I don't own TMNT or UY.

Xxxxx

He cried for a long time.

It broke my heart to listen to him and not be able to do anything to make him feel better. He seemed really shaken up by this whole event. I was starting to get worried while at the same time getting angry at myself for the way I had blown up at him earlier. I really hurt him, I could see that. I didn't think what I said would have such a deep affect on him but then I'd forgotten that of all my brothers, Mikey tended to take things to heart the easiest. I can't remember everything I'd yelled at him this morning, I'd been so angry my words had come out in a rush and I could only remember my yelling as a blur. I wondered if I'd said something specific that could upset him this badly.

I rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. He'd been quiet for the last few minutes and I wondered if he'd finally managed to calm down. If he did though, he wasn't pulling away from me yet. His arms were pinned against his chest, his head buried just under mine against my collar-bone so I had to rest my chin on it slightly. His shoulders were still trembling against me and every few moments they'd give a stronger twitch, but other than that he didn't move.

Eventually I shifted very slightly, getting uncomfortable. "Mikey?"

I turned my head slightly to try and look at him but it was awkward to do so.

He said nothing and I wasn't sure if he'd heard me.

"Michelangelo," I tried again.

This time he moved a little before pulling away and sitting up straight again. He reached up and rubbed at his face before taking hold of his mask and pulling it down so it hung loosely around his neck. He then wiped at his eyes again. They were swollen and red, his tears had left long lines down his face as they'd cut paths through the dirt and mud that I hadn't wiped clean.

"Don't rub too hard Mike, you'll start bleeding again." I said, but I made sure to keep my tone of voice gentle so he'd know I wasn't trying to lecture him.

He stopped, bringing up his knees and resting his hands on them, a sign that he was still upset.

I looked him over quietly, my eyes coming to a stop on the darkening bruises on his throat. I could almost make out exactly how he'd been choked. The uneven marks where fingers had squeezed the sides of his neck and the larger, double bruise on his Adam's apple where some-one had pressed down with their thumbs, trying to crush his trachea. I winced inwardly.

"Did he hurt you?" I asked. I dunno how many times I'd asked him that already, but I couldn't help it.

Mikey seemed to have caught my train of thought because he reached up and put his own hand to his throat, rubbing it tenderly.

"...No." He lowered it again.

I watched him quietly, still not really convinced.

Mikey looked like he was struggling with something, pulling a slight face as he stared at his knees.

I frowned lightly. "What? What is it?"

He lifted his head, thinking.

"...There was something not right about that guy Leo." He said, his voice hoarse from crying.

I blinked. "What d'you mean?"

He paused for a moments before he shook his head. "At first... I really didn't think I could beat him. He was fast Leo. Like, insane fast. Like Sonic the hedgehog on steroids while hyped up on speed fast!"

I nodded. "I think I get the idea Mike" I said though not unkindly.

He pulled a slight face, thinking his words over before he said them. "It wasn't just that though. He didn't... move right. It was like he had God-Mode on or something. I dunno how ta describe it. It's like... he would be standing here." He indicated with his hands. "And then I'd move forward to attack but then it was like I saw wrong and he was really here." He moved his hand to match his explanation. "It was like a really creepy magic trick or something."

He shook his head. "But that's not what was weird."

My frown deepened. "It's not?"

He shook his head again. "Nu uh. What's weird is at first he was really kicking my butt. I mean like really kicking my butt. Like I was starting to hope once he was done he wouldn't take my shell-cell so you'd guys be able to find me 'cause I'd probably b-."

He went silent, swallowing the end of his sentence hurriedly. I felt my stomach roll.

"An.. Anyway..." He shifted slightly. "He was really kicking my shell. I thought I was a goner. But then he seemed to start holding back." He frowned to himself. "It wasn't cause he was tired or anything. He just started easing up on me and started letting me get in a few hits of my own. Pretty painful ones too. And he started...."

Mikey faltered again, his frown turning into a more pained look.

I watched him with concern. "What?"

He swallowed. "He let me hit him more and more, and he started... saying things."

I blinked. "What things?"

"Things." Mikey said, turning to give me a look that clearly said 'drop it'.

I made a noise but nodded. "Ok. Then what?"

"I got mad." He went on. "And the more he talked the... ...the madder I got." He clenched his fists. "But he wouldn't shut up, and I got angrier and angrier." He gave his head a shake but not at me. "And the madder I got the more he let me hit him till he wasn't fighting back at all... but I kept hitting him anyway."

