Chapter 3-Mikey's A Baby!?
Donnie was frozen stiff. He was finding it hard to believe what he had just discovered in front of him after lifting the jacket up from the ground.
"M-Mikey…!?" Donnie gasped when he immediately recognised the baby turtle. Even though he was relieved that his little brother was still alive, he was in disbelief at what Stockman and his new weapon had done to him.
Baby Mikey looked up at Donnie with a coo, and then his eyes widened before he started crying as if to say that he didn't recognise him.
"No, no, no, no, shh…it's ok, Mikey, you're safe…" Donnie soothed as he carefully picked him up and held him close to his chest.
"It's ok…it's me, Donnie…your big brother…" He then said whilst covering Mikey up with his trench coat, which he had picked up from the floor, to keep him warm.
Baby Mikey took another look at his immediate older brother with tear-filled eyes. After a moment of silence, he had let out a coo and developed a cute little watery smile as he begun to calm down, meaning that he had finally recognised Donnie as his big brother.
"Don't worry; I'm right here…I've got you…" Donnie whispered with a warm smile before giving Mikey a soft kiss on his head and cuddled him a bit more in his arms. The baby turtle snuggled closer to him as a response to the cuddle.
"Donnie!" Leo's voice suddenly echoed around Donnie, who jumped slightly and snapped out of his thoughts.
"Leo! Raph! Over here!" Donnie called out.
"Are you ok? Where did Stockman go?" Leo questioned as soon as he and Raph reached Donnie.
"He left a couple of minutes ago, after he attacked Mikey…" Donnie explained.
"Wha-? Mikey's hurt!? Where is he!? I don't see him anywhere…!" Leo questioned in a panic, now frantically looking out to try and find his youngest brother.
"And where did dis baby turtle come from?" Raph questioned in confusion when he spotted the little infant in Donnie's arms.
"This baby turtle IS Mikey!" Donnie corrected firmly but softly to avoid scaring Mikey.
"What!?" "But how did this happen!?" Leo and Raph questioned in shock.
"Baxter Stockman and his new weapon! That's what happened…!" Donnie answered angrily since he was still fuming from what Stockman did to his little brother.
"Ya gotta be kiddin' me…!" Raph complained loudly, causing baby Mikey to jump and start crying again.
"Raph! Not so loud…!" Donnie hissed before he comforted Mikey to calm him back down again.
"Let's get back to the lair; you can tell us everything there…" Leo said with a sigh.
Donnie nodded in agreement before he got up, kept Mikey wrapped up and close to him, and followed Leo and Raph back home to the lair.
The only thing that was on the three older turtles' minds now was…
What would Master Splinter think and say about this?
/
In the lair…
The three older turtle brothers had made it back to the lair without running into any more of their enemies. They had to do this quietly in the shadows, because they didn't want their baby brother (literally) to be put in harm's way during their trip back home.
As soon as they walked towards the living room, they spotted Master Splinter sitting on the single sofa chair and waiting with worry for his sons' return.
"We're back, Master Splinter…!" Leo called out.
"My sons, are you alright? Where is Michelangelo?" Master Splinter asked with even more worry when he noticed that Mikey was not with his brothers.
Leo and Raph looked at Donnie, who looked at his older brothers nervously before he slowly approached Master Splinter and knelt down to his level.
"…He's right here, Sensei…" The purple-banded turtle answered as he gently removed the top part of the coat to reveal a now sleeping baby Mikey.
Master Splinter looked at the infant for a moment before he gasped and his eyes widened in shock when Donnie's words sank in and realised who the baby was.
"What has happened to him!?" The old sensei hissed firmly but softly to avoid startling little Mikey awake.
"Let's go into the living room and we'll explain everything…" Leo said calmly before he and the others walked over to the living room and took their seats.
"Alright, here's what happened…" Donnie said as he begun to tell Master Splinter about what took place earlier up topside.
/
15 minutes later…
By the time Donnie had finished his story, Master Splinter's face had saddened and his ears were drooped when he heard the part about Mikey's heart-breaking outburst before the attack from Stockman. Before he could say anything, however, Leo spoke first.
"Donnie, is there a way to turn Mikey back to his normal age?"
"Well, I think the only way we can do that is with the gauntlet itself…" Donnie answered in thought whilst looking at Mikey.
"What da ya mean by dat?" Raph questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"After Stockman's little 'demonstration' earlier, it seems that the de-generator gauntlet was designed and programmed to reverse the aging process of an organism's cells, so if we can get a hold of that gauntlet or its blueprints to build one of our own and reverse its programming, we can use it to turn Mikey back to his 19-year-old self…!" Donnie explained as specifically as he could.
"Sounds like a good plan, Donnie, but da only problem with it is dat we don't exactly know where Stockman's lab is located…" Raph pointed out, dampening the mood a bit.
"That's why, starting tomorrow, we should focus on finding his lab's whereabouts…and at the same time, we must make sure that Mikey's needs are met whilst he's still in this baby form…" Donnie proposed before he looked at the dozing baby Mikey in his arms.
"Ok…That's fine with me, Donnie…" Leo said in agreement.
"Alright, just don't come lookin' fer me ta change any of his diapers…!" Raph firmly told his brothers with a grimace.
