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Without anyone around to watch his back in case his goofing around drew attention, Mikey made sure to keep to rooftops and shadows as he flitted towards the Foot Clan's lair. Well, 'lair' may not have been the best word. Maybe fortress? Tower? In any case, it was an annoyingly large building that was basically smack dab in the middle of New York City. Talk about hiding in plain sight.
It felt weird to be moving quietly, Mikey noted as he leapt over a trash can, the urge to sing and shout present but thoroughly ignored. Usually, Leo would have shushed him by now, or Raph would have smacked him upside the head. It wasn't so much that he missed being shushed or smacked, it was just that he was used to it. So used to it, he was almost tempted to smack himself upside the head when he finally found himself staring straight at the Foot Clan's lair with his plan still not expanded past "Go In And Save The Day." That was not a plan. That was an operation name. A bad operation name.
A slight frown tugging on his face, Mikey sat himself down on the nearest rooftop, glared at the glass walls of the Shredder's tower, and wondered what Leo would say if he were around and capable of speech. "Mikey," Michelangelo tried to pitch his voice so it sounded similar to his oldest brother, "We need you to be a distraction while Donnie, Raph, and I go in, save Master Splinter, and take all the credit. Okay? Break." Well… that obviously wasn't bitter at all.
"Come on, Mikester" He slapped his cheeks, trying to get his head on straight, "Your brothers need you to think." Ice Cream Kitty popped into his head. "Not now, Kitty!"
Even with the glass, he could still enter through a window. A low one, since chances were good he'd be spotted if he tried to climb the building in an attempt to get in through the ceiling. After that, he'd need to find a way to listen. Someone had to be talking about Master Splinter or the mutagen, bragging or gloating or something. Okay. He'd hide in the ceiling. That always worked in the movies.
As luck would have it, it was a foggy morning, the clouds on the ground and the clouds in the sky giving the city a fuzzy, dreamlike quality to it. For a few more minutes, Mikey sat on the roof, breathing in and out, clearing his mind, just like Splinter taught him. When his eyes finally snapped open, all traces of blue were gone, replaced by white so intense it glowed in the fog. Silent as a Coral snake, he climbed down the fire escape, then darted from shadow to shadow, keeping his mouth firmly shut until he reached the bottom most window. Grass obscured half of it, suggesting that it went either a basement or the Shredder's lair had a subterranean underbelly. Which would mean it was even bigger than it looked and now he had even more places to search. Ugh.
"Well, this just keeps getting better," Mikey muttered, picking up a decent sized rock. Grinning widely, he slammed the rock through the glass, careful to keep his body out of sight. A yell followed by the sound of running feet proceeded the crash, and as the entire room rushed to find the source of the noise, Mikey slipped to the opposite side of the building, pried a window open, and slid inside. Far as he could tell, the entire room was staring at the shattered glass like whoever threw the rock would just pop up and say, "Yes, I am the prankster you're looking for. Your clueless staring compelled me to turn myself in."
Wow. It was a really good thing that Shredder recruited his Foot ninja from gangs and disgruntled teenagers. His ninja were dumb.
Suppressing a giggle, the turtle climbed atop one of the many bookcases in the room and used the added height to remove one of the panels from the ceiling so he could slip into the air duct. The scuffing drew attention from one of the ninjas, but by the time he turned around, Mikey was already sliding the panel back into place.
"Ugh. Yuck. Gross" Mikey swatted at his head, spitting and sputtering as he tried to get the cobwebs off. They clung to the fabric of his bandanna as he pulled them away, and he noticed, to his dismay, that the entire air duct with filled with cobwebs, some of which were occupied. "Come out to the coast," he hissed to himself, the scrape of his shell against the ventilation duct's setting his nerves on edge. "We'll get together, have a few laughs…" One of his hands touched something dry and… crunchy? Glancing down, he noticed the cockroach corpse by his finger, then quickly clapped his other hand against his mouth to smother a whimper. Just because Raph was the one who'd jump ten feet if he so much as heard the word cockroach didn't mean Mikey was thrilled about being trapped in a small space with them. Still, there wasn't any other plan to work with, so he pressed his mouth into a firm line and focused on crawling. Every few minutes, he would stop, listening for any mentions of a rat, mutagen, or turtles.
