First, a special thank you to the folks who helped me polish this thing up. You all are amazing, and I appreciate all the input to help bring it to the point it is today. So thank you, Miradole, BelatedBeliever1127,and Elocindancer, for being so awesome!
Disclaimer: I do not own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Takes place directly after "Into Dimension X". Rated M for violence, mild gore, and dark themes.
In the Pit of My Stomach
"Man, I was startin' to think I'd never smell that sweet, sewer air again!"
Michelangelo leapt over the turnstiles and down the stairs, landing in his home with arms stretched out wide as the grin on his face, and took in a deep breath, expelling it with a loud, "Ahh!" Nothing had changed since he'd last laid eyes on the underground lair, from the sounds of the arcade machine to the hint of pepperoni tickling his nostrils. There was even some residual toxic, Dimension X atmosphere wafting out of Donatello's lab, further proving the short amount of time that had lapsed here on Earth while he was gone.
The rest of the turtles following closely behind him, Leonardo approached his little brother with a proud smile and lay a hand on his shoulder. "We're glad you're safe, Mikey. It's still hard to believe that you were gone for so long!"
"It really isn't that hard to believe." The two turtles turned to look at Donnie who cradled the crystal fragment from Dimension X in his hand. He'd been unable to take his eyes off of it the whole way home, entranced by all the possibilities now at his fingertips. "It is an entirely separate dimension, after all. The different gases in the atmosphere, the unusual organisms living there, not to mention the physics - "
"Yeah, yeah, we get it," groaned Raph as he rolled his eyes and shoved his way past Donatello. He promptly dropped his filtration unit into the irritated turtle's arms, causing him to gasp as he fumbled with the powerful crystal. Ignoring the shouts of protest that followed, Raphael walked up to Mikey and clapped him roughly on the back with a smirk. "Seriously, bro, you were pretty awesome back there. But don't think that gets you off the hook for destroying our Super Robo Mecha Force Five tape."
The cheerful glow that had been surrounding the young turtle since returning to Earth finally faded as the memory of his clumsiness suddenly pushed its way to the surface, and he grasped his head in horror. "Oh no! How could I forget!? I just gotta know how it ends, dude! Donnie, you - !"
Michelangelo's pleas were cut short as his own filtration unit was yanked from his mouth by the turtle in question. "Forget it, Mikey," he said gruffly as he put the device next to Raph's and held out his hand to take Leo's as well, "I have far more important things to work on right now than fixing a video tape. Like, oh, I don't know, preparing for the Kraang's invasion of earth?"
"An impending invasion, you say?"
The four brothers immediately fell silent as Master Splinter walked into the room, glancing warily at the smog-like substance lazily drifting out of Donatello's laboratory. But the stillness didn't last long as the youngest ran toward the ninja master and smothered him in a tight hug.
"Sensei!" he cried, his face practically beaming, "Oh man, it feels like forever! I'm so happy to see you!"
Patting his son on the back, Splinter cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "While I am always glad to see you as well, Michelangelo, I believe 'forever' is quite the exaggeration when it has not even been two hours." Glancing at the rest of his small family, his gaze fell upon Donatello, specifically the strange devices and newly acquired power cell in his arms. "Perhaps one of you should explain where you all disappeared to so suddenly and how exactly you came to know of this incoming Kraang invasion."
"It was Leatherhead, Master Splinter!" The young turtle let go of his father and immediately dove into the story, complete with excited pantomiming. "We got this weird message he sent to Donnie's orb thingy all the way from Dimension X warning us about the Kraang. But then he got captured, so I jumped through the portal 'cause I wanted to save him! But everything there was so messed up and crazy, and I couldn't find him! It took my bros forever to finally show up, but by then I was already a Dimension X genius and knew exactly where they were keeping him. I came up with an awesome plan and lead everyone to the Kraang base where we took out a bunch of those creepy brains, and not only did we bring Leatherhead back, but I got a new power crystal for that giant, mechanical turtle thing Donnie's been workin' on, too! Those slimy aliens never knew what hit 'em!" His heroic tale complete, he stuck out his chest with pride and placed his hands on his hips, appearing thoroughly pleased with himself.
