Archive of Our Own ^beta

Mikey took a deep breath, spinning where he stood. He eyed the area around him, now empty of Kraang, letting himself fall back into a loose, relaxed stance, tucking his nunchucks back into his belt. Around him, the sounds of a few last explosions accented the sparking hum of broken machines, and the sound of his brothers catching their breath. He could hear three distinct patterns, so, yeah, good. They were all still here. There'd been enough confusion that he'd lost track of them for a while, but, yep, they were fine, everything was cool. Except, no, not really.

This operation should have been simple, an in and out mission that they'd all (but mostly Raph) assured him that even he couldn't mess up. (The dark pit in his stomach twisted at the thought, the way they brushed off his indignation with carefree smiles and laughter. They were probably right, though. He was the worst of them.) Just plant some bombs, download some data, then go home and eat pizza. Simple, easy, manageable.

Instead, a few dozen Kraang had flooded them as soon as they had set foot in the main tech hub. There hadn't been an alarm, hadn't been any warning, and Donnie had said there weren't any cameras that hadn't been fed the video loop-y thing he'd set up, so how…? How had they found out that they were here?

It- it didn't really matter. Not anymore. They'd won this fight regardless. There wasn't really any way to find out (not one he'd ever be able to find, anyway) so it wouldn't pay to worry about. Donnie would probably figure something out anyway, if there was anything to figure out at all.

Mikey swallowed, surveying the room, looking for anything useful. The colors here were more familiar than the ones in the lair, something he took little comfort in, but they settled easily into the background. Blended in a way that allowed him to ignore them, something that was difficult at home. The colors made sense to be here, in a Kraang facility. They didn't feel right anywhere else. He spun in a slow circle, looking for something. Anything that could be useful in the future, or that he could use. It was a habit at this point, but it hadn't ever really led to anything ever since he got back from Dimension- He froze as something caught his eye.

There was a single Kraang, laying in the open next to the wall. A droid rested in pieces around it, burned and broken. A thick, purple liquid puddled around the creature, oozing from several cuts all across its body. Dark, blistered burns littered its form, and he was pretty sure it was missing one tentacle. A while back (a few weeks Earth-time, but for him it had been… longer) the sight probably would have made him sick. Now, while his stomach twisted slightly, he could stand steady. It would probably be retrieved by the other Kraang before it died, or maybe even get up on its own (Kraang could take a surprising amount of abuse before really, actually dying), but it was injured. Badly.

Mikey turned away from the thing, plastering a bright smile onto his face, ready to approach his brothers and pretend that everything was fine, but… but they needed information. Donnie was downloading files from the Kraang computers, but that method always led to most files are corrupted or they deleted anything useful or it's written in some code that I can't translate completely. They didn't have time for that. They had an invasion to stop; an invasion he'd been trying to put off for a long time now, one they only had weeks more to end. So if they, meaning Mikey, could get the information straight from the source…

Mikey slowly turned back to the injured Kraang. It was stupid; an awful, terrible idea, but… He crossed the short distance to it, glancing over his shoulder to make sure none of the others were paying attention to him. They weren't, as usual. He tried not to let that sting- he was used to it, and it benefited him here, after all. He shouldn't let something like that bother him anyway.

A quick glance told him that the Kraang was still breathing, so that was good (though without its droid, it would only survive with Earth air for a day or so, at the very most). It was still bleeding, although sluggishly. It looked like it had gotten caught in one of the explosions they'd set off, and had been flung over to hit the wall. It's droid was completely wrecked, but it seemed to have been one of the more high-class ones, so the chances of the creature knowing something important were pretty good. Mikey just had to make sure it stayed alive, smuggle it out of the building, bring it someplace safe, and keep his brothers from noticing all throughout. Easy.

He slipped his empty explosives bag (they'd all had one, just in case) off of his shoulders, laying it on the ground next to the Kraang. It should fit, but it wouldn't be comfortable. Not that Mikey cared, really. He picked the thing up, it's slimy, rubbery skin made even more weird by the sticky, goopy blood coating it. He gagged slightly, sticking out his tongue. He hadn't thought the Kraang could get any more gross than they usually were. Turns out he was wrong (though that wasn't really that uncommon of an occurrence).

He dumped the creature into the bag without ceremony, then zipped it just enough to hide it. Then, he moved over to one of the many tables full of different pieces of Kraang tech- most looking like pieces of junk or random parts, unconnected bits of different machines, but there were a few he recognized. He grabbed them, then broke off an energy pack from one of the many, many guns on the table. He glanced over the unfamiliar pieces of tech, trying to catch sight of anything that he knew would be useful, but he couldn't even tell what was what. Was that a weapon or part of a droid? A tool or some casing? He didn't know. He spotted half of a droid's head, though, and tore out a large, silver box from it. This he knew.

"Mikey!" Donnie called suddenly, and Mikey resisted the urge to jump in surprise. "Don't touch anything, you don't know what it does!"

His grip tightened on his pilfered tech, carefully keeping it angled in such a way that it was hidden when he looked over his shoulder at them, before he set it all carefully back on the table and turned to face them fully. He kept a smile on his face, this one only mostly faked, because even if they were yelling they were there and that was enough. Still, there was something tight in his chest, and an itchy, burning feeling under his shell. He did know. Some of it. The parts he was taking, at least. (That isn't good enough, though. He's irresponsible, careless, he'd hurt someone if he tried to mess with anything he didn't understand. He tried to push that voice away, but the more he tried to force it out the more it seeped in.)

He opened his mouth to reassure Donnie that he wouldn't touch anything, but Raph beat him to the punch.

"Does he know about anything, really?" he asked, voice sharp and mocking. "Maybe he shouldn't do anything either- you know, just until he actually understands what air is."

Mikey swallowed down the lump in his throat.

"Oh, ha ha Raph," he said. "I know what air is!" It was precious, easy to lose, and so, so very important. "It's all, uh, Oxyclean and… some other… stuff." Its components, though, he was iffy on. That word was wrong, he knew, and suddenly he remembered that Oxyclean was the thing printed on an empty container in the alleyway they'd been in earlier. Still, he couldn't remember the actual word, no matter how much he tried. Donnie sighed, one hand over his face.

"It's oxygen, and that's only one of the many molecules that-" he cut off, paused, and then sighed again. "It's only one of air's ingredients." He said instead, voice flat. It was clear that he didn't like having to dumb-down his explanations- even though he hadn't really had to.

Mikey gave a thumbs up and a grin. It only felt a little more forced this time than the last.

"Got it!" he said. Donnie frowned at him, clearly not believing it, but then turned back to the computer in front of him anyway. Leo whispered something to him, and Donnie nodded, a serious cast to his face. Mikey waited for a second, watching as Raph walked over to a pile of empty Kraang droids, kicking at one as he passed, and started rifling through the pieces- most likely at Donnie's request. Mikey waited a second longer, making sure none of them were going to notice him again, before grabbing all his tech and hurrying back over to his bag- and, more importantly, the Kraang.

He sat down next to the bag and set down his things. Then, he started to rewire them. It had taken him forever to figure this out, too long, but he had a pretty good handle on it now. He'd really done it by accident the first time, just messing with broken pieces of technology that he didn't even hope to understand. The white wires had only barely begun to have color then, but they were solid now. It was only pure chance that he'd figured out how to use it, and he'd only shocked or blown himself up a few dozen times - or, had it been hundreds? - so it was fine.

He started humming, going over the words of the poem in his head, something he'd made up to pass the time when he'd had to do this before- and, at first, to help him remember how to do it at all. The wires and bits all crossed together in his head, refusing to stay still, and he'd needed something to help him focus.

Blue's the leader, standing tall- gives in to Red's anger, to watch them fall. He switched the points that those two connected at. Pink is behind, to support and guide. He left that one alone. Yellow was left, standing aside. He tore out the wire.

It had been a long time since he'd last done this. Maybe about three- no. No. He didn't want to think about it. Black remains just the same. White has gone, gone to grey…

He finished quickly. Now he was left with one, tangled mess of different machine parts, connected together by a few wires each. Okay. This should still work.

He hooked the energy pack that he'd taken to the device, and it sparked slightly before settling. A faint, high pitched buzz emitted from it, piercing his ears and making him wince slightly. It was annoying, but the others shouldn't notice it. They didn't really notice a lot of stuff like this, even though Mikey was pretty sure that they should. He'd been messing with it a few days ago, trying to get them to hear it, but it never worked. Still, he could hear it, and it was awful. He knew that the Kraang would find the sound far more bothersome than he did, though, so he supposed he had to be grateful for small mercies like that. It would also knock Kraang unconscious - or at least stun them - if they were close enough. Which, this definitely would be. He dropped the device into the bag with the injured Kraang as insurance for its silence, then zipped it up the rest of the way.

"Mikey, get over here!" Raph called. "Time to go!"

He smiled, feeling the slight urge to actually laugh. Looks like he'd finished just in time. He swung the bag over his shoulder, making his way over to the others. Leo eyed it suspiciously.

"What's in the bag?" he asked slowly. Mikey shrugged.

"Just some souvenirs," he said.

"You didn't take something you don't understand or at the very least recognize again, did you?" Donnie asked, glancing back to the table of machine scraps that Mikey had taken parts from, probably to make sure nothing was missing.

"Nope! C'mon, D, I'm not that stupid!" It was true enough, he supposed. Nothing he'd taken was anything he didn't know well. (He ignored the fact that him taking unfamiliar things in the past had led to them actually figuring out what was going on. It wasn't that important, anyway. They were right that that would be a dumb thing to do- it could get them into more trouble than it could help.) Raph snorted.

"Maybe not," he said. "In fact, I think you might be onto something! You're actually way/ dumber."

Mikey forced himself not to react.

"No, you are!" he protested. "At least I don't trigger alarms by charging headfirst alone into Kraang fleets, I just do it by accident!" An accident that hadn't occurred in- weeks, Earth time. Not that they would have noticed. Leo interjected before Raph could respond.

"It doesn't matter," he said firmly. He looked to Mikey. "Mikey, you're sure none of that stuff is dangerous?"

"We're trusting his judgement now?" Donnie asked, and Raph snorted again. Mikey just nodded, focusing on Leo instead of their comments.

"Don't worry so much, Leo! Everything will be fine!" he said. Leo hesitated.

"Leo, let's just go," Raph said, sighing. "You know he can't lie to save his life. It's probably all just trash anyway."

Leo hesitated a moment longer, before nodding. Mikey followed behind them all, frowning. True, he hadn't been able to lie to save his own life. But for theirs, he'd learned how.

Plastering on a wide smile when Donnie glanced back at him, he couldn't help but think… Maybe he'd learned a little too well.

Or, perhaps, it was that he hadn't learned well enough.

The ride back was mostly quiet. Raph… didn't like it. Or, well, he liked the quiet- it was a welcome change from their normal bickering, nevermind that he was usually one of the ones participating in - and often starting - those arguments. When they weren't fighting, Mikey would usually start some random conversation about something - food, friends, ideas - but today he was quiet. He'd been quiet for days, actually. Raph was tired, stressed, and all around in a bad mood, so it being silent was fine. The problem- well. The problem actually was Mikey.

He was just sitting at his station, bag of whatever his souvenirs were at his feet. Mikey was actually just doing his job. And… sometimes it looked like he was… frowning? Okay, that wasn't that unordinary, but it was just off. It wasn't Mikey's usual frown, it was- weird. Different.

...Raph ignored it. It probably wasn't anything important anyway.

They got to the sewers quickly, and Raph was just the lucky guy who got to help Donnie carry all the robot parts he'd wanted. Ugh. He got that they needed more for Donnie's turtle-mech, but why did Raph have to be the one to help him carry them in? He glanced back towards Mikey as they gathered a few feet from the Shellraiser, frowning. There was still something bothering him… Mikey was standing a few feet away from the rest of them, his bag slung over his shoulder.

He was smiling again, annoyingly bright as ever, but there was something wrong. There had been for weeks. It didn't quite reach his eyes… Leo's voice broke him out of his musings.

"Alright, let's move," he said, then he smiled. "I think we deserve some pizza after this. Mikey, can you handle that when we get to the lair?"

Mikey snapped to attention, as if he hadn't been listening. Raph narrowed his eyes, watching Mikey fidget uncomfortably for a second, hand tightening on his bag.

"I- uh," Mikey hesitated, before smiling slightly. "I was actually gonna go?"

"Go where?" Raph asked. There was something wrong here. It was so close. He could feel it. "It's not like you've ever got anything to do- Well, besides being annoying when we're doing something important."

Mikey's free hand clenched and unclenched, eyes narrowed, a brief flash of something on his face, before he relaxed again.

"My room's too crowded, y'know? I'm working on a- a museum kinda thing for all my stuff," he lifted the bag slightly, almost like he was presenting it as evidence. "Gotta put this stuff in there before I forget."

"...Okay," Leo said slowly. "But you'll come back to the lair when you're done?"

"Yeah, of course!"

"Then, that's fine," he said. "Then I'll order the pizza, and Raph will help Donnie."

Raph groaned, and Donnie sighed. He was probably looking forward to working with Raph just as much as Raph was working with him. Leo ignored them and started walking, and Donnie followed. Raph paused, and then walked over to Mikey. He put a hand on his shoulder, only to retract it when Mikey tensed up, leaning away from him slightly. He'd been doing that a lot lately, pulling away from them and never initiating contact. It was just as well- Raph wasn't really a fan of the surprise hug attacks that Mikey used to practice. Still…

"You good?" Raph asked. "You've been quiet today." And the day before, and the day before that, and so on and so forth.

"Huh? Oh! Uh, yeah," Mikey said, fidgeting slightly. Then he slumped. "Just tired, you know? We've been fighting the Kraang non-stop for- for weeks, like, can't they ever take a break? Give us a break for once?"

Raph snorted. "Yeah, no. Pretty sure the day they stop is the day we finally pound em' into the ground for good."

