How does this thing work?
Part 1
Disclaimer: I am not the one responsible for creating the idea of teenage mutant ninja turtles, but I am the one responsible for creating this story.
Splinter carried the tray of half eaten soup and empty teapot back to the kitchen. He sent a glance at his youngest son, who was currently in what looked a highly unnatural position on the couch, eating popcorn staring at the television screen. Splinter just shock his head, wishing this phase would hurry up and pass his son by – a phase which had plagued the turtle so long it was now part of who he was.
"Michelangelo, please sit up when you are eating. I am worried that you will chock my son," Splinter said, looking at his son, who was now looking back at his with his head on the ground.
"Yeah cos I pass on giving you CPR if you do start chocking to death, due to your stupidity," The oldest turtle said, looking up from his book.
Mikey just flipped over, which his shell facing them before he sat down on the couch properly and making sure Splinter wasn't looking, poked his tongue out at his oldest brother.
"How's Donnie?" Raphael walked into the room, from the dojo, where he had been letting off some steam. Earlier he and Leonardo had been feuding and been sent off my Splinter to calm down on his own. Normally Raph would have cleared out, but he knew this was not a time to upset Splinter.
Splinter was already stressed at the recent events, mainly concerning what had happened this night before. This had been what triggered off Leo and Raph's argument, which Splinter did not want to hear. Splinter was currently blaming himself for what had happened. He should have known better to have sent his sons out last night to fight.
The result of last nights battle was not so evident in lounge room, except for the death stares which passed between the red and blue turtles, but this was a natural part of life in the lair.
For the real impact lay beyond a separate room in where a heavy coughing sound could be heard. Each head turned towards the door.
"I'll go check on 'im." Raphael was out of the room, before anyone else could move.
"Your brother will be alright my sons, he just needs rest," Splinter sighed. It was even harder to put on a brave face around his sons, when he was battling the demons within his head.
"Why don't you rest Sensei, Mikey and I will clean all that up," Leo got up and took the tray off his father. Mikey gave Leo a look of "Can't you see I'm busy and just cos you're the oldest don't mean you can boss me around."
"Thank you my sons, make sure you too get some rest also." Splinter retreated to his room.
"Mikey!" Leo stood, waiting for his brother to get off his backside.
"You said you'd do it. You never asked if I wanted to help, you know."
"Mikey!" Leo hissed, "Now is not the time for you to throw a tantrum – we've already had Raph throwing his today."
"Raph throws a tantrum everyday." Mikey grumbled, "Actually he spends most of his day throwing a tantrum".
"Watch it, if he hears you – I'm not saving your stupid neck!" Leo was tired and also feeling bad about last night.
He felt he was responsible for last night's consequences. He thought it was a mild cough and that his brother would be fine once he got some fresh air. He didn't know they'd get trampled by the foot so badly. It had never happened before.
"Splinter says ya to rest." Raphael said, hands on his hips, looking at his older brother.
Through puffy eyes, the blue eyes looked back at the brown ones.
"But I gotta fix this," Donnie began to fiddle with what he has hidden under his blanket when he heard someone coming in. He had promised Splinter that he'd rest and not worry about his projects, but Donnie was simply Donnie.
He couldn't live without tinkering with something – even it if was just fiddling with the old mobile which had been smashed by a pair of nunchakus.
"Can't it wait bro?" Raphael moved in on his brother. "I just don't want to see ya anymore sick, man."
Don tried to laugh, "Ha, so you do care about your brother?" Donnie started to cough and splatter even more.
Raphael sat next to his brother and waited til his brother had finished.
"Is that a crime now, oh wise-one?" Raph said in his typical sarcastic nature.
"Thought Leo was the wise one?"
"No, just the wise-one wanter-be." Raphael said, like it was true.
"You know I remember way back when you and Leo actually liked each other."
"Good for you," Raph really didn't want to have a tale about when he was a little turtle from his brother.
Donnie began fiddling with his broken object again, ignoring his red masked brother. Raphael just sat there thinking, as his brother worked. He could see it was making Donnie happy to tinker – who was he to stop his older brother from being happy. He also didn't see how it was going to affect his brother's healing.
After awhile Raphael stood up, "You want anything before I head off to bed?"
"Na, I'm right. Thanks bro."
"What for?"
"Hanging out with me for a bit and also I know you're the one who brought me back here. You put my life ahead of your need to bust the brains out of the foot. Thanks."
"Don, just don't get mushy on me okay! You know I hate that. Nite."
"Nite". Don said, as the door closed behind his brother.
Next morning Mikey was watching cartoons, with his blanket wrapped around him. He was still half asleep, but he couldn't miss his favourite cartoons.
"Good morning my son," Splinter greeted the half-awake turtle.
"Yeah," Mikey just mumbled, not aware of who had spoken.
Splinter walked off to check on the son who was bed ridden.
Later that morning after an argument over the X-box with Mikey, Raphael did what only Raphael did when he lost his temper. Started throwing things around. Splinter had left earlier to April's for some much needed medical supplies for Donetello.
