"And a sprinkle of this, and a little bit of that, and – ooh, what's this? Hmm, it smells good so I guess it might taste good!"

Michelangelo eagerly snatched up the large bowl and began to rapidly stir it with a large wooden spoon. The brownie directions that lay on the countertop went untouched as the young chef drifted off into the depths of his cluttered mind and began to give the treats a touch of his own "creativity."

Soon enough, the large bowl was halfway filled with an oddly colored substance. It became particularly hard for the 10-year-old terrapin to stir the numerous ingredients, leaving him with no choice but to set the container down on the countertop, clasp the spoon with both hands, and forcefully continue where he left off.

"Mikey, please don't tell me.."

The youngest turtle almost jumped out of his skin at his eldest brother's voice. However, he only glanced over his shoulder briefly before turning his focus back on his culinary masterpiece.

"Hey Leo!" he greeted cheerfully. He gave out of grunt of effort before questioning, "Wanna give me a hand with this?"

He felt his brother approaching and stop beside him. "Mikey!" Leonardo gasped out, craning his neck to better see the hardening batter. "What did you put in there? It looks like it weighs a million pounds!"

"Nah," Michelangelo denied. "It's not that heavy. I can still stir it, see?"

Leo shook his head disapprovingly. "You can't keep adding all these extra ingredients, Mike. It can't be good for us – and it can't possibly taste good either…"

Michelangelo stopped momentarily and looked at Leo in disbelief. "I'm just giving it my own little twist!" he countered, the pouting tone in his voice not hidden in any way. "And I know it'll taste good, trust me!"

"That's when you know you definitely should not trust him, Leo." Raphael strolled into the kitchen, a rolled up comic book clutched in his hand. Mikey rolled his baby blue eyes at him before turning back to the 'brownies'.

"So what's the problem now?" the red clad turtle inquired as he made his way over to his two brothers. As soon as he witnessed the monstrosity inside the oversized bowl, his beak scrunched up in disgust and he took a few steps backwards. "What in the shell in that?"

"Brownies!" Mikey whined, stopping his stirring motions to cross his arms over his chest. "Why is it so hard for you guys to see?!"

Leonardo put a comforting hand on his baby brother's shoulder. "Calm down, Mike. I'm sure it'll taste just fine." Mikey didn't miss the look that his two brothers exchanged. Sure enough, Leo continued with, "But just to be safe… I call tasting it last!"

Raphael instantly reacted before Mikey even had a slimmer of chance. "I don't want firsts either!"

"Well, we can't just force Donnie to, can we?" Michelangelo questioned. "I mean, he's not even here right now; he's doing another project of his in the lab."

"Ah, he'll be fine," Raph waved off without a care in the world. "Plus, he had the first Jellybean Strawberry Mustard Ketchup and Whatever-Else-You-Put-In-There Cookie you made last week. He won't mind."

Mikey shrugged just as the oven alarm indicated that it was hot enough for the 'brownies' to bake. "I guess."

His brothers enthusiastically talked about the newest comic book release as Michelangelo (with much difficulty) poured out the already-toughening batter into a large pan and slipped it into the opened oven. When he finished setting the timer, he joined the two oldest at the kitchen table and eagerly awaited the outcome of his delectable treats.

o-o-o

"Donnie! Oh Dooooonnie! Open up, bro! I have a surprise for you!"

Donatello hardly glanced up from his work at his youngest brother's voice. "I'm busy right now, Mike."

"Trust me, you'll want to see this!"

The intelligent scientist let out a soft groan. He knows that when Michelangelo says 'trust me', he should most definitely not trust him. It's a lesson that the family has been taught the hard way countless times. But what else could he do? Mikey would just keeping pounding onto his door until he finally gave him, so why not spare the headache?

"Fine," Don muttered and spun around in his swivel chair as Mikey merrily skipped into the genius's version of a man cave. Both his hands were behind his back, and Donnie raised a questioning eye ridge. "Dare I ask… what is it, Mikey?"

"I present to you.." Michelangelo whipped his right hand from behind him, teetering a small plate on his palm. "My newest creation! It's absolutely delici-oso!"

Donatello frowned. "Have you actually tried it yet?"

Mikey's hand lowered a bit in shame. "No.. But it smells really good, and things that taste bad don't smell as good as this does!" With that, he shoved the plate towards his brother and Donnie instinctively accepted it.

Glancing from his youngest brother to the plate and back to his brother again, Donnie quizzically pinched off a piece of the mushy and strangely colored food. "Are you sure it's edible?"

"What does that mean?" Mikey asked, cocking his head.

