Please Remember

After a fall that felt like it lasted for ages, Mikey emerged from the sewer water. He climbed on dry ground and leaned against the wall of the sewer tunnel he was in.

Exhaustion crashed on him. His cuts and scratches were burning him, he was famished, and he was in way lower spirits than usual.

He had lost Donnie again.

Leo had tried to shoot him.

But at least he had found both Donnie and Leo. That had to count for something, right? Plus he had managed to connect with Donnie, even though it was far from the satisfying bond they were supposed to share.

Mikey took a deep breath. Like Master Splinter said, sometimes things just happened in due sometimes. Or something like that.

Mikey decided to tackle one problem at a time, starting with the easiest. He was famished, he needed food.

A look on his T-Phone told him that it was night, and that he was far away from the lair and its food supplies. Luckily you could order pizza 24/7 in New York, and Mikey could always scavenge for some food in the meantime. It wasn't like the city lacked dumpsters in dark alleyways, and as his family didn't know he had escaped the facility, nobody would be worried if his return was delayed.

Having made up his mind, Mikey made for the closest manhole cover. It was child's play for him to sneak outside and find the alleyway of his dreams. He opened a first dumpster, and smiled when the sweet smell of rotten food entered his delicate nostrils.

He was in luck. This was pizza, delicious pizza with a tasty crust of mold.

Mikey devoured it the way it was supposed to be, then found leftovers that he deemed in comestible shape.

He was opening a third dumpster when he heard noise coming from the entrance of the alleyway, and more precisely the sound of a bicycle stopping. Was it his pizza? Mikey had given strict instructions to place the precious item on the ground. He would grab it with his nunchucks and leave some money instead, like he had done countless times, and…

Right. He had neither money nor his nunchucks on him. That was going to be a problem.

Mikey racked his brains. Maybe he could exchange the pizza for something else than money? Something that could be found in the dumpster, like… like a broken lamp, or a ripped pillow, or a colony of cockroaches?

Before Mikey could think about the way he was going to retrieve his pizza–because retrieve it he would–someone opened a door inside the alleyway, and Mikey immediately turned on high alert mode. It was probably a neighbor taking his garbage out at this insane hour. Couldn't they be sleeping like humans were supposed to?

Mikey jumped into the dumpster and closed its lid.

He must have exhausted his turtle luck for the day, because he landed on a feral cat that had been busy eating the remnants of a fish. The cat scratched Mikey furiously, right where he had already been hurt, and Mikey hissed. It did nothing to calm the cat, and they started fighting inside the dumpster.

"Hello? Is somebody here?"

The voice was young. It must be the delivery boy.

Mikey's arms were hurting something fierce, but he had managed to catch the cat. They were nothing like Ice Cream Kitty. Maybe Raph would have managed to calm them, even though he was more of a pigeon person than a cat person. There was something about Raph that was soothing, when Raph decided to be in soothing mode.

It didn't happen often with Mikey, but when Mikey was really down, Raph always comforted him. He was so gruff about it, it never failed to make Mikey feel better.

"I, uh, I have your pizza," the boy went on.

It was true. Mikey would have sniffed that heavenly smell anywhere, even from the bottom of a dumpster.

"I didn't order pizza," another voice answered.

And now Mikey was starting to hallucinate, because this last voice sounded just like Raph's.

"Really? Uh…"

Before the delivery boy could say more, the cat bit Mikey's hand. Mikey released them, and they meowed in victory.

"What was that?" the delivery boy said, his voice betraying his very real anxiety behind its varnish of courage.

In his place, Mikey wouldn't have bothered trying to sound brave. He would have shrieked and hidden behind the closest brother available, like a turtle did.

"Sometimes cats get stuck inside the dumpsters," said the man, and his voice still sounded like Raph. How strange.

Footsteps came closer to the dumpster. The lid started to lift, and Mikey threw the cat outside before it could open completely. The cat meowed in protest and ran away, and the lid closed.

"See?"

