So I know it's been a very long time since I wrote anything TMNT related but that's mainly because not only did I lose interest in the stories but people weren't that genuinely into them either, so my discouragement got the better of me and I just stopped. But I never stopped loving tmnt, I just thought I shouldn't write for them anymore. However, someone on Tumblr who said that in the episodes with Don's mutation arc, where our science boi gets turned into a giant feral turtle, well I guess in the original pitch for those episodes it was actually going to be Mikey instead of Donnie.

Naturally that got my creative gears a turnin'

With that in mind, it got me thinking just how everything would go down if that actually happened and in turn this little story was written. Some things stayed the same but while some things are altered.

To say that Michelangelo was freaking out would have been an understatement of the century.

In fact, he was on the verge hyperventilating, and if it wasn't for Don's calming presence right next to him, Mikey was sure he would have passed out long ago, but Donnie was here, all logical and reassuring as he always was, if not a bit annoyed with all of Mikey's constant jerks and jolts at being stitched up. Mikey was never one to like being sown. He actively tried to not get anything that would require a simple bandage.

And it's not that he was scared of needles, no that was Leo. Mikey just hated the pain that came from being stitched up. But right at this moment, the stitching isn't what was bothering him.

Mikey leaned against Donnie's chair a bit more as his brother sewed up the large gash on his left arm, when his brother let out an exasperated sign, "Mikey, take a breathe, your overreacting."

Mikey gave the genius turtle an incredulous look. Seriously? "Overreacting? Don, did you see that thing? It was like if Nightmares and Death had a baby, and that baby cut up my arm!"

Donnie didn't look the least bit concerned, "Yes, Mike. I saw it, I was there too, you know."

Mikey watched as Don skillfully stitched up the wound, feeling a little ignored and hurt by Don's lack of concern. Which had always been an automatic way of upsetting him, especially when in a situation such as this. "Then why aren't you more freaked out? We don't know where that thing was when it ambushed us, it could have had given me a disease or rabies." His voice was carrying, it echoed and bounced off the walls of Donnie's lab and out into the rest of the Lair.

No doubt Leo and Raph could hear him at this point. "Hell, I could loose my whole arm—!" Mikey flinched in pain as the needle in Donnie's hand jerked suddenly, poking him just a little too deep into his flesh.

Mikey looked down at his brother, because ow that seriously hurt, and saw a look of shock come a crossed Don's features, and for a moment or two, Donnie's eyes looked lost and distant, glazed over by something Mikey couldn't quite identify, then it vanished just as quickly as it had come, with a visible shake of his head.

What was that about?

All he said was the possibility of losing his arm—

Oh

Well shit...

"Donnie, I didn't mean—"

Blinking, haze clearing, Donnie went back to work. "You're not gonna lose your arm, Mikey. I've already disinfected the cut, plus I'm using a serialized needle as extra precaution. And you've all your shots, so getting a disease or rabies is also not a possibility either. Trust me, I've been entirely thorough." Mikey watched as Don set the needle down and began wrapping his arm up with gauze.

"You're fine, Mikey."

Mikey tried to ignore the fact that Don's voice still sounded a bit distant.

Gently, Mikey reach up and rubbed at his left arm. He looked to it and then to his genuis brother. Big blue eyes completely serious, "You sure?" Because the thought of getting a deadly disease from those things scared Mikey, he was far to young to die and still had so much more to do with his brothers. "Like really sure? That I'm okay?"

At his demeanor, Don gave him a look of sympathy, and affectionately patted his shoulder. "Yes, you're gonna be fine. I promise." Looking so sure and confident in himself that how could Mikey not believe him? After all, Donnie was the smartest turtle he knew, if anybody knew what they were talking about it was him.

Letting out loud and quiet obnoxious sigh, he nodded.

"Okay."

•

•

•

A day or two afterwards, he was in the middle of getting ready to beat his high score on his game when Leo popped out of nowhere, like the ninja he was, and told him to get ready, that they were leaving soon to visit April, and since Karai was on the assault looking for them, they were gonna have to find a new way to see their friends.

Luckily, Donnie found some old abandoned tunnel that conveniently lead to April's basement, but unfortunately, as their luck always goes, they were gonna have to dig their way there.

The process was hell on his arm, though.

Don told him not to overdo it, telling him that too much labor could pull out the stitching in his arm. At one point, Donnie even restricted his shoveling duty all to Leo, whom accepted without complaint when he saw the sweat on Mikey's sweat, which was strange to Mikey, because they had barely started and he was already sweating?

It was strange, but if it got him out of work and made his arm hurt less, then he was 100% fine with sitting back and order his brother's around as he lounged against a rock. A grin on his face, laughing as Donnie rolled his eyes, Leo scoffed playfully and Raph threatened to throw a dirt clod in his direction.

