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: For months now, Mikey's been through hell with no one to count on but himself. He's finally been rescued but there are still two major problems; he's still desperately missing his family and he has no way home. No OCs. 2k3/2k12 crossover.

ScribeofHeroes: What can he say? He was surprised is all XD Yeah, you do recall correctly. It was their arrogance that prompted the switch and Splinter was completely right to address that. However, the way he did, making them switch to unfamiliar weapons they hadn't trained in was not a good idea. I honestly feel they were better off with no weapons than each others. At least like they, they realised they had to improvise and weren't struggling with the unfamiliar. Thank you :-)

Ravenashess: Hehe, Mike would have you know he's always dangerous, even when he isn't armed XD I'm glad you're itching for some action. I hope this doesn't disappoint too much :-) Well, the Rat King isn't ready to make an appearance just yet but perhaps in the near future, he'll at least influence the story, even if he's 'camera shy', so to speak. Oh, sorry if that wasn't clear, Donnie flinched because Mikey admitted to trying out the heavier weapon (bo) when he wasn't yet physically ready. I promise, there will be no removal of any turtle arms in the making of this fic.

AOtGO – Aftermath

Ch 24

Date: 5th Oct

"How are you feeling today, Mike?" Leo asked as he, Donnie and Raph approached the other-dimensional turtle where he was flipping through a comic in the pit. The TV, as usual, on. Mikey had discovered an old, macabre comedy/horror which was kooky and spooky and quite similar to an old show from his world. However, the comedy aspect was far cheesier and the horror, much darker, though overplayed. During the adverts was when he read and right now blared a cheerful advert for a travelling circus coming soon to the city.

"And be honest," Donnie added tightly.

Mikey sighed. He still couldn't sleep through the night but at least with the help of the music app on his T-phone, he was doing better. He was calming down faster and falling asleep easier thanks to the sound reassuring him that he was not back in the hellhole he'd spent so long trapped within and between that and the fact it was a little easier keeping down and indeed swallowing the apparently bland food, his energy levels were improving tenfold. Enough for the antsiness of being stuck inside in the lair to start bothering him again. He'd been in this world for just over two weeks now and had only been outside the lair twice. Once with Raph to go skating and once on a training run with Leo. He figured his inability to keep up and his poor performance that day had been why Leo hadn't offered since.

"Just peachee," he answered dully.

"Really?" Raph countered. "You don't sound it."

Mikey sighed. "I'm just bored and getting a bit sick of being stuck down here all the time but it's okay, I get it," he said glumly, knowing there was no point arguing about it.

The other three glanced knowingly at each other.

"I've noticed you've been doing better in training," Leo offered. Mikey flicked his eyes briefly on him before returning his gaze to the TV in anticipation of the ad break ending.

"You're lasting longer before the exhaustion sets in and your agility seems to be improving too."

"Yeah, regular exercise does wonders," Mikey muttered petulantly as Friday and Pigsly appeared on the screen, a shovel in the pale, dark-haired girl's hand as they made their way towards what appeared to be a cemetery. Mikey frowned at the imagery before remembering the two of them plotting to dig something up for an experiment with their aunt just prior to the ad break.

"It does," Leo agreed, "and Donnie says you've been doing well when you visit him in the lab."

"A bit twitchy still but definitely improving," Donnie put in with a small, reassuring smile. Mikey glanced at him, wondering why they asked him how he was doing if they were going to tell him anyway.

"So what we'd like to know is if you'd like to come topside with us tonight," Leo continued when Mikey didn't otherwise respond.

That made him sit up and take notice, bright hope flaring at the thought of the cool, fresh air of the night setting in. The idea of seeing clouds and lights and hearing the people on the streets going about their lives, unnoticing of the secret world above and below them. Maybe the moon was high in the sky or he'd be lucky and it would be a moonless and cloudless night and he'd see one of the rare but beautiful stars above. He loved the stars so much and his heart ached for the promise of the farm where his family had planned to go only a few short weeks after he'd been captured and ripped cruelly from his home. "Really?" he asked, trying not to sound too desperate and failing miserably.

