Psychosis
Chapter Three: The Plummet
I do not own the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Have you ever sat back and wondered why you do the things you do? Like, what compels your muscles and mind to react the way it does to certain situations. Like, for example, why does Leo feel the need to protect us all of the time, or why does Raph feels the need to go after every thug in New York, or heck, even why Donny desires to break into every building with a sophisticated lock. I guess some things are out of our control. Don once told me that how we act is based on chemical reactions taking place in our bodies based on certain stimuli, and that they are usually predetermined by how we perceive things…or something like that. I guess that would explain why I decided to take a running leap off a twenty-four story building in hot pursuit of some suicidal kid.
Damn chemicals.
From the moment my foot struck the grainy ledge, my muscles tightened and sent me hurdling over the edge. I knew that this could not end well. As the comfort of sturdy ground became a long a forgotten memory, my heart quickened at my sudden weightlessness. Suffocating wind blinded my eyes and I felt cold tears streak down my chapped face. My stomach twisted into knots; my arms were numb and extended in front of my body. Buildings and lights whizzed past my eyes, blurring into a single smudge on the darkened canvass. The street below slowly grew, expanding its mouth, waiting patiently to consume.
This crazy boy was so far ahead of me and he seemed calmed as if he was accepting his fate. Desperately, I tried calling out to him, but the rushing air carried my words away from me as soon as they left my mouth. Maybe this was a mistake; he seemed to have no regret. I guess Leo was right, you can't save everyone; some people don't want to be saved. As the ground drew closer and closer, I braced myself for our impacts. I knew that this could not end well.
Suddenly, a bright flash filled my vision and my head snapped to its origin. Mere meters in front of the mysterious teen, what appeared to be a gateway opened up. The radiant glow that it was emitting appeared welcoming, beckoning the teen into its crux. I stared at the spectacle in front of me, dumbstruck, but ultimately impressed; I almost forgot that I was falling to my death. As quickly as the illumination appeared, it vanished, taking all traces of its brilliance and the boy with it.
This whole situation was starting to smell like a set up, and boy was it stinking. I can't believe me of all people would be stupid enough to follow some mysterious person off the edge of a building. Now, they are probably safe wherever they are watching me paint the sidewalks of New York a delicious green color.
Stupid Mikey.
Fumbling in the air, I tried unsuccessfully to save myself, and after a while, I realized that I had nothing. Now I understood why Donny felt the need to carry around that thirty-pound duffle bag, you never know what just might save your sorry shell, and now I would give anything for a grappling hook. Squeezing my eyes shut, I threw my arms over my face. What good this would do, I don't know. I guess the completely instinctual need to protect your head was starting to kick in.
Well cruel world, I guess the fat lady has finally sung her last tune. I just hope that my brothers don't get to torn up over this, or in the small chance that I do make this fall, I just hope that my brothers don't tear me apart for doing something so stupid. I knew that my body wasn't far from the ground now, and I only had mere moments before impact. Well, in the middle of my groveling, a golden glow peaked in through the cracks of my arms, and past my tensed eyelids. Time seemed to stand still and my body felt suspended and tranquil. My heart rate slowed, my thoughts stopped spinning like water in a toilet bowl, and my breathing returned to a more normal rhythm. Slowly, my limbs lost their numbed feeling, and my senses felt very alive. Cautiously, I opened my eyes only to notice that the same golden beam that had swallowed the boy was engulfing me as well. No longer was I meeting the cold ground of New York for a deadly hug.
For the first time in months, my head was clear; the pain had subsided, fleeing my body. Everything about this moment was blissful, and I tried desperately to hold onto it. Right now, I didn't care where I was, or what was going on. I just wanted to absorb this moment, this feeling of warmth, the comfort of clarity. My brothers, my life, the present situation meant nothing, absolutely nothing. This feeling, like having your head separated from your body while descending a rapid roller coaster was pure and utter ecstasy.
