Rating: T

Warnings: Overall story - Brief mentions of torture. Bit of language.

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Summary: 2k12 side of 'AOtGO'. For months, Mikey was at the tender 'mercy' of the Kraang. His family thinks he's dead, he's been rescued by the wrong family and now must learn to fit in in a dimension not his own. All while searching for a way home for both himself and the missing member of his adopted family. 2k3/2k12 crossover.

Responses:

Sewer Rat in Tuxedo: Thank you! And don't worry, more action to come a couple of chapters from now too XD

KaylaMicael: Yeah, Icecream Kitty was cute and all but it did feel a bit mean limiting her so much. Especially while obviously upping her intelligence.

ScribeofHeroes: Yeah, Mikey needed to be out and about without a chaperone for a while and thankfully, Splinter recognised that need. Even if he wasn't happy about it.

He did try, at least :-)

Nuh, not Irma, don't worry. While she'll likely be mentioned from time to time (as a friend of April's and a hindrance of Casey's) I can't really see her coming into this story. At least, not in the foreseeable future.

This story is still in the first half of season 2 so a long way from the Kraang taking over. Though with the changes, the timeline will be shifting and moving further out. I don't plan the 'takeover' to come into it but who knows about what could happen further along. While I do have some ideas, particularly for the near future and closer to the reunification, the middle is far more open. Especially after I finally hit the 'Wormquake' episodes :-)

Thank you!

AOtGO – Aftermath

Ch 28

Date: 13th Oct

Mikey slowly closed the gap between himself and the monster below, struggling to keep control of his breath and avoid panting from exhaustion and pain and giving himself away. Though he had no chance of dislodging those massive, disgusting jaws, the person in the giant rat's jaw was struggling to break free and Mikey couldn't help but admire the blond's effort as, even though he was clearly terrified, he refused to give up and accept his fate.

Much like he'd refused to give up and just accept the fate his captors had in mind for him all those months when he'd been imprisoned.

Narrowing his eyes as he thought, he brought the route ahead to mind. Luckily, this was still familiar territory and he knew there was a split in the path ahead. One direction continued much like any other normal tunnel but the other had a long drop down. He had no idea which way the mutant monster would go but if he could ensure it went down the one with the sudden drop, he could rescue the human without too much effort and further pressure on his still-healing body.

He only hoped he wouldn't make his injuries too much worse or Doctor Don would have his shell. Still, saving the innocent's life was far more important and he'd just have to risk incurring the wrath of Donatello.

Pouring on the speed, he dashed ahead, throwing the skateboard down and jumping onto it. Then he pushed faster, shooting ahead of the monstrous mutant and its live dinner.

"Help! Please!"

Mikey winced in sympathy. He wanted to call back reassurance but he couldn't risk it. It would only slow him down and that thing – he shuddered - might catch up or he might miss the junction.

Finally, he reached the fork in the path and he jumped down, eyes looking about frantically. To his relief, the grate he remembered from home was here too. It was latched to the wall like an open gate and he ran to it, manually disengaging and pulling it closed to lock in place. Then, he vaulted up to the pipes above again and headed into the other fork. Just in the nick of time.

The mutant rat galloped into view, the human still fighting weakly in its jaws, and barely paused before coming down the path Mikey wanted.

He smiled grimly as he raced after it.

Thirty feet to go.

Twenty feet.

Ten feet.

Mikey launched himself off the pipe onto the monster's back, kusarigama in hand and stabbed it deep in the back, just below its neck.

The mutant creature screamed, high-pitched and painful. Its jaw opened and the human fell out, right over the drop.

As the rat and the blond fell, both screaming, Mikey dove after them. He threw the blade of his borrowed weapon up to catch and wrap about the piping above as he snatched up the human, praying the chain would hold.

A moment later, they slammed to a stop and Mikey cried out, the sudden jolt shooting pain through his injured arm, ribs and body but he managed to hold on.