"There are conditions, though," Leonardo warned sternly.

Mikey nodded frantically, eager to agree to almost anything to just get out and see more of this new world now he wasn't in a fugue of tiredness, exhaustion and relief at finally escaping them. He jumped to his feet to turn the TV off.

"It'll only be for an hour or two, tops," Leo explained, holding one finger up. A second joined the first. "If you get tired or it becomes too much, you tell us. I also don't want you going full out on your first time topside. You haven't leapt across the rooftops in a while."

"The last thing we need is you going splat because you misjudged the jump," Raph cut in acerbically. Mikey shot him a look before gazing at Donnie as the other turtle spoke up.

"We'd rather have to come back early than run into trouble because it became too much for you," he explained diplomatically. "There will always be another time. At least, if things go well."

Now Mikey's frantic nodding became impatient. He got it already!

"And speaking of trouble, we are not looking for it tonight," Leo added firmly.

"Though if we find it, we're definitely ending it," Raph put in with a dark, savage grin, one fist punching into his other palm.

"Yes," Leo agreed, with a glance Raph's way. "We won't ignore it if people need help. However, you won't be helping as you aren't ready and are to stay out of any trouble we come across. Do you understand and accept these conditions?"

"Got it, Leo," Mikey replied crisply, bouncing impatiently on the balls of his feet. After that first night when he was left alone topside with Donnie, he understood Leo's misgivings but they didn't have to treat him like a child over it. He was older than them, for shell's sake and knew his body better than anyone.

That night had been a poor example of his ability and judgement, born from months of frustration, terror, pain and loneliness. Since then, however, he'd been working hard during training every day and especially during his rehabilitation exercises. He was doing far better but was still nowhere near the level he had been before being taken. Shell, he hadn't even been allowed to spar with anyone bar April yet and that had only happened a couple of times and in slow motion, more to allow her to work on her technique than to build him up because Splinter said he wasn't ready. None of his other-dimensional brothers knew what he was capable of but tonight would be the start of them beginning to learn, though unfortunately not by him joining in on any action.

"I hope you do, Mike because this is serious and important."

Mikey fought not to roll his eyes. "I do, Leo, I promise. Now, can we please get going because I'm going stir crazy stuck down here all the time." As he spoke, he bounced from foot to foot, eager to race out the door.

"Not just yet," Leo replied straight-faced, a small, barely-hidden twinkle of amusement in his eyes. "Someone needs to get dressed first." He glanced down at Mikey's bare knees and elbows and Mikey grinned sheepishly before running to his borrowed room to get his oversized gear.

The sooner he had the opportunity to make more comfortable padding in his size, the better.

-:-

Following Leo and Raph up the ladder, Mikey poked his head out topside for only the second time since he'd been captured all those months ago. The air held an exhilarating crispness to it that had him breathing in deeply by reflex, only for him to immediately gag on a rotting stench of garbage mingled with undercurrents of their 'food'. Raph chuckled darkly.

"Yeah, not the place to smell the flowers, Mike," he scoffed in amusement.

Leo gave him a sympathetic look even as he jabbed Raph with a sharp elbow. "Wait to breathe deeply until we get a couple of stories up," he advised, failing to hide his own amusement.

"Right," Mikey choked out as he pulled himself free of the manhole. Donnie soon emerged after him, pulling the lid closed behind.

"It tends to be rather ripe down here, which makes it an ideal place for us to emerge from since no one wants to come here. That in turn makes it difficult for anyone trying to track us by scent," Donnie explained quietly, looking around and scanning for any changes since they last came through. A moment later, he nodded his satisfaction to Leo.