I was only able to briefly enjoy that delightful moment. Suddenly, I felt as if my body was being squeezed through a giant tube of toothpaste; clean mint. The world became compressed and elongated as I plummeted through the gilded abyss. Faster and faster I fell, my stomach quivering, tears streaming. A whirring noise filled my ears and a brief moment of agonizing pain clenched my bones with white searing hot knuckles.
Then there was nothingness.
No whirring, no compression, no glimmering paradise.
I felt grounded; I was tied to something firm once again. Slowly I cracked open my eyes only to realize that I was face down in soft dirt. Carefully, I extended my arms out to my side, and dug my fingers into the loose soil. My face constricted up into a questioning glare. I moved to my knees and instantly threw up, the contents streaming down my plastron. Looking around, I felt my stomach plummet.
Well Toto, we sure aren't in Kansas anymore.
Lightly, I took inventory of my weapons and limbs. Everything was accounted for. Swiftly, I grabbed the golden pocket watch and smiled in relief, happy that it survived the fall, and it was still ticking proudly.
"If I lost you that would have sucked big time," I whispered into its gleaming face.
Well, Mikey boy, what sort of mess have you gotten yourself into now? I was in some jungle type area, somewhat similar to a level I played on Call of Duty, I think, well sort of. How does one end up falling to their death in a city, to appearing in Simba's playground? Shaking my head, I squeezed my eyes shut and massaged my temples in a circular motion. Replaying the events of my extremely odd day, I tried to make sense of my situation.
I was running with my brothers, then something had happened a few buildings away and they decided to check it out. I saw some figure on another building standing on the ledge, which spells trouble wherever you are. I ran to confront said figure only to find out that it's some young dude. He says something creepy and then jumps. I, like the hero I am, went after him. He was swallowed by some gold light, and so was I, and now I am here. In the jungle, with vomit on my chest.
Great.
Carefully, I stand up, my legs feeling a bit wobbly, but the sensation wore off after a few seconds. Stretching my slightly stiff muscles, I then moved to wipe off the mess that was staining my shell like some messed up badge of honor. Scratching the back of my skull, I thought about my next course of action.
Well, it's not like I haven't been in situations like this before. Cocking my head to the side in thought, I snapped my fingers when an idea popped into my brain.
"Hey," I shouted into the empty moist air, "I bet since that boy came through the same portal thingy that I did, he is probably around here somewhere. When I find him, I can convince him to help me. Once he gets a look at these baby blues he will definitely point me back to New York."
Smirking at how flawless my planned sounded, I began tracking through the dense foliage, desperate to get back home to normalcy, and my family…
Well, maybe without the normal.
Standing on the rooftop while letting the calm air gently sway my startled and uninterested body back and forth, I stared down and the sadly comical scene below. I mean, when one hears a loud explosion disrupting the stilled and tranquil atmosphere, one expects to find something noteworthy and fascinating. Some great causes could have been, a meteor crashing dramatically into the heart of a city, or bombs placed at the basses of various building detonating poetically, or heck, even a car engine going rogue and incinerating the whole block. I can tell you one does not expect to discover that the cause of the startling blast to be the result of too much built up pressure inside of a condom vending machine outside of the local "adult activities" store. After my brothers and I figured out the cause of all that commotion, let's just say that that ended my perfect clear skies and seventy degree night.
Like any other monotonous day of our lives, we were yet again subjected to participate in a routine training and or patrol run led by our clan's leader himself, Leonardo. Normally, I approach these evenings with the eagerness of zombie starting a vegan lifestyle, given the fact that for the past few months, I have fallen into last place consistently, but this night was different. For one thing, I wasn't in last place, Mikey was. This was a total shocker because being the most athletic of us he is usually yards ahead of us.
He wasn't even standing on the same roof as us, well at least not yet. He was still taking his sweet time, lollygagging on the other roof behind us. Normally, I would give him some words of encouragement to inspire him to light a fire under that lethargic shell, but this calamity unfolding below me was just to perplexing. I must admit though, Mikey has been making me uneasy. He did say he was having extreme pain in his head, which was most likely brought on by his visually over stimulating lifestyle. So I should have been a little more sympathetic, but let's face it, it was nice to give the little guy a spoon full of his own medicine, as the saying goes. So yes, I did taunt, and I did throw in my cheap shots and two cents, but hey, you can't stay the best for long and he brought this on himself.