"Yeah… you're right."

Raph cleared his throat, shifting back and forth of his heels. Finally, he said; "Well, you'd better get to the lair fast. I'm not gonna save any pizza for you if you don't."

He turned and started walking to the lair. After a beat of silence, Mikey called after him.

"You- you're joking right? Right?! Raph!"

Raph just kept on walking.

It had been an hour. One, single hour. Even that seemed wrong. Too long.

Raph was in the dojo, moving through the different stances, trying to fight away the worry he felt and replace it with something else. Anger, frustration, exhaustion… he didn't care what it was as long as it could override his concern.

He shouldn't be worried. Mikey was an idiot, and clumsy, and reckless, and- and a lot of other things, but that didn't mean he was in trouble just because he was alone, in the sewers, with a bag full of- of… something that he took from a Kraang base. ...Maybe they should have actually asked about what kind of souvenirs he had taken this time…

But whatever. I mean, how much trouble could one turtle get into? Raph immediately retracted that thought. Even just walking around the sewers they had gotten themselves into danger many, many times.

That… that still wasn't the problem, though. There was something else, something bothering him, but he just couldn't place it.

Mikey had always been weird, but now… now he was even weirder. He was different. Ever since they'd gotten back from Dimension X, he'd been quieter. More withdrawn. He had spent the first few days home staring at everything like it was the first time he'd even seen it, eating enough to feed the whole city (though who could blame him, with the… food he'd had access to in Dimension X?), and sleeping for at least 12 hours at a time. Donnie said it was fine, a side effect of being in Dimension X for months, but… it just kept getting worse.

Mikey was jumpy. He didn't like being touched, especially without warning- something he obviously tried to hide, but it was pretty obvious regardless. He'd been doing way better with training, surpassing Donnie in a lot of ways- and maybe, just maybe, even Raph and Leo half of the time. He was faster, stronger, fought smarter. He was just- just different. Always ready to fight, but always relaxed. He hated being grappled or pinned. Then there were his expressions. Smiling whenever you looked, frowning when he thought that you weren't. He nearly jumped whenever one of them mentioned the Kraang without warning.

And… he was taller. Not by much, but more than Raph thought a few months should warrant. His shell was scratched and chipped. It was just wrong, no matter how he tried to look at it. And now Mikey had been gone for an hour, when before he'd be back in a few minutes because Raph threatened to eat all of the pizza and he didn't want to miss out. (Raph never did, though. He always made sure that there would always be a few slices left for Mikey. That didn't stop Raph from threatening it, though, and it didn't stop Mikey from believing that threat.)

Raph sighed, giving up on his training. In the past, he would have talked to Spike. Then, he would have talked to Splinter, but both he and April were gone, and would be for days, getting last minute, pre-invasion training done. That left him with only one option.

It was time to do the unthinkable. It was time to talk to his brothers.

He found them in the main room, Donnie focused on his laptop and Leo engrossed in a Space Heroes rerun. Raph grabbed the controller and turned the tv off. Leo made an indignant noise, turning to look at Raph.

"That was the best part!" he protested. Raph shrugged.

"Too bad. We've gotta talk."

Leo paused, taking in Raph's serious expression, before he nodded. Raph turned to look at Donnie, and he glanced up at them.

"Me too?" he asked. Raph nodded. He sighed, before setting the laptop to the side. "It's mostly corrupted anyway. I think the Kraang are getting better at hiding their files."

"So," Leo said, "what is it?"

Raph sighed. "Look, guys, I'm-" he hesitated, before glaring at them both. "If you ever repeat this, I'm gonna tear off your shells, but… I'm… worried. About Mikey."

They both looked surprised for a second, before the shock was replaced with grim expressions.

"We are too," Leo said. "There's just been something… wrong. With him."

Raph relaxed a bit. "You guys have noticed?"

Donnie nodded, resting his chin in one hand. "Definitely. It all started when we found him- or, when he found us, in Dimension X."

"You think something might have happened while he was there?"

"It's certainly possible- and I think it's the most likely option."

Raph frowned, trying to think of something that could have caused the changes he'd seen in Mikey. They've been through a lot and they'd always come out of it fine. What could be worse than what they've already gone through?

"Maybe we just ask him?" Leo suggested. Donnie shook his head.

"I've tried," he said. "He's always either vague or ignores the question entirely."

"Then what are we supposed to do?"

"Let's all go," Raph suggested. Leo and Donnie looked at him. "Right now. We find his 'museum', and we don't leave until he tells us."

"Uh, that might not work very well," Donnie said. "If he doesn't want to talk about it, there's not much we can do to convince him. We shouldn't try to force it either- which you can hopefully understand the reasons for - and there's a lot that he can do to annoy us for trying."

"Then let's go be annoyed!" Raph snapped. "He's been gone too long already."

Leo glanced at Donnie, then back to Raph. Determination flashed in his eyes as he nodded. Donnie looked at them both, sighed in defeat, and then nodded as well.

"Right," Leo said. "Let's go find our brother."

"Uh, how are we supposed to find him, again?" Donnie asked. They were all standing next to the Shellraiser, looking down the many different tunnels that Mikey could have gone through.

Raph kicked aside an empty can. "Why didn't we ask him where he was going, again?"

Leo looked around, frowning. "I guess we all just… assumed he'd be fine?"

"But we'd all figured out that he wasn't days ago, so… what gives?"

None of them had an answer to that. Why hadn't Raph asked? Why hadn't he even just looked to see which direction Mikey went? The thought hadn't even crossed his mind.

"Guys," Donnie called, crouching at the mouth of one tunnel. "I- I think I found something."

Raph moved over to stand beside him, Leo trailing slightly behind. Donnie was examining a puddle of bright purple… something. Raph narrowed his eyes.

"Is that-"

"Kraang blood," Donnie finished. "Yeah."

Raph sighed. "Who wants to bet Mikey is down there? Everyone?"

"Most likely," Leo said. "But why would…"

He trailed off, and they stood in silence for a moment before dashing down the tunnel. It didn't take long before something happened- that something being the ear-splitting screech of an angry Kraang. They ran faster, and up ahead Raph could see where the sewer was cut off by a purple curtain, like a makeshift door.

"No, you will tell me what I want to know," Mikey's voice snapped. It echoed down the sewer, and the three of them slowed, confusion cutting through the worry they felt. Another screech followed, lower this time, but only slightly. It was also followed by a few garbled grumbles, all very important, Raph was sure. "Yeah, no. It wasn't just a guess."

Raph paused, now, frowning. He glanced at the others, but they looked just as confused as he was.

"Is he… talking to it?" he asked in a hushed whisper. Donnie shook his head, more helpless than anything.

"He can't be… It's not possible to understand this stuff," he said. "The Kraang's language - if it can even be called that - isn't something you can just learn."

"But it's not a bluff either," Leo said. "I mean, what would be the point?"

Raph narrowed his eyes, then crept forward. He crouched at the curtain, peeking through and ignoring the others' presence as they came up right behind him. His eyes widened, taking it all in. The room was small, with a good quarter of it taken up by water, probably leading to other sewer pipes. It felt small in another way too, and that was that it was cramped.

Two half rotted tables sat on one side, littered with a surprisingly neat collection of Kraang technology, and a few bigger pieces laid underneath the tables. A few Kraang guns were mounted on the walls, and in one corner there was a blanket and pillow, laid out like a bed. In the other corner there was a pile of food - all packaged, and all things that clearly wouldn't spoil for a good long time - and… medical supplies? Next to the makeshift bed were some of Mikey's Dimension X memorabilia. And speaking of Mikey…

He was standing in the middle of it all, staring down at a Kraang that was tied to the leg of the table, with bandages taped to several injuries. Taking it all in…

"...This is not a museum," Raph muttered. It looked more like a bunker than anything else. Just how long had Mikey been setting this up? And, oh, yeah, right, he had captured a Kraang, and was now acting like he could understand it. What on Earth was going on…?

The Kraang grumbled again, and Mikey sighed.

"Proof? Isn't the fact that I'm answering you-" he was cut off by a screech. "Fine! Fine, you win."

And then Mikey just- just opened his mouth, and let out a garbled screech. The Kraang itself jumped, eyes blown wide. It chittered slowly, almost seeming unsure, and Mikey responded in kind. How…?

"He sounds… he sounds just like them…" Donnie whispered. "That's- that's impossible. How would he even- Raph, no!"

Raph threw back the curtain and stepped inside the room. Mikey spun around to face him, eyes wide.

"Raph!" he said, all traces of wrong now gone from his voice. All smiles, all light, fluffy words. No anger, no Kraang speak. "Leo, Donnie… uh, what- what brings you here?"

"Oh, no," Raph snapped. "We are far past that. Explain- now."

Mikey swallowed, glanced to the Kraang, and then slumped, exhaustion falling over him like a shadow.

"Raph…" he murmured. "I don't wanna talk about it, and you don't wanna know."

"No, I think I do."

"Uh, Raph," Donnie started, "we don't-"

"The 'no forcing him into it' rule kinda just flew out the window, Donnie!" Raph snapped. "We need to know what's going on here! You said it yourself, what he just did should be impossible!"

"We all need to calm down," Leo said, though he was looking straight at Raph, so it was pretty clear that he meant 'you need to calm down'. Leo then turned to Mikey. "Look, we've just all been really worried about you, and…" he trailed off, looking down at the Kraang for a second before shaking his head and focusing again. "And now, I think we're all even more concerned about all of-" he gestured to the room they were in, "-this."

The Kraang grumbled something, and Mikey shot it a glare, before turning back to face them.

"...I… fine. Fine," he said quietly. "I'll tell you. But you can't tell anyone else, I- I just… I want everything to be- normal, you know?"

Donnie frowned. "Well, that-"

"'Course," Raph interjected. "Lips are sealed. Now explain. What is this place? Why were you talking to that thing? How were you talking to it?"

Mikey sighed.

"This… it started as a hideout, y'know? A place I could just hang out," he paused, glancing around. "I first found it y- months ago. But after I got back… it's kinda a bunker? Just a spot I could keep stuff, or hide, and just… feel… safe "

Nailed it, Raph thought.

"And the Kraang?" Leo asked.

"I learned their language in Dimension X," Mikey started. "I-"

"But that's impossible," Donnie protested. The Kraang screeched again, and Mikey smiled slightly, though it was humorless.

"It agrees with you."

"It-" Donnie cut off, looking to the Kraang to Mikey and back again. It looked like he was going to explode. "That's impossible," he repeated. "Most of the sounds that they make are on a frequency that we can't even hear, let alone copy. And it's so tone based that it's literally almost just one sound in different pitches- again, that we can't even hear! There is no way anyone could just learn it, especially in only a few months, and especially someone like-"

He cut off, but not soon enough. Even Raph's eyes were blown wide- even he could see that saying something like that right now, no matter how true it felt, was a bad move. Mikey twitched, a hurt look crossing over his face for a moment before it disappeared, a wide smile replacing it, so bright and forced that it hurt to look at.

"Ha, yeah! Like me right?" he asked. Raph glanced at Leo, who was watching with trepidation. "There's no way that I would have any chance at this! I'm the dumb one! I can't believe I actually thought I had accomplished something in two years! No way someone as stupid and reckless and useless as me could actually- a-actually-"

The smile finally crumpled, and Raph suddenly realized that Mikey was crying, silent tears running down his face. Raph wasn't sure if he hadn't noticed because of Mikey's words or Mikey's smile. Had he always been that good at misdirecting them? It didn't really matter, not now, because now Mikey was turning away from them, walking to his makeshift bed and collapsing there, falling to his knees. The Kraang chittered, and Mikey snapped at it, a harsh, grating sound that sounded more like a snarl than anything, and to Raph's amazement, the creature quieted, shrinking into itself with wide eyes. It clearly understood what Mikey was saying, so- so… How did this happen?

Donnie finally broke out of his shock, taking a step towards Mikey, one hand reaching out as if he were going to grab him despite the distance between them.

"I-I… I didn't mean-"

"You did," Mikey interrupted. "You meant exactly what you said."

"But not like that!" Donnie insisted. "It's just… this - if we're saying it's possible - would be difficult, and your attention span isn't the best, and- ugh, look, I just meant that…"

"I get it," Mikey's voice was hollow. "But I had a lot of time to figure it out, and survival is a pretty good motivator. It kinda just… clicked, anyway."

"What did you mean by years?" Leo asked suddenly. "You told us you were only there for three months at most."

"I had to say something."

"So why not the truth?" Raph demanded. Mikey still wouldn't turn around, just sat hunched in on himself. Raph could see him wiping at his eyes.

"I didn't want you to know," Mikey whispered. "I just- I wanted everything to be normal again. I wanted to just pretend that it had been three months, and not- not twenty-five. Even if all you do is treat me like garbage, like I'm less than the rest of you, even if all you do is call me names and make fun of me, I-I… I just wanted that back. I spent two years there, and I- even with how awful I felt here I would have given anything to have it again! Is that-" he cut off with a wet sounding cough, and wiped at his eyes again. Finally he looked back at them, face wet, tears still rolling down his cheeks. Finally, Raph realized what had bothered him most about Mikey since the Dimension X incident. He had felt fake, like a ghost living out a life long left behind. He hadn't cried or even truly, honestly laughed. He was just going through the motions, and that was all. And now, breaking down, breaking apart, Michelangelo finally seemed real again. Mikey laughed slightly, a broken, desperate sound. "I just- just wanted this back. Is that weird?"

Raph was silent, frozen, thoughts racing wildly but his mouth clamped shut. Why was no one else answering? The silence stretched and thickened, ringing with the weight of the words that had given it form.