Eyes squeezed closed, the human clutched tightly to him, almost choking him in desperation and Mikey just dangled there a few moments, breathing raggedly in relief.

"J-just... keep a tight grip on me, dude," he instructed through grit teeth. Then he pressed the button to retract the chain and they slowly rose. The moment they were clear of the drop, Mikey began to swing and soon landed safely on solid ground.

"You can let go now, dude," he chuckled humourlessly. "You're safe now. I promise."

The curly-haired blond shakily let go, taking half a step away before lifting his head to look gratefully at Mikey and Mikey quickly jumped back up into the piping, wincing again at the sharp pain in his ribs.

Donnie wasn't just going to have his shell. Donnie was going to kill him!

It was worth it though, he scowled, and he'd do it again if he had to.

The human continued looking about, blinking in confusion. "Where are you?" he asked tremulously. "Are... are you still there?"

"I'm here, dude," Mikey called down softly.

"That... that was... terrifying!" he gasped.

"Yeah, you're telling me," Mikey chuckled again. He wasn't going to be able to sleep for a week after seeing that thing.

The human looked up, squinting into the darkness above. "Thanks for saving me!"

Warmth rushed through him. Totally worth it. "You're welcome, dude. Are you okay?"

The young man laughed weakly as his knees suddenly collapsed beneath him, depositing him on the filthy sewer floor. His eyes continued searching above. "I'm sore and probably need a rabies shot after that but I'll be okay," he admitted shakily. "What about you? It... it sounded like you were hurt. Are you okay?"

Mikey paused, blinking in surprise. The human had clearly been terrified and to a certain extent still was and yet he was aware and considerate enough to ask about him. Mikey smiled. "I'll live. At least I will until I get home and my other-di... uh, brothers kill me," he chuckled. "Speaking of, I need to get back. Will you be alright getting back to the surface?"

The human looked about fearfully. The light was dim, he'd just been through a traumatic experience and he had no idea where he was. "I... you're not going to leave me down here, are you?" he pleaded desperately.

Mikey froze a moment. "Uh... no. I-I'll take you back to the nearest manhole and you can climb up there. Is that okay?"

The blond nodded gratefully so Mikey began walking along the pipes. "This way," he called out softly.

"You're staying up there?" the young man asked, sounding slightly panicked.

Mikey nodded reluctantly. Then remembering the human couldn't see that, called down, "Yeah."

"But I can't see you!"

He laughed sadly. "Yeah, that's uh... kinda the point. I don't want to scare you any more than you've already been scared."

"Dude, you saved me. Why would I be scared of you?"

"Because..." Mikey blinked uncertainly, "I'm not human and humans usually get scared and scream when they see me or my brothers. That's why, dude."

"What are you then?" he shot back shakily. "An alien or something?"

Mikey laughed hollowly. That wasn't such a far-out concept as some might think but, "Or something. I'm a mutant."

"Oh... did you get hit by that weird green goo too?"

Mikey blinked again. "Too?" The guy looked normal enough.

"A few months back, some canisters of the stuff rained down from the sky and hit some people. They changed," the blond explained quietly. "I uh... the authorities kept quiet about it, tried to cover it up but I've heard the chatter online and in-game and there were a lot of disappearances around the time. That and a bunch of weird sightings made me wonder if the chatter was true after all."

He was talking about what happened when April's father was mutated, Mikey realised.

"Uh, something like that, yeah."

The human sighed. "Like I said, you saved me. I promise I won't freak out. I'm Woody, by the way."

Mikey contemplated the human below him for a moment, then made his decision and jumped down to land before him, wincing as he landed and jolted his bruised ribs again.

"Hi, Woody," he smiled, "I'm Mikey!"

-:-

True to his word, Woody did not freak out at the sight of him, though he did look surprised. Then he smiled in relief and stepped forward and Mikey led the way to the nearest manhole as promised, stopping only to pick up the borrowed skateboard on the way.