"It's only a game you two, get over it!" Leo marched into the room, narrowly being hit by the remote control.
"He's peeved cos I finally beat his green butt in something!" Mikey danced around, he was enjoying the red turtle blowing off some steam and now Leo was in the room, that steam would now go towards Leo and not him.
"Shut up! I know you pulled my control out of the player and so for half my game – I couldn't even move me damn person!" Raph exploded at his brother.
"Michealangelo! Look rematch the whole game would you. Don's trying to get some rest – so can it the pair of you," Leo stood looking at both of his brothers.
"Yeah, Don's resting Raph!" Mikey put in.
"I know he's resting' you stupid little individual!" Raphael went to grab the X-box off his brother, after fighting over it for awhile, Mikey let go just as it fell to the ground and broke.
"Good one, so intelligent aren't you Mikey!" Raphael blow off into the orange turtle's face.
"You dropped it, not me!" Mikey piped in, "Why you so uptight – Donnie will fix it in no time." Mikey picked it up and was about to go to Don's room.
"Mikey! Donnie's sick!" Leo cried grabbing the top of Mikey's shell - he couldn't believe his brother would have forgotten a thing like that. Sure Donnie was probably the quietest turtle in the house, but that didn't cause Mikey to forget that Don was indeed sick.
"Leave Donnie alone!" Raphael ran and stood in front of Mikey.
"I know he's sick. But he was tinkering with something this morning when I took him breakfast – he can fix this for us now."
"Mikey!" Leo hissed, "Leave him alone, Splinter says he has to rest. We can live without the X-box for a couple of days until he is well enough to fix it. Now put it down over there and go find something quiet to do."
"You are such a party pooper. What if this was to cheer old Donnie up?" Mikey asked.
"Mikey, is that all Donnie is to you? The fixer-upper-a for when you break something?" Raphael stood hands on hips at his brother.
"We all know what's how you see him. Besides – you break far more things than I ever do," Mikey pointed out.
"I'll break your neck in a moment!"
"Look stop, Mikey – go to your room!" Leo ordered.
Both Mikey and Raph looked at their older brother.
"What! You can't send me to my room! I'm not a baby!" Mikey hated it when Leo took charge.
"You're not Splinter!" Raphael barked at Leo. He didn't see what was wrong with him and Mikey having a sibling fight without Leo interfering.
"I just want some peace and quiet around here for Donnie's sake, now if you can't be quiet – I'll send the two of you to your rooms!"
"Fuck you," Raph walked off out of the lair.
"What he said," Mikey soon followed the red masked turtle.
"Good – some peace and quiet!" Leo walked off to the kitchen.
A couple of hours later, Splinter was back in the lair and so were Mikey and Raph. They were soon backing in front of the TV watching re-runs of Gilligan's Island.
Leo was in checking on Donnie, when all of a sudden the television and the lights went out.
"Hey!" Mikey cried, jumping onto Raphael's lap.
"Get off me!" Raphael pushed his brother off him.
"There's someone in the lair!" Mikey squeaked.
"Yeah, that'd be Splinter – he lives he stupid." Raphael said, as Splinter came up to them.
"It seems the power has gone off," Leo was at Donnie's door.
"Yap, I can see that," Raph replied.
"Go fix it." Leo said looking at Raphael.
"What!" Raphael couldn't understand why Leo had all of a sudden lost his marbles. He wasn't the family electrician.
"I said, go fix the switch. Donnie says you know where it is."
"No I don't." Raph replied, since when was he to know where anything like that was. That was Donnie's department.
"Yeah you do, remember the time you helped me put the new safety switch in?" Came Donnie's croaky voice.
"Nope." Raphael stated, looking at everyone, he honestly didn't know where it was.
"Raph, just go do it!" Leo said to his brother.
"Why can't Leo do it? He's the oldest and probably do it better than me."
"Hurry up and get the power on, I'm missing Gilligan's Island!" Mikey put in.
"You've seen that episode before, so get over it," Raphael smirked.
"Raphael, there will be no dinner until the power is fixed," Master Splinter handed his son a torch.
"Man, this sucks!" Raph got up and stomped out the lair towards where he had been told to go.
"Take Care my son," Splinter called after him. He was largely concerned for his son to be medalling with electrical wires, when he was not the turtle who understood such matters. Usually at times like this Donetello was the one who would go and fix the problem within five minutes. Though this time, Donnie was currently unable to get out of bed.
"Why'd Don have to get a broken leg? Stupid foot! Wait til I get my hands on those turds!" Raphael mumbled as he tinkered, not knowing what he was really doing, but he obviously hit the right switch, because he could hear Mikey cheering from the far end of the tunnel. He knew his work was done and headed back to the lair.
Hum... so when Don's unable to fix something – is it the red hot headed turtle the next in line for electrical expertise? What other problems arise when Donnie is bed ridden and the family of mutants needs something fixed? Can Mikey and Raph live a couple of days without the X-box? What would happen if the Television died on them! Or what other items around the turtles' lair would they miss if Don was not there to fix them on the spot.
Find out in further chapters…….