How had they all missed this? How had they not realized- This wrongness hadn't been new. They just hadn't noticed until it was spilling over the surface. It was amplified, now, sharper, darker, a chasm in the place of a pit, but this had been building more and more over the years. The scenes snapped into focus in Raph's mind, the sadness, the silence, the bitterness that would flash for just a moment in Mikey's eyes. It was normal, in the back of Raph's mind whenever he actually cared to notice, so gradual that it was hidden in the normalcy of it all. But it wasn't.

It had just always been so simple, so easy, so natural to make a some cheap, snide comment, or hit Mikey over the head when he was talking too loud or too fast or just about something stupid, or that they didn't care about. It was so easy to forget that he was there at all, to ignore him until they realized that he'd been gone for hours. But- but now, looking at him now, he was hurting. Breaking. And Raph had never even noticed- not to mention the fact that they were causing it. Hadn't noticed for years. Mikey had said this room was a secret place to hang out, but he had also said it was a place to feel safe, and- and couldn't that mean that he didn't feel safe at home?

And now he'd- Mikey had been alone, trapped in Dimension X for- for two years? More than that? And he hadn't even told them because he wanted to go back to normal, a normal that Raph was now seeing was far too malicious to be desired.

Any words he could even hope to say were still stuck in his throat. Out of the corner of his eye he could see that the others had had the same reaction, frozen, wide eyed, staring. But one of them had to do something. Say something. The silence stretched, and Mikey was looking between them all, apprehension gathering in his eyes the longer none of them responded. They had to say something. Anything. Raph- Raph didn't have anything to say, but he managed to take a step forward. And another. Another. Each movement seemed to last forever, every step sending him farther and farther backwards.

He fell to his knees in front of Mikey, and pulled his little brother into a hug. Mikey tensed, jerking back slightly, before he just slumped forwards and rested his head on Raph's shoulder. He was still tense, and he didn't return the hug, but he didn't pull away. That was enough.

Mikey's shell was rough and scratched under Raph's hands, and there was a slight edge, as if- as if it had been cracked open, and then healed unevenly. How had they not noticed?

"I'm sorry," Raph whispered. The words were unfamiliar, not ones he was used to saying often, but- but if anyone deserved an apology from him, it was Mikey. Mikey let out a ragged, shuddering breath, finally relaxing, if only slightly.

Footsteps sounded behind them, and Donnie and Leo joined them on the floor, and joined the hug as well. They remained like that for a moment, the silence not quite as pressing anymore. Then, Mikey pulled away from them (and Raph hesitated for just a moment before he let him go), wrapping his own arms around himself instead.

"I-I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I shouldn't have-"

"Yes, you should have," Raph snapped. "You- this is something you really should have said before. If what we were doing was hurting you, then-"

"But I did," Mikey interrupted, a slight edge of desperation lining his voice. "You didn't listen."

Raph drew back as if slapped. That wasn't- or… It was true, wasn't it? Mikey had told them so many times, and they just… never listened. Never acknowledged that his feelings mattered just as much as theirs. How could they not notice how much this was hurting him? It was clear now in hindsight; the way he'd cut himself off when he got too loud or anyone did anything to suggest they didn't want to listen. The way he avoided them when they were angry, and often flinched away from them whenever he couldn't and they made a sudden move. The way he got quieter, and avoidant, and- and- How had they messed up this badly? How had Raph messed this up so badly? Donnie, thankfully, interrupted his thoughts, a sudden panic to his voice.

"Wait- if time moves even faster than we thought, then the invasion-"

"Won't be for a while," Mikey finished. "I… may have ruined a lot of their other facilities than the one we escaped from, so that set them back a bit."

Donnie hesitated, then just shook his head.

"Okay, I'll just… believe that," he mumbled, then said louder, "but, how did you learn their language exactly?"

Raph's chest tightened. This- this avoidance of their previous topic was obvious, but it seemed like Mikey was fine with it- perhaps even wanted the change in conversation. They'd have to address it later, but for now…

Mikey shrugged. "Y'know how they really just sound the same? All the time? Like they're just repeating the same thing?"

"Yeah…?"

"I dunno, they just…" Mikey paused, as if trying to find the right words. "The longer I… I stayed there, the more they sounded different, I guess. High, low, screaming, muttering- I could suddenly hear it. All of it. And I kinda just… caught on? I can't really describe it, like- you start to smell something good, and slowly it gets stronger and stronger, but you don't know what it is, and then one day you can taste it too, and you realize that it's actually pizza.

"If that makes… any sense?" he asked.

"Not a single word," Raph said. Leo shot him a glare, and Raph winced, berating himself for how easily the words had slipped out. It had made sense- enough to follow, but he just- just…

"I think I get it," Leo said, and Donnie nodded distractedly, muttering something to himself. "But… how did you avoid the Kraang for so long?"

"I didn't," Mikey said bluntly. "But I always escaped."

"How?" Raph asked carefully, trying to keep his tone light and not disbelieving. Mikey stood up.

"A lot of ways," he said, moving over to one of his tables. "But this was one of them."

He held up a tangle of metal and white wires.

"It kinda just makes a super high, annoying sound. The Kraang don't like it," Mikey paused, then added, "I'm not much of a fan either."

Donnie looked up, eyes wide.

"Mikey? Can you turn it on?" he asked suddenly. Mikey hesitated, and the Kraang, forgotten until now, started hissing and grumbling.

"Uh…" Mikey glanced at the Kraang, then the device, and finally Donnie. "Sure, I guess? But… I don't know if you'll hear it…"

Raph frowned. What did that mean? Mikey grabbed an energy pack from the table and walked back over to them. He sat down, looked back at the Kraang, scooted over a bit so he was farther away from the thing, and then hooked the battery to the machine. Nothing happened. Or, well, nothing besides Mikey wincing slightly, and the Kraang shrieking. Raph glanced at the others, frowning, but Leo seemed just as confused as he was, and Donnie…

Donnie shot up to his feet, eyes wide.

"Mikey, I need you to answer honestly," he said, pointing at the device in Mikey's hands, "can you really hear that?"

"Uh, yeah?" he said slowly. "Is that important…?"

"Very. We- I need to run some tests," Donnie said quickly, moving quickly to the door. He looked back at the rest of them, then, impatience etched into his features. "Hurry!"

"And what do we do with our friend here?" Raph asked, gesturing to the Kraang. Donnie hesitated, calming slightly as he looked to Leo for an answer. Leo, in turn, looked to Mikey, who was tearing the battery out of the device again.

Raph just barely held himself back from saying something like, 'we're trusting Mikey's judgement now? Is this an alternate reality or are we just stupid?'. That… would not go over well. Guilt painted over those thoughts in his head. Mikey didn't deserve that, and besides, if any of them knew how to handle the Kraang, it was probably him now- Which was weird, but Raph could keep that to himself.

Mikey, for his part, looked just as surprised as Raph felt. He looked back and forth between them, unsure, as if waiting for them to say it was a joke, and that they'd deal with it, because obviously he couldn't. None of them did, though, and Mikey finally seemed to realize that Leo was serious, waiting for him to give them an answer.

"O-oh, well…" Mikey hesitated. " If we leave it here alone it might get out, so that's definitely a no-go. We shouldn't take it to the lair just in case. I can knock it out, but only for about an hour tops. It only has a few hours left without a droid- since it can't go into stasis or use the filtration systems. So… One of us can stay here to guard it, we can throw it back to the other Kraang, or… we can… kill it."

Raph's eyes widened slightly, along with the Kraang's- though the Kraang also started making some weird, panicked sound, while Raph did not. Mikey, his idiot brother, was suggesting that they kill something. It wasn't anything new, but they tried to avoid it when they could. They mostly fought robots anyway, which kinda made it a moot point, since you couldn't kill machines. But here... not only had Mikey thought of all that, he'd suggested killing it. Mikey hesitated again, before adding;

"But if we do kill it - or- or just get rid of it, actually -, we should wait a bit," he said. "I was… I was going to see if I could talk to it first."

The Kraang didn't seem to like anything about this. It kept making those unintelligible, nonsense sounds that apparently Mikey could actually understand. Mikey glanced at it, clearly wanting to say something, but then he looked at them and held his tongue. Donnie glanced at Leo, Leo glanced at Raph, and Raph stared at Mikey.

"O-or whatever!" Mikey said hurriedly, waving his hands in front of him wildly. "Whatever you guys think- I-I don't know-"

"Mikey, calm down, it's- its okay," Leo said. "We're just… surprised. At how much thought you put into this."

Mikey frowned, and Raph realized just how bad that could sound. Like they were surprised he'd thought at all- it was a common enough phrase that Raph was sure Mikey was thinking it, even if Leo hadn't meant - or really even said - it.

"Why wouldn't I think about it?" Mikey asked, a touch between hurt, angry, and confused. That was the expression he'd been making recently, the one he'd cover up with a too perfect smile. Now that they knew, apparently Mikey wasn't hiding anymore. Or, Raph amended, watching as the expression faded, not into a smile, but still into something lighter, something a bit too bright, he just wasn't hiding quite as much. "I don't want the invasion any more than you guys do, of course I'm going to think this through!"

No, Raph thought, out of all of us, Mikey is the one who wants to stop this the most. He could see it, a haunted sort of anger, maybe even hatred, hidden under Mikey's bright eyes but still ever present, like the storm on mars, always there, always circling, but sometimes out of view. The Mikey of before, Raph realized, wouldn't have suggested they kill the Kraang. This Mikey, though… Raph had the feeling he'd killed more than a few in the past- and he'd do it again, if he had too.

"Right," Leo said, clearly unsure how to proceed. "Sorry."

It almost looked like Mikey was surprised by the word. Had they really said it so unoften?

"So," Donnie said, seemingly calmed for now, his determination and insistence that they leave gone. "What are we gonna do? Catch and release?"

"It's seen too much," Raph objected. "We have to get rid of it."

Leo looked at Mikey, who hesitated, then shook his head, shrugging. Apparently, he wasn't going to be any help in actually deciding what to do. Leo sighed.

"It doesn't actually know anything more than it would if it was never here," he said. "But on the other hand, it is the enemy…"

That proclamation was punctuated by a screech, and Mikey snorted softly. Raph frowned.

"What?"

Mikey looked up. "Huh? Oh! Uh, nothing, it just… uh…"

He trailed off, frowning and looking off to the side. He was shifting from foot to foot, hands fidgeting. Raph narrowed his eyes.

"Mikey?" he asked. Mikey crossed his arms, not in an angry way, more of an… uncomfortable way. Like he was worried? Or… insecure. Raph had seen him like this enough times to recognize it now. Raph wasn't sure what it was, but there was something bothering him, and it involved the Kraang somehow. Mikey sighed.

"It just… it's trying to talk to Leo. About how it isn't yet his 'true enemy' but could become his 'worst nightmare' if Leo doesn't vote to let it go," he said, a bit unsure. "Um… translations are a bit complicated. That's why they sound so weird in English. It- it was funnier when it said it."

Raph glanced at the thing. It was glaring at them, teeth bared. It looked… pretty unthreatening, honestly. Raph couldn't help but snort as well, then quickly covered his mouth with one hand.

"...Right," Leo said. "Well… I don't think just letting it go would be the best idea, but I also don't think we should kill it."

"What else can we do?" Raph asked. "Keep it?"

Leo hesitated. "I mean…"

"No," Mikey said quickly. "We can't… I can't do that."

Raph nodded. "Agreed."

"Well, we need to figure it out soon," Donnie said. Leo nodded.

"We let it go," he said. Raph opened his mouth to object, before closing it again. There wasn't a point, and his opinion probably wouldn't matter that much now that Leo and Donnie had agreed to letting it go. Mikey shrugged, apparently fine with whatever they decided, before nodding.

"Okay," he agreed. Raph nodded his consent. Leo clapped his hands, opened his mouth, closed it, and then said slowly;

"So you're… gonna talk to it, then?"

Mikey hesitated, then nodded. "If that's… okay?"

"Yeah… fine," Leo said. Raph covered his face with one hand, barely biting back a groan. As it was, he only sighed. This was painfully awkward. "Go ahead?"

Mikey shuffled on his feet.

"Um… can I… meet you back at the Shellraiser? I'm kinda… not used to an audience," he said.

"The last time you were going to meet up with us, you ran off to interrogate a Kraang in a hidden weapons bunker," Raph said flatly. Mikey winced, and he sighed. "But yes, fine. Let's go, guys."

Leo hesitated but turned to leave. Raph followed, but Donnie stood firmly in front of the door.

"But you will be there when you're done? We really need to test-" he cut off with a startled 'hey!' when Raph started pushing him down the sewer tunnel, back towards the Shellraiser.

"Yes, Donnie," he said. "He'll be there."

Donnie grumbled slightly, but finally started walking. Raph glanced back into Mikey's bunker, and Mikey met his gaze. This time, when he smiled, it actually seemed real. Raph nodded to him, then turned and walked down the tunnel.

Donnie furiously typed and retyped equations in his T-Phone, searching for anything that would explain what had happened besides the theory he already had. There was no way it could actually have- but, well, Dimension X did behave in ways that he didn't understand, so there was a chance that- but he didn't want there to be! It was impossible, ludicrous, and the only thing that made any sense whatsoever.

That didn't mean he had to like the answer. He didn't think that any of them were going to be happy with it, but until he actually ran the tests, he wouldn't know for sure. And he couldn't run the tests until they got to the lair, and by extension, his lab. That didn't stop him from thinking, though, and no matter how many theories he made the only one that made sense was… well. Undesirable.

He sighed, pocketing his T-Phone and glancing towards the sewer tunnel that led to Mikey's bunker. It'd only been a few minutes since they'd left, but it felt like it'd been far longer. Donnie sighed, closing his eyes and leaning back against the Shellraiser.

Two years. Mikey was gone for that long, trapped in Dimension X of all places. On one hand, the changes in him made some sense. He was obviously adept at maneuvering there, and that agility had clearly translated over dimensions. He was faster and stronger than before. His sudden seriousness whenever they mentioned the Kraang made sense now, if he'd been battling them alone so long. The way he tensed up when they touched him could probably be ascribed to the fact he'd been alone so long and, unfortunately, the fact that anyone touching him had probably been a bad thing, like being captured by the Kraang or attacked by one of the monsters that resided there. Those changed made sense.