There was a brief pause as Splinter seemed to be eyeing his son suspiciously, his ears twitching, but he soon sighed and lightly shook his head. "I am afraid that some rather key details are eluding me in your story, Michelangelo, but if what you say about rescuing Leatherhead and leading your brothers through the dangers of another dimension are true, than it would seem you have indeed grown much since we last spoke." He placed a gentle hand on his youngest's shoulder and smiled. "I am very proud of you, my son."
"You should have seen him, Sensei." Walking over, Raphael affectionately rubbed his baby brother's head with a smirk. "Never would have thought that the guy I pummel every day in training had it in him." The half-hearted pout he got in return only deepened his grin.
"And it's thanks to Mikey that I can finish my Turtle Mech," said Donnie, flashing the young turtle a grateful smile as he headed to his lab, "and just in time, too, apparently, as the Kraang could be planning their attack on Earth as we speak."
Watching his son close the lab door behind him out of the corner of his eye, Splinter's demeanor changed from that of proud parent to vigilant ninja master. "It would seem that there is much more to this story than I have yet heard." He turned his gaze to his eldest. "Leonardo, if you would come with me, I would like to hear more about this invasion and your mission to save Leatherhead from the Kraang."
"Hai, Sensei," he replied with a short bow. Allowing Master Splinter to lead the way to the dojo for his briefing, Leo paused a moment to squeeze Mikey's shoulder, a proud gleam in his eye. "We're all back safe and sound because of you. So don't worry, I'll be sure to tell him everything you did. I won't leave anything out. You did good, Mikey." The joy on his brother's face upon hearing the words of praise would have been visible from miles away, and he couldn't help but smile warmly as he followed their sensei out of the room.
Now alone in the common area, Raph looked at Mikey and grinned. "So, 'Dimension X genius', now that you're back in the world of the sane, any plans for the maybe twenty-four hours we've got before we have to fight off an army of aliens - again?"
Instantly grabbing his older brother's hand, the smaller turtle pulled Raphael toward the TV pit. "I wanna watch a movie!" he exclaimed as he dragged him in front of the television and sat him down on the bench before reaching for a nearby cardboard box full of old VHS tapes. "Do you believe they don't have movies there!? Or comic books! And their taste in music?" The face he pulled of pure disgust said it all. "Dude, I don't blame 'em for wanting to come here. Our entertainment is way more, well, I can't think of the word, but - OH!"
Michelangelo held up a video as if he'd just found a long lost treasure before quickly turning on the TV, popping it into the VCR, and pressing play. Gleefully returning to the bench, he plopped down right next to his older brother, eyes glued to the screen as the opening credits began to play.
Upon seeing a familiar scene of a translucent substance covering an unknown planet in outer space fill the screen, Raph glanced down at the excited turtle with a cocked eyeridge. "'Invasion of the Body Snatchers'? Seriously? After everything we just went through - everything we're about to go through - you really wanna watch a movie about an alien invasion?"
"Come on, bro, it's a classic!" Seemingly unaware of the dubious look directed at him, Michelangelo pointed the remote toward the television and cranked up the volume to much louder than was necessary, the tense music filling the room. "And this way I can chill and keep this genius brain of mine on the invasion at the same time. It's perfect!"
Rolling his eyes at the younger's logic, Raph sighed and sank further into his seat, deciding it better not to spoil the mood by complaining further on the choice of movie or how loud said movie was. After all, who was he to argue when Mikey seemed quite content in what was likely his first truly comfortable moment in months after being trapped in such a dangerous dimension. He still couldn't hide his smirk as he mentally prepared himself for the inevitable 2 AM visit he'd likely be receiving from the easily spooked turtle, though.