"Ah, yes." The delivery boy paused. "So, about the pizza…"

"I told you, it's not mine."

This man got that right. That pizza was Mikey's, and Mikey's alone.

"Oh, okay. Then I guess I'll just leave it on the ground. That's where it's supposed to go, apparently."

There was the melodious thump of a pizza box being dropped to the floor, and Mikey almost didn't resist the urge to leave the dumpster and grab his precious treasure.

But the two humans were way too close for him to try something like that. He wasn't stupid; on the contrary, he was highly intelligent, just like Human Donnie had said.

"How long do you think I'm supposed to wait?" the delivery boy said after a while. "I really need that money."

There was a sigh. "Here, I'll pay for it."

Mikey's eyes widened as he heard the creasing of bills. This man was going to eat his pizza! This was the worst time of his day so far.

Well, maybe not the worst worst, but close enough.

"Thank you so much, sir!"

A few seconds later, Mikey heard the bicycle riding away.

Now Mikey felt angry. Not only had the unidentified person the audacity to sound like Raph when Mikey missed Raph so much, but he had also stolen his pizza! How dare!

Footsteps came near the dumpster once more, and Mikey tried to dig himself deeper into the trash. Unfortunately, there wasn't nearly enough. He hadn't chosen his hiding dumpster very well.

Mikey got ready to knock out the unsuspecting human.

The lid opened, Mikey started throwing a punch, and…

…and he found himself staring into deep green eyes. Raph's eyes.

Mikey's punch avoided Raph and hit the ripped pillow instead. It was a very lame move, but Mikey didn't care.

His breath hitched. Could it be that the human had Raph's voice because he was Raph? Had Mikey managed to find not one, not two, but three brothers tonight?

And Raph didn't seem to be afraid of Mikey. Surprised, yes, but not afraid, as if it wasn't uncommon to find mutants in your dumpster.

Had he already encountered mutants? But then, why had nobody recognized Raph's voice and told Mikey?

Or maybe Raph was recognizing Mikey. Yes! Surely that was it! Raph was remembering Mikey, of course, and something was finally right with the universe!

Mikey's heart swelled with joy.

"I thought I had heard something else in that dumpster," Raph said.

Mikey straightened up a bit to better see Raph. Raph took Mikey's shape in, and his eyes fell on Mikey's arms. His expression darkened briefly, before he forced his features to relax.

"Are you hurt?" he asked softly, taking a step back from Mikey and extending his arms, his hands outstretched. "I can help you." He even added, almost as an afterthought, "you don't need to be afraid."

Raph was the sweetest. Not a surprise to Mikey, but still unexpected.

"I know you don't know me," Raph went on…

Mikey's mood crashed on the harsh ground of New York City.

"…But I'm not going to harm you, I promise."

Mikey tried to pick up the shards of his broken heart as he slowly came out of the dumpster. So Raph hadn't recognized him after all.

Rage thundered in Raph's eyes as he saw Mikey fully. "Who did that to you?"

Only then did Mikey notice how wide the scrape on his leg was. He would have answered Raph, but he couldn't.

Raph didn't seem to take offense. "You need medical attention. I know the basics of first-aid, and my apartment is right here. I can help you."

Raph's voice was coaxing, but Mikey had recovered from his shock enough to remember the pizza that waited on another dumpster, just within Mikey's reach. He grabbed it without the slightest hesitation. After all, any pizza belonging to Raph also belonged to Mikey–no matter how much Raph used to disagree. Not to mention that this pizza should have been Mikey's from the start.

"Are you hungry?" Raph said. "Someone had ordered it, but…" He stopped. "Was it you?"

Mikey wouldn't have answered even if he could have. He was too busy swallowing the pizza whole. It tasted even better than the moldy one he had found in the dumpster.

"I've never seen someone eat pizza like this before," Raph commented, a touch of awe in his voice. "You're something else."

Mikey wanted to shout that Raph had, in fact, seen someone eat pizza that way before. Many, many times.

