Author's Note: Thank you, thank you, all! Your reviews were heart-lifting, despite being riddled with denial and horror. (Sorry!) Also, I torture you because I'm evil. (Sorry, again!)

All right, guys. Take a deep breath. Here we go!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 25

When April had shot Donnie, Mikey's heart had only had the time to beat twice out of terror before the purple ball of toddlerization had hit him. But they had only been four feet apart. The ninja in front of him was ten feet away. He had six – maybe seven – heartbeats to save himself, and getting to his feet and running away was not an option. As terror spiked his heartrate, he counted the beats as the ball left the barrel.

One. He made the decision to move.

Two. His hand was halfway to his belt.

Three. His hand was in his belt and his fingers closed around the handle of a kunai.

Four. He brought it out.

Five. He lifted it in front of him, the flat side of the blade directly in the path of the speeding energy ball.

Six. Please, Fate, let this work.

The air and his bones vibrated at the soundless impact, and he closed his eyes as the light exploded around him.

-:-:-:-

Casey had lost the pack of Foot ninja a block ago and now stood on a dingy apartment's roof, trying to see through the gloom that was not breached by the streetlamps below. The sun had slipped minutes ago behind the horizon so the sky was faintly lit but barely offered any decent light to see by.

He growled, a low sound in his throat that was more directed at himself than the ninja. He had come out here looking for a fight, looking to find some poor sucker to bash into the pavement, looking to ignore the anger he had heard in, let's face it, his baby brother's voice. Yeah, Mikey was as much his brother as he was April's. He'd never said it. He classified himself aloud as their friend but he knew his feelings, however much they didn't make sense sometimes (especially now). Those teenaged turtles and that old rat were as much a part of his family as he'd hoped April would someday be.

And he had blown it. Him and his big mouth. His big, jealous and fearful mouth. Yeah, he could admit it to himself. He was jealous of how much time April spent with Donnie. He was jealous of how they worked so well together, neither of them stopping to ask if this was okay, if this was the right piece, if this was going to explode. They simply knew because they were that smart. He was jealous that he couldn't be smart for her.

He was fearful for them all but mostly for Raph who had gotten hurt because he'd taken the lead. He was afraid that he would lose his best friend the way Raph had lost his big brother to the leader's role, to suddenly have no time for friends or brothers who just wanted to spend time with him, to be consumed by the never-ending need to protect – at all costs – their strange, little family. Because Leo had done that. Leo had protected his brother, their Raphael, and look at what had happened. Now everyone was scared and sad and angry. Even Mikey. And that hurt. Knowing that Mikey was hurting was a knife to Casey's chest.

He couldn't fault the kid for yelling at him when all he'd done was lay blame, taking his frustrations out on the very people who didn't need any more frustration. He was grateful, though, that Mikey had acknowledged (without Casey even telling) that he was under some pressure. He was right: the Dragons had been running him ragged. The four turtle ninja he had become accustomed to helping him out were now out of commission and the ruthless gang knew something must have happened. Casey had taken advantage of the turtles, of his friends, relied on them when he'd had no right, and then blamed them when things had gone south.

Yeah. He was a hard-headed moron, and he would spend the rest of his life making it up to April and the guys. If they ever spoke to him again.

His bag of various sports equipment resettled against his back as he rolled his shoulders, and then he stiffened when a blast of purple lit the far side of the roof of the apartment building next to his. In the sudden light, he saw his quarry but he also spotted a tiny figure sitting on the western edge, ten feet from the pack of black shadows. He would recognize that smudge of green and orange anywhere.

"Mikey!" he shouted as he leaped into a run.

April had told him about the de-aging weapon. How the energy was a glowing purple. How it made no sound when it made contact but you could feel the soundless vibrations in your bones, like a waterfall with the sound turned off.

How iron was maybe the only thing that could stop it from affecting organic organisms.

Casey was still running when that freakish, purple ball of light slammed into Mikey's outstretched hand – was he holding something? – and then curled around him like water meeting a rock.

The Foot ninja didn't hear him which was shameful because he was no ninja and he was not quiet by nature.

