We Are Together

Mikey

Mikey bides his time.

If he's going to go through with his plan, he needs information from Casey. And if he wants information from Casey, he needs to ask him at a time when Casey will actually be able to provide answers.

That means, not in the middle of Leo trying to break Raph's record after Raph broke Leo's and Leo's broke Donnie's, and not either in the middle of Donnie trying to break Leo's record after Leo broke Raph's and Raph broke Leo's and Leo's broke Donnie's. Pizza time is a big no-no, because Mikey's brain can't focus on anything else than the delicious taste of the perfectly cooked base and the deliciously melted cheese, and the flavors of the tomato sauce sending good vibes through his whole body. And it can't happen when they're relaxing in the lair, playing skateboard, because Casey's a natural at it and he's obviously having a great time.

But when Donnie challenges them in the Arcade and Casey says he'll take a nap not even five minutes after the beginning, Mikey sees his chance.

As he runs after Casey, who's ostensibly stretching his arms and yawning, Mikey's acute hearing picks up Leo's exasperated words.

"Donnie, why did you choose a survive-during-the-apocalypse game?"

"What's the matter with that? Everybody loves a good apocalypse game. And you just lost. You should pay more attention. Raph, are you next?"

Raph picks up the joystick, and Mikey hears the pitiful sound the couch does when his big brother sits down on it.

"Donnie, don't you think maybe Casey doesn't want to be reminded of what an apocalypse looks like?" Leo insists.

Mikey nods. It should have been obvious when Casey's smile vanished, swallowed as if it had never been there, his entire face looking so old–Casey's too young to look like this. But of course it wasn't obvious to Donnie. Mikey's brother has always needed help in the emotional department.

"Oh."

Mikey doesn't pay attention to the rest of Donnie's answer, because he has caught up with Casey. He offers him one of his brightest smiles, the one that even Donnie can't resist. "Hey, Casey?"

Casey looks at him, caution in his eyes. Casey's always cautious, even when he performs the most wicked moves. It's like he's unable to fully relax. "Yes, Mikey?"

"Can you tell me more about Future Me?" Mikey bounces all around him. He's so excited to get to the point that has been haunting him for the last days, ever since he's started believing in his mystic powers.

Ever since they brought Leo back to where he belongs, back to them.

"We didn't have time to finish that conversation," Mikey adds, pleading.

He's referring to the talk they had in the Turtle Tank, right before everything went down in an even more spectacular way than before.

Casey smiles at Mikey, which is a good sign. It means he'll grant Mikey's request. He opens his mouth to answer–finally, finally Mikey will know more, and his quest can really start, he was right to wait for hours and hours and hours–when Donnie, Leo and Raph join them. They've stopped playing videogames.

"Same for me," Donnie says, showing that he's heard the conversation. "You've started meeting my expectations but we're still far off the mark."

Mikey assumes that by renouncing to reinforce his self-proclaimed title of Video Game King to go see Casey, Donnie is trying to apologize. It's something to be supportive of, so Mikey can't get mad at Donnie for interrupting.

"Me first," Mikey still dictates, glaring at Donnie to emphasize his point.

Casey chuckles. "Well, I already told you. Your mystic powers were beyond the limits. You sent me back in time!"

"Yes, yes, but what else was I able to do?" Mikey insists, because he has to know; his future depends on it.

"Well, you could hit enemies at one hundred feet while keeping your eyes closed," Casey says.

Mikey presses his hands against his cheeks in an attempt to calm his overexcitement. He needs to keep a cool head, or else he'll stop paying attention to what Casey says.

"Oh, and you could levitate, of course. You spent half your time five feet above the ground."

This time, Mikey doesn't manage to keep a cool head. He jumps and shrieks, and throws himself at the closest available brother–Leo–to grab his shoulders and shake him.

"I could fly! Do you hear that?"

"I've been flying since I'm a kid," Donnie says. "It's not a big deal."

Mikey turns to Donnie, grinning, and grabs his shoulders to shake him.

"Donnie! I'm going to fly!"

Donnie delicately grabs Mikey to put him a foot away.

"Good for you. I guess we can give you the second place in the flying turtles rankings."

Mikey extends his arms, ready to try. Nothing happens; but now he knows that it isn't because he doesn't have the power, it's because he can't use it yet. He doesn't doubt that he'll figure it out eventually; he doesn't doubt himself.

Mikey feels the change in the atmosphere even before he looks at Casey. Casey's turned his head and closed his eyes, and his fists are clenched.

"Casey?" Mikey asks, worried. "Did I do something wrong?"

Casey takes a deep breath, and he meets Mikey's eye. Mikey can tell that his smile is forced.

"You didn't," Casey says. "I'm just… You remind me of Master Michelangelo, right before he…" Casey swallows hard. "There is something you should know."

Mikey looks at his brothers, a reflex when he's worried, and for the briefest of seconds Leo averts his eyes, as if he knows something Mikey doesn't. And Mikey can't quite pinpoint the expression on his face, which is highly unusual. Reading his brothers' faces is supposed to be as easy as breathing.

"What is it?" he asks Casey, a bad feeling crawling on his skin.

