mikey throws back his head and laughs wickedly. "You have to catch me first."
There's another large onslaught of balloons, but Raph can see that their just cover for Mikey's retreat. He's running out of ammo, after all. Raph grins to himself as he takes off after his younger brother.
XYZXYZ
Leo sees Mikey making a mad dash towards the kitchen with Raph hot on his heels, and smirks. Turns out their little brother ran out of ammunition sooner than Leo anticipated he would. He motions for Donnie to follow and the two of them take off after the other two. He's fairly certain that if their quick enough, the three of them can flank Mikey and box him in before he has a chance to unleash anything else on them. Leo's absolutely certain that Mikey left more ammunition in the kitchen. After all, it's the only reason that makes sense for why he would run into a dead end. He gestures to Donnie to go full ninja stealth mode and the two of them get ready to make their move.
XYZXYZ
As the two of them creep closer to the kitchen, the overwhelming scent of flowers assaults Donnie's nose. He doesn't really understand why, or what that could even be, or what it has to do with Mikey's prank until he realizes that the scent is coming from Raphael. Whatever Mikey hit them with was apparently tailored to each one of them. Donnie feels a little jealous of Raph, because, while Raph smells like flowers, Donnie and Leo smell like an extremely potent dumpster. As the two of them get into position to block off Mikey's exit, Donnie makes a mental note to interrogate his brother about what exactly he threw at them and why exactly Raph smells like a floral garden.
Leo gives the signal and the two of them drop down from the ceiling, boxing Mikey in, and then all three of them grin evilly as they move as one to pile on top of Mikey. "What did you hit us with?" Apparently, Donnie wasn't the only one who was curious about that, since Leo is the first one to speak.
Before Mikey can respond, Raph puts him in a headlock and growls. "And why does it smell so damn bad?"
Donnie scoffs at that. As far as he's concerned, Raph really has nothing to complain about. He presumes now is a perfect time to ask the question that's been bothering him since he first got hit with one of Mikey's balloons. "And how did you create this consistency? It's so…goopy, for lack of a better term."
Mikey tries desperately to push the three of them off of him, but none of them budge. He taps on the arm around his neck a few times, but it's Leo's glare that has Raph relaxing said arm enough that Mikey can speak. "It was just shampoo and cornstarch."
Donnie thinks about that for a second. It's certainly not the answer that he was expecting, but it makes sense. At least, it does for Raph's predicament. In fact, now that Donnie thinks about it the smell is familiar. It's just so overpowering that Donnie didn't recognize it as April's shampoo at first. However, that still leaves one question. "Okay, so that explains why Raph smells like the botanical gardens exploded all over him, but what the heck did you add to the balloons you threw at Leo and me to make us smell like a landfill?"
Mikey smiles sheepishly for a moment and then shifts uncomfortably. Leo gestures for them to let Mikey go, assuming they've held him down long enough. They release him almost simultaneously and Mikey immediately gets to his feet and dashes towards the door. He pauses just long enough to turn back to face them, and Donnie just knows he's going to absolutely hate whatever Mikey has to say. He braces himself for the worst and waits for an answer to his question. Mikey laughs nervously as he rubs the back of his head self-consciously. "Um, remember those rotten eggs and that fish we threw out earlier this week? I, uh, may have kept them, pureed them, and then used a funnel to put them into the balloons."
Donnie's eyes widen with a sudden realization and his stomach sinks with the knowledge. He knows the other two haven't caught on yet, and he honestly doesn't look forward to what will happen when they do. "You…you pureed rotten eggs and fish? There is now fish and rotten egg puree all over the lair?"
Raph growls as he gets to his feet. "MIKEY!" He's out of the room, chasing after the younger turtle in a matter of seconds.
Leo glances over to Donnie as they both scurry to their feet. "I'm so not helping him clean that up." Leo races out of the room after the other two. "Raph, don't kill him! He can't clean up his mess, if he's dead! Mikey, get back here!"
Donnie thinks about chasing after the mischievous turtle as well, but then he realizes something and snickers to himself. The other two can have their fun dealing with Mikey. The bathroom is free and he needs a long and thorough scrubbing. He grins and decides Raph can take his shower last. After all, the floral scent might help mask the rotten egg and fish smell. Hopefully, Mikey can lead the other two on a nice long chase throughout the lair, so that Raph can be used as a walking air freshener. Donnie sighs happily as he makes his way to the bathroom, either way at least he'll get some relatively quiet time to himself.
The End