Tearing myself away from my thoughts, I glanced to my left and gave my two older brothers a questioning glance. Leo had a firm grip on my red clad brother, who was one third of the way over the ledge, I might add. He was staring at the inciting neon sign and the suggestive poses of the mannequins with primal ravenousness. Apparently, Raph had an undying need to go investigate the rest of the erotic retailer just in case there were injured inside, you know 'just in case'. By the stern look on Leo's face, I could tell he was not buying it.
This is going to be interesting.
"Come on Fearless, let me go!" Raph shouted while trying to fruitlessly break free on Leo's iron grip. "What if something exploded in the store too and someone is trapped inside, we should go and you know, have a little look." Given their position, if Raph were to throw his full body weight forward he would knock Leo off balance. While Leo stumbles trying and regain his footing Raph could potentially have enough time to do some 'investigation' of his own, I thought to myself while watching the scene play out before me.
"No, Raphael, I will not allow you to risk getting caught; the place is swarming with cops! Besides, I doubt anyone is hurt, nonetheless hurt far beyond what the cops can help."
I watched their peculiar tug-of-war game for a few minutes while scrunching my nose in confusion. Looking up and down the street, I noticed just how many police officers there were, which was odd. Where were they when more dire situations were occurring in their city? Not that condoms, lubrication, and other vendible objects littering the streets wasn't calamitous, but It seemed as if every available unit was called to investigate the abnormal explosion, there was even an ambulance and a fire truck . It seemed to me that the police department needed to take a trip back to headquarters to discuss their priorities.
Pushing my brothers' squabbling to the back of my mind, I leaned a little bit more over the ledge, craning my neck to get a clear view of the crowd that was beginning to form. It is amazing how something so small could attract the masses, distracting them from their evening meals, local cable, and slumber.
I guess the media was right…
…Sex really does sell.
Returning my attention to my brothers, Raph had both feet firmly planted on the rooftop now, and he was looking as grouchy as ever. I guess he was a little peeved about not being able to get a peak of naked women and various other erogenous elements that all resided in the shop. I guess innocent 'victims' of the miniscule explosion that occurred outside of the store was the last thing on his mind.
I swear he is such a nymphomaniac at times; I should look into this matter further when I have more time.
Looking at Leo, he rolled his eyes and gave me a knowing smile. Smiling back, I couldn't help but to chuckle as Raph scowled at the both of us, picking up on the unspoken conversation. Catching my giggles as if they were some common cold, Raph began laughing as well, Leo joining him too. Finally, we were all flat on our backs laughing and making raunchy jokes about what was going on down below, no pun intended. Times like these make me smile and enjoy the moments I have with my brothers.
"Hey Mikey," Raph sputtered in-between fits of laughter, "remember that time when we were walking to April's house and you found that condom and you thought it was a balloon?"
"Oh man, that day was funny," Leo added holding his sides, "I almost thought he had a heart attack when we told him where that 'balloon' had been."
"You mean that this thing was on a- ew gross!" I added, mimicking my younger brother's voice perfectly.
That memory caused a massive wave of sniggers and hoots as we relived the day. Expecting Mikey to speak up and defend himself, I became curious when I didn't hear a word from my brother in orange.
Raph and Leo must have thought the same thing because they pried open their tear filled eyes and looked around the rooftops. As I stared at their puzzled faces, I began looking around the rooftop too. Where I half expected to see a pouting Mikey, giving us his infamous silent treatment, there was only vacancy.
