A powerful stench assaulted Leo's nostrils as he pushed open the door of his youngest brother's bedroom. The door halted half-way, hindered by the heap of junk piled on the floor behind it.
"Mikey! When was the last time you cleaned in here?"
The blank expression on the freckled face was confirmation enough.
"That's it, Mikey! The rest of us are going on patrol. You will stay here until this room is spotless, understood?"
Michelangelo delivered his leader a look of horror. "What! Why? That's totally not fair! Why don't you have to stay and clean your room?"
"Mine's already clean. Now get to work!"
Mikey glared resentfully at the place where his brother's face had disappeared. Then, slowly, a vengeful smile began to curl his lips.
.o0o.
Leonardo talked animatedly to the spirited girl as they entered the lair. He was on an adrenaline high. Patrol had gone beautifully, they'd had a successful skirmish with the Purple Dragons, and now Karai had decided to stop over for a while.
"I have some really great ideas for a new training regime," Leo was saying, as Karai looked on with at least partial interest. "Do you want to see? I think you'll like it. Hang on, I left my notebook in my room."
Leo swung his door open and stopped dead in his tracks, his expression frozen as his eyes refused to accept the chaotic scene.
Strewn across the floor were a number of discarded pizza boxes, a few still containing the remains of what had once been a delicious dinner. Amongst the boxes and other junk, were scattered what looked like Mikey's entire action figure collection, as well as several tattered comic books – not the cool comics that Leo liked to read, but the lame ones Mikey was so fond of.
From a prominent place in a visible corner, the eyes of Chris Bradford stared mockingly at Leo from Mikey's cardboard cutout, which was wearing – was that a bra? To top it all off, directly above his bed, Mikey's filthy pair of over-sized tighty-whiteys was tacked to the wall, now bearing the permanently inked inscription of "I heart Captain Ryan".
It was several seconds before Leonardo recovered sufficiently from his shock to regain control of his body. He made a lightning move to slam the door before Karai could catch a glimpse of the horrific mess.
"Nice décor."
Too late.
Karai's amused smirk was enough to send Leonardo's twisting stomach plummeting to his toes, as the heat rose, flaming, to his cheeks.
"It's not... ! I didn't... ! MIKEY!" The last word came out in a bellow worthy of Raph, as Leo stalked dangerously into the living room.
Mikey was already at the turnstiles, in the process of fleeing the scene, but just before disappearing, he paused, one foot in the air, and turned to have the last word.
"What's the matter, Leo?" he grinned. "Did you forget to clean your room?"