The two sat in contentment, watching as the main cast of humans one by one joined the ranks of the alien pod people, simply enjoying some of the last down time they would likely have for a while. But as the movie wore on, Raphael found his eyelids drooping, and when Leonardo finally exited the dojo and suggested they all get some sleep so as to be fully alert the next day, even his stubborn, rebellious side couldn't help but agree.
"You comin', Mikey?" he asked with a loud yawn as he rose from his seat on the bench and stretched.
The little turtle shook his head, but his eyes never left the screen, fully engrossed in the suspenseful movie. "It was, like, morning when you guys showed up, so I'm not tired."
Raph shrugged at Leo who simply sighed. The eldest wanted to argue the point and force his youngest sibling to bed, but he knew it would prove futile. Mikey would simply smuggle the tape in with him and continue watching on the extra TV they let him keep in his bedroom, a decision he was often second-guessing.
"Alright, but don't stay up too late, ok?" he said as Raph walked past him and toward the stairs leading to their bedrooms.
His back still to them, Michelangelo waved lazily from his seat on the bench. "Don't worry, dude. I'll be fully recharged by tomorrow. Promise!"
It was Leo's turn to shake his head, somehow not quite believing his little brother's words, but with a smile and a yawn, he turned and headed for his own room. "Good night, Mikey. And maybe turn that down a bit?"
Leaving no indication that he'd even heard the last request, the young turtle continued to watch his movie, completely entranced by the story and atmosphere. He had of course seen it before, many times, in fact, but this one was different, as if he were viewing it with fresh eyes. Every moment left him on the edge of his seat, his mouth hanging slightly agape with awe, and as the main character's piercing screech reverberated throughout the large room, indicating that he, too, was no longer human and had joined the ranks of the pod people, he couldn't help but shiver.
The movie at last over, he quickly jumped from his seat and stopped the VHS player, practically smashing the rewind button. After several agonizingly long minutes, it came to a halt with a click, and without even bothering to look through the remaining pile of VHS tapes, he hit the play button once again and sat back down.
This time, however, about halfway through the movie, Michelangelo suddenly stood up. Grabbing the remote, he proceeded to turn the volume up even louder before tossing it on the bench and jogging over to Donatello's lab as eerie music played around him. Then, without even bothering to knock, he quietly slid the door open and slipped inside, shutting it behind him without a sound.
"Donnie?"
Looking up from his desk strewn with various pieces and parts, the startled turtle looked at the newcomer curiously. "Mikey? What are you doing in here? Isn't your movie still on?"
His face cheerful, Michelangelo sidled up next to him with a grin. "Just wanted to see if you needed any help, D." His eyes instantly started scanning over the contents of the desk, noting the now closed Kraang portal amongst all of the parts he assumed were for the Turtle Mech.
Donatello shot him an annoyed glare. "This isn't Kraang tech, Mikey - aside from the power cell, anyway. It's not exactly something you can help with." As the little turtle's face fell, however, his expression softened, and he let out a sigh. "Look, while I appreciate the offer, I'm simply too busy to..."
Before he could finish his thought, a deep yawn escaped from his mouth that he quickly tried to cover with his hand. Unsurprisingly, though, the action hadn't been missed by the younger turtle. Mikey was suddenly uncomfortably close to his face, staring at it as if studying him, before backing off just as quickly.
"You sure look tired - even your mask can't hide those bags under your eyes, bro!"
Fully intent on ignoring the crude diagnosis, Donnie turned back to his work in an attempt to regain his focus. "I'm fine."
"You sure?" Michelangelo leaned down until his head was directly in the elder's line of sight, blocking Donnie's view of his desk as he peered up at him. "Maybe you should get some sleep."
But the young turtle quickly found himself shoved out of the way with an irritated grunt. "I said I'm fine, Mikey! I don't have time to sleep!" With another tired sigh, Donatello brought a hand up to his face and pulled his mask down until it hung loose about his neck. "If you really want to help, just make me a pot of coffee and then go back to your movie, ok?"
Michelangelo was instantly at attention, one hand raised in salute and a determined grin on his face. "You got it, D! One pot of coffee, comin' up!"