The other changes, though… the way he understood the Kraang language- and even spoke it. The way he had heard the ringing his device had made when none of them, save for the Kraang itself, had. Those changes were the ones that worried him the most. The others were worrying as well, of course, but- but they made sense. At least they didn't point towards…

Donnie sighed again, running a hand over his face. This was getting too complicated. And to add to all those revelations, Mikey… he really was struggling. Donnie wasn't even sure how to go about approaching this, not after the way Mikey fell apart earlier. He wasn't used to living here, his mind was probably in a constant battle between fight or flight, and they had just been making it worse. For all Mikey said that he wanted everything to just go back to normal, Donnie was sure that was the last thing he needed. He could see it in the half made decisions, the forced expressions, the way he'd start talking, or moving, or go to do something, and then immediately abort the action.

Mikey was forcing himself back into his role; loud, excited, unconcerned. That wasn't what he was anymore. It was obvious in hindsight just how much Mikey had been struggling ever since they got back. Or, well, not even then. This had been building for years. Donnie couldn't remember a time that Mikey wasn't the odd one out. He was the main target for Raph's anger, Donnie's indifference, Leo's disappointment. It was easy, simple. It had always been that way.

And, he berated himself, that's the problem here.

Donnie was sure, now, that he'd seen a decline in Mikey. Quiter, more careful, less rash… He just hadn't really noticed. But he saw now. He saw the way that Mikey tried harder and harder to be someone that he wasn't but that he thought they'd be happy with. Then, he was trapped in Dimension X, and he finally grew out of that box he'd been forced into. Now… now that box was back, and Mikey was like a hermit crab trying to make a home of a shell it had discarded years before. It didn't fit anymore. It just wasn't possible. But Mikey still tried, because he'd rather hurt himself doing so than show them just how far he'd strayed from the person he was before. Because Dimension X was a nightmare, and he'd gladly take the stifling pressure of his discarded shell than face - and allow them to face - the things that he'd been through.

Donnie opened his eyes, moving to grab his T-Phone again, before thinking better of it. Instead, he walked over to Raph and Leo, who were both sitting in silence, staring off into their own separate crises. He stopped beside them.

"So," he said, "what do we do?"

"We messed up," Raph responded. Donnie nodded.

"Badly," he agreed. "But what do we do about it?"

There was a beat of silence, before Leo sighed.

"I don't know," he said. "I guess… we pay more attention to what he's going through, and listen to him instead of brushing him off."

"But that's not enough!" Raph snapped.

"But it's a start," Donnie said. "We listen, and help him where we can. Make him feel comfortable here again. And- and we shouldn't make him feel like everything is different too fast, but we need to change at the same time."

"Don't make him feel disconnected, but be nicer?" Raph asked flatly. Donnie nodded.

"More or less."

"Has he…" Raph hesitated before continuing. "Has he let you look him over for injuries or anything?"

Donnie frowned. "Actually, no. He said he was fine. Why? Do you think something's wrong?"

"I think… I think his shell might have been cracked. Badly."

Silence followed the statement. Leo looked down at the ground, gaze distant.

"I should have…"

"No, Leo," Donnie said, "don't do that. None of us-"

"I'm the leader!" Leo snapped. "I'm supposed to look after my team! I'm supposed to make sure you're all okay, and- and I didn't even notice any of this! I saw he was distant, and that he was acting weird, but I never thought he might have been lying about how long he was there. I never thought he might have gotten hurt. I never- I never saw that we were hurting him.

"I should have known," Leo finished, and Raph shook his head, slamming one hand into the side of the Shellraiser. The echoing clang made both Donnie and Leo jump.

"That's garbage," he spat, pointing at Leo, who looked up in surprise. "You might be the leader, but we are all his brothers. We all missed this, we all messed up, so you don't get to throw yourself a freaking pity party when Mikey needs our help. You can feel sorry for yourself after, but until then you had better suck it up and accept that you aren't the one who needs help right now."

Leo drew back with wide eyes, mouth open slightly. He opened his mouth, closed it, then nodded sharply.

"You're right," he said. "We have to focus."

Raph nodded. "Good."

"What's good?" Mikey's voice sounded, and they all whirled around to see him standing at the entrance of the tunnel. He held the Kraang in one hand, holding its tentacles so that it dangled upside down. It seemed to be unconscious, and Donnie recalled how Mikey had said he could knock it out for at least an hour.

He hesitated, glancing at Raph and Leo, before shrugging. "We were just talking about the Space Heroes episode we were watching earlier," he lied. "Well, Leo was watching. I was just sitting in there for some background noise."

"And… something good happened?" Mikey asked, brow scrunching together. He eyed them all, before relaxing a bit. "What was it?"

"The fact that the episode wasn't recorded when I turned it off," Raph said. Leo glared at him.

"No, Raph. That's what we call a tragedy." Leo said. Then he turned to Mikey. "You should have seen it! They were just fighting the shape-shifting insectoid aliens, right? And-"

Donnie sighed in relief, tuning Leo out. He could probably talk about that show for a few hours without stopping, so they would probably be in the clear. Something told him that Mikey wouldn't appreciate them talking about him behind his back.

Mikey was thoroughly engrossed in Leo's retelling of the episode as they all ducked into the Shellraiser, giving Donnie a chance to actually look at Mikey. He really had changed, even more than Donnie had first thought. His shell was chipped and scratched, and Donnie was going to have to ask Mikey if Raph was right about his shell having cracked open, but that would have to wait, and he looked… tired. Donnie frowned. Mikey had seemed to get the most sleep out of all of them. He went to bed just after Leo most days, sometimes even before, and then he was almost always the last of them awake. Or… Donnie didn't actually know that. He could just be staying in his room. Besides, there was the odd day that he was up before everyone, ready and waiting with a special breakfast prepared for them. Just how early was he actually awake? He never seemed tired, but… he certainly looked tired right now. Had they really been paying so little attention, even when knowing that something was wrong?

Leo continued babbling about the show as they drove up to the surface, finally falling silent as they approached the newly rebuilt TCRI. Mikey stood up as they pulled over, Kraang in hand. Donnie still couldn't quite believe everything that had happened, but the evidence was right in front of him. All he could do was hope that it wasn't too late to fix at least some of it.

Leo was the first into the lair, the others following closely behind. He kept Mikey in the corner of his vision, watching for any sign of the desperate, hurting side of Mikey that they had seen earlier. There wasn't any, though Leo saw the way Mikey scanned the lair as he entered, as if searching for anything out of place, or any sign that something was wrong. Leo could see how his hand hovered beside his nunchucks, as if he was prepared to fight at the slightest provocation, but then his hand just fell limp at his side, and Mikey relaxed.

Now that they were home, Donnie's earlier impatience seemed to return, and he marched straight over to his lab door. Then he stopped, and looked over his shoulder at them.

"Are you coming?" he asked. Mikey hesitated, rocking back on his heels.

"Uh… I-I don't know if I…"

"This is important, Mikey," Donnie interrupted, and Leo winced. Mikey immediately fell silent, looking down. Donnie's eyes widened, and he seemed to realize his mistake. This was the very thing that they had talked about. Disregarding what Mikey thought and ignoring what he said. This was exactly what they had all agreed to try to stop doing. Donnie slumped, looking away. "I'm… I'm sorry. I just… I'm worried. I have a theory, and it's important to see if I'm right or if it's something else. If you don't want to, that's… fine. But I would rather we know for sure than just… ignoring the problem."

Mikey hesitated. "I… I guess that makes sense…"

"You don't have to do anything that you don't want to," Leo said, putting a hand on Mikey's shoulder. Mikey glanced at him, twitching slightly, before looking back at Donnie.

"Okay," he said. "Let's… let's do it then."

They headed into the lab, and Donnie cleared a space out on the main table, then grabbed a few devices and then dumped them onto the open area. He pulled over a chair and offered it to Mikey, who sat down slowly.

"Right," Donnie said. "So, you get to choose. Should we jump into the blood tests first or do the simple ones?"

"Uh, the simple ones?" Mikey said, though it sounded more like a question. Donnie nodded. Leo glanced at Raph.

"What do you think Donnie is trying to test?" he whispered.

Raph shrugged.

"I dunno," he muttered, "but I hope it gives us some kind of answer. This is... weird."

"Right, so how is your hearing?" Donnie asked. Mikey shrugged.

"Good?"

"Better, worse, same?"

"...The same? Better? I- I don't know!" Mikey held a hand to the side of his head, frowning, his brow furrowed. "I… I guess I've been hearing more stuff than before? Not- not like, quieter things, just… new things? But it's been like that for a long time now, so I don't…"

"Alright, that's fine," Donnie said, then gestured at the table. "I'm going to turn one of these on. It's just going to make a noise. All you have to do is tell me when you stop hearing it. Got it?"

Mikey nodded, a touch of confidence chipping at his uncertainty. "Yeah, got it."

Donnie flipped a switch on one of his devices, and a low hum emanated from it. Donnie looked at Mikey, who nodded. Donnie then started to turn a dial. The noise got higher and higher, but it didn't actually raise in volume. Still, it started to get really, really annoying. Leo could see Raph clenching and unclenching his hands into fists over and over, the noise evidently bothering him more than it did Leo. He was almost worried that Raph would end up smashing the device out of some kind of sudden rage. At least, that is, until the sound cut off. Leo turned back to Donnie, confused. Was the test over? He hadn't head Mikey give a signal, so why-

Donnie held a finger to his lips, glancing over at them, and Leo shut his mouth. Then, he looked at Mikey, who was still waiting, sitting attently, even though the noise had stopped. Donnie continued to turn the dial, and after a moment, Mikey flinched, and his hands moved to cover his ears, before he forced himself to relax, placing his hands firmly at his sides. Donnie was looking more and more concerned, and Leo… Leo didn't know what was going on.

Finally, Mikey spoke.

"It's gone," he said. He rubbed the sides of his head. "That was… really high. And loud. Why do you even have that?"

Donnie hesitated, looking at the number displayed on the screen of the device.

"It's just something I made for fun," he said distractedly. "It just… makes sound, and this dial changes the pitch and frequency. What you were hearing… Not even a dog could hear a sound that high."

Mikey froze. "W-what?"

"Let's… let's keep going," Donnie said, still staring at that number as if he could change it if he waited long enough. "There's still some things we need to do."

They repeated the sound experiment, but this time with lower pitch. Mikey apparently wasn't able to hear as low as he was able to hear high, but he could still hear the sound long after Leo stopped being able too. A dark pit was gathering in Leo's gut, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know what Donnie was testing anymore.

Mikey seemed to be even more unsure about these tests than he had been when they first started, which certainly was an accomplishment. The longer it took for him to call an end to the sound test - and, therefore, to signal when he couldn't hear it anymore - the more nervous he seemed to get, glancing from Donnie to the machine and back again. He'd opened his mouth a few times, before closing it again, and Leo wasn't sure if he'd had something to say or if he'd been planning to lie about whether or not he could still hear anything. Finally, though, he relaxed, and informed them that the sound had stopped. Donnie flipped the machine off, and Leo stared at it. He hadn't been able to hear it, but he could feel it reverberating through the room, like a rattling in his bones. Had Mikey really heard it this whole time?

From there, Donnie presented Mikey with an odd, handheld device, like a cross between a speaker and a tape recorder.

"Okay, I just need you to say something-"

"Something," Mikey immediately said. Donnie paused, then sighed.

"Okay, okay, you got me there," he said. "But really, I need you to say something in the Kraang language."

Mikey froze, eyes widening slightly. He shied back from the device in Donnie's hand, and looked unsurely between the three of them. Leo frowned, staring at Donnie. Why did he need to test this? They already knew that Mikey could speak it, what else did Donnie need?

"I… are you sure you need that?" Mikey asked hesitantly. Leo frowned. Mikey clearly didn't want to do it, but Leo didn't understand why. He'd done it earlier, but… but he'd sent them away while he spoke to the Kraang - which, as they'd discussed on the way back to the lair, had led to a few solid confirmations on a few of Donnie's theories about what the Kraang were doing, and how close they were to the invasion - and he clearlydidn't want to say anything now.

"Yes," Donnie said. Mikey slouched, looking away. "Or," Donnie amended, "really, I need you to give me an idea of your range of voice. Kraang communicate using different volumes and pitches more than they do diverging sounds- though they do use that as well, just less. It doesn't have to be something in Kraang, but just… something that reaches the same highs and lows that you would use if you were."

"I… okay…? Okay, yeah. Got it," Mikey said. He looked at the device, opened his mouth, then closed it again. He swallowed, opening and closing his mouth a few more times before he looked away again. "I… I don't know if I can…"

"Mikey," Raph stepped forward, and Leo held his breath, preparing himself to inevitably drag Raph out of the room, or at least stop him from talking. "Why- er… would you mind telling us why you don't want to say anything in Kraang speak? So we can… understand?"

Raph's voice was stiff the whole way through, and he was clearly struggling with not just demanding an answer. Still, Leo was surprised at just how well Raph had managed doing so, especially with how much even Leo himself just wanted Mikey to explain so they could finish this. Though, at the same time, Leo would prefer to not get the answer.

Mikey looked surprised, then looked down, idly tapping his fingers on his knee.

"It's stupid," he muttered. Leo frowned.

"If it's bothering you, I'm sure that it isn't," he said, though in reality, he wasn't quite sure. If past cases could be trusted, this very well could be nonsense.

"We… we just…" Mikey hesitated, drawing his knees up to his chest, and he shrunk back slightly into his shell, a nervous habit Leo hadn't seen from him since they were children. "I'm already… weird. And the Kraang are our enemies. I just don't- don't want to be the freak anymore. I don't want… I don't want you to t-think I'm a freak, or compare me to the Kraang, o-or-..." Mikey trailed off, not looking up. He buried his face in his knees. "I-I just… can't."