The worst part was when he had to move from one floor to the next. It wasn't so much the enclosed space that got to him in the ventilation shaft as it was gravity. "I swear," he grunted, his feet searching frantically for purchase of some sort while his right hand pressed so hard into the small space between metallic sheets that Mikey could actually feel the metal biting into his scaly skin; his right hand gripped the wooden handle of his kusarigama for deal life. Plunging the blade in metal made a lot of noise, as did the screaming sound the metal made as his weight pulled the blade down. "If I get through this, I'll go on a diet. I'll eat seaweed. I'll train everyday. I'll even meditate with Leo." His feet found a dent. "Ha!" He pulled himself into the second floor's air ducts, his heart hammering in his chest. " I was totally kidding about that diet thing." Beneath him, the duct began to buckle, unable to bear his added mass. The turtle quickly pulled his body away from the weak spot. Under his breath, he muttered, "I don't know who's listening but I was just kidding about the kidding thing. Please don't let me fall."
Because the duct wasn't made for turtle travel, Mikey didn't have any time to rest. His muscles were constantly straining to either drag his body forward or lift it from one level to the next. By the time he got to the fifteenth floor, he was cursing anytime he'd slacked off ever. What if that one lap he didn't run was the difference between saving his brothers or being hacked to pieces by the Foot Clan? What if one of the lessons he didn't pay attention to could have seriously helped him? He'd never had to pay attention, though. Because Leo did and Leo usually ended up parroting Master Splinter's lessons while they were out on patrol, anyway. Why should he even bother to learn the lessons when his older brother loved repeating them so much?
At least, he used to. Sometimes, there was a flash of emotion on his face that Mikey didn't remember seeing before they faced the Shredder. Before Leo had his leg broken. It didn't appear often, and it was always really fleeting, but every now and then, Mikey would catch their leader looking at him or Raph goofing off and thought that maybe his brother looked a little… jealous? Lonely?
But Leo had wanted to be the leader. And he always made it look so cool! Why would he choose to lead if it didn't make him happy?
Because he's the only one who can, right? Even if he wanted to quit and just be plain ol' Leo again, there's no way Raph or Donnie could replace him. Raph's too much of a bonehead and Donnie's too much of an egghead. And I'm…
What was he? Why couldn't he be the leader? Because his brothers never listened to him? Because he liked to ride his skateboard and play video games more than he liked to meditate or practice kata?
Well, technically, he was the leader now. And all it had taken for that to happen was his brothers being de-mutated and Master Splinter being taken captive.
"Way to go, me." He muttered as tried to wriggle some of the dust off his shell. "I sure showed them." Maybe being in a small, dark, enclosed area was starting to get to him because his mood had definitely taken a turn for the worst.
Just as he was beginning to wonder, with increasing dread, if he'd have to climb to yet another level, his inner ears picked up on a very familiar vibration in the air. While one of the disadvantages to being a turtle was not always being able hear as far or as clearly as, say, April or Casey could, he could almost always feel it whatever it was they were hearing.
"…rat…water… alive…" Gritting his teeth, the young turtle crawled closer to a vent he could see about three feet in front of him. This was the first lead he'd had in over an hour- he didn't want to miss it. He peered through the gap between the shutters, saw two Foot ninja standing in a sterile looking hallway, and let his shoulders slump. No sign of sensei. "I just don't see why Master Shredder doesn't kill him." The Foot ninja continued, one of his hands gripping the handle of a jug of water. "The turtles are gone. How much more can he actually suffer?"
"Don't tell me you're actually getting a soft spot for the rat? Not after what he did to Karai." Hearing that, Mikey almost blew his cover. It would have been so satisfying to jump down there and tell them just who it was that was really responsible for Karai turning into a snake lady but – and he really hated to admit this – he just couldn't risk bringing the entire Foot Clan down on his head. Not when he knew no one would come to save him if he did. And if something happened to him, what would happen to his brothers?
The first Foot ninja hummed thoughtfully. "That's the thing, though. I heard Karai was going to defect to the turtle's side before that happened. Why would the rat mutate her into a snake – pretty much a rat's natural enemy - if she was thinking of joining his side? Did anyone actually see him do it? Something smells fishy and I don't think it's Xever." There was a heavy silence between them, making Mikey grind his teeth with worry over the really dumb ninja who'd pretty much just called the Shredder a liar in the middle of his fortress. Why would you do that? If you have doubts, do it outside. And preferably far away from people with weapons.
Exactly as he'd feared, the silence was cut by the sound of a blade being drawn, a heavy slosh of water, and the smack of a back being slammed against the wall. Mikey choked back a scream, his creative mind supplying countless gruesome possibilities for what was going on below him. Just as he was about to pry open the vent, because enemy or not he wasn't going to let anyone die on his watch, he heard, "I'm only going to tell you this once and only because we've known each other for a long time: Don't question Master Shredder."
"Or what?" The nicer ninja, as dubbed by the turtle hiding in the ventilation system, spat in his attacker's face. "You'll kill me?"