The coffee maker was on a table directly behind Donatello, currently hidden amongst more random bits of machinery. They used to leave it in the kitchen, but as the ever busy turtle was the only one who actually drank any of it, he had borrowed it for a day and it had simply never made its way back.
Humming a cheerful tune, smaller turtle jogged over and picked up the pot. Filling it with the proper amount of water, he added that, as well as the filter and coffee grounds, to the machine and waited patiently for it to brew. As the pot began to fill with the dark liquid, he grabbed a mug and the sugar before reaching into a pouch on his belt, his fingers soon finding what he was looking for and pulling it out. It was a small, metal, tube-like container, and twisting the cap off of it revealed a fine, white powder. He looked at it thoughtfully, recalling his firsthand experience with the substance. It was from Dimension X, and he had quickly learned that a small dose was capable of putting even the largest wild beast to sleep.
Glancing behind him, he witnessed another yawn escape from the tired turtle as he rubbed his eyes in an attempt to stay awake. A determined look settled across Michelangelo's face; this was exactly what he needed. And as the trickle of coffee slowed to a stop, he put the tube down and grabbed the pot, pouring its contents into the mug before again reaching for the metal container. All he had to do was be careful not to add too much. A small amount would put Donnie to sleep for several hours, but if he ingested a lot of it, he might never wake up. Sticking out his tongue in concentration, the young turtle carefully tapped on the tube, trying to coax out the proper amount, but just as the powder was about to fall into the mug, his hand twitched, accidentally pouring nearly the entire contents into the bitter drink.
"Oh no!" Michelangelo stared dumbly into the mug, confused by his clumsiness and not quite sure of what to do. Ultimately deciding to pour another cup and add a tiny bit of the first to it so as not to give Donnie a fatal overdose, he began searching for another mug until a presence at his side startled him.
"Really, Mikey, it doesn't take that long to - " Glancing over the smaller turtle's shoulder, he blinked as he noticed the steaming mug of coffee sitting on the table. " - oh. Why didn't you tell me it was ready?"
As Donatello reached for the cup containing far too much of the alien powder and brought it up to his mouth, Michelangelo wanted to call out to him, warn him not to drink it, but his tongue refused to move. He could merely watch as the oblivious turtle took a large gulp of the coffee, unaware of the dangers it contained. At the look of pure shock and disgust that contorted Donnie's face, his mind went blank, and the room was suddenly filled with the sounds of hacking and the ceramic mug shattering against the floor, spilling the remainder of the tainted coffee.
"Mikey!" Donnie leaned on the table with one hand while coughing into the other. "What on earth did you - " A particularly violent cough tore through his throat. " - do to that coffee!?" He was practically doubled over by this point, the fit refusing to stop. "That was - the most vile - "
The young turtle stood still as a stone statue as Donatello's eyes widened in panic at the blood covering his hand followed by the older turtle falling to the ground and writhing in pain, gagging and clawing at his throat.
"No, no, no..."
His body at last listening to his commands to move, Michelangelo knelt down, his hands hovering over Donnie's twitching form, wanting to help keep him alive but unsure of exactly how to go about doing that. The way the body spasmed, the lines of blood that trickled out of his mouth, and the glassy look his dull, brown eyes stared up at him with were all far too familiar, all signs of ingesting much more of the alien sleeping powder than one could normally live through.
"What do I do... I just... This is all wrong... This wasn't how it..." Mumbling to himself, Michelangelo instinctively reached out to touch the other turtle's neck, searching for a pulse, any sign that there might still be a chance of him making it through the night alive. But he quickly shook his head and stood up, making a beeline for the door. "I can still fix this. I just have to... Splinter is probably already asleep by now."
The shrieks and cries of the pod people bombarded him as he raced through the common area toward the dojo. His feet pounded the floor as he flew up the stairs and into the large training room, but just as he was about to open the partition leading to the mutant rat's private chambers, it slid open seemingly of its own accord, startling the young turtle.
"Sensei!"