When they finally made it to April's they exchanged pleasantries, hugs and even explained exactly why they had dug a tunnel into her basement. While this was going on, Mikey sat in his chair, rubbing at his arm absentmindedly, as it continued to ache. April seemed to notice this, which wasn't a surprise seeing as he wasn't being subtle at all. "What happened to your arm, Mikey?"

Donnie was quick to answer as he sat the closest to her, "He kinda got a big bite."

Mikey scoffed, with an exaggerate laugh, "That's an understatement, bro."

Then Raph interjected with, "Yeah, a really big bug."

Mikey shook his head, gesturing with his right hand, wanting to give more emphasis, "Try huge. Like gigantic and grotesque and all kinds of bad. Like cut me up, like almost lost my arm worthy of bad."

Leo places a hand on Miley's shoulder to stop him from talking but the words were already out of his mouth and out of the corner of his eyes, Don flinched ever so slightly, before recovering quickly. "I told you, Mikey. You didn't and won't lose your arm."

Raph, oblivious to the obvious tension Don held against his shoulders, simply waved it all off, "Don't pay attention to him, Donnie. He's just exaggerating, as usual."

There was a knock on the door then, causing them all to freeze in place. Using the skills Splinter taught them; they hide, as they were trained to do.

Thankfully, they all collectively released a sigh of relief when it was revealed to be April's sister, Robin, showing for a surprise visit. And they all knew they had to leave a little earlier then they all wanted too, which did disappoint them out a little, but if anyone could understand needing to spend time with siblings it was the four of them.

So they left, with smiles on their faces.

•
•

A few hours later, Mikey was making dinner for everyone, and as he was seasoning the paprika chicken he cooked with a little salt and pepper, he felt the pain in his arm finally for him to sneeze a few minutes later. And it wasn't just one sneeze, it had become a chain of three in a row, it had been so sudden that all he could do was stand there until his head stopped spinning. When he finally opened his eyes, his vision blurred but cleared once he rubbed at them

At least he didn't get any of the snot on dinner, that would have been such a waste of ingredients.

"Woah, Mikey? You okay?" Leo asked worriedly, because of course his older brother would choose that moment to walk into the kitchen. "You only do that when your starting to get a cold."

"Oh great, that's exactly what we need." Raph announced in annoyance, as he too walked into the kitchen with a cup in his hands. "Everyone knows he has a tendency to milk it for all it's worth."

His left eye twitched at that, feeling suddenly annoyed with his hot headed older brother, rubbing at the snot that was leaking down his face and skillfully wiped it a crossed Raph's shell as he walked away with his dinner.

Leo saw this, but merely rolled his eyes and shook his head. Mikey grinned triumphantly, only to sneeze again a few seconds later.

This caused Leo to gain back that look of concern from before. His eldest brother walked over to him, reached out and felt his forehead, Leo let out a low hum in deep thought. "You don't feel warm, but you are looking paler then you normally do."

He didn't know why Leo was making such a big deal out of this, he felt fine. No pain in his arm or sneezes are going to knock him down so easily. Besides, Donnie said he was fine, so that's what he'll remain.

Just fine.

Laughing, he merely waved off his brother's hand concern, smiling cheerfully. "No worries, Leo. I probably used too much pepper making dinner, I'm fine."

Leo didn't look entirely convinced, but he back off anyway, knowing that his brothers had there boundaries. "Well, if you're sure."

Mikey grinned, using his thumb he pointed to his chest, "As sure as I'm Battle Nexus Champion."

Leo smiled gently, letting out a soft chuckle, patting his shell.

Mikey noticed that Leo and Donnie didn't seem to be as bothered anymore whenever Mikey gloated about being Battle Nexus Champion, in fact, they seem to be proud whenever he brought it up. However from a ways away, a distant groan could be heard within the living room.

And though, Mikey didn't know if it was from his comment, or that Raph found his little gift on his shell, he smiled regardless.

Yeah, he was fine...

Mikey had to admit, when Donnie had taken them and April out to go to a museum, he thought, for a moment that his brother was joking. Because Don may have found all that historical stuff fascinating, and maybe even April and Leo would probably silently go along to make Donnie happy.

But him and Raph?

History tended to fly over Mikey's head when he really didn't want to pay attention and Raph, well, Raph would rather punch something then learn about stuff like the Boston Tea Party.

But Leo, ever the pleasing big brother, had all big dragged him and Raph along for the ride over to the museum.

"I'm telling ya right now, this is a bad idea." Raph said as they walked along the staircase following behind Donnie and April. "We all know that these disguises can only do so much."

Mikey couldn't help but agree. Being out here in the open with all these people was just asking for an ambush. "Raph's right, I got a bad feeling about this."

But Donnie merely scoffed at them, "What are you talking about, this is gonna be great." The joy in Don's voice was clear as day, no wonder Leo agreed to let them do this, who could say no to Donnie when he had that expression on his face? "How can you not be excited about being in a museum?"

He and Raph both looked at each other simultaneously, and chanted out a low "Boooring!" in unison.

