Better Genes 11

I wanna send a big thanks to everyone for their reviews and ideas and to my TMNT sister BrightLotusMoon for her help in helping me with this story.

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Leatherhead's POV

It was only yesterday since my friends and I left the city of New York to the Jones farmhouse for Michelangelo's recovery, and… I am sad to say that nothing has changed.

Although the farmhouse is indeed a beautiful sanctuary away from the city, however the peaceful tranquillity that surrounds the quaint country home did very little to lift everyone's spirits.

I have also noticed a change is each of the turtles and Master Splinter ever since we returned from Nevada.

Leonardo was not focusing on his training as often as he normally would, and when we arrived at the farmhouse he has taken it upon himself to help Miss O'Neil with taking care of the house as well as the care for Michelangelo's pet.

Miss O'Neil and Mr Jones have both told me that it was an 'improvement' from how Leonardo had behaved the last time they came to the farmhouse and the following months. Both Donatello and Michelangelo had explained what happened and it still shocks and saddens me to hear what Leonardo put himself through.

Raphael spends most of his time outside either by himself or with Mr Jones.

Master Splinter was quieter than usual.

And Donatello has been coming to either myself or miss O'Neil for emotional stability.

The main reason behind all of this is because Michelangelo was still unconscious and ill with a fever. I know that they are all concerned for Michelangelo, as are myself Miss O'Neil and Mr Jones but there is nothing more we can do but to keep watch over him until he awakes.

Although Donatello and I have assured everyone that he will be alright, it did not have the reassuring effect that I was hoping for.

"Your family misses you tremendously Michelangelo." I told him as I placed the damp washcloth on his forehead, "As do I."

Then I felt something soft brush against my leg, I looked down and then smiled when I saw who it was, "Hello Klunk." I chuckled as I gently stroked the little feline's head.

"Mew."

She then leapt into my lap and began purring. I could not stop myself from smiling at the tiny kitten.

I remember when I was first introduced to Klunk. It was shortly after I started living with the turtles in their Lair after we escaped from Bishop. I was helping Donatello with the security upgrades when I found her sitting on my work table. At first I thought that she would hiss and run away from me but she didn't, instead she approached me and rubbed her head against my hand.

At first I thought that she was Donatello's cat but then he explained that she belonged to Michelangelo instead. He apologized and asked if I wanted him to remove her from the lab, but I said no and that I enjoyed Klunk's company.

Given my… appearance, I do not always have the best of luck when it comes to other animals. As a natural predator it is only natural that they should flee from me, but Klunk did not.

She truly is Michelangelo's cat.

I watched as Klunk stepped onto the bed where she rubbed her head gently against Michelangelo's hand that laid beside him, she mewed at Michelangelo… but he remained unchanged.

The gesture was both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.

"You miss him dearly, don't you my little furry friend?"

"Meew."

I am not fluent in feline but even I can tell that she is sad.

"As do we all. Hopefully he will awaken soon."

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Meanwhile downstairs…

"My sons, I would like to have a word with all of you." Splinter said calmly setting his tea cup down.

Leo, Raph, and Donnie immediately tensed. Usually that sentence meant that one or all of them were in trouble, even though Splinter didn't seem to be angry.

"None of you are in trouble, I would just like to talk to you three." He said reassuringly.

The brothers all turned to each other before following their father into the living room, leaving April and Casey in the kitchen to finish cleaning up.

"What did you want to talk to us about Master Splinter?" Leo asked once they were in the living room, though he had a feeling he already knew what their father wanted to talk about.

"It is about Michelangelo."

"What about Mikey? Did something happen?" Raph asked turning to Donnie for an explanation, but the purple masked turtle looked just as confused and concerned as his older brothers.

When he checked on Mikey this morning nothing had changed. He was still unconscious, his fever had gone down slightly but he was still ill.

"No nothing like that." Splinter assured his sons before asking, "My sons, how do you all feel about Michelangelo?"

The brothers were stunned by their father's question.

"What do ya mean 'how do we feel bout Mikey' Master Splinter?" Raph asked.

"Just as I said Raphael. How do you all feel about Michelangelo?" Splinter repeated

"He's our little brother." Spoke Raph, "Sure he can be a pain in the butt at times, well… a lot of times but he's still our brother and… life would be boring without him around." He said, wondering why Splinter was asking them this kind of question.

"He can be boisterous and annoying at times too but so can Raph when Casey's around and Leo when he's constantly training."

"Hey watch it brainiac." Raph warned while Leo grimaced at the brainy turtle.