Casey takes another deep breath. Mikey can tell he's trying to steady himself, in order to tell them something he doesn't want to. Casey's one of the most courageous persons Mikey knows, so whatever he has to say can't be good.

Then Casey talks, and each of his words is a knife in Mikey's heart.

"You didn't make it. Opening that time portal… It killed you." Casey's body is rigid, and his voice is bitter. "In the end, you all died fighting the Kraang, like everybody else."

There is a silence, heavy and prolonged, as Casey turns his head away and wipes his eyes, as they take in what just happened.

And Mikey remembers the way his body started cracking while he was opening the portal to get Leo back from the prison dimension. It felt like the power he was trying to harness was too much for his shell. Mikey hadn't thought twice about it–he was determined to get his brother back–and the cracks disappeared when Raph and Donnie added their strength to his.

What if they hadn't been there? What if they couldn't be there?

Then Raph roars, a panicked sound that shatters Mikey's train of thought.

"Whaaaaaaaat?"

And of course Mikey has to hug him and reassure him that he's alive–that they all are. Leo does the same. Even Donnie pats Raph's shell.

"It won't happen now," Leo says, in the very convincing voice he uses for pep talks. "We're alive. We defeated the Kraang. Casey's future will never exist."

"Then Casey himself shouldn't exist," Donnie says matter-of-factly, because Donnie worships logic, even when there is none.

And while Mikey elbows him to remind him of this important fact, he can't help noticing that while Donnie looks shell-shocked, just like Raph and probably Mikey himself, there is no surprise on Leo's face.

Not even a faked one.

Raph

It has taken him a long time to calm down, and even now, he's not sure he has managed to do it.

So that's the price Mikey could have paid, if Raph hadn't been here with Donnie to support him.

His life.

Raph hides his face in his hands. Right when he thought that they were out of danger, he learns that Mikey's powers can kill him. It's even worse than the knowledge they all died in the awful future that was Casey's present. Because while Leo's right and that future and their deaths against the Kraang can't happen now–they got rid of the aliens and their Technodrome–Mikey's mystic powers are here to stay.

Raph has managed to make him promise not to use his powers if they're not with him, and Mikey has reluctantly agreed. It's obvious he just wanted to make Raph happy, and Raph feels almost bad for forcing his hand.

Almost.

But now that Raph's mind is clearer, something stands out. Something that has to do with the brother sitting in front of him in the kitchen, contemplating the bottom of his once chocolate-filled mug. The others are in the living room with April, who just came back from university. Apparently an alien invasion isn't enough to stop the classes.

Raph frowns and painfully connects the dots.

"You knew it, didn't you?"

Leo briefly looks at him, guilt written all over his face. He doesn't reply, but he doesn't deny, either–which is an answer in itself.

"And you didn't think we needed to know?" Raph's voice is more irritated than he would like. He's not mad at Leo, he's just scared–hopefully Leo can see that now.

After all, that's what he said in the Technodrome.

"There was no time!" Leo says. "Casey told me in the middle of the fight, and then… Then we had won, and we were celebrating, and I didn't… There hasn't been a good time."

Raph knows his brother by heart, each one of his expressions, every small gesture he makes when happy or impatient or concerned or irritated. But in Leo's voice, there is a crack Raph has never heard.

"It was important," Raph insists. "It… If Mikey… You've seen him, how happy these new powers make him. He's going to look for more. And if he goes too far…"

"I know!" Leo takes a deep breath. "We'll be here for him. I just thought, after everything we've been through, we deserved the joy."

Raph can only agree with that statement. The fight has been tough for everyone. Raph himself was controlled, his body not his own anymore, and only Leo's words and his own practice of snapping out of mind confusion–the first time in his life where he's grateful for Savage Raph–allowed him to regain control.

He looks at Leo, smiling. "I know."

Leo's face is smooth, without a hint of deception, and he smiles back at Raph.

And still, something stirs inside of Raph. An intuition, an instinct born from all the years of watching over his siblings.

Leo's not lying about his reasons–but he's no telling the entire truth, either.

Raph doesn't dare to push him. He doesn't want to go back to the times when he irritated his brother so much that Leo was shutting down.

His heart sinks. He had thought it was over, and now he's worrying again about Mikey and Leo. And Donnie, but not because he's had new information about his genius brother. Donnie and his dangerous experiments are always worry material. Raph can only hope that Mikey won't follow in his footsteps.

Raph shakes his head, amused at himself. There is nothing he can do–once a big brother, always a big brother.

Leo's still looking at him, his head tilted, and Raph clears his throat.

"In any case… I'm here," he says awkwardly. "If you want to talk."

Because that's what he knows to do. Be here. And worry.

Leo gulps down the rest of his drink before standing up and putting a hand on Raph's shoulder.

"I know, Raph. Thank you."

Raph watches his brother leave the kitchen, wondering what he's missing.

Hoping it's something he'll be able to help Leo with, when his brother will decide to tell him.

Because Leo will tell him. Anything else is impossible–not now that they understand each other.

So Raph ignores the aching feeling in his heart, stands up and joins his family in the living room. As he knows them, they might already be cooking up something really stupid.

If that's the case, Raph wants to be part of it.