Mikey sat on the edge of his bed on the floor, looking rather fatigued, and everyone else sat around him in a little circle. Mr. Murakami had taken the patches on his forehead and chest off, so he could move freely. Mikey had Leo's cloak wrapped around him, and he pulled it closer with his right hand. His left arm hung in a sling, so he couldn't use it.

"First off, let us give you these back." Donnie said, handing Mikey his battle companions.

"My nunchucks," Mikey said, taking them with relief. They had repaired his broken pair, replacing the chain. "Thanks a ton, you guys,"

"No problem," Leo nodded. "We grabbed them when we rushed back to the lair. It was kinda tough getting the one in the light pole out, but Raph handed you over and got it - it hit his head, I think."

"Did not!" Raph argued, making everyone laugh. Sighing, Raph said, "Anyway, to the point. All we know is that you trapped us in the old sewer spot, went crazy-ape on the Foot, and made them blow you up. Could you please fill in the gaps for us?"

Mikey shifted, looking a little guilty. "Well," he said, "I'm not really sure where to start...no, I do. It was when you guys were all arguing," he remembered, and scratched his head with a sigh. "I wanted some fresh air, so I went out and spotted Karai. I went in to spy on them, and overheard a plan to take us out."

"Really?" Leo said, looking concerned.

Mikey nodded. "They knew...they could tell, from our other fights, that we were having a few...problems. Karai wanted to take advantage of that, and they were planning on sniping us out, one by one."

"Why didn't ya' tell us?!" Raph asked, realizing they'd all dodged a really close bullet.

"You wouldn't listen," Mikey exclaimed, weakly using his good arm for emphasis. "And anyway, you couldn't -"

"Wait," Leo cut in, "This night you're talking about...was that when -?"

"Yeah." Mikey rubbed the cast on his elbow nervously. "I...I'm sorry...I couldn't make myself tell you...I hate to say it, but Karai was right. If I had told you guys, you would'a all just charged in and gotten yourselves annihilated. I...I had to make a plan and go after them myself."

"So you did," Leo said, and shook his head. "All by yourself, for us?"

"Yeah," Mikey rasped, nodding again, looking down.

"But what did you do, exactly?" Donnie asked, bewildered. "We found traces of acid in your blood, you know? What happened?"

Mikey stared at his toes, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. "Well...the Kraang invented this weird tracker thingy - Karai called it a 'Mutagen Tracker'," Mikey said. Surprised, everyone listened intently. "They figured out how to track us through our mutated DNA, I think, which was supposed to be gotten through our blood. I overheard that, so I made my own plan." Shifting again and sighing uncomfortably, he pointed over at Donnie's lab and said, "I snuck in there and looked for the chemicals you keep to experiment with, Donnie. After doing a little research on the web, I decided to use your sulfuric acid, and looked up how to mess with it so it would do what I wanted. I...knew it would be pretty painful, but...I took one of your medical needles and injected it into myself about four times, and drank the rest - I had to make sure enough of it got into my system, into my bloodstream."

Shocked, everyone stayed silent. After a moment, Leatherhead looked down at the ground. "Sulfuric acid," he repeated, almost in wonder. "That explains your throat, and why you are so liable to get chilled, as well. We were worried you were going to go into shock because of it, young one." He said.

"Were you experiencing difficulty breathing after internalizing the acid?" Mr. Murakami asked.

"Yeah," Mikey said, to which Mr. Murakami nodded in confirmation.

"The substance is quite toxic, and can cause many complications. It's a wonder you survived it,"

"I tried making it react less with skin," Mikey said, "And more with metallics. I figured it would burn a hole in my neck if I didn't, anyway."

"Your tampering with it just might be the reason it didn't kill you on the spot," Leatherhead agreed.

Donnie shook his head. "I was right...I was right, I knew it - Mikey, why? - I went to inspect my lab after we brought you back, and all my sulfuric acid was gone, and a needle was missing and - oh, Mikey, why'd you have to do it?" He asked, putting his head in his hands. "Don't you know how dangerous-?"

"It's not your fault," Mikey said, reaching out to Donnie. "I had to. And if you didn't have it, I would've stolen it from somewhere else, and probably gotten into a lot of trouble."

