More Than Just One

Chapter 5

2018 Mikey
Mikey was huddled in the corner of Donnie's lab, fully hidden in his shell. He heard the muffled yelling of the other turtles. His arm throbbed in pain. There wasn't any blood, but there would definitely be bruises. He tried to keep his breathing slow and steady, just like Leon would guide him.

He just wanted Leon, Raph, and Don. He wanted his brothers. He had been here almost a week and he couldn't do it any longer. Only God knew how the other Mikey managed. He was excluded from missions, almost hit, ignored, and yelled at. Only Donnie stood between Mikey and Raph's open-palmed attacks. Every time, Mikey worried over Donnie until he remembered that this Donnie wasn't a softshell turtle.

One time, Donnie had asked why. Mikey had awkwardly explained that he and his brothers were different types of turtles. Donnie coaxed Mikey into explaining out of pure intrigue.

Mikey peeked out of his shell at the sudden lack of noise. He let out a light sob at what he saw.
His brothers—his real brothers—stood in front of one of Leon's portals.

He popped out of his comfort and ran to his brothers. He crashed into Raph's side. He was picked up and held tightly. Warmth encased him. He was safe.

"Mikey," Raph said. "I'm here. We're here."

Mikey snuggled into Raph's welcoming arms, calming down after the week of anxiety and confusion. He felt Leon rub his shell and Don's robotic arm pat his head.

"So you weren't lying?"

Mikey opened his eyes and looked at other-Leo and other-Raph.

Other Raphael sighed, "Fuck."

Raph let Mikey slide to the floor, who huddled into Leon's side. The slider wrapped his arm around the youngest.

"Fuck is right," he growled. He loomed over Raphael. "I heard you tried to hit Mikey, is this right?"

"Only because he was calling someone at—"

Raph took out his tonfas, bumping his knuckles together to set his jitsu alight.

"You hit my brother?" Raph asked lowly.

"And threw a mini-figure at his head," Don added.

Raph turned to his brothers, "Me and smaller Raph are going to have a talk." He grabbed the smaller turtle by the shell and dragged him out of the lab.

"This Mikey's definitely not coming back here," Leon said. He eyed Donnie before saying, "Neither is this Donnie."

Leo scoffed, "Like Hell they aren't." He crossed his arms, lifting an eye ridge.

"Dudes, I—"

"Shut up, Mikey," Leo snapped.

"That's exactly why," Don said.

"Did anything else happen?" Leon asked. He and Mikey were in other-Mikey's room. Donnie and Don—wow that's confusing—were in the lab, nerding out. Raph was still having a talk with other-Raph.

Mikey shrugged, "Raph made fun of my stims and said I wasn't normal." He started to gently rock himself. "And Leo hit me while I was zoned out and said it was annoying."

Leon stood up, "I'm going to help Raph talk some sense into him." He gave a real smile to Mikey before leaving.

He marched down the halls until he found a sad living room. Leo was there, watching a knockoff of Jupiter Jim. Leon unsheathed his odachi, holding it tightly.

"Leonardo," he said.

The turtle looked up. Immediately, he took out twin katanas and stood up.

Leon readied himself for a battle.

Metal scraped against metal as their swords clashed. Neither of them partook in banter, just careless fighting. They both were equally matched in skill sword-wise, but when they clattered to the ground, strength was what mattered.

Leon threw a punch to Leo's head, which was caught. He then lifted his knee to Leo's plastron. It hit squarely on his stomach, making the turtle double over. Leo recovered quicker than Leon would have liked. He swept Leon's legs out from under him, sending the slider onto his shell.
Leo sat on Leon's chest, pinning his arms with his knees. He delivered several blows to Leon's face. The slider wiggled and tried to fight back, only to be knocked down again by a fist to his cheek.

When there was a quick break for Leo to breathe, Leon kneed the turtle at the bottom of his shell. Leo hissed, but the falter was all Leon needed to push Leo off. He pressed the other turtle into the cement by his head, his leg keeping his shell on the ground.

"You are a horrible brother," Leon said. He lifted Leo's head up and slammed it back down, "Just standing there while Raphael calls your brother abnormal? Hitting him?" Leon kept hitting Leo's head on the cement. "What could possess you to do that?" Leon asked. "Training is one thing, but while he's on the verge of a mental breakdown?"

Blood started to pool beneath Leo's head. Leon let go, only after digging the turtle's face in. He didn't know whether to laugh or to spit, so he settled on neither.

Leon got up, wiping his hands on his plastron. Sheathing his odachi, he walked down the hall, only to see other-Raph in the kitchen. He was on a chair, being apathetically mended by Donnie. His shell and arms were cut and bruised. Dried blood leaked from his swollen lip. He was staring at nothing, eyes red.

Concluding Raph had done a good job, Leon left. He met Don and Mikey in the lab, playing Uno. Raph was holding Mikey.

The snapper was so worried the whole time Mikey was gone. Sure, he hid it well, but Leon was his brother—he could see right through him. He would pace around the kitchen, barely sleep or eat, and look for comfort whenever he could (mostly coming from other-Mikey).

Now, Raph was almost asleep. His eyes were closed peacefully and he held onto Mikey like he was a teddy bear. The only indication he was conscious was the lack of snoring.

Leon had to find a way back. He took out his odachi and centred his energy to his hands. He closed his eyes and took a long breath. Slowly, he drew an oval through time and space.

When he opened his eyes, a swirling, blue vortex greeted him. He poked his head through, only to find himself in the sad version of his living room with Leo holding an ice pack to his head.