He pulled his knees closer to his chest, his shoulders tensing and starting to shake again.

"I kept hitting him till.. ..till I realised what I was doing and I.. .I ran." He wrapped his arms around himself. "I ran away. He didn't even chase me. I know I... I beat him up pretty badly but he could've chased me of he wanted to. I know it. But he just let me go and I.. ..I ran back home."

I stared at him, very surprised at what I was hearing. I knew when Mikey got angry enough he'd lash out and do so very hard, but usually if he was furious it was almost as if he turned into a different person. Some-one focused, calculating and cold, knowing exactly where to hit his opponent to do the most damage and bring them down the quickest. But to hear him say he just lost control... I'd never seen him do that. That was something Raph did when he was in a rage and even then I'd only seen Raph go that far on very rare occasions and usually only because one of us had been badly hurt by some-one and Raph went into revenge mode. Maybe Mikey was being overly hard on himself and it wasn't really as bad as it sounded. I really can't picture Michelangelo as a violent person. He's too innocent, too friendly and too optimistic for me to see him as some-one who'd really try to hurt any-one unless it was in self-defence.

"He sounds like he was toying with you." I said, pushing these thoughts aside for now.

Mikey pulled a face and nodded, still staring at his knees.

I said nothing for a few moments, watching him quietly.

"But you didn't hurt him too badly did you?" I asked eventually.

Mikey didn't move for a few moments before he shook his head. "No. He was still conscious when I left him."

I nodded. "So you couldn't have flipped out too badly right?"

He shook his head yet again but much harder this time. "You weren't there Leo."

I gave him a smile. "No. But I know you."

He seemed to think something over but he didn't reply to this and I was sad to see my words didn't seem to comfort him.

He sighed and placed his forehead on his knees. "I thought maybe I could find something that would help us, but I guess I didn't learn anything huh?"

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey. You got an idea of how this guy fights right? If it ever comes to that we could really use that information."

Mikey turned an eye to blink at me but didn't move.

I tilted my head sideways so I could look at him better. I gave a small shrug. "Better than nothing."

He thought about this. "Yeah. I guess so."

I nodded, straightening and shifting to get off the bed. "Come on."

He lifted his head to watch me. "Huh?"

I got down before turning and offering him a hand. "Come on. You should get yourself cleaned up before Master Splinter sees you and has a heart attack. I'll clean up this mess." I indicated towards the broken bowl and the spilled cereal.

He grumbled at me. "I'm not a little kid Leo, you don't need to mommy me."

I kept my hand held out as I smiled very slightly. "I know."

He frowned at me for a few moments longer before uncurling and taking my hand, getting down from his bed. I patted his shell as he moved to leave the room.

"You'll be ok Mike." I said, trying to sound supportive.

He said nothing, but turned to give me an appreciative smile. It didn't look like his heart was in it though.

After I'd cleaned up the mess in Mikey's room I took the surviving bowl back to the kitchen, washing it out and making sure to clean it thoroughly before putting it away.

Once I was done I placed my hands on the counter, putting my weight on them and giving a sigh. I took the opportunity to just stand in silence for a few moments.

I care for them all very deeply but I just needed a few seconds without any brothers or distressed friends or people asking me what we're going to do next. I'm very good at handling pressure but I was starting to feel like I'd been running a non-stop marathon and there was still no end in sight. I could handle it though, I honestly could. But I just needed 5 minutes to myself, to just be Leo and not the Leader or the big brother or the consoling friend. I could go back to that no problem. But I just needed my 5 minutes.

It was silent. I could hear the fridge hum softly but apart from that there was no other sound. I closed my eyes, breathing slowly. With no distractions I could now feel my own mind racing. Everything that'd happened spun around and around in my head. Usagi was lost in the city. Usagi needed help. Usagi had a son. There was a strange man who could jump portals. The man was working for Bishop. Usagi yelled at me. He called me a child. Raph was angry at me. Mikey almost got killed. Usagi felt responsible. Mikey was upset. And all of them... all of them were depending on me to fix everything.

I took a deep breath. I let these thoughts run wild for a few minutes before I opened my eyes again.

Mikey was ok. He had only meant to help. He had wanted to do something for Usagi to lessen his misery. Raph was worried. He wanted to help but he didn't know how and was frustrated. And Usagi had apologised. He'd openly said that he was wrong. That he didn't see me as a naive kid, and that he really did value me as a friend, and he trusted me enough to let me know how he was really feeling under his courageous mask. And that he thought highly enough of me to put his faith in my skills as not only a fighter but as a leader.