The pair chatted amiably as they walked. Woody still sounded rather shaken up but after what he'd just been through, Mikey couldn't blame him. He made Woody promise to get checked out at a hospital since the mutant rat's teeth had drawn blood and he walked obviously in pain. Then, they went their separate ways.

Woody had wanted to exchange phone numbers but feeling bad for denying him, Mikey said how he didn't have a normal phone, only a special one with its own network to keep in touch with his family so instead, the young man told him where he worked and said to come around for pizza sometime, his treat. Mikey smiled when he tried to explain why he wouldn't be able to but Woody just said to find a way to call ahead and ask for the 'Woody Special' and that it was for 'Mikester' and he'd bring it out back for him where he wouldn't be seen by anyone else. Then the pair separated and Mikey made his way back to the lair, arriving nearly two hours after being told to head back.

Once he arrived, he stopped for a quick shower in the garage so he wouldn't track muck and slime into the lair before heading inside. As expected, his other-dimensional brothers weren't home yet but what did surprise him was that neither was Splinter and that enabled the loneliness to creep in yet again.

He tried to shrug off the feeling by turning the TV on with the volume up, finding a comedy skit show to listen to before heading to the kitchen to get started on dinner, cubing meat he'd put into the fridge to defrost that morning and slicing up vegetables for an easy stew. He had no idea how long until everyone returned but the beauty of stew was that it could simmer for hours if need be and only improve with the added cooking time.

Finally, a few hours later, the others arrived home, looking bedraggled and tired as though they'd been in a tough fight, though Splinter, of course, stood straight and tall, a strange, almost satisfaction in his demeanour.

Mikey smiled in relief and quickly set his sketchbook aside, only just managing to not bounce to his feet so as to not exacerbate his sore ribs further than he already had.

"So what happened? Are you guys okay?" he asked, looking over everyone anxiously, one at a time, for any sign of injury. He absolutely hated being left out and behind. It so wasn't fair!

Raph groaned loudly in dismay. "It's a long story and we're fine! I got first dibs on the shower!" he said, turning and making a beeline for the bathroom, stripping off as he walked.

Mikey smirked after him in amusement. "He does know there's a second shower in the garage, right?"

"Right," Donnie chuckled tiredly. "Though you shouldn't use both at the same time because if you do, it cuts the hot water off from the main bathroom. I don't think any of us are suicidal enough to risk Raph's wrath by doing that."

Mikey perked up, glancing after Raph and filing that tidbit away for future reference.

"I actually only installed it there for when I get too dirty while working in the garage anyway."

"But there's no problem with anyone else using it though, is there?" Mikey asked curiously.

Donnie shook his head. "No, though it doesn't have the privacy of the bathroom. Why?"

Mikey shrugged. "I used it when I came back so I wouldn't spread muck through the lair, that's all."

"Oh, that's fine," Donnie said agreeably, even as Leo narrowed his eyes at him.

"And why were you so dirty you needed to use it?" he challenged coolly.

"Donnie-boy here said to be careful and make sure I wasn't followed back," Mikey retorted, trying to bite back his annoyance. Seriously, he was beginning to understand just why this Leo and Raph had so many problems. It was weird and wrong to have that attitude directed at him, like everything he did needed to be questioned. "Like that's not Ninja 101. So part of the way back, I walked through the water to shake off anything that might've followed me." Like that monstrous mutant rat. He didn't know if there were more around (though he suspected there might be) or if it might have survived and climbed back up for revenge so after seeing Woody off, he thought it safer to cover his trail just in case.

Leo looked surprised and Splinter gazed at him approvingly.

"Are you sure that was a good idea when you could've just been aware of your surroundings?" Leo asked uncertainly. "It's not exactly sanitary."

"Dude!" Mikey laughed in disbelief. "We live in the sewers. Nothing down here is sanitary."

"Well, that's true but without..."