"You think the humans would send dogs after you?" Mikey asked, eyebrow ridges raised. The Foot had tried that on his family more than once and even Agent Bishop's people had. Luckily, the stench of the sewers tended to put paid to such efforts when it overwhelmed the poor dogs. That and the fact that he and his brothers deliberately walked through the 'water' to hide their tracks when necessary. It was why they were so fastidious about cleaning off once they made it home. That said, though, unlike this family, his were a little less squeamish about what they had to do to survive. He still found it difficult to believe they'd never been dumpster diving for food and supplies like he'd grown up doing. The thought of living on nothing but algae and worms all his life was enough to turn his stomach. Still, at least since that had been cultivated, it was clean and no one ever became sick from eating like his family had a few times. They had learnt quickly to be careful what they actually ate, especially after one particular incident and Donnie had since developed ways of testing to make sure the food was safe. Still, Mikey knew he and his brothers and father had developed cast-iron stomachs as a result and not much made them sick anymore.

Except for the 'food' they had given him.

Mikey's lip curled in disgust. He was sure they'd deliberately designed it to be that revolting as a form of torture; the looks of anticipation and even delight on their faces as he choked it down, the proof absolute of that.

"Something like that," Leo replied oddly, his voice quiet. "Come on."

Moving quickly, Leo led the way to a nearby fire escape, jumping up and snagging it. They all followed him up the building, Mikey finding it far easier compared to last time when he'd first found himself in this world two weeks ago.

As they reached the roof, Mikey looked around in interest, breathing deeply once more. The rancid odour of rotting garbage was gone, left far below, and only the faint wuff of their food tainted the otherwise sweet air. A smile of pleasure and relief at finally being outside began to spread across his features as he gazed down at the bright lights and busy streets below. He'd known he needed this but until this moment, hadn't realised just how badly.

The other three turtles watched him, exchanging pleased looks and just giving him the time he needed, until finally, Donnie caught his attention, pointing out nearby street signs and landmarks so he'd know how to get home again if they somehow found themselves separated. Then Leo picked a direction and set an easy pace across the rooftops.

Aware of Leo's desire not to attract attention to them, Mikey struggled to keep down the whoops and cries of delight as he sailed from one rooftop to the next but his joy was infectious and even Leo, Raph and Donnie began to let loose and enjoy themselves for a change. It was, Mikey thought, the happiest he'd seen them since he'd met them, though the undercurrent of loneliness and loss was still evident.

For the first few blocks, Mikey held his pace back, only speeding up for the jumps themselves and kept the leaps vanilla. Then, as he felt his confidence return, he began to throw in the odd easy flip and twist, to Leo's and Donnie's chagrin. Raph, though, all but egged him on, matching move for move.

Half an hour later, laughing, Mikey ground to a stop.

"Tired?" Leo asked knowingly, but Mikey shook his head. He really wasn't.

"Nuh, I just... want to stop and enjoy this for a bit."

"Uh-huh," Leo returned dryly.

Mikey nodded emphatically and plopped down happily on someone's rooftop lawn, leaning back and gazing into the night sky. That was why he had stopped. He wanted desperately to see some stars and the actual grass on the roof was the perfect excuse.

To his disappointment, however, there was far too much light pollution and the sky, murky. Still, just enjoying the fact he had open sky above, his gaze hungrily roved the vast expanse above.

"What are you looking for?" Donnie asked curiously.

"I dunno, a star or something," Mikey answered with a shrug.

Raph snorted at that. "Never woulda thought you'd be into that nerd stuff," he jeered. "Nothing to see in the city though, so you're wasting your time."

Mikey levelled a reproachful look Raph's way. "Star gazing isn't nerd stuff. It's peaceful and calming and beautiful and," the hint of a grin twitched the corners of his lips, "it can be exciting, too, believe it or not."

Raph snorted again. "Now I know you're not right in the head," he retorted.

"You've never seen a shooting star, dude?"

Donnie answered for him. "We haven't," he admitted softly, settling down beside Mikey on the grass.

Leo, too, joined them and Raph reluctantly did a few moments later.

"You sound like you speak from experience, Mike." Donnie glanced at the light-washed sky above. "When did you get the chance? Or... does your New York have less light pollution?"

