AN: Right. Okay, this one is a little shorter than usual, but that's mainly because I wanted to fix some things from last chapter. To be honest, last chapter felt overly complicated to me, so I really tried to simplify things a little. Also, I wonder if I've been underestimating Mikey. Part of me is certain he'd manage to convince himself that this is a game and that would help keep him calm, but he'd also be aware of the stakes at the same time. From here on, I'm going to try to write him a little differently, because even though he's not used to being alone, that doesn't mean he's helpless.
Heh. You'd think I'd know that, considering my summary and all.
The two glared at each other, their eyes narrowed, one assessing, debating, the other fighting off a rising tide of panic.
If Mikey knocked both of them out, it was possible that they wouldn't be able to alert the Foot to his presence, but breaking out of the vent quickly would make a lot of noise and doing it slowly would give them time to shout a warning. If Donnie were there, he could-
Mikey shook his head, trying to shake that thought off as quickly as possible. Even though this was his chance to prove himself, he was still relying on his brothers, wondering what they would do. And that had to stop. He wasn't going to get anything done if he kept pausing to wonder what Leo or Donnie or Raph would do. Michelangelo Hamato was a ninja. He had his own way of doing things. And as he watched Lee glance back to check on his friend, Mikey wondered if his way might include maybe trusting a Foot ninja.
One thing he did know for sure, if it turned out they couldn't be trusted or if they tried to rat him out, they were getting a face full of nunchuck.
"Miles," Lee whispered, his attentions still on the mutant turtle peeking out from behind the vent, "Do you think you can still deliver water to the rat?"
Miles, injured and annoyed, shrugged, "Sure, I mean, it wasn't like I was planning on going to the infirmary or anything."
"You're fine. The bleeding's already stopped."
"I'm not fine. Our boss is a psychopath. I want to go home." The last part was said in a plaintive whine. Lee tuned him out, his mouth turned down in a thoughtful frown.
One of the reasons he'd agreed to spy on his fellow ninja for the Shredder was because of the implicit promise that his friends and family would be protected. Miles had been his next-door neighbor when they were kids, they'd run away to live on the streets when they were seventeen but, unlike Lee, who was an only child, Miles always tried to send a paycheck back home for his little sister. Neither of them knew if it ever actually got to her or if his parents confiscated it every time. Now that they were trained ninja, they'd actually planned on making sure that she was getting the money. However, that didn't mean they could go home. "We can't do that, Miles," Lee heard himself say. He watched some of the playfulness leave his friend's face, driven away by a different kind of pain. The sad reality was: If the Foot Clan wasn't their home, then they didn't have one. Still, he had an idea. It was a dumb idea, one that could get them both killed, but his hands were covered in blood and he was feeling a little vengeful. Plus, he was tired of being someone else's puppet. "Miles?"
"Yeah?"
Lee grinned wolvishly. "How do you feel about leading a lost turtle back to its master?"
He'd barely even finished the sentence when the very turtle in question fell out of the vent, landing softly, with only the slightest wince the suggest that the high drop had strained his legs at all. "I for one," Mikey said, his hands hanging loosely by his nunchucks, "would be very grateful if you did."
"Dude," Miles struggled to sit up, "Am I hallucinating or is that one of the turtles the boss hates so much? What's he doing here? Where's his brothers?" He spun around, lowering his voice considerably as he hissed to Lee, "And you want me to help him? Are you insane? The Shredder would kill both of us."
"Only if he catches you." Mikey interposed helpfully, looking far too relaxed for comfort.
Lee made a frustrated sound in the back of his throat. "Look, as far as I'm concerned, the Shredder's already betrayed us. It would have been one thing if this," he gestured to the three wounds, "happened because of what you said about the rat-"
"Splinter," the turtle interrupted.
"Splinter. Whatever." Lee waved him off. "The point is: I want a little payback. Are you in?" He really hoped so. Even if he tried to help the turtle by himself, he didn't actually know where the rat- Splinter was being kept.
Nodding slowly, Miles finally said, "Alright, I'm in."
"Yes!" Mikey let a whoop, then hushed when he was quickly quieted by the other two.
As Lee pulled Miles to his feet, Miles asked, "So, where are your brothers, kid?"
Avoiding eye contact, Mikey hummed a little, the smile on his face small, "My brothers are⦠Well,I guess you could say they're getting in touch with their roots."
AN: Whew. That was much easier to write. Hopefully, it reads better, too. Next chapter, we're going back to the lair to see how April's handling things.