Donnie frowned and cut Leo off. "I don't really see the problem if Mike showered thoroughly afterwards and as long as he doesn't have any open cuts for the liquid to get into."

Mikey nodded vigorously.

"Do you?"

"Not that I know of," Mikey confirmed, lifting his feet one at a time to double-check. There were the cuts in his shoulder from being bitten a little over a week ago but the stitches had already been removed and though they weren't fully healed yet, they'd healed enough that even if they had become wet, it wouldn't be an issue. "Dude, you can't honestly tell me you've never gone into that gunky water."

Leo pulled a disgusted face. "Of course we have. When we were younger before we knew better mostly and of course there have been times more recently but we try not to unless there's no choice."

Mikey nodded; that was fair. "Well, I felt I had no choice."

Splinter levelled his gaze at him as Raphael emerged from the corridor, freshly showered and clean, the odd droplet of water glistening on his emerald muscles.

"Did something happen, Michelangelo?" Splinter asked sternly.

Mikey pulled a face as Raph called out.

"Shower's free!"

Leo and Donnie ignored him, their focus, likewise, on Michelangelo.

"Yeah, eh heh... I was going to tell you but I uh.. may have accidentally broken my promise?" Mikey laughed nervously, cringing inwardly at the sighs and stern expressions on those around him. "It was for a good cause, though!"

"Of course, it was," Leo sighed tiredly. "This is why you shouldn't have gone alone!"

"What happened, Michelangelo?"

Mikey cringed again, then sighed. "It's a long story and dinner's about ready. Can I tell you after we eat?"

Splinter's gaze narrowed.

"You guys still need showers too," Mikey pointed out deliberately, "and you're not stepping one foot into my kitchen until you've had one."

"Since when did it become your kitchen?" Raph countered, his arms crossed and eyes narrowed in a scowl.

"Uh... the minute I took it over and well... you guys did tell me several times now... that this is my home until I get back to my real home. Unless... you didn't mean it?" he asked, looking from Leo to Donnie and Raph to Splinter, suddenly uncertain.

"No, we meant it," Donnie confirmed, rubbing a hand over his face.

"But still, claiming ownership over the kitchen?"

Mikey pulled another face. "You guys are a total disaster in there and even when you clean it, you don't do it properly and I have to redo it," he complained. "So yeah, my kitchen. I'll put a sign on it if I have to."

"Wait, you have to reclean it?" Donnie asked in dismay.

Mikey nodded uncertainly. It wasn't as bad as he made it sound but he often noticed areas Raph in particular missed when it was his turn to clean and the amount of times he had to rewash dishes because they still had bits of dried food on them was stupid. As for Leo, he may have been fastidious about cleaning, which was great, but he was banned from touching any appliance other than the kettle for good reason.

Splinter regarded him a moment. "If you are trying to get out of explaining yourself, I assure you, it will not work."

"I promise I'm not," Mikey retorted innocently. Though he wished like shell he could.

Then Mikey went to start dishing up dinner while the others took quick showers and cleaned up.

-:-

After he'd finished his small portion of food, Mikey told the others about his outing. He mentioned going in search of the locations he'd once called home in his dimension once he found himself in familiar territory and that he'd found two of them. He didn't give any details of where, finding a part of himself wanting desperately to keep something to himself. However, he mentioned how the second had not been abandoned and disused in this world, unlike his own and that that was where he'd seen... something that gave him the raging heebie-jeebies moving in the shadows.

At that point, Mikey had been only too happy to head directly back and he'd done just that until being forced to hide when that giant rat squeezed its way down into the sewers from above. He expressed shock at how something so large could fit through such a tiny hole and Donnie shrugged, pointing out that some rodents had the ability to flatten themselves to fit through cracks otherwise too small. Mikey shuddered at that, then cheekily turned and asked if Splinter had that ability. Splinter simply fixed him with a stern, unimpressed look and told him to continue the story so he did, detailing how he'd see a human caught in the thing's jaws and that he couldn't just do nothing and leave him.