Mikey hummed thoughtfully. "Well, there was this one time there was a city-wide blackout. It was so dark that we were able to skate and ride on the actual streets. That was way cool until we found out what caused the blackout, then we had to deal with it," he shrugged. Donnie opened his mouth to ask questions but Mikey let a smirk play his face and continued too quickly for the other turtle to speak. "And we've also been camping up at Casey's family farm." A deep wistfulness entered his heart again at the thought but he shunted it aside because he couldn't let it depress him. Not when he was actually outside in the 'fresh' New York city air and surrounded with company. "Well, we've been up there a bunch of times, not just for camping but also for healing and just to get away from the city for a break. Long as it wasn't raining or snowing, we'd have bonfires and barbeques outside and sometimes sleep under the stars, so... yeah, I've seen them quite a few times and I..."

Suddenly, a terrified cry rang out from the streets below. Leo and Raph immediately shot to their feet, running to the side of the building it came from, Donnie close behind. Mikey too, jumped to his feet when Leo's stern voice called back softly, "Stay there, Mike," and Mikey froze, annoyance slicing through him at the reminder.

"Like, seriously?" he muttered, rolling his eyes. What was the harm in at least watching? Did Leo really think it would be too much temptation for him to join them or something? Scowling, Mikey huffed, looking off to the side. He could be pretty impulsive sometimes but come on! He had some self-control at least. In annoyance, he forced himself to sit back down and look up at the sky again as he listened to the faint sound of a scuffle far below. It wasn't even a proper fight, by the sound of it! Something that just one of them could handle alone. In seconds.

From what he could hear, he somehow doubted it was Leo taking charge of the problem but instead Raph and he bet Leo would have words to say about how 'Ninja are silent!'. At least, his Leo definitely would have but he wouldn't be shocked if this one did too.

"... ninja, Raph!" Leo hissed as they climbed back over the balustrade of the building.

"I know, Leo."

"That means we need to be silent," Leo all but hissed, knowing such a sound would carry as easily as a whisper.

Mikey smirked in amusement. "Called, it!" he chortled to himself.

"I said, I know, Leo," Raph retorted, barely avoiding snapping back at volume.

"Then why weren't you?" Leo returned, the annoyance dripping thickly from his voice.

Mikey shook his head, all humour gone and hoping it didn't become ugly.

"It was one guy, Leo! Who cares! Besides, since he heard and only sort of saw me, he'll know better next time or maybe spread the word about 'something in the darkness' preying on the muggers!"

Leo took a deep, calming breath to avoid snapping back as Donnie looked on anxiously. "What about the innocent civilian?" he asked. "Thanks to you, they saw as well!"

Raph snorted derisively. "They saw nothing! They ran the first chance they got!"

"Doesn't mean they didn't see anything, even if they couldn't make you out properly. And what if it turned into another Spyder-Bytes incident thanks to your carelessness and thoughtlessness?"

Raph rolled his eyes; Mikey could practically hear it in the dim lighting. "Then Donnie can hack the evidence!"

"It's not that simple, Raph!" Donnie snapped quietly, mindful of where they were. Topside and out in the open on a relatively low building. "You don't know the work that goes into that and if it's not caught quickly enough, the damage wrought could be catastrophic for us!"

Mikey nodded emphatically but kept his mouth firmly shut; he didn't want to get in the middle of this. Raph shot him a dark look anyway.

"You got something to say?" he bit out acerbically.

He quickly shook his head, then hesitated and nodded instead. "Well, actually, I kinda agree with you..."

Triumph lit Raph's green orbs.

"... but I also agree with Leo and Don."

"What the fuck?" Raph spat incredulously. "You can't have it both ways, Mike!"

"Actually, you can," Mikey insisted firmly, getting to his feet to be on even footing. "Look, I get wanting to be visible. That's why I became the Turtle Titan back..."

"Oh my fucking god! You want us to become known superheroes?" Raph snapped, his voice rising to a louder volume than necessary. Leo twitched in the background and Donnie began to look uncomfortable again. "That's stupid!"

"Shell, no, dude!" Mikey gasped with a touch of melodrama for effect. "Being a superhero isn't for everyone and you, Raphie-boy, are not superhero material!"