Well, that really was nonsense. Not in the way that it was stupid, but more of how far it was from reality. Or… from Leo's perception it was. It was certainly weird, and kinda freaky, but that didn't mean Mikey was. There was no way they'd treat him like he was just for this. But… they had for less. Far less. And Leo was starting to see that though they knew that they wouldn't react like that, Mikey didn't.

"That's ridiculous!" Raph said, and Mikey winced slightly. Leo held out a hand to stop Raph, before taking a step forward himself.

"Mikey, you… you don't have to do it," he said gently. "And like Donnie said, it doesn't have to be their language, just the highest and lowest sounds. But you don't have to do that either. But if you do, that's okay. We aren't going to get upset, or treat you badly just because you can understand what the Kraang are saying."

"That might actually be really useful," Donnie added. "It takes a long time to translate anything from their transmissions, and I can never get it all, but you can understand them. That would help a lot, actually. It's not bad just because the Kraang are bad."

"And that thing about comparing you to them?" Raph added. "That's stupid. We don't lump Splinter and Shredder together because they both speak Japanese, do we?"

Mikey glanced up at them, slowly shaking his head.

"Then you are still Mikey, the Kraang are still the Kraang, and that's all. No matter what."

Mikey straightened in his seat slightly, looking at them all hopefully.

"You… you mean it?" he asked. They all nodded firmly.

"Absolutely," Leo said. Mikey hesitated, then nodded.

"Okay," he said. "I… I'll do it."

Donnie smiled, and held out the recorder, pressing a button on the side. Mikey took a breath.

"Highs and lows, right?" he asked. Donnie nodded. Mikey took another breath, let it out, and then started to speak. Well, probably. What came out was a chittering, garbled sound. Mikey hesitated, looking up at them, then closed his eyes. He kept 'talking', the sounds differentiating in pitch and tone alone. At a few points he stopped making noise, but his mouth kept moving. Leo frowned. Why was that? He looked at Donnie, who looked slightly pale as he stared at the device in his hands.

After another moment, Mikey fell silent and peered up at them with one eye still shut, as if he were checking for their reactions. He relaxed slightly, opening his eyes fully and slumping in his chair.

"Are… are we almost done?" he asked hopefully. Donnie blinked, looking up from the readings on the device.

"Huh? Oh- uh, yeah. Almost," he said, then glanced back down at the recorder. Thing. Leo wasn't really sure what it was. "First, though, can- can you do that thing again? Where you say something high and low at the same time?"

Mikey furrowed his brow.

"Like this?" he asked. He sounded normal, except… not. Leo wasn't sure what was wrong with his voice, but it was like… it was more indistinct. Like there was interference. Donnie nodded.

"Exactly," he said, putting his device down and switching it off. "Now, I do need a blood sample, but first, is there anything else that's been… weird? Different?"

Mikey hesitated. "Since getting back, or… while I was there?"

"Probably starting there, but it would most likely carry over, like your understanding of their language."

"I-I guess there's the… colors?" Mikey said quietly, the words sounding more like a question than anything. Donnie frowned.

"Colors?"

"I just- there are so many that I never noticed before! But, also, some just aren't… there? Anymore?"

"What? There are..." Donnie trailed off, then blinked and rushed over to some drawers. He rummaged through them, eventually taking out a small pen-light. He considered it, then put it down and hurried back. "Okay, so I apparently have nothing to test your eyes, but I will look into it." He sighed. "So, unless there's anything else…?"

Mikey shook his head, looking at the ground. Donnie hesitated, looking like he wanted to say something, but he just moved away, grabbing a medical case. He took out a small needle and a bandaid, then fished out a bottle and cloth.

"Okay," he said. "This is the last thing, and then we're done, okay?"

Mikey nodded. Donnie used the cloth and whatever was in the bottle to clean a small area on Mikey's upper arm, then carefully stuck the needle into his arm and drew out a bit of blood. He quickly removed the needle, then placed the bandage over the mark that was left, stepping back.

"There! That wasn't too-" Donnie cut off. Leo had been focused on Donnie and what he was doing, but now he turned to Mikey, following Donnie's silent stare.

Mikey's eyes were shut tight, and he looked pale- as pale as he could, anyway. His hands were clenched into fists, and Leo didn't even think he was breathing. Leo recovered from the sight first.

"Mikey…?" he asked hesitantly, stepping forward and reaching out a hand. Mikey's eyes snapped open, but they were wild and unfocused. He shrunk back from Leo's hand, finally taking a breath, though it was quickly swept into panicked, short gasps. One of his hands finally unclenched, if only to cover his now bandaged arm. "Mikey, you have to calm down, okay? It's alright!"

Donnie stepped back, looking between Mikey and the needle, confusion and guilt twisting his features into a panicked sort of helplessness. Leo crouched down, looking Mikey in the eyes, though it didn't seem like Mikey noticed.

Leo reached out, only for someone to grab his arm. He looked up at Raph, who shook his head slowly. Leo frowned, but pulled his arm away and stood up.

"What?" he demanded in a whisper. "I'm trying to help."

"But that wasn't going to," Raph said. "You know how he reacts when he's not panicking. I don't think it'll be any better when he is."

Donnie approached cautiously, hands empty, and Leo only had a second to wonder where he'd put the needle before Mikey slumped forwards, eyes shutting again. His breath rattled as it caught in his throat, and he let out a high pitched keen, curling in on himself. Leo reached out again, only to stop. Raph was right. They didn't know what was going on, they couldn't do anything rash. But- they had to do something.

"Donnie," Leo said desperately, "what is this? What are we supposed to do?"

"I-I- I don't know!" he stammered. "I- I think it might be some sort of panic attack?"

"But what do we do?"

"Do I look like I've dealt with this before?!" Donnie cried. Mikey let out a strangled sound, covering the sides of his head with his hands. Donnie ran his hand over his head. "O-okay, I think being quiet might be one thing. We- we have to snap him out of it, but- gently?"

"How are we supposed to do that?" Raph demanded. Leo hesitated, then pulled out his T-Phone, fumbling with it in his haste, and played the first song he found- they weren't originally made to play music, but Donnie had changed that on Mikey's insistence. The song started playing, one Leo fortunately recognized as a group favorite. He put the T-Phone down on the table, then darted out of the room.

He went straight to the sink, filling a glass with hot water and then tearing through the cupboard. He grabbed the closest box of tea they had, then pulled out two of the bags and dumped them both into the cup. Tea wasn't Mikey's, well, cup of tea, but the smell had pulled Leo out of panic and helped him think more than a few times before, and maybe that would be good enough.

Leo rushed back to the lab, and immediately noted that the scene had changed drastically in the minute he was gone. Someone had turned the volume up on his T-Phone, and Donnie had pulled over another chair while Raph was sitting cross legged on the floor. Mikey was curled up on his chair, but he was more relaxed. His breathing was only slightly uneven, and his fingers twitched slightly in tune to the song. Still, his shoulders were tense, and he was clearly far from calm.

Leo stopped in front of him.

"Mikey…?" he asked softly. All he got was a slight twitch in response. "I have some tea, if you want it."

For a moment, there was no answer, but then Mikey reached out slightly with one hand. Leo carefully offered the glass so that it brushed his fingertips. Mikey drew back quickly, then slowly reached out again and grabbed the cup, taking it from Leo. His hand was shaking so much that Leo was afraid that he might drop it.

For a while, they just sat there like that, waiting in the silence. Then, Mikey sat up a bit, just enough that he could take a sip from his tea. And then it was back to waiting, with just the sounds of the music to fill the silence between them. Leo joined Raph on the floor, and he closed his eyes, tilting his head back. It wasn't a bad silence, all things considered. Still… it wasn't a good silence either.

Leo opened his eyes when he heard someone shifting, and sat up straighter when he saw that the sound came from Mikey. He was sitting up again, one leg hanging from the chair while the other remained folded at his chest.

"Mikey!" Leo exclaimed. Mikey looked up at him, then at the others.

"I-I… I'm sorry," he mumbled, looking at the floor.

"You're sorry?" Raph repeated incredulously. Mikey winced, but Raph pressed onward before he could say anything. "Sorry for what? You have nothing to be apologizing for."

"But-"

"Raph's right," Leo said. "We don't really know what that was, but you don't have to apologize for it."

"I'm sorry," Donnie said. Mikey's head swiveled around to look at him so quickly that Leo heard it crack. "I was so focused on getting results, that I didn't bother to make sure you were okay."

"I was okay!" Mikey exclaimed, then waved his hands as if to retract the statement. "I- I was dealing, but- I-I just- just-"

"Hey," Leo said. "You don't have to explain. And if you do want to, you can always do it later if you can't right now. Alright?"

"I- ...yeah," Mikey nodded, a small smile slowly appearing on his face. "Thank you."

Leo and Mikey were sitting in front of the tv, watching old episodes of Space Heroes- mostly Mikey's favorites, but he'd insisted they watch some of Leo's favorites too. Leo wasn't really watching the show as much as he was watching Mikey, as if waiting for the calm to break, and for something to go wrong. He didn't have to wait much longer.

"Leo…?" Mikey asked, still focused on the tv.

"Yeah?"

"Before, at the Shellraiser," Mikey started, turning slightly to look at Leo. "You weren't actually talking about Space Heroes, were you?"

"What? No, no, we were," Leo said. Mikey frowned at him, looking a bit unsure. Leo slumped, sighing. "No. We weren't."

"Then- then what was it?"

"We… we were talking about… you," Leo said honestly. Mikey shrunk back slightly.

"You- you were? What-"

"We were just making sure we all knew that we would listen to you, and wouldn't force you to talk about it if you didn't want to," Leo said. He left out the fact they had also been discussing the way they've treated him over the years. "That's it, really."

"Really?" Mikey asked. Leo nodded. Apparently satisfied, Mikey turned back to the tv. Leo turned back to the episode as well, before he realized something.

"Hey, Mikey?" he asked. Mikey turned to him. "When… when you're joking around, and smiling, and messing with us… that's not all an act, right? Some of it's real?"

"I…" Mikey looked down. "Not all of it. Before Dimension X, most of it was real, I think. Now… it's harder. But- but a lot of it, yeah. That's real. Today's just been… bad. But, mostly, it's real."

Leo nodded, then gently nudged Mikey's shoulder with his own.

"I'm glad," he said. "But you don't have to pretend all the time. Okay?"

"...Okay," Mikey murmured, nodding slightly. They turned back to their episode, sitting quietly for a minute, before Mikey slumped over to lean on Leo's shoulder. Leo blinked, surprised. Mikey hadn't initiated much contact since they'd gotten back, so this was surprising. Still, he didn't move, in case that ruined whatever calmness Mikey had found.

"...Thanks Leo," Mikey said. Leo smiled, finally raising a hand to wrap around Mikey's shoulders.

"Of course," he replied.

Bright, purple light from a dozen blinking machines- glowing symbols lining around the corners and ceiling-

Sterile, shining silver walls- a small, box room-

A large, heavy door with no handle- no lock- no way out-

Mikey took a breath, but the air was wrong- no matter how much he tried it couldn't fill his lungs, wouldn't clear his head, all clouded and fuzzy and buzzing with a thousand lightning bolts- He rolled over, sat up, and why was he here? Why was he back? He wasn't supposed to be-

He couldn't be here!

He coughed, grabbing at his throat as if that would make the air do its job and work- There were voices, just on the other side of the door- maybe they'd help him? They had to, he needed them to help him!

"We don't want him," one said. "He's yours."

A Kraang chittered something, and- and he couldn't understand what it was saying. Why couldn't he understand what it was saying? What did it want, what-

"He's too much of a Kraang to be one of us," another voice said. Was that- was that Donnie? And the one who spoke first, that was Raph. What- what were they- "I ran the tests myself. He can speak like you, see like you, probably breathe air here too."

No, no he couldn't- He couldn't breathe, he couldn't couldn't couldn't- Couldn't see the colors, couldn't see, couldn't breathe, couldn't understand what they said- He wasn't-

"Whatever he is now, he isn't our brother anymore," Leo said. The Kraang chittered again, and he couldn't hear it either, the sounds stifled, flat- what was it saying? "Do whatever you want, he's yours."

Mikey stood, stumbling, wavering - he couldn't breathe - and tumbled to the door. They were leaving, he could tell, he was sure, they were leaving him here, he wasn't supposed to be here, he got out, he got out, he got out- Why would they-

The door opened, and a dozen Kraang swarmed the room and grabbed him, dragging him away from the door, and all he could see outside was Dimension X- why had his brothers left him here? Why did they- why had they brought him here? They-

He pulled away from the Kraang, dove to the door, and-

Mikey gasped, eyes flying open as he fell, and the air still wouldn't work, he still couldn't breathe, the lights were gone, he couldn't see, he couldn't- He scrambled back into the wall and- and he was stuck- he was trapped- they trapped him again, they-

No no no nonononono- He can't do this again- He needed his brothers - They left him! - needed Splinter - he wasn't here - He needed out!

A loud thud jolted Raph out of sleep. He sat up, scanning his room for the source of the noise. There wasn't anything out of place, and no new sound followed. Just as Raph was starting to think that maybe it had just been in his head, another thunk sounded, but this time Raph could tell where it was coming from. He scrambled out of his bed, grabbed one of his sai's from the nightstand, and quickly stepped into the hallway. It was quiet now, but something still felt wrong.