Donnie ignored them with a smile, "But he's also the light in our lives." He added, "He always looks on the bright side of things and knows how to lighten things up even when things look hopeless."

He thought back to the times when Mikey's lighthearted jokes and optimism had always sparked hope in every situation they found themselves in. The genius turtle didn't know how Mikey does it but he couldn't think of how their lives could function without it.

"And he's the heart in our family." Leo added, "He's also very insightful when it comes to others. Something that we've often overlooked when we shouldn't have." He said, his mind going back to the memories he saw in Mikey's mind. He hated himself for not noticing and for pushing his brother aside because he was concerned for him.

Raph and Donnie nodded looking guilty.

"We also underestimate him a lot of times too." Raph added.

He thought back to his sparring sessions with Mikey and his match with him at the Battle Nexus. Yeah he was still ticked that Mikey beat him but looking back on it, it was ingenious really. Mikey knew that he couldn't win against him in strength so he used strategy in the form of egging him on to make him get angry and lose focus… and as much as Raph hated to admit it… it worked.

Raph also remembered when he had to get Mikey to follow him back to others to get him into the Containment Unit. It was a lot harder than he thought that it would be. Had Casey not shown up when he did… Raph shuttered, he didn't want to think about what could've happened.

Splinter's heart filled with joyed relief hearing his son's words yet he still felt his lingering doubts.

"Raphael? Why do you hit Michelangelo so much?"

Raph was taken aback by the question, "Well I uh… I don't know. I do it when he's being annoying and won't shut his mouth. Especially when we're out on patrol."

"Do you do the same to Leonardo or to Donatello?"

"No, I've never hit Donnie." He heard Donnie clear his throat, "Well okay except for in the Turtle Copter but other than that no. And I don't hit Leo cause he hits back if I do."

Splinter raised an eyebrow, "And do you always strike Michelangelo on the head when you hit him?

"Uhh… yeah." Raph replied uneasily.

Splinter turned towards Leo and Donnie, both of them looked just as uneasy as Raph. Which told the old rat that they also strike Mikey on the head.

"And does Michelangelo strike back when either of you hit him?"

"Well uh… that is… he…" Raph sighed, "No, he don't."

Splinter's ears twitched, "I see." He sighed.

He looked towards Leo and Donnie, again they looked just as guilty as the emerald turtle, feeling disappointed. Not just at his sons behavior but also at himself for not being more aware of what was happening and putting a stop to it. However before he could scold his red masked son, Raph spoke again.

"Master Splinter before you say anything… I know that I screwed up, I… I think back to the number of times I've hit him and… I feel really bad about it. I don't have any excuse to why I always hit him… but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make it up to him."

"Even if it means listening to him call himself the Battle Nexus Champion?" Leo asked with a sly grin, which earned him a sideways grimace from his hot headed brother.

"You said 'whatever it takes' didn't you?" Donnie spoke

"Ugh, enough with the 'throwing everything I say back at me' thing! It's gett'n on my nerves." Raph groaned.

Splinter cleared his throat which immediately caused the brothers to stop, "Or perhaps the first step is to apologize to your brother and stop hitting him all together." He said firmly, "I know that you are brothers and you will have your sibling quarrels from time to time but you will have to learn to resolve your problems with your words, not with your fists." He turned to Leo and Donnie, "That goes for you two as well. I am telling you this not just as your Sensei but also your father. Do you understand?"

"Yes father." The brothers chimed.

Splinter nodded, but now came the difficult part. He took in a long calming breath before looking up at his sons, "My sons… do any of you believe that Michelangelo is the… weak link of this family? Or believe that you would better off without him?"

Splinter's question shocked the brothers.

"WHAT!?"

"Shell No!"

"No of course not!"

"No, Never!"

"My sons!" Splinter spoke holding up his hand, making the brothers fall silent. He cleared his throat before continuing, "My sons, please calm yourselves. I understand that you are confused by my questions but there is a reason for them."

"But why would ya need to ask us these questions Sensei?"

Splinter was silent before answering Raph's question. He told his sons about his nightmares that he'd started having since Mikey's rematch at the Battle Nexus, including the one he had last night. He found it more difficult to tell his sons about it than April. When he had finished explaining the living room was dead silent.

Each of the brothers looked pale, sickened and horrified by what they had just heard. Donnie moreso than Leo or Raph.

Splinter's description of his second dream made Donnie's mind wander back to the alternate apocalyptic future. Where he met an older battle scarred version of his baby brother who had become a hardened ninja warrior, missing most of his left arm, surviving in a devastated world ruled by the Shredder. That Mikey had lost his smile, his light then later… his life.