It was obvious from the way his ears lay flat that Master Splinter was more than slightly irritated at all the noise his youngest was causing so late at night, but one look at Mikey's face was enough to unnerve him. He had expected that this visit was perhaps due to the nature of the movie, especially considering everything Leonardo had told him about his son's extended stay in an alien dimension, but he instantly sensed that was not the case. Something about this visit felt very wrong.
"Michelangelo, what is the matter?"
"I... uh..." Caught off guard by the ninja master's sudden appearance, Mikey stuttered a bit before shaking his head and finding his voice. "I messed up, Master Splinter. It's Donnie. He's - he's in his lab, and - "
Without waiting for another word, the worried father slipped past the nervous turtle and out of the dojo, ignoring the unsettling music screaming from the TV as he hurried toward the laboratory. His heart was pounding, warning him of what he might find, but as he entered the room and saw Donatello lying on the floor, it felt as if his heart had suddenly stopped and all of the air was sucked out of the room. Without a moment's hesitation, he rushed to his side, but as he got a better look at the body - the bloody mouth and wide, vacant eyes - he knew that whatever happened, it was already too late.
"My son..." The words came out a broken whisper as he fell to his knees and reached for the all too still turtle, staring at the body in disbelief. His mind reeled, unable to fully process such a horrific and sudden event, as he cupped his son's cheek tenderly, his hands shaking. His tears were falling to the floor before he'd even realized he was crying, but as he closed his eyes and held back a sob, he felt something hard touch the back of his neck right before waves of electricity coursed through his body, sending shooting pain everywhere from his fingers down to the tip of his tail.
"Three... two... one..."
As Michelangelo finished his countdown, he looked at the hand holding the weapon against the furry neck and frowned. His nunchucks had been modified while in Dimension X to double as a stun baton, but something was wrong. He knew he had to pull away, as keeping the direct connection for too long was dangerous, but his hand refused to move. And as the seconds continued to roll by, he grew increasingly worried by the smell of burning fur and flesh that met his nostrils.
At last his hand obeyed his commands and pulled away, but the large burn mark on the neck of the body that hit the floor was warning enough that he had not removed the electrical current in time.
"No, no!" Dropping his nunchucks, the young turtle quickly reached down to turn Splinter's body over and lay his head against his chest. "Not again! How could it have happened again?"
Twice now he'd let someone's life slip through his fingers, his mistakes haunting him as he rose to his feet, the eyes of the dead staring at him accusingly. Looking down at his hands, he balled them into tight fists before again uncurling his fingers. The spilled powder and inability to shout a word of caution, the way his arm froze when he meant to pull away, it had felt as if his body was not his to control. He quickly shook his head as he scooped up his dropped weapon from the floor.
"No. It'll be ok," he murmured, almost as if he were in a trance. He slowly began walking once more toward the door. "I just have to go get Leo and Raph. If I can get them, everything will be ok. I just... I just have to get Leo and Raph... Everything's going to be ok... everything is going to be ok..."
Practically dragging his feet as he trudged through the lair toward the turtle's bedrooms, Michelangelo's mind raced as it attempted to process what he was going to do. He'd see Raphael first, he knew that for sure, as his room was the closest to the stairway, but what then? The loud voices from the television seemed to be taunting him as he at last made it to the top of the stairs and stood outside the door sporting the large stop sign. Glancing at his hand as if expecting it to suddenly reach up and start strangling him, he carefully laid it on the handle and slowly pushed the heavy door open.
The room dimly glowed an ominous orange from the jack-o'-lantern at the head of Raph's bed, casting pitch black shadows around the room. Closing the door behind him, the young turtle was careful to watch his step for anything hidden in the darkness; the last thing he needed was to crash to the floor after slipping on a magazine and startling the most aggressive turtle awake. He at last made it to the side of his bed and peered down at its sleeping occupant.