Instead, he licked his fingers under Raph's fascinated gaze.

"Here," Raph said. "My apartment is that way."

He took a few steps towards its still open door. Mikey followed him, and Raph led him into a small apartment. It opened inside a shop. A pet shop, if the bunnies and turtles Mikey saw a glimpse of were anything to go by. Mikey suddenly realized that this was the pet shop he had noticed while combing the city with April, on the cursed night when he had lost his brothers. He had wanted to visit it then, and the universe had generously granted his wish.

Raph led Mikey to a large bathroom and pointed at a stool.

"Sit down."

Mikey obeyed. It was easy to do, and Mikey wondered what he could or couldn't do with Raph–could he do more because mutants' existence didn't seem to be a surprise for his now human brother?

Mikey wanted to bombard him with questions so, so much, but his voice wouldn't come out. This forced silence was torture.

Raph had taken an extremely well-stocked first-aid kit from under the sink. He started on Mikey's leg, his movements slow and within sight as if Mikey was going to panic and bolt away.

Raph's fears were unfounded. Mikey had no intention to leave him, ever.

Raph disinfected Mikey's cuts and Mikey whined–and the sound actually came out of his mouth. It felt so good to be able to be noisy in front of Raph.

"I apologize," Raph immediately said, and Mikey marveled at these words coming from his brother's mouth. "I'll make it as quick as I can."

Mikey watched him silently, apart from the whines. He couldn't help himself–the sound rang so nicely to his ears.

Raph was wincing more and more, though. Obviously he didn't hold the same opinion as Mikey's.

"What happened to you?" he asked. "I could go after whoever hurt you if you want." He paused. "If you can't talk, just nod. Do you want me to?"

Raph sounded a bit too enthusiastic about this prospect, and while it made Mikey all warm inside to know that his brother was still willing to defend him, he didn't want Raph to go after Leo.

He tried to shake his head, but that wasn't allowed. He whined louder.

"That means yes, right?" Raph said, hopeful.

He had almost finished stitching Mikey's leg. He was being so nice that Mikey's eyes filled with tears.

Raph noticed and his own eyes widened. "I'm done, see? It's over. Although I have to stitch your arm, too."

Before Raph could move, Mikey leaned forward until his head was resting against Raph's shoulder. Raph didn't smell like he should have, but it was still the closest Mikey had been to any of his brothers in forever.

"What…" Raph hesitantly patted Mikey's shell. "It's alright. You're alright. Just breathe, okay? We'll figure something out."

Mikey could have melted under the touch in true Ice Cream Kitty-style. But Raph suddenly frowned and withdrew his hand.

"What is this?" he asked, pointing at the back of Mikey's shell.

Mikey turned his head to look at whatever Raph had seen, but it was out of his sight. He wasn't feeling anything, either. Was something stuck to his shell? It wouldn't be surprising. It happened a lot when Mikey swam through the sewers.

"Let me remove it. Oh, it's glued. Don't move..."

Mikey couldn't see what Raph was doing, but he felt the pressure applied on his shell. A moment later, Raph was showing him a metallic item the size of a cockroach.

It made Mikey wonder. Would Human Raph be afraid of cockroaches too? Mikey would have to check later.

Raph was frowning, as if he could read Mikey's mind. "It really looks like…"

The doorbell rang, interrupting Raph.

"Probably the neighbor who forgot his keys again." Raph sighed. "Stay here. I'll be back in a minute."

He put the metallic item on the sink and left the bathroom and Mikey. Mikey almost jumped to follow him, but Raph had promised that he would be back, and Raph kept his promises. At least the important ones, not the 'I'll kill you, Mikey!' that he sometimes felt obligated to yell when Mikey pranked him.

While Mikey's mind remembered these treasured memories, his fingers were busying themselves with the item that had been stuck on his shell. It reminded Mikey of something, it was on the tip of his brain.