Now Raph began to look pissed. At Mikey. "You think I can't pull that shit off?" he challenged.

Mikey laughed to show him he wasn't intimidated, even though he totally was. "Well, you could probably pull some Dark Knight stuff off, though I dunno if you have the voice for it, unlike my Raphie but that's not what I'm trying to say. Becoming a superhero was my solution but it's not the only one. You want to scare someone into behaving? Go ahead and try, dude..."

"Mike..." Leo warned in a tired voice but Mikey waved him down.

"No, hear me out, dude. Not everyone's going to be scared straight. In fact, most probably wouldn't be but it might be worth trying for the few it might work on but you can't scare the civilians too. That's not cool. Give them a chance to safely flee first and give Donnie the chance to make sure no one's recording anything. Then go for the theatrics."

Looking rather a little like a deer caught in headlights, Raph regarded Mikey as he finished speaking. Then, "Do you guys do that?"

Mikey shrugged. "Well, I wouldn't say we do it often but we have done it a few times under the right circumstances."

"Huh..."

He leant towards Raph conspiratorially and lowered his voice. "Between you and me," he began, glancing towards Leo in an amused way only Raph could see, "though you'd never get him to admit it, I think Leo gets the biggest kick outta those kinds of tactics."

"Oh for! Okay, obviously I can't comment on your Leonardo but I wouldn't get off on doing something like that," Leo groaned in disbelief.

Mikey turned a knowing smile on him. "Are you trying to tell me the challenge of using your 'one with the shadows' spooky juju ninja skills wouldn't appeal to you? Taking down the bad guys in such a way they know it's happening but dunno what's actually going on?" he teased. "Criminals are often superstitious so why not play with it?"

"Mike..." Leo groaned again.

"Leo~" Mikey shot back with a grin. "Deny it all you like, dude," he singsonged, "but I know you'd totally get a kick outta showing off your skills like that."

"No, I wouldn't," Leo immediately protested but to Mikey's hearing, his denial sounded weak as if he wasn't entirely convinced. "Either way," he quickly added, "I'm the leader and I say we won't be doing something like that. We're ninja. We take the bad guys down quickly and quietly where possible and we can't let them know we were here. Now, come on, let's go!"

With that, Leo took off in the direction they'd previously been heading once more, simply expecting the other three to follow.

Raph exchanged a hard look with Donnie. "Dunno about you, but I'm curious what Master Splinter would think," he mused before racing after Leo.

-:-

They came across minor thugs thrice more that night, along with the threesome that passed for the Purple Dragons in this world and each time, Leo made sure to remind Mikey to stay back and stay out of it because he wasn't 'ready for it' and Mikey became more irritable with each reminder. He kept the smile at being topside at last plastered on his face but inwardly, he was annoyed and hurt. So much so, he decided to pull the pin early fifteen minutes earlier and claim 'tired', resulting in them turning around to head home. About halfway back as Mikey actually began to feel tired, was when they ran into actual trouble.

"I see the rumours are true, you really did get rid of that useless freak, Michelangelo," a rough, growly voice mocked from just ahead of them.

Mikey ground to a halt as the other three turtles dropped into defensive stances, weapons drawn and at the ready. His eyes narrowed in immediate dislike at the slur against his counterpart.

"So what'd you do, just leave him at home or did you finally grow the balls to do what you shoulda done long ago and put him outta his misery?"

"Don't talk about our brother that way," Raph snarled, shooting forward to attack the tall, bony mutant in their path. One sai stabbed out while the other came up to defend, knocking back a hand with claws looking like something out of a nightmare. A shooting jolt of fear dashed through Mikey at the terrifying sight but he shunted it aside and aware of the lingering weakness in his left arm, pulled just one borrowed weapon free. He quickly converted it to kusarigama form, the sickle on the left and the fundo on the right. Giving it a short leash, he set it aspin, drawing the nightmare creature's focus on him.