It was incredible how peaceful and even innocent Raphael could look when he was asleep. Perhaps the most passionate of the four brothers, his serene face unmarred by the sharp glares he so often threw around was almost a surreal sight to behold. Standing nervously over the blissfully unaware turtle, Michelangelo bit his lip, his deadly mistakes from mere minutes ago weighing on him heavily. But he had to do something, and he knew there was little time to waste. Raphael wouldn't sleep forever. Sooner or later something would cause him to wake, and he had to be sure it was under his own conditions.
Setting his mouth in a firm line, he silently reached for his kusarigama chain, images of how only weeks before he had used it to subdue this same turtle who had fallen prey to nightmarish hallucinations flashing through his head. But as it had done moments ago, his body rebelled, and instead of swiftly wrapping the chain around the sleeping figure's middle, effectively pinning his strong arms to his sides before he had a chance to fight back, he watched as the chain tightened around Raphael's exposed neck instead, causing his green eyes to shoot open in shock and fear. Michelangelo found himself again unable to do anything but watch as the frantic turtle gasped for a breath that would never reach his lungs, clumsily trying to grip the cool metal around his neck and rip it off. The endeavor was futile as even the jarring nature of his awakening would not allow his lethargic limbs full strength right away, but just before his eyes rolled back in unconsciousness, they cleared of the cloud of confusion and settled directly on his attacker's familiar freckled face.
Michelangelo fought to regain control of his arms, to break the tight strangle before a third member of the small family died by his hands. But it was almost as if they'd been locked in a vice, and as the seconds turned into minutes, he knew he, like Raph, had been fighting a losing battle. When he at last calmed down, his arms fell to his sides and the chain loosened, but he already knew the result would be the same as it had been with both Donatello and Master Splinter. At least this time his victims eyes had closed, sparing him of the forever accusing stare that the others held as if mocking his inability to command his own limbs.
"Why..." Leaving the kusarigama around the turtle's neck, Michelangelo stumbled backwards. Feeling something wet on his cheek, his lifted his fingers and brushed it away, roughly rubbing his eye with the palm of his hand. "Why does this keep happening? What am I doing wrong? This wasn't what was supposed to happen. How do I keep messing everything up?"
His head suddenly shot up, blue eyes wide. "Leo..." Without wasting a moment, he bolted out of the room. He had one chance left. As if afraid that his body would betray him if he hesitated for even a moment, he flung open the eldest turtle's door and ran inside, but he was stopped short when he saw the shadowy figure rising from the bed.
"Mikey?" Leonardo yawned and blinked, his eyes still adjusting to the darkness. "What's wrong?"
"I... uh..." The young turtle took a step back, the weight of everything that had gone wrong that night pressing down on him as the single remaining member of the Hamato clan groggily walked up to him. "I... I don't know..."
His mind slowly beginning to wake, Leo stopped directly in front of the other turtle, ready to scold him for making so much racket this late at night, but before the words could leave his mouth, he heard the sounds of the familiar alien invasion movie still blaring from the TV. Focusing in on Mikey's face, it was clear how anxious he was, and his stern features relaxed with a sigh, the cause of the youngest's distress seeming clear.
"You fell asleep during the movie and had a nightmare, didn't you?" He paused to allow the little turtle to answer, but when he received nothing but the same worried stare, he pushed further. "I'm not going to make fun of you, ok? After everything you just went through, it'd probably give me nightmares too. So just calm down, ok?" Leo opened his arms to embrace the little turtle in a comforting hug. "Everything's going to be f- "
The end of his sentence was swallowed by stunned gurgling as he began to choke on his own blood, the disbelief and betrayal in his eyes showing clear as day as they fell upon the red stained blade in Mikey's hand. He stumbled backwards before his legs gave out and he fell to the floor of his room with a loud thud.
"No, no, no!"
Michelangelo was on him in an instant, his nunchuck discarded and his free hands pressing on the gaping wound in the dying turtle's neck in a vain attempt to staunch the bleeding.
