The Lost Son

Trust and Doubts

NOTES: THE FOLLOWING IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHT TO THEIR ORIGINAL OWNERS

Chapter 5: Trust and Doubts

The next morning, the family with Leatherhead helped the subject turtle with various things such as medical examinations.

While Splinter helps Michelangelo shower in the bathing area, giving him privacy on the other side of the bathroom, Donatello and the other turtles with Leatherhead go through the diagnosis they went through with the young turtle.

"So what's the deal with Michelangelo?" Leonardo asked Donatello.

"Well we don't have too much to worry about. Aside from suffering PTSD like Leatherhead before him, Michelangelo appears to in excellent health; his blood is a rare type to my surprise: O positive"

"Lucky him," Leatherhead chuckled.

"And get this; according to reports, he's exactly eighteen years of age; just like us only four hours apart," Donatello added.

"So he was hatched four hours after all three of us?" Leonardo asked in interest.

"Exactly," Leatherhead nodded.

The crocodile soon noticed Raph looking away and was at the far back of the lab, still unsure about this whole thing.

"What is wrong with Raphael?" Leatherhead whispered to Donatello.

"Ignore him, he thinks Michelangelo is a monster, sent by you-know-who to spy on us" Donnie sighed.

"Ya know I can hear ya both" Raphael grumbled.

"Raphael, why are you so convinced that Michelangelo isn't who we say he is? I've known him all my life and I can assure you that he is not a threat nor is he a fake" Leatherhead tried to reason with the red-masked turtle.

"I'm just feeling unsure of all of this; we've been tricked so many times by people who claim to be our friends and yet they betrayed us, and Bishop..." Raphael stopped when he noticed Leatherhead let out a small grunt at the mention of that name before the turtle continued:

"He always was a sneaky creep that has many secrets that even sends chills up my spine. Ya were a rare exception, L.H, but I'm not fully convinced about the idea of that thing being my baby bro, not yet at least"

"You were always hard to accept trust from other people," Donatello pointed out.

"I'm just being cautious, ya guys" Raphael sighed. "Ya don't suppose the Earth Protection Force will be coming after that thing?"

"That thing is our baby brother" Leonardo reprimanded. "And if you-know-who and the force are searching for Michelangelo then we won't let them take him away again"

"Yeah, we've beaten them before, we can do it again" Donatello nodded with high hopes.

"Whatever, ya guys can live in the fantasy world; as for me, I'm going back to reality" Raph scoffed.

"Sometimes I wonder if he was adopted with us" Donnie sighed in annoyance.

"Just leave him be," Leonardo replied.

In the main hall of the lair, Raphael watched as Splinter was showing the young turtle around the lair. Why was it so hard for the hot head to accept the fact that this turtle could be his baby brother?

Raphael was always the hardest one to gain trust from anyone; it doesn't help that for as long as he can remember during their years patrolling New York City, they've encountered people who claim to be friends but end up backstabbing them, resulting in sometime in near-death situations. He may be hot-headed and rather rash to making choices or believing in others but deep down, he just wants to make sure his family is unharmed and safe.