Mikey jutted out his jaw obstinately. "So I came up with a plan that didn't need a lot of fighting and rescued the guy and I'd do it again if I had to."

"Did this human see you?"

He hesitated. Did they really think he was that out of practice? He'd lived his entire life hiding from humans too. As much as he sometimes didn't like having to hide, it was ingrained and even if it wasn't, well, some things were just more important like the safety of his family and friends. "He was terrified. When I caught him, his eyes were closed and the moment we were safe and on solid ground and he let go of me, I jumped up into the pipes."

"So he didn't see you then," Leo sighed in relief.

"Oh no, dude totally saw me," Mikey laughed nervously.

"Mike..." Leonardo groaned, sounding both like a disappointed parent and as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"I uh... had to lead him back to a ladder topside. I didn't go up or anything but I was tempted to because getting back here would've been much faster if I did." Mikey stole glances at everyone else and no one looked impressed. At all. "I had no choice but to let him see me," he reiterated quietly. "I couldn't just leave him down there! The lighting was bad and there was a massive drop not far from where we were. Also, he didn't know his way around! What if he fell or got lost and starved to death?"

"While those are very good points, you could have stayed hidden and directed him from above," Splinter pointed out stiffly.

"I could have and I nearly did," Mikey agreed, "but he was scared and who could blame him after what he'd just been through? Besides, he practically begged me to come down rather than be some weird disembodied voice from above. I tried to tell him it was better if he didn't see me but he already knew about mutants. I mean, he was just snatched up by one," he laughed humourlessly, "and he promised he wouldn't freak out."

"I understand, Mike but that was still a huge risk you took by showing yourself and it was one that doesn't just affect your safety but ours too," Leonardo pointed out, placing his spoon firmly into his now empty bowl. "After we find a way to get you home to your dimension, we still have to live here. You..."

Annoyed, Mikey cut Leo off, "You weren't there but I was. I had to make a decision and I chose the only thing I really could. The only other choices would've been to leave him or knock him out and carry him and under those circumstances, I'd make the same choice again."

"So how'd this human react to you and do we have to go silence him?" Raph asked, eyes narrowed menacingly.

Mikey rolled his. "He was fine, dude. Like he said, I saved him so he knew I wouldn't hurt him. Shell, he wanted to exchange phone numbers by the time I found a ladder topside for him."

His other-dimensional brothers looked at him in horror and Mikey laughed. "Don't worry, I made some excuse." Though he already regretted it. He'd always had a good sense about people (as long as they didn't terrify him first, that was) and he'd really liked Woody. In fact, if circumstances had been better, he could see them becoming good friends. He smiled sadly at the loss of what could have been.

"I watched him go through the manhole and then headed back here, disguising my trail just in case there were any more of those... things around or that one survived and wanted revenge for taking away its chew toy or something."

"Very wise," Splinter stated dryly.

Mikey tossed him a quick, grateful smile. "So what happened to you guys tonight?" he asked, no longer able to hide his curiosity now he'd explained his own story. He turned back to Splinter, "And why did you go with them?" From what Donnie and April had told him, he'd understood that this Splinter did not join his sons on missions and there had only been the one exception a few months back when Splinter had been left with no choice.

"We had to deal with the source of the problem; the Rat King," Donnie spoke up, pushing his freshly empty bowl aside.

"Rat King?" Mikey asked uncertainly.

"Yeah, this mad scientist, Victor Falco, stupidly mutated himself last year and got the power to control rats with his mind," Raph grumbled darkly. "That included Master Splinter."

Mikey shot a worried glance Splinter's way.

"Master Splinter was able to fight him off, though," Leo cut in proudly, gazing his father's way with admiration.

"Though not without great effort," Splinter confirmed gravely. "Afterwards, he disappeared into the shadows and we did not hear from him again until today when he returned and began to attack my mind and sanity once more."

