Strong like Raphael

Michelangelo felt himself shoot out from the water and he yelped as he fell on his back, his nunchakus slipped from his grasp. His ears felt waterlogged and he tried to blink away the stars flashing before his eyes. There was a piercing pain on his left shoulder and he was sure that he was bleeding.

Somewhere in a distance, he could hear Xever's mocking laugh. There was a spray of water and Mikey was sure sushi-boy had jumped out of the ocean after spending a few minutes head-wrestling Mikey underwater. Xever may look comical, but he was also the most cunning of all of Shredder's lieutenants. Somehow he had managed to swing under Mikey's flaying nunchakus and stabbed the turtle on the shoulder, before kicking him in the head and stomach and caused him to fall to his knees.

Mikey knew already that Xever was cunning, but he was also brutal and sadistic. He and Raph were so similar in battle skills and tactics, except Raph would probably not skin Mikey alive anytime soon (unless he caught Mikey reading his comic books again). But Xever was a dangerous mutant, he had no sense of honour and Mikey wasn't sure if the mutant would not stab him again even when he's down.

I can't fight him now, Mikey thought weakly. His brothers were nowhere in sight, perhaps they too were fighting off their own swarm of Foot or one of the henchmen. Somehow the different building blocks beside the docks had separated Mikey from his brothers, and when he had accidentally fallen into the water he found himself being Xever's punching bag. It annoyed him at first, but now he barely had enough strength to form words in his mind.

Mikey tried to reach for his nunchakus, but the sound of metal ringing in the air told him that Xever had taken it. He was mocking Mikey now, calling him a baby. Xever wondered aloud as to why the other turtles would allow such a child to be part of the team. He was weak, the weakest link in the team. All they need is to bring him down, and the Turtles would be destroyed.

Mikey gritted his teeth at the words. He had always wondered that, maybe he was the weakest one. Having spent all his life in the shadows of his older brothers, he always took advantage of their protective sides, particularly Raph who would not let anyone – not even Splinter- beat Mikey up mindlessly. And here he was again, lying on his back, waiting for one of his brothers to come rescue him again.

Well, maybe not this time.

Balling his fingers into a fist, Mikey forced himself up to a sitting position. Raph would not take this lying down. He would not let some blasted Fishface insult him and his family while he lay bleeding on the ground. And Mikey was done being the weakest link. He would not let his enemies get through to his family, and he certainly won't be the reason they managed to.

Xever's face drained out of colour as Mikey dragged himself up to his feet. The wound on his shoulder was sending white-hot pain through his body, but Mikey ignore it. Strength. He will find his strength. He remembered Raph's snarls and growls that intimidated even their worst enemies, he remembered the veins in Raph's arms as he gripped his sais, and Mikey glared at the nunchakus in Xever's hand.

As he took one heavy step after another towards a faltering Xever, Mikey steeled every bone of his body to soldier on with the impending fight. I'll be strong, Mikey thought silently.

Strong like Raph.