The door opened. Mikey's hearing was excellent, and he could hear what Raph was saying. "You really should be more careful, you know–hey!"

Simultaneously, Mikey remembered when he had already seen such devices. They were bugs, and they were used to track people, people like, for example, teenage mutant ninja turtles who had just escaped from a laboratory.

Mikey reacted on instinct. As footsteps ran into the apartment, he left the bathroom, opened the closest window and jumped outside.

"I never said you could come in!" Raph was shouting. "You have no right!"

"It's here!" someone else yelled, way closer to Mikey.

It was time for him to vanish into the night.

On second thought, Mikey couldn't resolve to vanish into the night. He had just found Raph, and he didn't want to lose him again so soon. So he stayed nearby, observing the situation from a rooftop.

It didn't seem too good. Suspicious trucks were parked in the streets below, and Mikey spotted several governmental agents watching the neighborhood. And that was without counting those who were inside Raph's apartment right now.

Mikey wondered whether Raph would get in trouble because he had helped him. He didn't think it should be allowed to get in trouble for helping people out of the kindness of your heart, but sometimes the law was just that weird.

Not that Mikey had to respect the law, per se. He just had to remain hidden from people in general and law people in particular, something he had…spectacularly failed at.

Yeah. Mikey definitely had to stay to make sure Raph would be fine.

Three governmental agents left Raph's apartment, followed closely by Raph himself, then by two other agents who were keeping a wary eye on Raph.

"I told you, I don't know where he is," Raph said. "It's the first time I see him."

Mikey was about to protest in his head, when one of the governmental agents answered Raph.

"Do you often welcome mutants in your home?"

The voice sounded doubtful, but it wasn't the reason why Mikey's heart suddenly filled with joy. It was Leo's voice! How wonderful that his brother had found him so fast!

Then Mikey remembered that Leo wasn't an ally at the moment, rather the opposite, and that his presence here might be a problem. Especially if he still carried a gun.

"Why do you want him, anyways? He looked like he wouldn't hurt a fly. He lost a fight to a cat in a dumpster!"

Mikey pouted. Now that wasn't fair of Raph to think Mikey was defenseless. Mikey was a highly skilled ninja! He was dangerous and to be taken seriously, and…

"You're mistaken. He has already hurt several people. It's my job to make sure he doesn't hurt anybody else."

Leo's voice sounded deadly serious, and Mikey gulped. He had wanted to be taken seriously, but maybe that was a little too much.

Although seeing Leo talking to a fuming Raph awakened soothing nostalgia in Mikey, so it wasn't all bad.

"I realize the situation alright! You guys would kill him without a second thought! Of course he should defend himself!"

"If the situation calls for it, we do have permission to kill," Leo said.

Alright, maybe this conversation awakened more than nostalgia in Mikey. Maybe it also awakened panic. And fear. And the urge to hide very, very far away.

"However, I don't believe it'll be necessary," Leo went on. "Of course, your cooperation would make our task easier. He seemed to trust you. Are you sure you don't know him?"

"Are you dense? I said that I've never seen him before tonight." Raph was clenching his fists, but he made no move to use them. Maybe he was threatened by a weapon Mikey couldn't see. "And I don't believe a word you say. I saw how you treated him!"

Mikey was so engrossed in the conversation that he almost didn't hear the movement behind him. He only avoided the gunshot because of his ninja-like reflexes.

As it turned out, he wasn't alone anymore on his rooftop. Five governmental agents were with him, or rather against him.

How had they found him so fast? He was well-hidden, and…

And he was still holding the bug. It was a beginner's mistake, and Leo would have chewed him out if he had been here.

Well, technically Leo was here, but he wasn't his normal I-care-about-Mikey-not-getting-killed self. So it didn't count.

Mikey threw the bug away. Another gun was fired, and this time it was a laser. It hit Mikey's shoulder, reverberated on the rooftop and hit Mikey's knee next. Mikey's left arm and his left leg became numb, and he realized with horror that he couldn't control them anymore.