"You can't die! I can't lose you too!" His voice grew angry as Leonardo's very life continued to drip through his fingers. "It's this stupid body! Why do I keep losing control!? Everything was supposed to be perfect, but I ruined it! I ruined it all because I couldn't - "
The frenetic babbling mixed with the cries of despair emanating from the television that drifted through the open door. But as with all the others, the eldest turtle's body soon fell limp, and all that was left was a lifeless shell, the mind and soul that had previously inhabited it long gone. Michelangelo sat with his hands clamped to the other turtle's throat for several more minutes before his words at last died in his throat and he allowed his bloodstained fingers to loosen their grip.
He had messed up. All four members of the Hamato clan were dead, and it was all because of him. This was meant to be a defining moment in his life, but mistake after mistake took it all away, and now he would have to live with the consequences.
Knowing he had failed and there was nothing more to be done, Michelangelo stood and walked out of the room, ignoring the red that painted his body and pooled on the floor. He slowly made his way back down the stairs and toward Donatello's lab, the voices from the movie not seeming nearly as captivating as they had such a short time ago. Doing his best to ignore the dead stares from his first two victims, he marched over to Donnie's desk still littered with pieces of a giant machine that would never be finished and picked up the Kraang portal. With practiced ease, he pressed the buttons and threw it in the air so it would hover in an open area as the triangular, purple door appeared before him.
Directly on the other side of the gateway was a Kraang laboratory with at least a dozen Kraang droids and biotroids armed with laser guns and stun batons, all instantly turning toward the open portal and staring at the small turtle with their soulless, robotic eyes. Without hesitation, they all began to march through the gateway, entering the once secret, hidden lair, the one leading them halting directly in front of Michelangelo who stood his ground and awaited his fate.
The emotionless face swiveled on its thin, metal neck, eyeing the bodies on the floor. "The subjects known as Splinter and Donatello are not in the condition that was required by the plan known as The Plan of the Invasion of Earth."
Michelangelo straightened as he looked the droid in the eye, pushing down the urge to gulp. "There were some problems with the new biotroid. There was some unpredictable behavior I believe occurred because of the lack of testing due to being sent into the field earlier than expected."
By now the rest of the Kraang that had entered Donnie's lab had dispersed throughout the lair with only a few remaining behind, their metal feet clacking against the hard floor as they approached the two dead bodies in the room. They began to clumsily lift them as the apparent leader continued to address the turtle standing in front of him.
"This unpredictable behavior must be eliminated. The biotroid will be taken back to the Kraang facility in Dimension X so that the tests required for proper testing of the biotroid can be completed to their full completion."
Unable to take his eyes off of the four lifeless mutants that were carried through the portal and dumped in a heap on the floor of the Kraang laboratory, Mikey found his mouth moving unbidden, the words spilling from them before he could stop them. "What are you gonna do with 'em?"
He knew the answer was not his concern. He had failed in his mission and would be punished for it, the fate of the turtles and rat no longer knowledge he need worry about. But the Kraang in front of him simply paused and cocked his head, perhaps wondering if this was some of the "unpredictable behavior" he'd talked about, before answering.
"Kraang has been upgrading the construction process by which our mobile units known as biotroids are constructed. The use of subjects that are still living in the construction of the biotroid mobile units is no longer necessary. The testing that has been tested on the prototypes constructed using subjects that are no longer living has proven to be that which is known as successful."
His mind went completely blank at the response. This scientific breakthrough was something the Kraang had been working on for years, and to be gone for a mere few months and find all of their work on creating usable biotroid units out of the dead had succeeded should have impressed him. But instead his blue eyes lingered on the pile of mutants just beyond the portal, and he couldn't hold back a shudder. It wasn't until the shrill cry of the pod people again sounded from the other room that he was torn from his trance, quickly glancing up at the droid before him as he was given further instructions.
" - known as hibernation. The biotroid that which is in need of testing must be fully recharged before the testing can begin."
With barely a nod to indicate that he understood, Michelangelo trudged past the Kraang leader and through the portal, unable to keep his gaze from falling upon the dead bodies which were now slowly being dragged onto examination tables. Once they were out of sight, he marched directly into a small cubicle-like cell and turned so that his carapace was facing the back wall. Reaching under the lip of his shell behind his neck, he grasped a hidden cord and plugged it into the wall. And as a sudden surge of energy pulsed through his body, his eyes widened as a flood of suppressed memories washed over him.