"Any more trouble than you're already in?" Donnie asked, suddenly going angry. Mikey hid his face in Leo's cloak, and peeked out. Sighing, Donnie sat back. "Well, what happened after that?"

"I left," Mikey said, "And found Karai and the Foot again. That's the other reason I had to put you guys in the old sewer spot...the fighting was just getting worse, and I couldn't afford to let you leave the lair in an angry fit. You guys saw the aftermath, but I challenged her and the Foot to a battle, and all shell broke lose. I thought for sure, at some point, that I might die right then and there. But Karai stopped them and came to get a blood sample, which was my plan. The acid reacted and the Tracker busted."

Completely stunned, the guys stared at Mikey, not really sure how to react. Master Splinter, Mr. Murakami and Leatherhead also sat in silence, surprised.

"A-and then they blew you up!" Raph said, leaning forward. "How did you plan on getting out of there, in that condition?!"

"I didn't, really," Mikey said. "I wasn't thinking about myself - I couldn't. I was just trying to protect you guys, that's all that mattered..." Pausing, Mikey looked up at them like he wanted to say something, but then back down at the floor, hesitating. After a second, more quietly, he said, "At the time, I, I didn't really think you'd care all that much about what I did to myself...I mean, you were all so angry, I just thought...but when I saw you guys again, I...you don't even know, I was so happy..." He rasped, choking up. "You were ok. You were alright, and you weren't fighting anymore. You...I was so happy..." Unable to say anything else, he rubbed his eyes with a fist and sniffed, hiding his face.

"Shell, Mikey," Leo said, going to Mikey and grabbing him up in a big hug, nuzzling his head. "You crazy little turtle...you've absolutely lost your mind if you thought we weren't gonna care," he said. "And of course we stopped fighting. Somebody sneaky left us a note to talk some sense into us,"

Mikey chuckled. Donnie went to them and rubbed Mikey's head, giving him a little kiss over his bandana. "You don't know how happy we were to find out you were gonna be alright,"

"You did a great job, Mikey," Raph said, going to rub his little brother's cheek with a finger. "Only you could'a come up with a hair-brained scheme like that - and none of us would have been able to pull it off. We're real lucky you made it out of it all."

"Hair-brained scheme, alright," Donnie agreed. "Sulfuric acid...I mean, how did you even make it to them before the effects of the acid wiped you out?"

"Just barely," Mikey sleepily said, shutting one eye as Leo squeezed him tight. "I was trying really hard to keep it together by the time I made it to them, though. It definitely didn't help me during the fight."

Shaking his head, Leo snuggled him close in fear. "They could have killed you. The acid could have killed you...you're just totally crazy, you little...you crazy, lucky little..."

Master Splinter sighed, and smiled. "You did well, my son," he said. "It warms me to hear how concerned you were for your brothers, and I am glad you succeeded in your plan - but I'm not sure excluding your family, injecting corrosive poison into yourself and taking on an entire clan alone were the wisest choices."

"I know," Mikey shrugged as Leo released the hug. "But it was the only thing I could think to do...I guess I couldn't totally uproot the Foot, though. After Karai's tracker broke, Shred-head suddenly showed up out of nowhere."

"Yeah, he called us," Raph said. "We had a nice chat."

"He did?" Mikey asked, looking incredibly perplexed.

"Yeah," Leo confirmed. "He used your Tphone to show us when they threw you into the building." Remembering it, the guys looked at each other with concern, and a little bit of an angry spark in their eyes. "That's how we knew where to go,"

"Oh," Mikey said, reading the expressions they were passing each other. He childishly put his finger to his mouth and looked up, trying to lighten the subject for them. "I forgot about my Tphone. He must've taken it...aw, man. He threw it into the building, didn't he?"

The guys nodded.

"Oh no!" Mikey smacked his face. "I was on the second-before-last level on that new game you put on there for me, Donnie. Shredder, why!"

After comprehending that particular reaction to the situation that nearly scared them to death, the three of them couldn't help but start laughing.

"Hey, Don can replace that dumb Tphone any day," Raph chuckled. "We're just glad that was the only thing that got blown to smithereens, ya'know?"

"You had us really worried," Donnie said. "And I know we've said that. But listen, Mikey," he said, looking at him square-on. "Me and Raph and Leo...we're really sorry for how we were fighting. We didn't know what we were doing."