The sound had seemed like it was coming from Mikey's room- and since Raph's room was closest, he doubted anyone else had heard. He didn't want to wake them up if there wasn't a problem - goodness knew that Leo and Donnie needed sleep; Donnie had stayed up to get a start on whatever blood tests he was running, and Leo, after Mikey fell asleep watching Space Heroes and he and Raph dragged him to bed, had followed Raph's example and went through practically every training exercise they knew until he was too exhausted to stay up. But, if there was a problem…

Raph knocked on Mikey's door, not sure if he was expecting to get no response or for Mikey to open the door and ask for ten more minutes of sleep. He got neither. Instead, there was another thump, this time followed by a muffled cry. Raph opened the door, squinting into the darkness.

Mikey's room was different from the last time Raph had seen it. It was still cluttered and messy, but it was an… organized kind of messy. Purposeful chaos. Raph scanned the room, noting the blankets that hung off the bed and the pillow that had fallen onto the floor. He frowned, looking over the room again, before finally spotting Mikey.

He was huddled on the floor, partially hidden behind a shelf of comics. Raph switched on the light, and Mikey flinched, eyes going wide as he stared at it. Raph entered the room cautiously. Mikey was huddled in a ball, and as Raph approached, his gaze snapped to him, and he shrunk back farther.

"I-I-" Mikey stammered. "'M sorry- I- d-don't-"

He cut off with a strangled gasp, tears falling down his face. Raph hesitated, sheathing his knife and stepping forward again. Mikey twitched, shrinking back-

"D-don't- I-I'm n-not-" he cut off, this time to stammer something Raph didn't understand. It kept repeating, but it didn't make sense, no matter how many- Raph's eyes widened. Kraang. That was the Kraang language. It finally broke off, returning to the broken mess of no no no, don't, I'm not- that Mikey had been stammering earlier. Raph crouched down to Mikey's level, holding out a hand in what he hoped would be a calming gesture. Mikey's eyes were wild, unfocused.

"Hey, Mikey, calm down okay?" he said. This didn't seem like it was the same as earlier. Before, he had shut down, staring into space and panicking when someone got too close. Now, he was already panicking, seemingly unaware. He was talking, though not anything that made sense, especially since he kept slipping into the Kraang language. Whenever he wasn't speaking he was hyperventilating, and tears continued to flow down his cheeks. Raph didn't know if this really was any different than earlier, or the best way to snap Mikey out of it, but he did know that he had to be snapped out of it. "Calm down, everything's fine, see?"

He gestured around the room. Mikey glanced around, a hint of confusion dulling his fear, before his gaze settled back on Raph.

"R-Raph?" he asked. Raph frowned. Had he really not recognized him before?

"Yeah, Mikey," he said. "It's me. I need you to calm-"

Mikey lunged forward, grabbing Raph's arm, eyes wide. Raph fought the urge to tear his arm away.

"You came ba- you can't l-leave me here!" Mikey begged. Raph's brow furrowed. "D-don't- I'm not-"

"Hey, hang on," Raph interrupted. "Mikey, look around. This is your room, okay? Whatever you're thinking, it's not happening. Okay? Just calm down."

"It's-" Mikey scanned the area around them, grip on Raph's arm relaxing just slightly. "I-I'm… home?"

His voice was so soft, so fragile… Raph nodded.

"You're home, Mikey," he said firmly. "Not Dimension X, not whatever craphole you're thinking of, you're home. Remember?"

Mikey looked around once more, blinking wildly, and finally he actually seemed to focus. He took a deep, shuddering breath, and slowly nodded.

"Y-yeah," he said softly. "Yeah, I-I remember."

He seemed to realize that he was still holding onto Raph's arm, and he quickly let go. Raph frowned, eying him. He seemed fine now. Calmer. But that didn't make sense. There was no way that he was just suddenly fine.

"What was that?" he asked. Mikey shrugged.

"Bad dream, panicked," he said. "It's whatever."

"That looked like more than just 'whatever' Mikey," he said. "What were you talking about? About not being something? About not leaving you?"

Mikey's eyes widened, as if he hadn't realized that he'd said that. Honestly, he probably hadn't. He'd been more loopy then than Raph had ever seen him, though instead of being because of exhaustion or anything like that, it was fear. He could tell that Mikey was still freaking out, just hiding it. Raph wasn't one to talk about not hiding your emotions, but he really, really would prefer it if Mikey would actually be honest right now.

"It- it doesn't matter," Mikey whispered. Raph had to bite his tongue to keep himself from yelling. He forced himself to take a breath, trying to stay calm. Why couldn't Mikey just see that Raph wanted to help and let him? But they'd talked about this. They shouldn't force Mikey to say anything. That didn't mean he didn't want to though.

"Mikey, just- look," Raph started. "I can't - won't - make you tell me, but I… I'm- worried. About you. And if that was a 'bad dream' and a little freak out, then- I don't really want to see what a nightmare would be like for you." He wasn't really sure where he was going with this, but it was too late to turn back. The words felt slow and heavy on his tongue, a far cry from his usual quick, barbed comments. He wasn't used to this. But he was sure as heck going to try. "But I want to help, and- if you don't tell me how, then… I can't. And I don't want to sit to the side and not help if you need it. So… if you can, or want, to tell me anything, then… That would be good."

Mikey closed his eyes, sighing. He was quiet for a moment, and Raph was starting to think that he wasn't going to answer, when he looked up at him again.

"You… you have to promise not to tell anyone," he said slowly. Raph nodded.

"Deal."

"...I… I wasn't just… just messing around in Dimension X," he whispered, like this was an important secret. Raph supposed that in a way, it was. "I- … the Kraang found me after- after two weeks, I-I think. T-they… they captured me."

"But… you got away, right?" Raph asked. Mikey shrugged.

"Y-yeah… a-after about… four months."

"What?" Raph demanded. "You were their prisoner for four months?"

"I-I know, I- I should have gotten out f-faster-"

"That isn't the problem here!" Raph snapped. Mikey flinched back, eyes wide. "The problem is that there are still Kraang breathing after what they did! How- how did you even get out?! They usually try to kill us, even if they have us trapped."

"They- they changed their minds? I don't know, they- they just…" Mikey swallowed, wrapping his arms around himself. "I-... for one, I was hardly a- a threat. A-and… they thought I was more stable? Than other mutants? They- they wanted t-to test it, see w-why I was d-different. S-so they- I-"

Raph was starting to piece it together. "They experimented. And after four months, there was finally an opening, and you got out."

Mikey nodded shakily. Raph shut his eyes and ground his teeth together. Exploding at Mikey wasn't going to help- and besides. He wasn't mad at Mikey, he was mad at the Kraang.

"That's why you freaked out about the needle and the blood test, isn't it?" he asked.

"Y-yeah… I g-guess."

Raph sighed. "So this nightmare… You were back there?"

Mikey hesitated, then nodded. Raph could tell there was something else, something important.

"Mikey," he said slowly. "What is it?"

"I- I…" he rested his head on his arms, hiding his face. When he next spoke, his voice was muffled, but understandable. "You- all of you… y-you l-left me there. Brought me there. Cuz, I-I'm… m-messed u-up, and- and I was- you s-said I wasn't o-one of you, 'cuz I was too much l-like the Kraang, and I- I"

"Hey, hey, Mikey- stop," Raph said, and Mikey fell silent, sniffling slightly as his breath came out in trembling gasps. "That's enough, I- I get it."

And he did. He understood perfectly what that dream had been. He knew enough, at least. Knew enough to realize that this ran far deeper than it seemed to at first glance. This wasn't just about the Kraang. This was about them too.

Part of him - most of him - wanted to keep asking questions. He wanted answers, he didn't want to sit and ignore the problem. Just what had the Kraang done? Did it have something to do with Mikey's ability to understand them? But this clearly wasn't the time.

"That- that won't happen," he said firmly. "Ever. You get that, right?"

Mikey nodded, but the few seconds it took for him to do so seemed like an eternity. Raph took a deep breath.

"Mikey… you're our brother," he said. "We don't care if you're different, we don't care if you can see weird colors, or hear better than us, or can understand what the Kraang are saying. We don't care. I'm pretty sure that Donnie would jump to learn it if he could. If you're upset, or angry, sad or have night terrors, apparently, the fact is that you're stuck with us. Got it?"

Mikey looked up at him, smiling slightly.

"Raph, bro, that… that has to be the most aggressive way I've ever been cheered up," he said weakly. Raph huffed slightly, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, well, you better get used to it."

"...Yeah," Mikey's smile grew slightly. "I guess I will."

Raph nodded, then yawned. Mikey looked over to the three clocks on his wall - three, because he'd wanted to know the time five minutes into the past and future as well as the present - and rubbed at his eyes. Raph glanced over to the clocks, gaze catching on an odd looking piece of Kraang tech next to them, flashing purple symbols on it's screen. He filed the questions away for later, and checked to time. It was four-fifty five. The others would probably be up at five thirty. Maybe a bit later, in Donnie's case, considering how late he'd stayed up working. Speaking of, Raph wondered just what he'd managed to figure out…

"Raph," Mikey said. "You should go back to sleep."

Raph raised an eyebrow. "And what about you?"

"Can't sleep," he said softly. "I'll just… make breakfast. Or something."

"...No," Raph decided. "I'm not tired- I'll… I'll help you cook."

Mikey laughed, and Raph frowned at him. After a moment, Mikey seemed to realize that he was serious. He smiled, looking a bit incredulous.

"Um… No offense, bro, but…" his smile grew a bit wider. "You know the last time you tried to cook you started a fire, right? You aren't good at it?"

That… incident had been six days after they got back from Dimension X. Mikey was still in his perpetually exhausted, high strung, blank awestruck staring at everything, unable to cook phase - which, Raph realized, made a lot of sense, considering what he'd apparently been through - so they had tried taking turns. It led to a lot of take-out food - or, well, a lot more - and some… interesting concoctions. Raph was probably the worst of them, though. One kitchen fire and suddenly he couldn't cook alone anymore- not that he'd really minded that. Still…

"That coming from the guy who made pizza smoothies?" Raph asked flatly. Mikey actually grinned.

"And that coming from the guy who made salt crystals instead of lemonade?"

"It was one time!" Raph snapped defensively. Mikey snorted.

"Right," he said. "The other time it was sugar crystals. Closer, but really, c'mon."

"I-" Raph didn't have a way to defend himself against that one. "...That's true."

"Besides," Mikey continued, "I might not be able to experiment well - more Donnie's thing, I guess - but I'm still the one who you all turn to when it comes to breakfast. If my cooking is bad, that says more about you guys than it does me."

Raph snorted this time, shaking his head. This felt good, normal. Just making fun of each other and making jokes. It… it had been a long time. Since even before Dimension X.

"Okay, sure," he said. "You're right-" and Mikey's eyes lit up slightly at those words, and Raph realized suddenly that he couldn't recall saying that in- in months, and then adding in Mikey's skewed timeframe of years-, "-but I want to help you. If you're so great at cooking, then surely you can teach me. If- if you want to."

Mikey blinked. "I… really?"

"Yeah," Raph nodded. Mikey hesitated, then grinned so brightly that Raph was almost surprised that it didn't blind him. It'd been too long since Mikey had smiled like this. He bolted up to his feet.

"Yeah!" he said. "Yeah, we can do that!"

Raph rose, far slower than Mikey had. For all his insistence that he stay up, Raph was tired. Still, he wasn't going to go back to sleep, especially not now. Mikey started moving towards the door, babbling about the kind of things he could teach Raph to make- and why hadn't they learned before? They hadn't honestly expected to be able to rely on Mikey cooking for them forever, right? But none of them had even ever cooked with him before, even after he offered to… show them… how. Oh. Maybe that's why Mikey was so excited about this- he'd been wanting to share this with them for years. Raph forced himself not to let his frustration show. Why did they all have to be so stupid?!

Mikey was at the door now, and looked back as if to make sure Raph was actually going to follow him. Raph was about to take a step, before a thought occurred to him.

"Hey, Mikey…?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah? What… what is it?" Mikey sounded worried, his face pinched slightly, and it almost looked like he was expecting the worst.

"Is this… is this the first time you've had nightmares?"

"W-what?" Mikey asked. He forced a laugh, glancing away. He rocked back and forth on his heels. Raph narrowed his eyes, frowning and crossing his arms. Mikey wilted. "I- ...No."

"Then why haven't I noticed before? We've got thin walls, and you aren't very quiet."

"I… I don't always have them," Mikey said softly. "But… on bad days, I… I wait until everyone's asleep, and I go to my bunker."

"You- you actually sleep there?" Raph had seen the blankets and pillow laid out on the floor, but- but Mikey actually slept there?

"...Sometimes…"

Raph sighed. This… Okay. No, actually, this wasn't the most concerning thing that had happened so far. It was concerning, of course, just… it wasn't at the top of the list, not by a long shot, and… and this wasn't the time to talk about it. He nodded.

"Okay," he said. He walked over to the door, just barely passing through without bumping into Mikey, who was standing next to it, frozen. After a moment, Mikey followed him.

"That's- that's it?" he asked. "Just 'okay'?"

"For now," Raph said. "Right now, though, we make breakfast."

Mikey paused for a moment, then nodded, his smile returning.

"Right!" he said, picking up his pace so that he could walk backwards in front of Raph. "Just as long as you don't touch the lemonade."

"You-"

Mikey laughed, twisting back around to face forwards, and ran towards the kitchen. Raph made an aborted motion to reach for him, but let him go. He watched as Mikey stumbled over the crate of VHS tapes, and watched as he sprinted into the kitchen and spun around, neatly grabbing his apron from a hook and grinning. Raph huffed out a small laugh. No matter the changes, no matter the odd, too old feeling of dust and fear that surrounded him, no matter what happened… Mikey was still Mikey. He was still Raph's little brother. And that wasn't something that was going to change.

Donnie sighed, rubbing at his eyes. He'd looked at the results of the blood test several times now, and each time the facts seemed to cut a little sharper, sting a little longer. This was… this wasn't good. This was the exact opposite of good, even. He wasn't quite sure how he was supposed to tell everyone. They needed to know, he knew that, but… was this really the time? When the invasion was only weeks or days or hours away? When tensions were already running as high as they were?