"Raphael, you and your brothers are all equally responsible for Michelangelo's care, as am I as his father…!" Master Splinter reminded him firmly.
"Urgh, fine…" Raph groaned in defeat.
"Good…I will go and meditate on this matter before I go to bed tonight. You three must make the necessary arrangements to help look after Michelangelo until he is turned back to his normal age…Is that clear?" Master Splinter told his sons.
"Yes, Master Splinter…" The three older turtles replied in unison with a bow.
"Very well…Goodnight, my sons…" Master Splinter said before he walked away and headed towards his room.
The older turtle brothers said their goodnights as they watched their father and sensei leave, before Donnie felt movement in his arms and he looked down to see baby Mikey stretching and opening his eyes.
"Hey there, Mikey…! You ok?" Donnie greeted softly with a smile as he slowly sat him up a bit.
Mikey yawned and looked around before he froze when he saw Leo's surprised face. The baby turtle whimpered in fear and snuggled against Donnie's chest.
"Hey, hey, don't be scared, Mikey…That's Leo, your oldest brother…!" Donnie reassured his brother.
Despite still feeling a little scared, Mikey looked at Leo again, and the blue-banded turtle smiled warmly as he held his hands out to say that he would like to hold him.
Then, he did something that no-one expected him to do so soon.
"W-We…W-Weo…?"
Everyone gasped when they heard a shy Mikey's attempt at saying Leo's name.
"D-Did he just say my name…!?" Leo questioned in shock.
"Ha, ha…Yep! Well done, Mikey…!" Donnie answered with a laugh before gently rubbing Mikey's head.
"Nee, nee, nee…!" Baby Mikey chanted as he looked at Donnie with a smile, surprising him too.
"Aww, he's trying to say your name now, Donnie…!" Leo said, his heart now feeling like it was melting from Mikey's cute way of talking.
"Ain't he sayin' it wrong, though?" Raph pointed out with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah…he's currently a few months old, so his speech is not fully developed at this stage…" Donnie explained with a sad smile.
It was then that he saw Mikey sadden and look down with tears developing in his eyes again.
"Hey, what's wrong, Mikey?" Donnie asked in concern.
"…M-Me…ba-d…" The baby turtle babbled shakily before his tears fell down his little face. Those words shocked his older brothers.
"Hey, now…! Where da shell did dat come from!?" Raph questioned firmly but not too loudly since it would frighten his baby brother.
Leo was confused for a moment after hearing what Mikey just said, but then a theory popped into his head.
"Donnie, do you think Mikey might still have his earlier memories from before he became a baby?" The blue-banded turtle questioned.
"I'm not entirely sure, but-…Actually, I saw the way Mikey became scared towards you a moment ago, so there might be a possibility that he still remembers your scolding towards him after we came home from that terrible experience with the Purple Dragons earlier…" Donnie answered in thought.
After hearing this, Leo immediately started to feel guilty; even though he had his reasons for scolding Mikey earlier, he soon remembered that he had given the young turtle mixed messages about what a true ninja really should do in action. It was no wonder that Mikey was scared and sad towards him, even as a baby.
He looked at Mikey again and spoke in a soft tone.
"Mikey, you're not a bad turtle; you're just struggling with your speech because of your current age, that's all…! Also, what happened earlier with those nasty Purple Dragons was not your fault, ok? I shouldn't have been so hard on you because you were just trying to do the right thing by saving that nice girl…"
Mikey just watched Leo curiously with big round eyes as he listened as best he could to what he was saying, since his little head could only take in so much information at a time.
"I'm really sorry, little brother…Can I have a hug of forgiveness?" Leo asked as he opened his arms out to say that he would like to give Mikey a hug.
Little Mikey blinked a couple of times before his eyes filled with tears again and developed a quivering smile. He then slowly reached out to Leo, who immediately took him into his arms.
The moment he was in his arms, Mikey started crying as he pressed more against Leo's chest. Leo immediately went straight into big brother mode and held his baby brother close.
"Shhh…It's ok, Mikey…It's all in the past now…" He said soothingly whilst slowly rocking him back and forth.
Donnie smiled sadly but warmly at the scene, whilst Raph watched this all happen with guilt on his own face since he too was involved with the scolding towards Mikey.
Moments later, the three older turtle brothers were met with silence. They looked down at Mikey and they immediately saw that he had now fallen asleep in Leo's arms.
"He's fallen asleep already…?" Raph questioned in surprise.
"Well, duh; it's gone past midnight now, and babies need a lot of sleep…" Donnie pointed out.
"So, what da we do now then?" Raph questioned, unsure of what needed to be done next.
"I'll look after him in my room…" Donnie offered.
"But where's he gonna sleep? He can't sleep in your bed; he'll take up some of your space…" Raph then questioned in confusion.
"I think I might have something that could be used as a crib for him to sleep in until I call April and Casey tomorrow and ask them to bring us some baby supplies…" Donnie answered in thought.
"Ok, Donnie, but let us know if you need anything, ok?" Leo told him in a serious but soft tone as he carefully passed Mikey back to Donnie.
"I will…goodnight, guys…" Donnie replied before he parted ways with his older brothers and started walking towards his bedroom to get himself and Mikey some sleep.
Leo and Raph watched them go before they too decided to retire to bed for the night, both of them knowing that the next few days will be eventful ones.