Standing up and brushing the gravel off the back of his thighs, Leo began calling out Mikey's name while lightly jogging over the rooftop. Only the silent wind and the noise from below answered him. I could tell that he was starting to get nervous from the way he looked at us. Making my way to my feet, I pointed to the building behind us and shrugged, maybe Mikey never made it over here and just decided to stay on the other roof. Nodding, Leo took a running start towards the ledge and leapt to the adjacent rooftop. Raph and I looked at each other and silently took off ourselves. When we landed on the building alongside Leo, I must admit I was perplexed by its emptiness.
"Mikey," Leo shouted, pausing and listening for a response to make its way back to him.
Nothing.
"That knuckle head is always running off Leo, why are you worrying?" Raph asked rolling his eyes and leaning against the ledge of the building.
I could see anxiety build up on Leo's face as he began thinking of every possible situation that our youngest brother could be in right now. Sometimes I feel as though all of that stress Leo allows his mind to succumb to will give him an aneurism one day. I know I should be more worried like him because Mikey 'vanished' without a trace, but this is not the first time he has done this.
It was a common practice really. If he was bored or was getting tired of beating our sorry shells, he would often sneak back to the lair and find another more interesting activity. Sometimes, he would stop for food, or even browse the local comic book shop or toy store too before we even got close to getting back to home.
"Leo calm down or you will give yourself a brain hemorrhage. You know Mikey; he probably just went home or found something better to do."
"Yeah," Raph added clearly unfazed "he's a big turtle now, he can fend for himself."
Looking at us and around the rooftop, Leo sighed. "I don't know, you guys are probably right," grabbing his phone from his belt and dialing Mikey's number, "but I am going to give him a call to see where he went."
Raph and I exchanged silent knowing looks. Leo would not stop thinking about Mike and his whereabouts unless he was certain that he had made it home safely. While Leo continued dialing our M.I.A younger brother, Raph and I went to the ledge to sit, we were both just about done with today's activities.
"He is troubling himself over nothing, I bet the little booger has already made it home and is eating a giant bowl of Captain Crunch while playing his video games as we speak."
"Yeah…," I thought absentmindedly, my mind was already thinking about all of the things that I would rather be doing right now. Leaning back while looking over my shoulder, I could not help but to notice a clothesline suspended between the two buildings. A small smile crept onto my face as I tried suppressing giggles.
"What's so funny Don," Leo asked his face etched in confusion and he made his way back over to us. I could tell that Mikey did not answer.
Trying to get my giggles under control, I pointed to the clothesline. It took a moment, but my other two brothers finally caught on to what I thought was hilarious and Raph and I fell out laughing. Even Leo dropped his serious demeanor for a few minutes to smile and shake his head.
"Remember that day when Mikey decided to run off and do his own solo run because we were to slow for him. He chose to go home after a while I guess but decided to take a route he was not familiar with and ended up getting caught in a mass of clothes lines for an hour!"
Raph's guttural bellow filled the air as a mass of tears streamed down his face in amusement. "Yeah, he was caught in a huge pile of ladies underwear and bras. Remember how we almost couldn't find him because his head was stuck in some poor women's bloomers!"
We all laughed at that memory for a few minutes but it slowly died down as a wave of guilt hit us.
"I remember when we finally decided to help him down, his leg that was caught was swollen because the circulation had been low and he could hardly walk back to the lair," I added looking at Leo sheepishly.
We sat in silence for a few moments and I could tell the feeling of uneasiness was mutual. Suddenly, Leo cleared his throat and stood up walking towards the fire escape. "Alright, we are done for tonight, now let's go see if Mikey made it home."
Standing up and adjusting my bag, and idea made its way into my mind. Dropping my duffle bag to the floor, I swiftly opened it up and began rummaging through its many contents. I could tell my brothers thought I was nuts, but that wasn't new.
Gingerly, I pulled out a tracking device. A while ago, I installed chips inside of everyone shell cells that would constantly give off their whereabouts on a wavelength that only this machine could read. I originally made it so I could keep an eye on Raphael when he decided to disappear for a few days, but I thought everyone could benefit from it.
"I can't believe that I hadn't thought of this sooner!" Rubbing the smooth metallic surface, I felt my smile widen at my own ingenuity.