He was in Dimension X, alone, his brothers nowhere to be found. In this strange, new world where up was down and left was right, he tried to get his bearings, understand its rules, but the Kraang found him first, capturing him and dragging him off to one of their facilities. From his cage he could see other mutants and creatures, each one experimented on in front of his very eyes, many not living through the process. The dead were discarded, thrown away, as they were deemed no longer useful.
It was then his turn on the examination table, and try as he could to fight it, the powder they puffed in his face knocked him out instantly. He awakened hours later to find his entire body numb and his plastron splayed open, his chest being slowly hollowed out and organs replaced with Kraang technology. He could merely watch in horror as they turned him into one of them, a biotroid controlled from the inside by a small but sinister alien with no free will of his own.
His mannerisms, memories, and personality were allowed to leak through for better infiltration, but he was programmed first and foremost to obey his controller and strive to complete any mission given to him by any means necessary. When charged to full power, he couldn't so much as scratch an itch without the Kraang inside of him allowing it. Only as his system's power drained did his brain have a chance at imposing its will and overriding his controller, but even then it was severely limited and all but his most base feelings remained stifled.
They were in the middle of testing him when his brothers appeared in Dimension X, and he was given his first assignment. He was to return to earth with the other three turtles in order to subdue his entire family and open a portal from their secret lair, allowing the Kraang to retrieve their live bodies and harvest them for new biotroids. Then, with all five of them under Kraang control, it would be easy to finally capture April O'Neil, the key to their invasion of earth. And as the alien assigned to him climbed into his hollow, mechanical belly and every ounce of what truly made him Mikey was stripped away, his last, frantic thought was that he could not allow his family to suffer the same experimentation as he had, forever to be used as a puppet of the enemy.
Mikey's head drooped as his hibernation mode began to kick in. Unable to move, he gazed down numbly as his plastron suddenly opened like a pair of double doors with a hiss, revealing the pink alien inside. Opening its eyes with a startled screech, the Kraang shot a glare up at the dysfunctional mobile unit that had gotten him in trouble before crawling to the floor and scurrying off.
The brief moment he had as himself before being forced into a deep sleep was agonizing, and as his mind shuffled through the more recent memories of his family's bodies piled in a heap as well as the news of the miraculous breakthrough in the engineering of biotroids from dead subjects, he found himself unable to stop the tears from streaming down his face. His controller was not the only one who had failed tonight.
"I'm sorry..."
The words were barely a whisper as the hibernation unit stripped Mikey of his only moment of lucidity, his eyes at last closing as he lost consciousness.
Leonardo woke up in his bed with a start, his eyes wide. Whatever nightmare had awoken him was already fading from his memory, but an involuntary shudder caused his body to tremble nonetheless. With a shake of his head, he pushed himself up, his focus already on what lie ahead. It was a big day, after all.
"Better make sure the guys are up," he murmured as his feet touched the floor. But as soon as he'd stood to his full height and took a step toward the door, something stopped him. Turning around in confusion, he sighed and chuckled at his mistake. He was still plugged in.
"There we go," he said as he pulled the plug out of the hibernation unit and wound the cord back into the space between his carapace and neck until it was hidden from sight.
Satisfied that he was free to finally leave his room, he pulled out his T-phone as he walked through the door, shutting it behind him. Pushing quick dial button number five, he smiled at the photo of the cheerful red head that appeared on his screen before lifting it up to his ear.
"Hey, April. I was just calling to make sure you were coming to visit today. Huh? No, nothing special. But you'd never believe what Mikey just went through, and I know he'd love the chance to tell you in person..."
A/N: Had been planning this fic to come out around Halloween for months, but it was a bigger undertaking than I initially anticipated, and I simply didn't start it soon enough once I had time to write again. So a bit late, but Happy Halloween!
As always, critics and grammar police are appreciated!