The scientist shook his head in disbelief and muttered something about cotton-for-brains underneath his breath before continuing, "Can I eat it without dying or choking to death?"

With that explanation, the orange-banded turtle happily shook his head. "Yeah, dude, of course! I made it myself!"

"That says a lot," Donatello murmured. And so, slowly, ever so slowly, he picked up the rest of the 'brownie' and took the teeniest, tiniest bite from it. As soon as his mouth broke off the piece and closed around it, Mikey practically leaned forward in hopeful anticipation.

"How is it, how is it!?" the youngest demanded, the beam on his face almost blinding Donatello. The older of the two hesitantly chewed on the small portion in his mouth, and the corners of his mouth turned up in a genuine smile.

"This is actually pretty good!" Don exclaimed as he swallowed. He then proceeded to stuff a good amount of the brownie in his anxious mouth and stifled back a moan of pleasure as the unlikely treat gave him pleasure.

"Woo-hoo!" Mikey cheered, pumping a fist in the air. "See? All you guys doubt me, but look at me now!"

"Mm hmm.." Donnie agreed, chewing over and over on the food in his mouth. As Michelangelo went bolting out the lab door to explain his victory to the rest of the family (and most likely to further spread his scrumptious treat around), Donatello continued chewing. And chewing. And chewing. And chewing.

Soon enough, he started to panic.

What the shell?

He gave the 'brownie' a few more chews that he swore became harder with every passing second. Finally, he had had enough. Making sure no one was around to scold him for his un-gentleman-like behavior, he reached into his mouth with shaking fingers and attempted to yank the thick and mushy treat out. It didn't budge.

"Mhmishkey!" he tried to call out for his youngest brother, but his desperate words were blocked by the hardening gag in his mouth. Over and over again, he grasped at the brownie and strained to pry it free, but over and over again, he failed. Sheer misery and alarm soon overtook him, but just as he was about to explode in anxiety, three figures waltzed into the lab.

"D! D!" Mikey called out, Leonardo and Raphael trailing behind him. "Tell them that it's good and that they won't die from eating it!"

"No matter what Don says, I'll still doubt it," Raph groaned although his irises glinted with curiosity as his gaze landed on the scientist. His emerald eyes seemed to widen in concern, though, as he took in the panic-stricken state his brother was in.

"Ish nawt comishing oaught!" Donatello pleaded. He pointed at his mouth with saliva-slicked fingers and his brothers soon got the message.

Leo was the first one by his side, looking worriedly into his open mouth. He tilted Don's head left and right and up and down as he looked for an opening to shove his fingers in and pull out the gag, but to no avail.

"This is a prime example of why we do not, I repeat, do not trust him!" Raphael bellowed, flicking his fingers into Michelangelo's head. The youngest only flinched away for a second before returning his troubled attention back to his struggling brother.

"Seriously, Mike," Leo breathed out, releasing Donnie's head, "what did you put in there? It's not even budging!"

"I-I don't know –"

"You don't know?!" Raphael demanded, looming over the youngest with a dangerous fire dancing in his eyes. "You could be poisoning to death him right now, and all you'll be able to defend yourself with is that you don't know?!"

Mikey seemed to shrink through the floor. "P-Poisoning him?"

"Raph, don't be dramatic," Leonardo scolded as he swept his eyes over the genius' scared figure. "I'm sure this is nothing, Mikey, don't worry."

"Well what are we gonna do then?" Michelangelo hurriedly questioned as Donatello began to tug harder on the 'brownie' in his mouth. "That thing's, like, practically glued to his mouth!"

Leo crouched down next to Don and peered into his mouth with a hard concentration he usually displayed during training. "You," he ordered, pointing a gentle finger in the youngest brother's direction, "will go get Splinter. I think he's mediating in the dojo. Raph and I will try to pull it out."

Nodding silently, the youngest brother hustled off as he carried out Leonardo's command. As soon as he was out of sight, Raphael joined the eldest and disgustedly grimaced as he pinched a small section of the mushy food inside Donnie's mouth.

"Besh careshful," Donatello warned.

"Yeah, yeah," the hothead replied, giving a slight roll of the eyes. "I'll get it out real quick. You won't feel a thing."

"But try to be gentle!" the blue clad turtle suggested, hovering fretfully over Raphael's shoulder. Raph heaved out an irritated sigh as he further gripped the gagging 'brownie'.

"Do you want to do this, Leo?" When no response returned to the sai wielder, he smirked. "Yeah, I didn't think so, so stop breathing down my neck, will ya?"