Not good.

The agents were marching towards him. Mikey hopped around to jump from this rooftop onto the next one. He couldn't gather much speed because he couldn't run, but by using his kusarigama and his right arm, he should be able to…

Right. No weapons.

Mikey sighed. Splinter might say all he wanted that everything could be a weapon for a ninja, some weapons were definitely superior to others. And Mikey really missed his nunchucks right now.

He was also painfully aware that he was making an easy target. If only he could vanish from the agents' sight for just a second, then he could slid down the building and hop to a manhole cover and hide in the sewers while the paralysis dissipated. Hopefully.

Good thing Mikey was a turtle full of hope.

Maybe he could distract his opponents with a mad joke? He tried, but apparently speaking to these people was forbidden by the mysterious rules of the genie's spell.

Or maybe he could use a smoke bomb, like the one that was exploding at Mikey's feet right this second.

Wait, what?

Someone pulled Mikey's right arm and led him to the edge of the rooftop. Mikey clung to his mysterious savior–or kidnapper, at this stage it was hard to say–as they used a grappling hook to jump to the next rooftop, then to another, away from the agents.

By then, he had recognized his savior and his distinctive smell.

"Casey?" Mikey said.

"Hey Mikey." Casey Jones grinned. "It looked like you could need a hand. What happened to your leg? And your arm. And your other arm, and… Dude, do you have new stitches?"

Mikey checked his leg, but the stitches held. Raph had done an outstanding job. "It's a long story," he said, beaming because he wasn't alone anymore. His friend was here.

"Mikey!" another voice said, and Mikey watched as April ran to him. "I'm so glad to see you! We were worried sick." She paused. "Are you okay?"

"Sure." Mikey extended his only functioning arm while he hopped on his only functioning leg towards April until he could hug her.

"You sure don't look like it," Casey commented.

If April's look was anything to go by, she shared Casey's opinion. She still hugged Mikey back like he was a lifeline. "We couldn't believe it when we saw that your T-Phone was moving. But when Rockwell said that his program had been used, we knew you had escaped."

So that was why April and Casey were here. Well, Mikey preferred to be tracked by his friends than by the government.

April reluctantly released Mikey. "Let's go. These governmental agents will soon realize where you went. They're swarming this area."

"Yeah, they're everywhere." Casey said. "Did they put a bug on you or something?"

"Oh yeah, they did," Mikey said.

Both April and Casey stopped abruptly. "What?"

"Don't worry," Mikey said. "Raph removed it."

Casey's eyes widened even more. "Raph? You found Raph?"

"Oh yes." Mikey was definitely enjoying himself. "And Leo too. Although he's kinda with the bad guys right now." He deflated at the thought.

Casey blinked, then looked at the streets below. "You're kidding me."

"Nope," Mikey said. "I found them, Casey. I found all of them. And…"

April put her hand on Mikey's shoulder. "Mikey. We have to go now. You're in no shape to fight, and you can't allow yourself to be captured again."

"April." Mikey's eyes filled with tears. "They're right here. Leo and Raph. Raph has the pet shop in the corner, don't you think it's adorable? And he was so nice to me. He stitched my leg and everything. And Leo will come around, he has to, he's Leo! I can't leave them!"

"We'll be back, Mikey," April told him. "We know who they are now, and where they live. We'll find them again."

"I don't know where Leo lives yet," Mikey objected weakly. The exhaustion was catching up with him once more, heavier than before, and he knew April and Casey were right. He was in no shape to fight.

It didn't make it any easier.

"I wouldn't worry about that if I were you," Casey said, glancing on the side. "It looks like these guys really want you. I don't think they'll stop looking for you. Speaking of which, we have to leave now."

Mikey, too, had noticed the shapes that were climbing the building where they stood.

He let Casey and April help him, and they slid down the building and towards the nearest sewer entrance.

"I'll be back," Mikey promised for the second time that night as the manhole cover closed over his head. "Wait for me, guys."