"Um Donny, what the hell is that?"
Tearing my eyes away from the device, I flashed a big smile at my other two brothers, who looked even more confused by the minuet.
Turning the device on, I held it out so my brothers could get a better look at the three blips that were standing in the same coordinates.
"This, my brothers is a tracking device that will help to answer our question of where exactly Mikey is. I have installed microchips inside each of our shell cells that send of a signal that only this machine can receive. I'll just isolate Mikey's signal and from there we can see where he is!"
I must say, it does my heart good when I saw the impressed looks that my brothers gave me. Even the slight smile and silent head nod of Leo made me feel number one. Silently, I began removing our three signals and programed the machine to search the city for Mikey's. As a grid began popping up, my heart began to sink a little. Looking up at my brothers hopeful faces, all I could do was shake my head.
"Well, is he at home Don," Leo asked, hope filling his voice.
"Well, no actually. His signal is not even close to the lair, it is coming from the opposite direction."
"Well, maybe he decided to take the long way home then," Raph added, his voice surprisingly hopeful.
"No, his signal is coming from pretty high up, my guess is that he is on another building," I added looking at the screen.
"You can tell how high he is up just from looking at a flashing dot on the screen?"
"Well yeah," I responded turning the machine around so they could see, "The closer the signal is to the ground, the stronger the color is, the further the signal is away from surface level, the fainter it gets. I can tell how fast someone is moving too, if there is an increase in one's velocity, the beeping will increase; if there is a decrease in someone's velocity, or no movement at all the beeping will slow down or stop all together."
"So from what you're saying," Leo added tearing himself away from the screen,"Mikey is on a very high building somewhere just standing there?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
"Good," Raphael interrupted before we could add anything more, "let's go pay him a visit." Stepping away from us and motioning with his arm, he made eye contact with me.
"Lead the way."
Nodding my head firmly, I swiftly made my way to the surface and followed the signal to Mikey's location. My brothers followed suite. It was easy to maneuver through the streets without being seen because all of the blocks inhabitants were still at the scene of the "explosion." As we got closer to the location, I stopped. Turning around, I pointed to the building.
"The signal is coming from up there," I added craning my neck because the building was incredibly tall from ground level. I instantly recognized this building; it was infamous as the cities squatter house. It's crumbled and weathered face showed signs of neglect and abandonment. Through some of the broken windows, it was possible to see the almost skeletal inside. Walls had crumbled and there was probably a lot of garbage from tenants, past and present. Every year, there is someone who wants to tear this ancient structure down, but the idea is always quickly shot down as fast as it is brought up. I guess the city would rather have its homeless holed away in a structure forgotten by time than to have them sleeping on the streets in plain view.
It might bring the property value on their precious homes down after all.
"He is on top of this rundown piece of garbage, what is so interesting about some old squatter house?" Raph questioned while folding his arms across his plastron.
"I don't know but-"Leo turned around and looked at me with a puzzled expression, "Donatello, your machine is going haywire, its beeping like crazy turn it down."
"What," I shouted looking at the screen in disbelief as the machine wailed continuously and shaking my head, "this is bad this is so very bad I shouted while bolting across the street."
"What is it Don," Leo asked catching up to my frantic sprint.
Turning around to face my brother, I couldn't hide the trembling in my voice. "Either he is taking the fastest elevator known to man or-."
The sound of a body hitting the ground from such a height it something that I hoped I would never have to hear as long as I walked the earth. What made it even more painful was the fact that the body that struck the ground with such force was my brother's. I could hear the hollowed clatter and the sickening scrapping sounds as his shell made contact with the cement in the ally way and slid from the force of the fall. Before I could even register what exactly was happening my other two brothers bolted across the street, shouting at me to hurry up. Robotically, I crammed the tracking device inside of my bag and made a blind run to the scene of the fall.
It was not as bad as I have envisioned, but it was still pretty bad.