"And who is dis?" a new, heavily accented voice asked. Mikey shifted his gaze to take in a figure that looked just as slippery as he sounded. Then he noticed five fully garbed ninja behind the fishy figure, all eerily still and seemingly as inhuman as the two mutants in front.

"Who he is is none of your concern," Leo replied imperiously before hissing a reminder his way. "Stay back, Mike!"

Twitching in annoyance and grateful the other turtles couldn't see his reaction, Mikey felt a distinct sense of deja vu back to his first night in this world where Donnie did something equally as stupid. Telegraphing his weakness to the enemy. And sure enough, the hissed warning had both strange mutants, bony wolf and monstrous fish, focusing their attention on him, the former with a sudden backhand that knocked Raphael off his feet and some distance across the rooftop.

"Huh! Orange mask, dumb expression and the same old weapon. Could it be the stupid, little freak got into the mutagen to try to get an upgrade?" the wolf-like being chuckled darkly. "If so, the upgrade failed."

"Who are you calling a freak, bonehead?" Mikey couldn't help but taunt. "Have you looked in the mirror lately, you razor-faced dog?"

Leonardo face-palmed and Donatello groaned in dismay. Raph flipped quickly back to his feet. He didn't advance back on the canid though, his attention instead fixed on the fish.

"Do not call me a dog!" the wolf mutant snarled, racing at Mikey in fury. Donnie rushed in between to intercept him, staff twirling so fast it was a blur.

"What else am I supposed to call you, then?" Mikey mocked obnoxiously as Donnie struggled to hold him back. "You're obviously not a cat, dude."

"His name is Rahzar," Leo called, landing beside Donnie.

"He used to be some third-rate celebrity martial artist called Chris Bradford," Raph sneered dismissively, focusing on the other mutant who likewise moved towards Raph as if they were old sparring partners.

"Third-rate?" Rahzar roared, slashing out furiously at the closest turtle, Leonardo, with razor-sharp claws. Leo barely managed to block the sudden attack.

Mikey's eyes narrowed as he took in the imposing and terrifying figure before him. Seriously, this guy could've given Quarry a run for her money, back when they thought she was just a mindless monster. "So that's the dude you told me about? Funny, he doesn't look much like his cutout. Somehow, I thought he'd be... hairier."

Raph snorted in half-hearted amusement as he blocked a kick from a metallic leg.

"Shut up, Mike! You're not helping!" Donnie snapped irritably, striking out at Rahzar to get his attention when he levelled his furious gaze on the other turtle.

"You're right, bro, I'm not but by the look of it, I totally should be!" Mikey retorted, seeing Raph stumble from another powerful blow from the fish mutant's legs, this one breaking through his block. The fish dude was fast, Mikey realised. More so than he'd have thought for someone with artificial legs. Briefly, he wondered who could've designed such tech before dismissing the thought and calling out, "So hey, Rahzar wasn't it? Do you know any tricks, boy?" he mocked, watching the mutant carefully while trying not to be too obvious about it. "Let's test this out, shall we? Sit, Rahzar! Sit, boy!" he called, leaning over and slapping his hands on his knees like a dog walker calling their wayward pet back.

Rahzar roared again. "I will fucking kill you, you stupid, little freak!" he yelled, trying to get past Leo and Donnie to get at the obnoxious turtle.

"Can you play dead instead?" Mikey asked, head canted curiously. When Rahzar roared furiously again, he pouted, "Aww, I guess not." So he changed tack, seemingly turning his attention on his other-dimensional brother, "Hey, Donnie, do you think somepuppy flunked outta obedience training school or something?" he asked, all wide-eyed innocence. "Do you think it's cause he's too old and slow? Do they even take dogs that old?"

"Mike..." Leonardo warned in a combination of dismay and annoyance; this was going south fast. "Will you stop riling him up?"

Mikey shot Leo a dazzling smile that the leader, with his shell to Mikey and fighting off an incensed Rahzar couldn't possibly see. "I'll try but I don't think Fido here's gonna calm down anytime soon. He's gone barkers! Get it? Barkers?" he repeated, cackling loudly at his own joke. He swore for just half a second that Leo was fighting not to laugh or groan but instead stay focused on keeping Rahzar's attention off Mikey. Trouble was, Mikey wanted Rahzar on him so Leo and Donnie could take care of the rest.