"You won't think that when we get to the main attraction!" Don said as they all rounded the corner and continued walking.

While Mikey jokes about this next attraction being a snack bar, because man was he getting hungry, he really noticed just how hungry he's becoming lately.

Just two days ago, he ate an entire box of family sized box of cereal, then for lunch he eat four full sized hamburgers and he was still hungry even after that.

The whole thing was just weird.

Leo came up behind him and stated that the museum would be closing soon but they all still needed to keep a low profile. Nice to know that even though Leo had agreed to this, he was still being cautious as always.

Mikey opened his mouth to reply, because that's exactly what he and Raph had been trying to say, when instead of actual words an abrupt sneeze tore itself from Mikey's throat. And because they were in a place with good acoustics, the sound echoed loudly throughout the building.

Mr. Sneeze strikes again. Mikey thought annoyingly, as he rubbed at his eyes and the snot dripping down his beak. "Gazoontight." Donnie stated as they continued walking.

Leo however, held back to place a hand on his shell. "You okay, Mike? You've been looking a little under the weather lately. You sure you aren't coming down with a cold?"

Again, like before, Mikey simply waved off his brother's concern. "I told you, bro. I'm a-okay. Just the sniffles, you know I get allergies during this time of year." Which wasn't a lie, he did tend to get a stuffy nose during this time where the pollen in the air becomes a cluster within the wind and rain.

Behind him, he heard Leo sigh but Mikey just kept walking until they made it back to their small little group, with just enough time to hear Donnie announce cheerfully, "Dinosaurs!"

Mikey smiled at Don's enthusiasm, Donnie loved dinosaurs just as much as Mikey loved comics, his brother's contagious nature was enough to make him forget about his sniffles.

Then Savanti Romero decided to crash the party with a message from the past, stating that they were all doomed and their future would be erased all because of him.

Then if it couldn't get any worse, Renet showed up just as abruptly as Savanti did and whisked them all away to the dinosaur age.

It should be a dream come true for Donnie, but it wasn't because now they had to fight for their lives against ferocious dinosaurs while battling Savanti and protect Renet. Which of course, didn't go well either, because Romero got her anyway. Seriously, did the dudette not know how to dodge out of an oncoming threat?

Now here they were, walking in the land of giant prehistoric lizards, fighting for survival. It wouldn't be that bad if he could just get a handle on all this sneezing. But it was proving to be more difficult then before. Plus, he noticed that while they walked, trying to find Renet, he was falling behind just a tad. Being behind his brother's was something Mikey has grown use to over the years, it's kinda become second nature for them to always be in front of him. But this time, he notice how much faster they walking, compared to him.

Then another sneeze slammed into him, so abruptly that for a few seconds he saw stars in his eyes and his body convulsed, "Mikey!?" Leo called out to him, running towards him, as the youngest tried to compose himself. "You okay, Mike?"

Donnie was not far behind Leo, as the third eldest, reached out and placed a hand on his forehead and cheek. "Feels like he has the beginnings of a fever starting."

"So it is a cold." Leo stated, exasperated, and worried all at the same time, "Mikey, you told me it was nothing."

Raph let out a groan, "Great, that's exactly what we need."

Mikey's left eye twitched at Raph's comment. He pushed Don's hand away and continued walking, "I'm fine, it's just a stupid fucking cold."

His back towards them, he hadn't see their shared look of concern for him,

Not like it matter anyway. Because according to Donnie, if they didn't get Renet back along with the Time Scepter, they were all gonna be wiped out with all the other dinosaurs.

Man, they couldn't catch a break, could they?

Now three months into this place, living here and surviving with his brother and Renet and all these dinosaurs, Mikey could admit that he has gotten use to being here for so long, and he honestly didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.

Now if this cold would just go away he could actually try and enjoy the rest of the time he had left with his brothers.

But his body just didn't feel like moving, his nose was stuff to the brim with snot and his fever had yet spiked anymore, but it was going away either. Leo and Donnie did what they could, but without having proper medicine and supplies from home, all they could do was wait and hope this sickness breaks soon. "I know we saved all of humanity but... to go out like this?"

Leo didn't know how true his words were to Mikey. They've all been through so much and to get off by a stupid falling rock from the sky seem like a poor way to go out.

Then Raphael shell shocked them all by showing up with the fucking Time Scepter itself. "It was inside the fish, can ya believe it?" Mikey, with new found vigor stood up and grabbed the stupid staff and handed it to Renet.

"Let's get the hell outta here."

Okay so when I started writing this, I wasn't intending for it to be so long, but I kinda got carried away and got really into writing for it and now its a 5,210 words and that was all dealing in Mikey's POV, I haven't even gotten to the bros yet, which I'm hoping will be shorter. But I've decided to split this up into chapters.

Anyway, a penny for your thoughts? Feedback is always welcomed and appreciated in reviews if you all have the time, and I'll see you all soon.