As crippling as the bad things were, these positive things were also all facts and I needed to remember them. More importantly I wanted to help. I wanted to help Usagi, I wanted to encourage Mikey and I wanted them all to be able to turn to me for support and comfort and leadership. I wanted them to because I wanted to be there for them, and I wanted to be the one who saw them through this so that when we come out at the other end and everything is back to normal I will know that I had been the one they had relied on and that they hadn't needed to try and carry all the weight all by themselves. That I was able to spare them some suffering.

I straightened, breathed in deeply and then exhaled.

Alright then.

I turned to leave the kitchen and nearly fell over from shock at seeing Master Splinter standing in the doorway.

"Sensei you scared the shell out of me!" I yelped.

He gave me a smile. "You seemed deep in thought and I did not wish to disturb you."

I breathed a sigh, my pounding heart calming down. "Yeah but try clearing your throat next time or something."

He said nothing but I saw the smile widen slightly, he seemed amused at my almost-heart-attack.

He came closer. "I was going to reprimand you for your behaviour earlier, but I see you have managed to diffuse your own fire. So consider that to have been your punishment."

I'll admit I was very relieved. I'd been dreading Master Splinter's lecture and at least it was one less thing for me to worry about. Still though;

"I am sorry Master Splinter." I said, bowing my head. "I embarrassed you in front of our guest."

He stared at me thoughtfully. "I was more concerned that you and your brothers were turning on each other than I was Miyamoto-san witnessing your bickering."

I tensed a little. "I'm sorry Sensei. It was my fault, I over-reacted."

He waved a hand as if to brush the issue aside. "Yes. But you appear to have mended your mistake and restored peace." He gave me a more serious expression. "But tell me. Donatello said that you were angry because Michelangelo had been in a fight with this man who stole Miyamoto-san's son."

I nodded. "Yes Sensei."

I saw him drop his emotional guard slightly. "Is he badly wounded?"

I shook my head. "No Sensei. Some bad bruising and a cut on his face but nothing to be overly concerned about."

Master Splinter nodded, relaxing a little. "That is good."

Watching him, I felt a certain amount of understanding form in my mind. Master Splinter was worried about us because we'd been arguing, and because he'd heard Mikey had been in a fight. It hadn't even been that big a deal and he already knew Mikey wasn't too badly hurt, and yet he was still worried about us and needed to know we were all ok. Usagi had no idea how his son was doing. If he was ok. He had no way of knowing if he was hungry or scared or hurt. He didn't know and there was no way for him to find out.

I felt a slight lump grow in my throat in sympathy but I quickly suppressed it.

"Master Splinter." I said. "I dunno about you but I'm ready to find Usagi's son and rescue him."

Master Splinter smiled again and gave a nod.

I smiled back, turning to leave the kitchen for real this time, full of determination.

I walked into the main room, planning to go find Don to first see if he's feeling better and second to hear if he'd started work on the virus again today. Perhaps that's a little heartless of me. I really was worried about Donny and if we'd upset him or not, but I was so anxious to do something right now I couldn't help wondering about his project as well. We couldn't do anything till he was finished.

Raph walked past me, something tucked under his arm. He purposefully bumped an elbow against me aggressively as he passed.

I frowned lightly but decided to let it slide.

"Hey!" I called after him.

He stopped and turned to me, his face saying he was ready for a rematch.

"Feeling better?" I asked carefully

He glared back at me slightly. "How's Mikey?"

I nodded. "I had a talk with him and I think we're ok"

"Then I'm feeling better." He turned to walk away again, clearly still annoyed with me for whatever reason.

He went over to the couch, taking the thing he was carrying in both hands and unwrapping it, revealing it to be a blanket.

I frowned, confused.

"What are you doing?" I asked, coming over.

"What's it look like?" he grumbled, giving me a dirty look as he threw the blanket down carefully.

I came closer and rounded the couch to see what was going on. I stopped in my tracks and blinked, taken aback.

Usagi had fallen asleep on the couch, lying on his side and resting his head on an arm. Raph had just covered him carefully. I turned to stare at my brother.

I gave me a challenging look, daring me to say something as he gave a half-shrug. "He looked cold."

He then turned and started to head for the kitchen.

I watched him go, feeling myself smile.

Xxxxx

I have finished chapter 16 of this fic and I just wanted to report and say that I'm feeling the groove again :) hopefully it will last. These few chapters before it though I'm still iffy about XD;