"Yeech!" Mikey cringed in sympathetic horror.

"We were watching the news when we saw the giant rats Falco mutated attacking the civilian population and dragging them off into the sewers," Leonardo continued, turning back to Mikey.

"Like what happened to Woody," Mikey exclaimed in shock. So it had been a mass attack and he'd been right to think there might be more about.

"Right," Donnie agreed. "Apparently, the plan was to use those captured humans as test subjects to perfect the mutation on, turning them into human-rat hybrids."

Mikey's gaze slid back over to Splinter.

"If his plan had been successful, it would've been worse than that. They would have been under Falco's control and attacked any human they came across, infecting and mutating them in turn until the entire human population mutated and came under Falco's control too."

"That's awful!" Mikey gasped in horror. It was no wonder he'd had Bishop vibes though. While Bishop never sought to mutate and control the humans in his world, the mutant monsters he'd inadvertently created had infected and mutated anyone they scratched or bit, including one of his brothers. He shuddered at the memory of Don, mindless and violent and trying to kill them all. "I'm really sorry I wasn't here to help."

"You wouldn't have joined us even if you had been here and hadn't been recently injured," Leo reminded him flatly, making Mikey blanch in shame. "We had April and Casey to help us. They freed the humans while we took care of the rats and Master Splinter the Rat King. So, you see, you didn't need to break your promise and help that human as he would've been saved a short time later and you wouldn't have had to expose yourself and potentially us."

Mikey took a deep breath, calming himself so he wouldn't snap. "Dude! How was I supposed to know that when no one told me what was going on?"

"There wasn't time to call you!" Raph bit sharply.

"Gee, I dunno, Don managed to text me to say something was going on. Surely someone could've said, 'Giant mutant rats on the loose. Get home and don't worry, we're dealing with it,'" Mikey said sarcastically. "I didn't know Woody was being taken as a lab human and would've been helped once you got there. I thought that thing was taking him back to its nest to eat him!" He sighed, calming himself. "Look, I get that there's not always time to keep me in the loop beforehand but something could've been said!"

"You're right. I'm sorry, Mike," Donnie conceded even as Leo looked set to dig his heels in. "Though we didn't actually know the humans were going to be used for experimentation until we confronted the Rat King, we still could have mentioned the mutant rats so you'd have known what exactly to avoid."

Mikey nodded emphatically, feeling vindication course through him. "It would've helped a lot, especially since they were running around the sewers. Shell, I could've just holed up somewhere safe and out of the way if I'd known, without risking leaving a trail. By the way, speaking of holing up, do you guys have any boltholes hidden around the sewers? Because I should know where they are, you know, just in case?"

The other three exchanged looks, blinking at each other uncertainly. Leo then shook his head. "We don't have anything like that."

Mikey stared in shock, then brightened. He finally had a way he could help out. "Okay, well, I guess I know what I'm doing next time I go out for a while."

Raph made a rude noise and Mikey glanced at him but otherwise ignored it.

"I know you guys don't have time to look for any good sites but having somewhere to hole up in if you can't make it home safely is a good idea. We have them back home and have had to use them a couple of times. Shell, even as for just somewhere to duck into if the sewer workers come too close and cut us off. Boltholes are really useful so I'll try to find a few places we can set up later."

"Sounds like a good way to become a sitting duck," Raph retorted, shaking his head.

Mikey nodded. "If you're not careful, yeah but they can also be a lifesaver, dude. We found that out the hard way after our home was discovered."

Leo gazed at him thoughtfully, contemplating Mikey's words. "It could be useful in an emergency. Even if we don't use it to hide in, it might be good for storing medical supplies and the like."

Mikey nodded again, this time vigorously.

"Maybe we can talk about it in more detail tomorrow?" Leo suggested, definitely interested in the possibilities.

"Sure, dude," Mikey smiled warmly.