But they all knew he'd been running these tests. He couldn't lie- his tongue was more lead then it was silver, and no amount of science or alchemy could change that. If they asked, and he didn't tell them, then they'd get unfocused, become less determined on stopping the Kraang and more determined to figure out what he was hiding. But if he told them…

It didn't really change anything. Not really. It was surface level, not anything that should dig too deep. But that was the thing. It shouldn't. But it kind of did.

He groaned, trying to think of a way out, of a way around… If the truth - if facing what happened - wasn't an option, what did that leave? Maybe he should just get it over with. He could just tell them, explain just why Mikey suddenly had these new quirks. Maybe, though, it would just make it worse.

Donnie hadn't been able to eat with Mikey sitting next to him.

It wasn't even because the food had been slightly burned (courtesy of Raph) or the fact that there was too much salt (also Raph) that did it. It was Mikey. Donnie, for all his trying, for all his repeated attempts to ignore it, and no matter how many times he acknowledged that it didn't matter, just couldn't help it. The prickling at the back of his neck every time Mikey looked at him, the pit in his stomach whenever he spoke. He wasn't sure if it was worry or guilt or fear or… or anything. It was just- just there. Settled firmly in his mind no matter how he tried to shake it, his attempts like trapping mist in a jar on a foggy day, or splashing away water while drowning in the sea. It clung to him, all icy spines and warning bells.

It shouldn't matter.

But Donnie couldn't be sure that it wouldn't. He wasn't sure if he was more worried about Raph and Leo or Mikey himself. Maybe he was the odd one out, though, and they would handle it fine. It really shouldn't be an issue- especially considering what April was. Regardless, he just…

He just didn't know what to do. He doubted he had that long to figure it out. Raph was impatient in everything he did, taking care of his family included. Leo would want to know what was happening. The only one that Donnie could see avoiding the issue was Mikey, but it wouldn't matter if he didn't ask if one of the others did.

Maybe he could-

"Donnie!" a voice snapped suddenly, and Donnie jumped- definitely not letting out a shriek as he did so. He turned to see Raph (of course) and slumped. "Do you have anything figured out yet? You were pretty freaked yesterday."

"I wasn't 'freaked'," Donnie huffed. "I was just worried."

"Eeh, same thing," Raph waved a hand. "So? What's up with him?"

"I…" Donnie hesitated. Raph frowned, then his eyes widened.

"Wait- you are gonna tell us, right?" he demanded. Donnie glanced away. Raph threw his hands up. "Unbelievable! Really, Donnie? You can't actually be considering hiding this from us! At the very least Mikey deserves to know!"

"I know that!" Donnie exclaimed. "I know that, and that's why this is so difficult! Raph this- this is serious-"

"All the more reason to tell us!"

"-and I can't be sure how anyone will react!"

Raph was silent for a moment, before he shook his head.

"No, Don," he said. "That's not the way to do this. I'm gonna get the guys, so you had better be ready to tell us when I get back."

With that, he turned and walked out of the lab. Donnie stared after him, before sighing, letting his head fall into his hands. Why… Why did this have to be so hard? Why couldn't this have been a normal problem? Why did all of their problems always lead back to mutagen?

"So, Donnie," Leo said. "Raph says that you have some things to tell us."

True to Raph's word, he had returned with the others rather quickly. Out of all of them, Mikey really did seem to be the most nervous. Donnie couldn't help but stare at him, as if he could see the problem if he looked long enough, as if it would manifest in a way he could examine and identify and change. It didn't.

Donnie turned to glare at Raph, and then sighed.

"Well, now that you're all here, I guess I do," Donnie said. "But… you're probably not gonna like it."

"Do we ever like anything you say, Donnie?" Raph asked. Donnie shot him another glare, before continuing.

"If anyone wants to take a seat, do it now," he said. Mikey sat down on the one empty chair, and Leo leaned against the wall- which, apparently, he thought was close enough. Raph stayed where he was, staring at Donnie. He was probably still angry that Donnie had been thinking of hiding the information…

"So?" Mikey asked. "What's wrong with- Or, uh… what's up with me?"

Donnie sighed. "Would you say that the creatures you were around the most, or for the longest amount of time, were the Kraang?"

"In Dimension X? Yeah, I-I guess," Mikey glanced away, and Raph frowned at him in a kind of worried but understanding way. Had they been talking? Had Mikey shared something with Raph that they were now hiding? Donnie frowned, but he'd ignore it for now.

"That's what I thought," he said. "Okay. We all know that we are mutants- turtles combined with humans. This was possible through mutagen. Right?"

"Right," Leo said. "But what does that have to do with this?"

"Well," Donnie said, "our DNA has always had an unstable element to it because of that, Raph and Mikey especially so. It's been settled thus far, but… I think something caused Mikey's already fragile genetic code to be thrown fully into chaos," Donnie could see Raph's eyes widen, understanding and horror on his face. Mikey was quiet, looking slightly pale. Just what had Mikey told Raph? "That, paired with the stress, near constant adrenaline, or a fight or flight response, and his proximity to the Kraang triggered a sort of… second mutation."

"W-what?" Mikey whispered, voice trembling. The others were silent. Donnie sighed.

"From what you've said about slowly developing these changes," Donnie continued, "it was definitely different than a full scale mutagen mutation, but the remaining chaotic factor in your DNA seems to have been activated by some sort of catalyst, and it latched on to the closest thing- the Kraang. Your DNA really is more stable now than it was before, almost like it used the Kraang DNA to steady itself again."

"Wait," Leo said, "you're saying that he's- he's part Kraang?"

"Exactly," Donnie nodded.

"Like April?" Raph asked hopefully. Donnie hummed.

"Not quite. She was born that way, and she inherited the more psychic abilities of the Kraang- the ones they use to communicate over long distances and control their androids, but hers are far more concentrated, and obviously aren't used for the same things. Mikey slowly accumulated more and more of their more physical traits. His hearing is amplified, and his sight has changed to be more similar to theirs. His throat, brain, and voicebox have all been altered, leaving him able to make sounds that a normal person - well, normal for us - would not, some even at the same time, meaning he can make a high and low sound simultaneously. He probably took some psychic traits- that, or their language is instinctual. Either way..."

"Can… Can you reverse it?" Raph asked. Donnie shook his head.

"This isn't a normal mutation. Besides, if I gave him a retro-mutagen, he would just turn back into a turtle," Donnie waved a hand. "This is, as far as I can tell, permanent."

"But he's okay, right?" Leo asked. "He's stable now?"

"Yeah, he's-"

"Mikey?" Raph interrupted. Donnie froze, realizing that he hadn't heard Mikey say anything for a while- concerning, especially since they were talking about him. He turned, and immediately saw why Raph had seemed so worried. Mikey was pale, frozen, staring forward with wide-eyed terror. His hands were clenched into fists, and if he breathed any more shallowly he'd be holding his breath, any more quickly and he'd hyperventilate.

"Mikey, hey, hey, it's alright." Raph soothed, stepping forward to stand in front of his chair but not moving to do anything more. "Remember? Everything is good. We're in the lab - Donnie's lab, in the lair -, you're back home, not there. Don't freeze up now-"

Again, Donnie had to wonder what on earth had happened between the two of them. What had Mikey told Raph? How did Raph know those specific things to remind him of? Mikey's eyes were unfocused, maybe slightly glazed, and for a moment, Donnie thought he might see a slight ring of green around the edges of his iris. His stomach twisted at the thought.

"Listen to me, Mikey," Raph was saying. "You've got to focus, alright?"

Raph reached out, and just before he touched Mikey's shoulder he snapped into motion, grabbing Raph's hand and twisting his wrist, forcing Raph to stumble to the side. He lunged from his chair, pushing Raph away as he did, scrambling into the corner, hyperventilating. He was blinking rapidly, and every second his shoulders relaxed more and more.

Slowly, his gaze cleared, though they immediately became clouded over by tears. Mikey stared at Raph, who was rubbing his wrist, before glancing at Leo and Donnie, who stood frozen in shock. Mikey edged towards the door, then dove through it, slamming it behind him- though Donnie was sure that he hadn't really meant to use that much force.

"Mikey!" Leo exclaimed, opening the door again. Raph stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Let him go," he said. "He needs some space- trust me."

"What… What caused that?" Donnie asked. Raph turned on him, eyes blazing.

"What caused it?!" he demanded. "You did, Donnie! I-" Raph stopped, and covered his face with a hand. "I should have known. This was exactly what-"

He cut himself off. Donnie's eyes narrowed.

"Exactly what?" he asked. Leo crossed his arms.

"What did he tell you that he isn't telling us?" he asked. Raph glared, but the expression was dull.

"He told me something, and I promised I wouldn't share it," he said. Leo gestured wildly at the door.

"Well I think we kind of need to know!"

"Then you can ask him yourself!" Raph snapped. "Look, I- for the sake of making sure you guys don't mess this up when he gets back, I'll tell you two things. Only these two. One, the Kraang put him through heck. Trust me- and if we don't wipe out every last one of them by the time this is over, then we'll probably be dead, because we are sure as heck going to try. And two, he- when he mentioned not wanting us to compare him to the Kraang? That wasn't just nonsense. That is a serious fear. And now we've all gone and said he is part Kraang - which is going to be a lot worse for him than just having a few weird traits - and asking if we can fix it. Like he's messed up for being like that."

Donnie sat back down in his chair, though it was more like collapsing. He cradled his head in one hand.

"This is why I didn't want to say anything…" he muttered. Raph glared at him.

"And that's where you're wrong," he snarled. "You think this was something you could hide? How would that be fair? What makes you think something like this should be kept from us?!"

"Why shouldn't it be!?" Donnie demanded, standing up quickly and sending his chair toppling over. "Look at us! We can't handle this!"

"No, I think maybe it's just that you can't handle it," Raph spat. Donnie shook his head, gesturing wildly to the door.

"You think Mikey's handling it?" he snapped. "You're angry, Mikey's ran away- I'm not the problem! We just weren't ready to find out!"

"You can't really-"

"Guys!" Leo shouted. Donnie and Raph both whirled around to face him, ready to drag him down into their argument. They froze up when they saw him, though, a cold glare on his face the only sign of what he was feeling. "Stop. Fighting. It's not going to help, so if you have nothing productive to say, be quiet. Got it?"

"But Leo-" Raph started.

"No, Raph," Leo said firmly, then sighed. "Look, I get it. This is big, and definitely something we had to know, but this wasn't the best time. We all could have used some time to calm down and gather ourselves after yesterday. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that our brother needs help, and now he's who knows where all alone because we were too caught up in fighting each other to do anything."

Raph opened his mouth, then closed it, slumping

"He… he needs to know that we're here for him," he muttered. "That means that we really, really have to be. I… I'm okay with it. It's weird, and I'm angry- but I'm just angry at us for not being there when he needed us. Part Kraang or not- who cares? April's half Kraang, Mikey's part Kraang, it doesn't matter. It never has, and it never will. Right?"

Leo nodded. "I agree. It'll take some time to process, but I'm okay." They looked at Donnie.

"I… I don't know!" he exclaimed. "This- I don't know why this isn't freaking you two out more! I don't even know why I'm freaking out! I just feel- bad? Every time I see him, I feel like somethings wrong."

Raph bristled. "He's our brother."

"I know that!"

"Then what's the problem!?"

"It- I- I messed up!" Donnie exploded. "I held us back from following him into Dimension X immediately! I didn't notice something was wrong with him! I should have known! I'm the one who's supposed to know things, to fix things, and I-" he cut off, finally placing the discomfort he'd been feeling as guilt and fear. He continued in a whisper. "I can't fix this. I-I- I just can't fix this."

"Okay," Raph said. Donnie blinked.

"W-what?"

"Okay," he repeated. "That's alright."

"How is it-"

"Because this isn't something we have to fix," Raph said. "This is Mikey, and if there's a way to reverse - not fix - it, I'm sure that you'll find it, if he even wants that."

"But Donnie," Leo continued, "this isn't on you. We all waited before going in, we all hesitated. We all missed the signs. And that's okay, because now we know. Starting now, we can move forward and do this right."

"Mikey isn't something to solve," Raph said. "I'm not sure you can solve whatever mystery made him him anyway."

"How are you so calm about this?" Donnie asked helplessly. Raph shrugged.

"Because," Leo said, "it doesn't matter. All that matters now is moving forward and being here for Mikey. Speaking of which…"

"He's probably in his room," Raph said. Donnie frowned.

"That, or he's in his bunker," he said. "He said he goes there to feel safe, right? I… I'll go find him."

"You sure?" Raph asked. Donnie nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, I'm sure."

Mikey wasn't in his room. He wasn't anywhere in the lair, either. Donnie had checked, just to be sure. It also gave him time to think. To come to terms. To calm down. He still wasn't completely… sure. About all of this. He really shouldn't be, but- but he just didn't know. There was- It was like there was a piece missing. He'd shattered a vase and glued it back together again, but there were still cracks, still slivers missing, all scattered and lost. Leo and Raph were fine. Mikey- it was understandable that he'd freak out. So why? Why couldn't Donnie just be okay with it?

That was one of the reasons that he had to be the one to find Mikey. He needed to talk to him. See if that could straighten out whatever missing link he had in his head. And maybe, he thought, a bit selfishly, he could find out just what Raph wasn't telling them.

He stopped walking as he saw the curtain door hung over the tunnel. If he was right, Mikey would be there. Donnie wasn't sure if he was ready to see him. He didn't know if Mikey was ready to see any of them. He wasn't sure if he should have waited, if they should have let Mikey come back on his own, if this would make it worse. On the other hand, maybe Mikey needed one of them to come for him. Maybe Donnie had already taken too long. Raph hadn't been in support of Donnie being the one to talk to Mikey - Donnie was pretty sure that he'd wanted to go himself, and maybe that would have been a better choice, since Raph apparently knew more about what had happened to Mikey than Donnie or Leo did - but Donnie had insisted. For some reason. Why had he insisted again?