I could tell that his shell sustained most of the damage, so the chance of his internal organs being damaged was slim to none. Dropping down to my knees I systematically began looking my brother over taking mental notes of possible injuries he could have sustained. I immediately noticed that his right arm was broken, while his left should was dislocated. A deep and long bruise was forming on his right leg, while his left leg from the knee down was missing a lot of skin. His mouth was bloody, and a light trail of blood trickled down from his head. I fear that his skull maybe fractured due to its unevenness near his right temple. He was unconscious which wasn't completely unusual given the severity of his plummet.
"How bad is he Don," Leo asked his voice wavering a bit, "is he…?"
Turning around to face Leo I shook my head, "no he isn't, but he is critical condition, we got to get him back to the lair now. Find something flat like a board of some sort that we can put him on so we don't move him a lot.
Leo silently nodded and slipped away, searching the ally frantically for something, anything that we could use to move our brother. Looking at Raph, I could tell that he was conflicted as to what he should do. "Raph," I spoke gently yet firm at the same time, "it will take too long for the battle shell to get here, do you think…?"
"I'm on it," he responded before I could finish my question, "any particular make or model?"
"Just try not to go for something to flashy okay?"
All I got was a snort in response.
Moments after Raphael disappeared onto the main road, Leo came back with a pretty impressive plank of wood. "That's perfect Leo, now drop it on the ground next to him. I am going to need your help to slide it under him."
We worked in silence. Both of us focused intently on transferring our broken brother to the sturdy surface, while at the same time trying to move him as little as possible. His face had pain etched all over it, and I was glad that he was not conscious to endure it. As I gently secured his head in neck, my mind became alive. So many questions were running through my head. What was Mikey doing up on the roof of this old run down building and how exactly did he fall off?
"Don, look."
My attention was diverted away from tightening the last band around Mikey's head to Leo gently rubbing the now inflamed and mangled right arm of my brother. My eyes met his, taking in the cool and steely disposition they held as we silently communicated what had to be done. We both knew from past even and our own previous injuries that the longer we let it sit broken, the more force will be needed in the future to correct it.
"We may as well do it now while he is unconscious, Leo."
"Right," he added grabbing a hold of Mikey's hand. Setting my bag gently on the cold ground I dug for a splint and bandages. As I was looking for a clip to keep the bandages secured, I cringed at the angry sound of muscle being forced and cracking as bones were fighting against being aligned. When I head the pop of bones and muscles falling into their rightful position and the satisfied grunt of my brother, I made my way back over to Mikey, bandaging his arm while Leo held it into position. We silently worked, setting the rest of his joints while we waited for Raph to join us with a hopefully stealthy vehicle.
"What are you going to do about his leg Donny?"
"Dousing it in alcohol is just going to have to suffice for now, we are out of bandages."
The roar from an engine filled the air like the growl from a hungry predator closing in on its meal. Brakes screeched and tires howled as they sailed across the empty streets. Bright lights illuminated the empty alleyway and I instinctually covered my eyes from their assault.
Red, my brother just had to choose a crimson red muscle car. Its detailed body and flawless paint job glistened like a puddle of blood under the pale milky glow of moonlight. The dark tinted windows and chrome wheels told me that whoever was the owner of this vehicle was either an avid car enthusiast, or a person who was overcompensating for something. When Raph opened the door, Leo and I shared annoyed sighs.
He would pick a car that had suicide doors.
"Guys, look at this totally awesome whip I boosted," Raph added while smirking and walking over to us.
"What happened to finding a stealthy vehicle Raphael?" Leo snapped cutting his eyes at our often-insubordinate brother.
Raph just shrugged his shoulders in response. Looking down, he stared into the face of our youngest brother lying immobilized on a piece of wood. "He ready yet?"
I nodded. Standing up, I motioned for Raph to grab the foot of the board while Leo grabbed the head. We carefully inched our way to the extravagant vehicle as if we were walking on eggshells. Slowly, Leo began lowering the head of the plank inside the car while I guided him through the other window. When the first half of the board was in carefully, Leo took the foot of the board from Raph and our red clad brother quietly slipped into the back seat. Carefully as if handling an explosive bomb, Leo placed the remaining sections of the board down across of Raphael's lap.