"It sounds like more work for me but I can see where you're coming from," Donnie sighed, slumping tiredly in his seat.

He fixed Donnie with a sympathetic look. "Yeah, sorry bro but that would be unavoidable since we'd need your technical expertise, but... the rest of us or even just me could put in a lot of the work to start with and you just finish up with the security enhancements at the end."

"And what could you do besides finding potential locations?"

Mikey stiffened a moment, then relaxed. "You'd be surprised," he laughed. "Seriously, though, while Donnie did the bulk of the design on the boltholes back home, we all helped and I remember a lot of it. I could draw out what I remember and then you could refine it to fit."

Donnie studied him a moment longer then nodded gratefully. "Alright, we can give it a try. As for now, though, I believe you are overdue for today's desensitisation session and we can do that while I give you a once over to make sure you didn't do any extra damage to your still healing injuries," he said pointedly.

"Ugh... It's so late," Mikey moaned dramatically, hoping to get out of it for one day. He really didn't want fresh reminders so close to bed. The monstrous rats were going to hit him badly enough as it was. "And I'm fine, by the way."

"I'll be the judge of that," Donnie replied imperiously with a hint of a smile. Then his face turned serious again. "Don't think I haven't noticed you wince in pain a couple of times tonight or that you've been favouring your right shoulder more."

"It's not that bad," Mikey promised shiftily. "Besides, I need to clean up in here and then I..."

"Raph and I can take care of the cleanup," Leo offered firmly, leaving no room for argument.

He could see he wasn't going to get out of this and he scowled briefly as Donnie shot him a triumphant look.

"Fine," Mikey grumbled in dismay, "but you're washing, Leo. Raph can dry."

"Fine with me," Raph grunted, pushing up from the table to carry his dishes over to the sink. "Hate washing anyway, it's disgusting."

"Is that why you never do it properly?" Leo jabbed teasingly.

Splinter chuckled dryly. "At least this way, the dishes will not need washing a second time."

"Right?" Mikey cackled, vindicated. He definitely was not the cleanest or tidiest turtle around but when it came to his kitchen and food prep, it was a whole other story. Then he caught sight of Donnie gazing at him expectantly and he sighed and stood. "Right," he grumbled, "wouldn't want to be late for my own execution now, would I?"

"Don't be so melodramatic, Mike," Donnie sighed, shaking his head in half-hidden amusement, likewise getting up and pushing away from the table.

"Why not?" Mikey retorted. "I live for melodrama."

"We've noticed!" Leo and Donnie quipped in unison, even as Raph rolled his eyes. Mikey hid a small smile, pleased to see them in lighter moods, their troubles forgotten for just a moment.

"Come on, let's get this over and done with, Mike."

Mikey nodded reluctantly - he really didn't want to go into the lab so late - and trudged after Donatello when Splinter called out, catching his attention. He paused in the doorway and looked back at his other-dimensional grandfather.

"When Donatello has finished with you, Michelangelo, please come and see me in my chamber. I wish to talk with you."

-:-

AN: Sorry about the extra long wait between posts. I've been caught up in other things as well as generally avoiding the fandom side of the internet in fear of spoilers for 'Mutant Mayhem' as the movie still hasn't released here in Australia and won't until the 7th of Sept. More than a month after most of the rest of the English-speaking world got it *grumbles muchly*. However, thanks to a Father's Day 'special screening' my local theatre had one session of it today so I finally got to see it and I have to say I LOVED it! I can hardly wait for it to release properly so I can go see it again. Preferably with fewer people in the theatre (I tend to go during quieter times of the day)

So... *laughs sheepishly* Any good fanfics around for 'Mutant Mayhem'? XD

Comments, thoughts and concrit are always welcome.

* If you ever see my stories posted anywhere other than under the name Zelgadis55 at Deviant Art, FFNet, AO3 or Live Journal, then they have been stolen. Please report them.