Donnie took a deep breath, and knocked on the wall. He didn't want to just barge in. He waited for an answer, but the silence stretched on. He hesitated, thinking that maybe he had been wrong about Mikey coming here, before he pushed the curtain away and glanced inside. He spotted Mikey immediately.

He was sitting with his back to the door, next to the water, staring down at and fiddling with something in his hands. Donnie caught a glimpse of silver and purple, maybe a flash of white. He didn't turn around, didn't even react when Donnie stepped into the room. Donnie moved closer, trying to see what Mikey was doing.

Mikey lifted his head slightly, tilting it in Donnie's direction, but he didn't say anything. Donnie couldn't think of anything to say. He peered over Mikey's shoulder, eyes widening slightly as he saw the tangled mess of a machine Mikey had constructed- the one that when powered, apparently made a noise that stunned the Kraang. Donnie frowned, and wondered just how bad it was for Mikey to hear. Mikey connected the power cell, then disconnected it. Then again. And again. He unhooked it, and this time, Donnie put a hand over his, stopping him from hooking it up again. Mikey twitched, finally looking up at him.

His eyes were rimmed with red, but he wasn't crying. In fact, Donnie couldn't read any emotion in his face. He just stared up at Donnie blankly, startlingly empty. Donnie hesitated, pulling his hand back- and luckily, Mikey didn't move to turn the device on again. He just sat there, and stared.

"Mikey?" Donnie asked hesitantly. "You… are you…" He didn't know what to say. He couldn't just ask if Mikey was okay, or if he was holding up alright. Those words would be insubstantial, too weak, too small after what had happened. He had to say something, though, he couldn't just stay silent. He had come here to talk, he couldn't say nothing.

"Donnie," Mikey responded quietly. He turned back to the device in his hands, fiddling with the power cell, before setting it aside, leaving him with the powerless device. Donnie could see the points where some wires had been torn out, and where some had been switched in where they connected. The wires were all a stark white, and Donnie frowned. How had Mikey figured out which ones he should change, and which he should leave alone? How did he remember which was which? How had he figured out how to make this at all? Donnie shifted so that he was sitting next to Mikey.

"That… That is an interesting device," Donnie said. This really wasn't going the way he thought it would, but he knew machines. He could talk about those. And, hopefully, he could work his way up to something else. Mikey glanced at him, and Donnie couldn't help but look for any difference in his eyes, looking for the ring of green he'd seen earlier. There wasn't one. There wasn't even a hint of a difference, and yet, Donnie's stomach still twisted. Guilt? Worry? Confusion? He didn't know. He couldn't tell. "How did you figure it out?"

"...Trial and error," Mikey murmured.

"I'll bet," Donnie said. "I mean, you can't even tell the difference between the wires." Mikey was silent, looking away. Donnie hesitated, then his eyes widened. "But you can, can't you?" he asked. Mikey nodded sullenly.

"Yeah," he whispered. He picked at one wire in particular. "Colors. This one is still white though."

"Fascinating!" Donnie said excitedly. "I didn't even consider that the Kraang would do something like that! It's like a secret code for their technology! I wonder what else they might… have…"

He trailed off, looking at Mikey. His grip was tight on his machine, and he was staring firmly ahead, expression forcefully neutral. Donnie sighed.

"Mikey…" he said. "You know that you aren't Kraang, right?"

It was a foolish question with a stupid notion, but by the way Mikey tensed, it seemed that the ludicrousy of the idea hadn't stopped it from crossing Mikey's mind. Donnie opened his mouth to say something, but Mikey beat him to it.

"At breakfast," he said, "you knew. That's why you kept looking at me, why you were so freaked out."

Donnie hadn't realized that Mikey had noticed that Donnie had kept glancing at him. He hadn't been able to help it. He'd had to know for sure that there wasn't any sign of Kraang in Mikey's face, in his eyes. It was stupid, because of course there wasn't, this was Mikey, but he hadn't been able to keep himself from making sure.

"I-I-, yes but-"

"You were nervous," Mikey continued, not looking at him. "You were scared. You were scared of me because I'm apparently part Kraang, a-and- and-"

He broke off, dropping his machine in favor of burying his head in his arms. His breath was ragged, and Donnie was sure he was just a half-step away from crying. He hesitated, unsure of what to do. The dark pit in his stomach had shifted. He wasn't afraid anymore. Instead, there was a yawning chasm of uncertainty, of worry and regret. Of sympathy. The deepest depths churned with a seething guilt, roiling and fighting to reach up Donnie's throat and choke him. It caught the words he wanted to say and dragged them down, shattered and broken, into his stomach, weighing it down with the fragments. He couldn't reach out, uncertain if that would be welcomed or make things worse. He couldn't say anything, his mind was blank, anything he could have said lost in the recesses of rationality, straying further and further from his reach.

"...Do you…" Mikey's voice was quiet and fragile, a pane of glass that was only a breath away from shattering. "D-do you think I-I'm messed up? B-broken?"

"What?" Donnie demanded. The word slipped out, loosening the noose around his thoughts. "Why would you think that?"

Mikey twitched, though it could have been a shrug. Donnie waited for him to say something, but he didn't.

"Mikey, if- if you actually think that I could think that…" he trailed off. He didn't know what to say. "That would never happen. I was worried, and I wasn't sure how to process, but Mikey, that doesn't mean that I was scared of you, or that I don't want you around, or that you're broken or that you aren't my brother. You will always be my brother- even if you had magically become a full Kraang that wouldn't change.

"You know that, right? I mean, April is part Kraang too, remember? She's still one of our best friends."

"But we're different," Mikey protested, looking up at him. "You said so yourself."

"True," Donnie admitted. "But not in a way that really matters. April has psychic powers, and she was born with them. She has Kraang DNA along with human. You, on the other hand…"

"Mutated," Mikey whispered. Donnie shrugged.

"Sure. But I would say that you adapted. Your mind recognized that you were in a dangerous situation that you couldn't easily survive, and responded accordingly. You grew- grew to understand your enemy, to see Dimension X more clearly. You said, before, that a lot of Dimension X responds to sound? I'm pretty sure what you did was outside our vocal range.

"And that means that because you adapted you were able to survive. And that could never be a bad thing."

Mikey was staring at him, eyes wide. And finally, Donnie didn't feel any sense of wrongness when he did. There was no need to look for a sign that Mikey had changed. Like Raph said, it didn't really matter. Finally, Donnie could look at Mikey's eyes, wide and disbelieving, so very hopeful, and there was no stray thought of the Kraang, or of Dimension X, no flash of fear or guilt. There was no worry over changes that didn't matter. Just the knowledge that this was his brother, and nothing would ever change that.

"You- you mean it?" Mikey asked. Donnie nodded, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Of course I do," Donnie said. Mikey hesitated, before smiling widely. He practically fell in his haste to give Donnie a hug, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. Donnie returned the embrace, and- and Raph was right, Mikey's shell had definitely been cracked- practically split open. It healed well, considering… Not even noticeable unless you knew what to look for, or felt the jagged ridge.

"Thank you," Mikey whispered. Donnie smiled, and nodded.

"Any time, Mikey," he said. "Any time."

The day passed more normally after that. Donnie and Mikey returned to the lair around noon- and both were immediately pulled into a Space Heroes rerun marathon by Leo. Raph joined begrudgingly, sitting next to Mikey and mocking the show mercilessly. Leo tuned it out, opting for everyone's enjoyment rather than correcting Raph on the point that no, they couldn't have just used the time warp because that would send the princess back to her own time- not that Raph had seen that episode.

Eventually, one of Raph's comments made Mikey laugh- loud and wild, a sound that they'd once all called annoying and disruptive, but right now it was the best sound they'd heard in days. It'd been too long since any of them laughed like that- and the fact that it was Mikey added a dose of relief as well. He'd been too quiet and too serious lately - though with the invasion being imminent it was understandable that he would be - so it was good to hear him honestly laugh.

"I mean, who could take that guy seriously?" Raph asked, gesturing to the screen.

"Which one?" Donnie asked. "The villain that can't stop giving away his plans to literally save his life, or the captain that loves the sound of his own voice more than he values the lives of his crew?"

"Yes."

But enough was enough. Leo couldn't let this slander continue.

"Guys, the villain might be a little over the top," he said, and Raph snorted.

"A little?"

"But Captain Ryan is an amazing leader," he insisted.

"Amazing is what we're calling endangering and sacrificing all of the innocent crew members that he deems unimportant?" Donnie asked dryly. Leo hesitated.

"Well- he has his moments, but-"

"Hey Mikey," Raph asked, "what do you think? Amazing leader or reckless jerk?"

Mikey frowned, leaning back and watching closely as Captain Ryan dove behind an injured cadet as cover from the villains fire. Leo winced. This was not the best episode to show off Ryan's admirable traits.

"Well," Mikey said slowly, "he does have good ideas, and he always gets the few crew members he does care about out of danger as soon as he can. But he's also- um, he's…"

Mikey frowned, snapping a few times, face scrunched up in thought. Leo's brow furrowed. Mikey muttered something about forgetting, and something about… complications? Raph tilted his head, and apparently he caught more of that than Leo did, because he actually had a response.

"Is Kraang really that much more complicated than English?" he asked. Mikey looked up, surprise flashing over his face for a moment before it was replaced with annoyance.

"Yes," he said. "And they've got the perfect word for this too, but it'd take a whole paragraph just to explain. And I can't even find the words for that!"

"Really?" Donnie asked, leaning forward. Even Leo tuned out the episode in favor of listening. "Is it highly specific or is it just that it has no direct translation?"

"Yes," Mikey repeated. "Both, sometimes- depending on the word."

"Well, what's the one you're trying to figure out?" Leo asked. Mikey frowned.

"I- I don't think I can translate-"

"Then don't," Raph said. "Just say the word itself."

Mikey hesitated. Leo was starting to think that maybe they were pressing this issue too soon, that they should have waited and acted normal for a while longer, when Mikey sighed.

"Okay, well…" he cleared his throat, and Leo was pretty sure he was just stalling. "No offense, Leo, but Captain Ryan is kind of a-" and he made a short, clicking noise, and there was a sound like a cross between a grumble and a high whine. It lasted only a second, before Mikey fell silent. He glanced at them all, but didn't meet anyone's eyes. After a moment, Raph laughed- a short, clipped sound.

"...Uh, Raph?" Mikey asked slowly.

"Ah, sorry," Raph said. "I just- I have no idea what that meant, but it sounds like something I completely agree with."

"Wha- hey!" Leo complained. "You don't even know what it means!"

"Maybe not, but I stand by it," Raph said. Leo threw up his hands.

"Okay! This- we're going to watch my favorite episode, and it'll prove that Captain Ryan is a great leader!"

"I dunno Leo," Donnie said. "They seem pretty convinced that he isn't- and I've got to agree."

"We'll see," Leo said stubbornly. (But really, he knew they couldn't sway them. And honestly, he didn't mind. Because this, right here, this moment, was perfect.)

"W-wait, so- Mikey is like me?" April asked. Donnie shook his head.

"It's similar, but the two of you are still very different," he said.

April and Splinter had returned the day after they discovered the complete truth, and both had immediately deduced that something was wrong. They were all gathered in the dojo- all of them save for Mikey. He'd told them all to explain it for him, opting instead to hide up in his room, as if trying to avoid some sort of backlash from Splinter. They all knew there wouldn't be, but they all understood. Raph wouldn't want to sit through a retelling of something like that again either.

They were all kneeling on the floor, and while April had shot out question after question, eyes wide and worried, Splinter had remained silent through it all.

"But- in simple terms, since you both have some form of Kraang DNA, yes," Donnie said. "You are the same in that regard, but… it's complicated."

"And- for two years?" she asked. They'd circled back to this point several times already. Raph watched Splinter for any reaction- just because he was sure everything would be fine there didn't mean that he couldn't be extra certain. Splinter was calm, hard to read, and still, he said nothing. "What did he do for two years?"

"Destroy Kraang facilities, I guess," Leo said. "He mentioned that, once."

Raph ducked his head slightly. He had been doing that. But he'd also- Raph took a breath, looking up again, and- and Splinter was looking directly at him. He knew that something was up. Raph's chest felt tight. When push came to shove, did he keep secrets from Splinter or betray Mikey's trust? He couldn't do either one. But… if he had too, he'd choose Mikey. Every time, he would. Splinter looked away, calmly giving his attention to Donnie as he spoke again. (And that was the good thing about Splinter; He wasn't the type to pry other people's secrets from those it didn't concern.)

"Sensei," Donnie said uncertainly, "I… I don't know if I can find a way to reverse it."

Splinter's ears twitched. "Hmm… Did Michelangelo say that he wanted you to reverse it?"

"W-well, no, but-"

"Then why tell me before even asking him?" Splinter asked. "If he is happy with where he is, it doesn't matter. Only if he wants to go back will you have to look for a way."

"But I-" Donnie hesitated. "I can't ask him."

"And why not?"

"Sensei," Leo said softly. "We've already messed up twice when we were just figuring this all out. I think he thinks that- that we…"

"If we ask him if he wants to reverse it," Raph took over, "he'll probably think it means we want him too, especially since- since we were talking about reversing it as soon as we found out. And if he thinks that… he'll get it into his head that we hate him, or are freaked out because of it, or something stupid like that."

"The feelings of others are rarely stupid, Raphael," Splinter admonished, then paused. "Some, perhaps. But in this instance, I would say that your brother's fears are reasonable. There is much to be done if you are to bridge over those fears, my sons, but avoiding key communication out of a misguided attempt to keep peace is not one of them."

Donnie wilted. "...Yes, sensei."

Splinter rose to his feet, and Raph scrambled up after him.