And it worked. Rahzar lost his mind, roaring louder than ever with a surge of fury and adrenaline enabling him to snatch hold of Donnie's weapon mid-spin, pulling the purple-banded turtle in. He immediately threw him at Leo, knocking them both off-balance before rushing Mikey at almost the exact same moment. His eyes were wild with fury and flecks of spittle flew from his jaw. For a moment, Mikey freaked internally, fearing he'd gone too far even as he met Bradford head-on, jumping up and springing off the mutant's head with a flip. To his relief, Leo had managed to catch Donnie and the two quickly recovered their feet. At the same time, he noticed the other group of Foot ninja converging on them, unnaturally in unison and it was all he could do to suppress a disturbed shiver which he covered up by crying, "Ew! Do you think the dog has rabies? He's foaming at the mouth!"

"Stop! Calling me! A dog!" Bradford howled, spinning around frighteningly fast to locate Michelangelo and tearing after him. For his part, Mikey flashed Leo and Donnie a brief thumbs up to show he'd be fine and flicking his gaze briefly to what must've been the Footbots he'd heard about and hoping desperately that they'd be fast dealing with them because there was no way he'd be able to keep this up for long.

His face resigned, Leo tossed Donnie a silent command and the pair peeled off to take down the robotic ninja while Raph worked on his opponent and Mikey, taunting him, led Bradford around the rooftop, dodging and weaving unpredictably and laughing obnoxiously every time the former human missed him or crashed into something.

Thankfully, about the time Mikey began thinking he couldn't go on, Leo finished off the last of the Footbots and he and Donnie raced back to take over, Leo sliding in to intercept a heavy blow aimed for Mikey's head. Puffing tiredly, Mikey gratefully half-stepped, half-fell back, moaning quietly, "I am so not ready for this shell."

Leo shot him a dark glance as he kicked Rahzar back, causing the mutant monster to stumble slightly. "You don't say."

Rahzar, not put off by the kick, surged forward again, fixated on Mikey and Mikey yelped in fright at the sheer bloodlust in the vicious mutant's eyes.

He'd definitely gone too far and yet, he'd had to. Rahzar and that fish were just too powerful for three, especially accompanied by five Footbots and missing a member of their team.

"Hey, Rahzar, let's play fetch," Donnie called from behind the monstrous mutant. He swung hard with his bo, sweeping Bradford's legs out from beneath him.

Rahzar's hate-filled focus switched to Donatello, forgetting, for the moment, about Mikey. Leo glanced at Mikey again, "Go catch your breath. We've got this."

Thankful for the reprieve, Mikey nodded and slipped away, shame at needing to step out of the fight filling his heart. For several seconds though, he just breathed and watched anxiously, then, he noticed Raphael.

The other turtle was holding his own and watching him, Mikey felt the hothead might even be enjoying himself as he traded blows and barbs with the slippery fish mutant. There was something there, Mikey realised in surprise, a weird kind of understanding between the two, maybe even bordering on respect. However, the fight had been going on for some time now, at least twenty or thirty minutes if he had to guess, and fighting that solidly for so long had to be tiring, even for highly trained ninja such as them.

It was no wonder that he'd seen the two of them step back and circle, gauging each other, for brief periods out of the corner of his eye. As he watched now, they did it again, watching each other carefully, Raph smirking ever so slightly, and that's when Mikey realised. The fish mutant had robotic legs. They couldn't get tired!

He was biding his time to trap Raph.

At that moment, the mutant lunged. Mikey gave the fundo of his weapon a quick twirl for momentum and sent it flying. It wrapped tightly around the purple fish's tail and Mikey pulled the chain taunt. The fish didn't even stop or glance back, just suddenly flicked his tail and screaming in fright, Mikey catapulted forward, directly at Raphael.