"Goongala!" he shouted as he swung a baseball bat into one ninja's head, downing him in less than a second. He struck two more before the Foot realized they were under attack from an unexpected direction, but their retaliation was swift.

Katana were swept out of sheaths and the four nearest him pounced on him. He kept them back with unskilled yet effective arcs, his bat in one hand and a golf club in another.

"Yer gonna pay for what ya did ta my little brother!" he yelled, his club catching one ninja in the arm and making him drop his sword.

Rattling chains made everyone look around and a heavy thunk told them that the gun-wielding ninja was down for the count. Up and over the heads of the eleven remaining Foot came Mikey, still armed, still dangerous and still a teenager. His twirling nunchaku found one, two, three different heads as he voiced his infamous battle cry of "Cowabunga!" and then landed beside Casey.

"Impossible!" one of their opponents cried. "You should be a child! The weapon failed!"

"Sucks to be you now, doesn't it?" Mikey said with a cocky grin. "Casey, man, you rock!" he added, his cockiness falling to sincerity and apology.

"Tell me how awesome I am after we take care of this here rabble," the man retorted happily. He had forgotten how short-lived Mikey's temper was, and how easy it was for the young turtle to forgive and forget. A quick look into those baby-blue eyes reassured him that he was, indeed, forgiven for being an idiot.

"Casey, darling, it's a date!" With a grin plastered on his face, the orange-masked ninja leaped straight into the fray.

"Yer far too weird fer my peace of mind, Mike!" Casey chortled as he followed the little punk into battle.

Mikey answered with a laugh that was pure joy, something Casey had missed sorely these last few weeks.

It was not even two minutes later that the turtle and the human jogged off the roof and entered the sewers through the first manhole, fourteen foes scattered and unconscious across a rooftop; one had gotten away with the gun.

Once the man cover had slid into place and they'd slid down the ladder, Casey spoke. "Mikey, man, I'm really…"

"Don't mention it, Case."

"But…I wanna. I need ta. Mikey, I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry. Fer everythin'. I didn't mean ta add more hurt. I didn't mean ta blame ya."

Baby-blue eyes were surprisingly clear to see in the gloom as they looked at him. "You got angry. It's okay."

Casey hung his head as they trudged through the muck. "Is it really?"

A three-fingered hand touched his arm. "Of course, it is." It was all he said and, suddenly, the big man's heavy heart lifted and was lightened. "And…I'm sorry, too, for what I said."

"You were right, though," murmured Casey. "I was a moron, and ya called me on it. Yer fifteen years younger than me and ya took me ta task!"

Mikey chuckled. "Would it be bad of me to say that I enjoyed it?"

"Heck, man, I enjoyed it, lookin' back on it! Ya've quite a way with words, little man. Ya laid down the law." He smiled then said kindly, "Just like Leo."

The answering silence filled his heart with dread but then came the quiet, "You really think so?"

Casey slung an arm around the turtle's shoulders. "Dude, I know so."

Mikey looked down at the ground for a long moment before finally lifting his head. His smile was luminous in the dark tunnels. "Thanks, Casey."

Casey gave his little brother a one-armed hug. "Anytime, buddy."

Casey dutifully saw him to the concealed door of the lair but when invited inside, he declined. "I think I'll stay away fer a bit," he mumbled. "I mean, ya yelled at me only four hours ago."

"Yeah," Mikey said slowly. "I guess. I mean, Raph did say he'd stab you next time he saw you. Best to give him some time to cool down."

"So I'll see ya guys at Christmas, then?" he joked.

Mikey laughed and hugged him. Casey was a little surprised by the gesture, especially after all he'd said and done, but he returned the hug nonetheless. "Before then," promised Mikey. "Way, way before then."

"Take care of yerself," he said, squeezing the turtle one last time before stepping back.

Before he could turn away, Mikey said, "Oh, Casey?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks."

Casey smiled at him, this teenage, mutant, ninja turtle who, along with his brothers, had turned his world on his head. He wouldn't have had it any other way. "I said it before, Mikey. Anytime."

-:-

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