"Okay, okay!" Leonardo complied, backing only a few millimeters away from his brother. "But just make sure you grab it tightly and try to slowly twist it out, and I'm sure it will –"

"Owwwwwwwww!"

Both brothers fell backwards at the piercing scream, landing with a harsh thud.

"Oh shell," Raphael gasped out. He raised the saliva slicked clump of food in his hands, a glistening white object tinted with crimson jutting out the top like a king on a mountain.

"Owie, owie, owie, oh my sewers, it hurts, it hurts!" Donatello cried out, clasping his trembling hands over his overflowing mouth. The blood, however, still managed to seep through the cracks between his fingers and he howled even louder.

Leo sprang to his feet and rushed over to his bawling brother's side. "Raphael, I told you to be gentle!"

"This ain't my fault, hotshot!" Raph snarled. "If you thought you could've done it better, why didn't you?!"

"I thought you would have more common sense than to just yank it like that!"

"Well, how else was I…" The argument trailed off as an alarmed rat rushed into the room with a young turtle close on his heels. Both Leonardo and Raphael's breathe froze straight in their throats.

Splinter was by Donatello's side in a swiftness only a master of ninjitsu could display. He tried to pull the sobbing turtle's hands away from the injury, but Donnie only violently shook his head and shied away from his father.

"What has happened?" Splinter questioned, turning to study all three of his sons. They looked as if they were going to melt right in their shells. It took a few moments, but the suspect of the crime finally shuffled on his feet and opened his mouth.

"I sorta… heh… I might've..." Mikey stumbled, massaging his hands together nervously. But a cold, unfeeling look from the raging red-banded turtle next to him quickly sprung the words right out of his mouth. "Okay, okay! I… gave him one of my special brownies and it got stuck in his mouth and… wait, who pulled it out?"

Leonardo didn't hesitate for a moment before shooting his glare to a particular turtle. The said turtle, though, didn't dare to meet his icy eyes and attempted to change the subject.

"I think it might've pulled out a tooth," Raphael plainly stated, raising the mushy mess in his hands before dropping it to the ground with a rather repulsive squish. All eyes (even Donnie's watery ones) fell down to it, studying it with complete shock.

However, when Donnie's cries began to pick up in volume as the pain hit him full blast, Splinter ushered the rest of the turtles out of the lab and gently shut the door behind them.

o-o-o

He woke up to a jabbing in his arm. At first, it was gentle and almost lulling, but after a few impatient moments, it began to increase with desperation. A pair of soft brown eyes fluttered open and focused on the orange mask leaning over him.

"Wake up sleepyhead," the familiar voice softly urged. Groaning in his sleepy state, the scientist wearily pulled himself up onto his elbows and the shadowy figure in front of him took a step backwards. "Feeling any better, D?"

"Why, whaths wrong?"

Donatello almost jumped at his own voice. Was that a.. lisp?

"Whaths wrong wif my voiceth?" he anxiously questioned. Michelangelo only cocked his head in puzzlement, and it was then that the purple clad turtle ran his tongue over the hole in his mouth. "Whereth's my toof?"

Mikey hissed softly in unwillingness. "Yeah, haha, about that..."

Donnie's chocolate eyes widened in shock as the youngest lifted his hand and unrolled his fist. There, sitting perfectly in the palm of his hand, lay a glistening white tooth. Donatello lifted his bewildered eyes to meet his brother's but they softened as he recognized the puffy red outline of the baby blue irises.

"Mikey, whaths wrong?" he cautiously asked. Michelangelo suddenly averted his gaze elsewhere.

"Nothing," he replied. "I just came in here to give you it. The Tooth Fairy might like it, so I thought you would want to put it under your pillow or somethin'."

Reflexively, the genius turtle opened his mouth to argue that the Tooth Fairy wasn't actually real, but the guilty and almost desperate look hidden in his baby brother's face stopped him from doing so. Instead, he gently took the tooth from the outstretched hand and softly murmured, "Thanksth Mike." Just for good measure, he stowed it away underneath his pillow.

"No problem," the youngest said. With that, he spun on his heel and started out the door. As soon as he was out of sight, Donatello laid back down on his pillow. Just as he was about to drift back into a deep slumber, a delectable smell drifted into his senses and his eyes snapped back open.

Following his nose, he discovered the warm plate of brownies resting on his bedside table. Attached to it was a note;

I followed the directions this time.

Donnie let out a noisy puff of breath. "Yeah," he mumbled, "right."

A/N

So whaddya do when you have two other stories that need updating ASAP? Of course; you write a whole different story and hope for the best!

Seriously though. I am so sorry. I'll get my stories updated as quick as I can, I promise.

Reviews are welcomed!