"I know what we were doing - being a bunch of puffed-up idiots with ants in our pants, that's what." Raph said, scratching his head.

"We didn't know we were hurting each other - or you. You were just trying to help us, but you're right - we weren't listening to anything you said," Leo shrugged. "We almost even slipped up and lost someone really important."

"There's no excuse for what we did...we're real sorry," Raph added. "We never meant for any of this t'happen, we swear. You know you can tell us anything, no matter what, right?"

"Won't you forgive us?" Donnie asked.

Mikey started to tear up. Putting his face in the cloak, he whined, "You guys, you don't have to apologize. Everything is ok now, that's over. Don't go all soft on me now!"

Smiling, Raph and Donnie gave him a big hug, swaying back and forth. Feeling tacky, Raph started singing Kumbaya, and Donnie bursted out laughing, burying his face in the cloak while he hugged Mikey. Mikey started laughing, too, thinking his brothers were ridiculous.

"Aw," Leo made a big smile, and wrapped his arms around the three of them with a nuzzle. "All my sweet little brothers...none of you are allowed to ever leave the sewers again. It's too dangerous."

"What, we're grounded?" Mikey asked, smiling.

"Yes. You're all going to sit in the living room wrapped up in bubble wrap and do nothing but play video games and watch TV from now on."

"Beats training." Raph teased back.

Master Splinter, Leatherhead and Mr. Murakami happily sat while the brothers laughed and hugged each other. Leatherhead got up, and made his way back to the monitors that were hooked up to Mikey before. "Michelangelo, I'm very glad you're feeling better." He said.

"Oh," Mikey said, releasing himself from the hug and turning to him. "Leatherhead - and Mr. Murakami. I'm sorry about making you run down here like this. Thanks a whole bunch for coming to help me. You guys really saved my life."

Leatherhead chuckled. "Anything to help out my friends."

"No worries," Mr. Murakami nodded, grinning.

Mikey turned back and said, "And Master Splinter - thanks for everything. Having you cooking again reminds me of the old days."

"I have to say, I'd begun to miss my own clam chowder soup, myself," Master Splinter agreed.

Mikey grinned, and looked back at his brothers. "You guys, too," he said. "I would've never, ever made it without you."

Laughing, they pulled him back into a hug, making him laugh, too.

Leatherhead looked on with a smile, and finished jotting something down on his clip board. Walking toward them again, he said, "Do not forget, Michelangelo - the effects of the acid still linger in your body. You can still experience health complications for another few months. I can't officially say you're fully recovered until then - sulfuric acid is known to be rather risky and hazardous, when ingested." Heading to the meditation room, he said, "Just go easy on yourself for a while."

Mikey sleepily nodded, snuggled up in his brothers' hug. "I will," he said, smiling.

"I closed up my shop immediately when I heard about your condition," Mr. Murakami said. "Now that I see you are alright, I would like to go check on my shop for a moment, if I may. I don't know if the Purple Dragons returned while I was away."

"Please do," Master Splinter said. "I will accompany you as well, and help out as you may have need, if it is alright."

"Perfectly," he said, standing. He and Master Splinter made their way to the lair entrance. "I will come back in a few hours - and maybe even bring some pizza gyoza back with me?"

The brothers smiled. "Sounds like a plan to me!" Raph said. "Isn't that right, Mikey?"

Turning to their little brother, they realized Mikey was asleep. He'd fallen asleep all nestled in their arms, a warm, happy look on his face.

Raph cocked his head a little. "Gee, I know the little guy's tired...but how many times has he fallen asleep when we've hugged him now?"

"You're right," Donnie said, and laughed. "Oh, gosh."

"What?" Leo asked.

"Now I remember him doing that every now and then before, too." He smiled. "Mikey always relaxes when we hug him anyway, right? I think -" he laughed again. "It sounds so tacky. I think our heartbeats send him to sleep."

Blinking, Leo and Raph looked down at Mikey again, a little embarrassed. It was really tacky - but at the same time, the cutest thing in the world.

Leo grinned, and laughed. "That's the best thing ever...let's draw on his face."


A/N: Leo's being overprotective again.

See how bad you scared your big brothers, Mikey? For shame. XD