Shutting the back door, Leo peaked across the hood of the car and curtly stated that he was driving, which was fine by me. My hands needed to be free in case Mikey's seemingly stable condition decided to take a turn for the worse. Wordlessly, we slipped into the car, and Leo turned the keys inside of the ignition. Cringing as the belly of the beast growled once again, he gently slipped out of the alleyway and onto the quiet streets of New York. We rode in silence, I would systematically look in the back seat to see how our brother was doing, there was never a change, he looked almost peaceful. As we avoided major roads, and busy streets, Leo safely got us to the garage that would lead us to the sewers in record time.
Killing the engine, I sent Leo ahead of Raph and I to prepare the bed of the medical ward because it was to be expecting a new guest. Wordlessly he obeyed. It was a little trickier getting Mikey out of the back seat as opposed to putting him in, but after a few moments, Raph and I finally figured it out.
Carefully as if moving a glass figurine, we were able to transport our battered brother down the elevator, across the lair, and into the medical room where a set of crisp white sheets were waiting anxiously for us on top of the bed.
As soon as we he was on the bed, my body automatically began to work on fixing what was broken. I got him hooked up to IV's, wrapped the opened wound on his leg, and cleaned his body from random patched of dried blood and garbage. My brothers sat in the background mumbling amongst them while my nimble fingers flew expertly through all of the work that I needed to accomplish.
I was able to catch the tail end of their conversations. I could tell that Leo was already blaming himself, and Raphael was trying to alleviate his inner turmoil to the best of his ability.
"This isn't your fault dude, so you can just wipe that look off your face."
"What," I heard Leo question, I could see him cocking his head to the side in my mind's eye.
"You heard me, this isn't your fault, and so you can stop this whole pity party of yours and stop putting the blame for this on top of your own shoulders."
Then I saw it.
It was only brief, very brief but I saw a rare chink in Raph's armor. It was so small, and someone would have to have known Raphael for years to notice it, but I saw his eyes shimmer with the rare expression or sorrow.
Leo's instincts must have taken over because out of nowhere, he pulled Raphael into a firm hug. Raph struggled at first, but slowly relaxed into the hug.
Clearing my throat, I slowly walked over to by two brothers and placed my hands on both of their shoulders.
"He will be okay you know, its Mikey were talking about, he is too stubborn to give up".
With my last statement, both Raph and Leo let out a slow chuckle and pulled away while looking long and steadily into my eyes.
"I hope your right Don," Raph spoke slowly and sadly, "I hope your right", and with that he quietly left to room to go somewhere only he knew.
Turning to Leo, I asked if he was okay, to which he only responded with a smile.
I already knew that he was beating himself up over this. A soft beep erupted from my computer and I quickly made my way towards it, typing feverishly while taking in the information it was providing me.
"Is everything alright Donny," Leo asked while moving behind me.
It took me forever to answer him, something that he has grown accustomed to over the years when something had my attention.
"We'll all the scans show that there are no internal injuries other than a couple of bruised ribs, his broken arm, and his scrapped leg. His skull has a slight fracture on it, but it is hairline so I think he shall be okay with lots of rest" I replied, my voice dripping with relief and hope.
"He is going to be," and with that last statement, he quickly hugged me, congratulating me on a job well done.
"Let's go get Raphael so we can explain to Master Splinter what had happened tonight, I am sure he knows something is up."
"You know big bro, I am starting to get the feeling that Master Splinter knows everything," I added in a matter-of-factly tone a big smile washing over his face erasing all signs of worry.
"You know, I think you may be right," he added laughing, "come on, let's go find Mr. Moody".
Allowing me to lead the way I stole one last glance at Michelangelo before heading out of the room. Before the door closed, I heard him whisper, "I will never fail you again baby brother, never again", and with that, he silently closed the door.
Now it is time to face the hardest obstacle in our life, our father.