Determination filling him, he twisted in mid-air, pressing the hidden button on his weapon. The chain immediately pulled him off course and back towards the monstrous fish. A wicked grin split his features as he aimed his feet for the fish's head and came down hard, knocking the evil mutant off balance. He quickly pushed off as the kusarigama became nunchaku again and he landed silently beside Raph with a flourish.

Raph glared at Mike momentarily before resignation set in. "If you really have to help, Mike, then watch out for Fishface's feet and bite."

Mikey glanced at the enormous fangs sticking up from the massive lower jaw and shuddered. He'd hate to be bitten by that.

"They're poisonous."

"Venomous!" Donnie snapped from across the rooftop, irritated. "How many times do I have to tell you, it's venom!"

"Dude, isn't that like the same thing?" Mikey called back in confusion as Fishface recovered his feet and glared his way.

"You say tomato, I say tomayto," Raph tossed out, darting forward to attack while Fishface was focused on Mike.

"It's not the same at all!" Donnie squawked indignantly, dodging past Rahzar with a roll that brought him behind the wolf mutant as Leo kept in the monster's face. "It's..."

"Not the time or place, Don," Leo cut in smoothly. "You can explain later if he really wants to know."

Knowing Leo was right, Mikey shrugged and put his attention back on Fishface. Wait... "Fishface?" he asked incredulously, stopping in place to stare. "Who the shell called you that?" he snickered. "I mean, it's kinda..."

"Mikey called him that and it stuck," Raph growled.

"Perfect!" Mikey cut in brightly without missing a beat. He stepped lightly back. "Seriously, dude, I couldn't have named you better myself!"

Fishface focused on Mikey with a baleful glare. "Then you are not the same Michelangelo who is usually with them?" he asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

"Naw, I'm just visiting from another dimension," Mikey replied cheerfully. "Think of it as some weird kind of exchange program."

"Will you shut up?" Raph hissed in annoyance.

"Why? It doesn't really matter if people know I'm visiting. They're going to find out anyway," Mikey retorted, star-jumping to dodge something flying across the rooftop from where Leo and Donnie fought with Rahzar. He landed and neatly jumped back, springing to the side away from Raph before whipping out to strike Fishface with his 'chuck.

"This one talks too much," Fishface observed, rolling his eyes at Raph.

"Tell me about it," Raph grumped as the two went for each other's throats again.

"You're both just jealous because I'm the life of the party," Mikey pouted. Honestly, though, with how those two were somewhat evenly matched, he felt like a third wheel. It was probably better if he hung back and just watched. After all, he hadn't actually sparred or teamed up with Raph and the others and they didn't know how to work together yet.

"Yeah, that's it, alright," Raph sneered derisively and Mikey nodded mock-solemnly as he stepped back to keep out of the way.

At a safe distance where he could still step in if needed, Mikey allowed his gaze to drift back over to the other fight where, to his relief, it looked like Leo and Donnie were finally bringing Rahzar to heel.

"To heel," Mikey snickered aloud. He sensed Raph's annoyance and he glanced that way but thankfully the other turtle didn't comment.

At that moment, movement flashed. Mikey whipped his head back around to see a blur of green and purple flying his way. His eyes widened and without thinking, threw himself forward to catch his other-dimensional brother.

"Oof!"

Mikey gasped breathlessly as something suddenly slammed into him, hard, from behind. He lost sight of Donatello as he, too, went flying, before coming to a hard stop against a low brick wall. The still aware part of him desperately hoped the distinct crack he heard was just his imagination. Shaking off his fugue, he tried to scramble to his feet but found himself grabbed by a huge hand and stunned with white-hot pain as a metallic foot slammed into his plastron. As his body helplessly dangled in mid-air over the side of the building, he wheezed desperately for breath.

"Just fucking end it!" Rahzar snarled distantly through the dull throbbing in Mikey's hearing.

"With pleasure," Fishface purred and Michelangelo screamed as fresh pain ripped through him anew, this time through his shoulder.

And then, he was falling.

-:-

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.