"Yeah. Probably. I wouldn't really have a choice." Mikey frowned. How could anyone not have a choice when it came to killing their fellow ninja? "And considering what Master Shredder would do to you if he heard you-"
"If I heard what?" Mike squeaked, flinching back so hard his head grazed the low ceiling of the air duct. Through the spaces between the shutters, the top of a horned helmet could be made out. Oroku Saki towered over the other two ninja, who broke away from the wall so they could properly bow to him. They waited, silent as their master scanned the ceiling, his eyes narrowed. After the longest few minutes of Mikey's life, he turned his attention away from the ceiling, faced his ninja, and said in a frighteningly calm tone of voice, "Well, my ninja, what is it you seem to be hiding from me?"
"Nothing, my lord," replied the ninja who had only moments before had his weapon drawn and pressed to his comrade's throat. There was only the slightest hesitation, the smallest hitch to his voice. Usually, it would have gone unnoticed, but Mikey could practically feel the Shredder's eyes narrow, his suspicion grow.
"My trust is hard won and easily lost. Perhaps it's time you learned why I am not to be trifled with."
The Shredder growled as he made to grab the ninja by the throat. And Mikey knew how little a chance he stood against him, knew how important it was that he find the mutagen and Master Splinter, knew that leaping down to save two Foot nin likely wasn't going to when him any allies, he knew all that – but he still couldn't just stand by and let the Shredder tear them apart. Besides, it wasn't like he had to win, right? He just had to let the Shredder see him, take his mind off of his two underlings, and then disappear again. No biggy.
He was gripping the vent tight, ready to rip it off so he could make his grand entrance, when he heard the ninja with Splinter's water say, "I relieved myself, my lord." The young turtle froze, not believing his ears. "Lee was merely warning me not to behave in such a lax manner while in your presence or, uh, within two hundred yards of you. Basically, this entire building is a gas free zone." He cut himself off, realizing he was beginning to babble. Lee, or the grumpy ninja, as dubbed by Mikey, stared at him in openmouthed horror.
Two humans and one mutant waited, terrified, for the Shredder's reaction to this admission. For a moment, it seemed the power-tripping egomaniac was actually going to back off. The two Foot nin relaxed, their breaths issuing out in a relieved sigh, then silver flashed through the air. Splinter's jug fell to the ground in three perfect slices. Mikey watched, the desire to jump down to help so strong he shook with it, as the ninja swayed, pressing a hand to his seeping wounds in shock, stumbled, and, eventually, fell to his knees. The other ninja hurried to kneel by his side, turning his back on his master. Luckily, the Shredder was no longer interested in him.
"Let those scars remind you," The Shredder sneered as he walked away, "of the importance of self-discipline and respect. The next time you speak of anything so crass in front of me, I won't be so merciful."
As the Shredder rounded the corner, he stopped, still, like he was listening for something. Whatever it was he was listening for, he must not have heard it, because he soon kept on moving. Meanwhile, Lee worked to stem the blood, ripping the mask from his head and his companion's so he had something to press against the wound.
"That… could have gone better." The ninja bleeding on the floor noted, sounding pained and slightly breathless despite his attempt to keep his tone casual.
"You're an idiot, you know that? He could have killed you." And if the three jagged lacerations on his chest had gone only a few inches deeper, he would have. It was weird hearing how concerned the grumpy ninja sounded, though, when he'd been threatening to kill his friend for voicing his suspicions about the Shredder only a moment before. Maybe it was only okay if his friend died at his hand? A pang went through Mikey's chest as he remembered just how much Leo loved that sort of thing. If Leo were there with him, he'd probably say something like, 'These men are true ninja.' Whatever that meant. Sometimes, Mikey wondered if even Leo didn't always understand the things he said.
The nicer ninja shrugged, moved to brush dark bangs away from his eyes, then grimaced when he accidentally shifted the torn skin on his chest. "He tried to grab your throat. I got worried. I made something up."
"Next time, make up something better."
"Right. Because 'Nothing, my lord' was just a certifiable work of genius. Remind me never to steal cookies with you." Mikey grinned, both at the familiar sounding banter and the fact that the injured ninja's blood loss was already beginning to ebb. The nicer ninja was going to be just fine. He'd be even better if he stopped working for the Foot Clan, though. Mikey's smile wavered when he cast a glance over at the broken jug, the realization he'd lost the only lead to Master Splinter he'd had when the Shredder decided to be a jerk to kitchenware throwing a dark cloud over his relief.
Sputtering in disbelief, the grumpy ninja gave up on a proper retort in favor of rolling his eyes. As he did so, he accidentally caught sight of a flash of orange and green.
Um, Mikey thought when he noticed the grumpy one staring at him, this probably isn't good.