Raph looked like he was having a hard time keeping breakfast down. He remembered telling Mikey right before his match that he'd love nothing more than to see Kluh ground him into paste in the ring. But he only meant it to be trash talk to mess with Mikey, he didn't really mean it, but after hearing about his father's recent nightmare made him come to the realization to how close he came to getting his wish.

Leo looked guilt ridden as he took in everything he'd heard from his father. He, like Splinter, often wished that Mikey would be more serious in his training however these last few days made him realize that Mikey's sunny disposition really helps out the team and family more than he originally thought. There were times between the journey to Bishop's base, sneaking into the Foot HQ and the flight back that Leo was waiting to hear Mikey's words of encouragement, a lame joke or even a witty remark… but there wasn't any.

It terrified all of them to know how close they came to losing their baby brother.

"Forgive me my sons." Splinter said sadly, "I did not mean to upset any of you but… please understand. I had to hear your true thoughts and feelings for Michelangelo for my own peace of mind."

The brothers stared at the their father for a moment before nodding in understanding. They've all been in situations where a recent dream and/or nightmare felt so real that they needed a form of reassurance for themselves.

"We understand father." Leo assured his father, Raph and Donnie nodded in agreement.

Splinter smiled back at his sons, relieved that his fears were put to rest.

"Guess we have been acting like jerks to Mikey lately, especially during the Alien Outbreak." Raph said his voice laced with guilt. Leo and Donnie nodded feeling guilty for how they acted.

"Remember when we all laughed when we saw the drawing he made of us as superheroes?" Leo asked, Raph and Donnie nodded, "Guess he got the last laugh since he partnered up with the Silver Sentry and the Justice Force."

"Yeah he did."

"But you gotta admit that it was a crazy idea." Donnie said, "Not to mention that costume that he picked for himself is ridiculous."

"And what's so crazy about following one's dream Donatello?"

The mutant family turned to find April and Casey standing by the bottom of the stairs, she had her crossed and an arched eyebrow.

"How long have you two been standing there?"

"Long enough but we've been listening the whole time. So I ask again what's so crazy about following one's dream? Hmm?"

Nobody answered right away but then Raph answers, "Because we ain't superheroes, we're ninjas, mutants."

"So what. That doesn't stop you guys from patrolling the streets, fighting the Purple Dragons or the Foot, or stopping any other crook in the city." April countered.

"She's gotta point guys." Casey said, "I mean what you guys and I do is no different than what Batman does, or the X-Men or any other comic book superheroes."

The guys gave what the human couple said some thought and… in some ways they were right. They use their skills to protect the city and help those in need. Yeah they don't wear costumes but that's never stopped anyone, good or bad, from mistaking them for frogs or green aliens. And thanks to Donnie, they have access to some really cool gadgets and 'toys' to use at their disposal.

Though Leo prefers to stick to the shadows, as per their ninja training, and only reveal themselves when need be. Raph would like to see a little more gratitude, especially when kicking Purple Dragon butt. Donnie… was a bit of both.

"What you think you're Batman Casey?" Raph smirked.

Casey shook his head, "Nah, I'm more like Frank Castle, The Punisher. Except I ain't military trained, I don't use guns, and I don't kill the bad guys. Even though some of them deserve it."

"And you're better looking than him too." April added, giving her boyfriend a wink.

Casey's cheeks flushed a bit, "Aw thanks babe."

April turned to Donnie, "And for the record, I was the one who encouraged Mikey to follow his dream and I helped in choosing the costume for him." April answered.

The brothers were taken aback by what they had just heard.

Splinter nodded, "Apparently Michelangelo has been confiding in Miss O'Neil for quite some time. And Miss O'Neil was the one who insisted that I talk to you three."

"But why wouldn't Mikey talk to us about what's bothering him?" Donnie asked looking hurt that Mikey didn't trust them, didn't trust him.

"Perhaps Michelangelo found solace as well as encouragement from Miss O'Neil that he did not find within his own family." Splinter replied sadly.

Hearing that made the brothers feel even more guilty, but it also sparked a determination to fix everything with their youngest as soon as he woke up.

"How do we fix this?"

"We will first focus on helping Michelangelo recover, then when he awakes we will all sit with him and talk to him." Splinter answered.

The others all agreed. They will all do whatever it takes to make it up to Mikey.

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A.N. Hey everyone! Sorry for the long wait, this chapter was a tough one and I've been trying to update more other stories too. Also sorry that it's short.

Yeah Mikey's still unconscious but he'll wake up soon. I just wanted to focus on Splinter and the guys for a bit.