TMNT 2003: I'm Nothing to Them

Mikey is given a hard time with his brothers constantly letting all their frustration and anger out on him and telling him how much of a useless screw-up he is, to a point where it's making Mikey feel depressed and lonely. Will his brothers realise the damage being done to him or will it be too late?

Takes place sometime after the turtles returned to their own time and Master Splinter was scattered in Cyberspace.

I do not own TMNT 2003.

Warning: May contain scenes of depression, signs of self-harm and attempted suicide.

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Part 1-Hated

"Look what you've done, Mikey! Master Splinter is lost in Cyberspace because of you and your big mouth!"

"Screwin' up in missions is bad enough, but what ya did back there was da worst thing ya ever did! Da one who should be lost in Cyberspace in pieces should've been YOU!"

"Mikey…Just…leave us alone…you've already done enough damage to our family…In fact, I don't know if we can ever trust you again after what just happened…"

"Yeah…And ya not gonna be on our team anymore either cos ya nothing but a screw-up and disaster bringer ta us… so, consider yourself as no longer our brother anymore too…"

"That's right…our friendship is also done…so, just go away and let me work on getting father back since you'll just make things worse as always!"

The voices from a few days ago rang and echoed in Mikey's mind whilst he was preparing breakfast for his brothers. Despite being able to cook the food, He felt so numb and the colour in his eyes was dull and filled with sadness. He just couldn't believe that his own brothers would say such cruel words to him when it was actually Viral's fault for ruining everything, but once again, all the blame was pointed at him just because he was trying to help them.

The tears in his eyes began to fall when he thought about Master Splinter. His father had sacrificed himself to save him and his brothers from the decompiler blast, but to him, it was the third time now that Master Splinter took a hit for him and that made him feel even worse as a ninja and a son because he thought that, by now, he was becoming a better ninja after taking part in training more and being graduated to Chunin. However, after what happened during their travel back to their own time a few days ago, it turned out that this was clearly not the case.

"I'm so sorry, father…" Mikey whispered before he sniffled and wiped his tears away, though they just kept coming and falling each time he does that.

The sounds of footsteps immediately snapped him out of his thoughts and he began to plate up the now cooked breakfasts onto each respective plate and placed them on the table for his brothers, who all appeared and took their seats at the table when they saw their favourite hot drinks on it as well.

"Heh, at least he's done somethin' right and not messed up our breakfasts…" Raph spoke up first with a snide tone and smirk as he looked back and forth from his breakfast to Mikey.

"Hmph…" Donnie hummed firmly in agreement with Raph's words whilst avoiding eye contact with his immediate younger brother, who said nothing in response to their actions and walked towards the sink to start with the washing up.

Even though Leo said nothing to either side, he noticed that there were only three plates instead of four like usual, causing him to feel both confused and concerned before he turned to Mikey and spoke.

"Mikey? Where's your breakfast?"

"…" Mikey didn't answer Leo's question and continued with the dish-washing.

'What's the point in answering him? It'll just make things worse, anyways…' He thought sadly to himself.

"Hey, Mikey McScrew-Up! Leo just asked ya a question, so answer him already!" Raph suddenly shouted out towards Mikey, causing him and the others to jump slightly with how loud it was.

"Already ate…" Mikey answered quietly but loud enough for everyone to hear after he had let out a sigh knowing that they would not stop bothering him until he answered them. He also said this without turning his head to look at his brothers.

"Mikey, I know you're lying…tell me the truth, please…!" Leo then said firmly, having none of it with Mikey's current behaviour. Mikey was about to respond but Raph spoke up first.

"Forget it, Leo! Whether he's lyin' or not doesn't make a difference, cos none of us cares if he stops eatin' and starves ta death. In fact, it would be better if he was no longer with us since we don't need him and his screw-ups anymore!"

Mikey gasped with wide eyes after what he had just heard from Raph's mouth whilst Leo and Donnie looked at the red-banded brother with wide eyes and shocked looks on their faces.

"Oh, come on, you two! I know dat ya both feel da same way as me…!" Raph then said as he looked at Leo and Donnie in disbelief.

"I…" Leo spoke but didn't know what to say next as he was caught in a tug-of-war with his feelings; one part of him wanted to agree with Raph, but the other part didn't and wanted to correct him. Donnie, on the other hand, nodded and spoke.

"I do agree with you, Raph. Even though I don't want anything bad to happen to Mikey health-wise, I just can't stand to look at him right now because he reminds me of what happened during our journey back to our own time. I want him gone…in fact, he should be lost in Cyberspace, not father…"

Leo looked at both Raph and Donnie with widened eyes when they agreed with one another about Mikey in such a harsh way. Out of the three older brothers, Leo was slowly starting to move on from what happened days ago and was planning to talk to Mikey about how he should redeem himself for his actions, but now he didn't know what to do; agree with his brothers or stand against their words. At the corner of his eye, his heart was about to break when he saw Mikey with his head turned halfway and looking at him, Raph and Donnie with dull but frustrated eyes.

Earlier, Mikey felt like he was about to have a heart attack as his body began to shake from shock after what he had just heard and he was trying really hard not to break down in front of his brothers. Having had enough of being treated like a hated criminal, he turned his head halfway to look at his brothers and snapped.

"Will you guys…just…LET IT GO ALREADY!?"

The three older brothers froze and looked over at a now teary-eyed Mikey with shocked and surprised looks on their faces before they heard the orange-banded turtle speak again.

"Look, I get it, ok!? I'm sorry! I know that what I did wasn't the best thing I've ever done, but we're not gonna get Master Splinter, our father, back fast enough if this keeps going on. If you want me to pay for my actions, then I'll be happy to go into Cyberspace right now, by myself, and gather all the data bits so that we can have our father back home!" By now, Mikey's eyes were constantly streaming with tears and he was trying but failing to stop them whilst he continued to look at his brothers with a sad but determined look on his face.

After a moment, Leo began to realise that Mikey really was being genuine with his words and wanted to fix his mistakes, even though he still felt unsure about whether or not Mikey would stay true to his words and fix what he did. Raph and Donnie, however, were not so sympathetic and they looked from shocked to angry within seconds after hearing Mikey's words.

"Why da shell would we trust you ta get our dad back!? And there is no 'we' cos ya not on da team anymore!" Raph said angrily.

"Yeah, and you don't know a thing about how our new technology works! In fact, you'll just make things worse as soon as you set foot in Cyberspace, so you can forget about that idea, Mikey because it won't happen on my watch!" Donnie said firmly in agreement with Raph's words.

"Guys-" Leo tried to speak in order to get his brothers to take a minute to calm down, but he was instantly cut off by Raph.

"Shut it, Leo! Ya will need your head examined if ya deciding ta take dis disaster bringer's side!"

This caused Leo to back down slightly with a frustrated look before Raph turned back to Mikey and moved closer to him as he spoke again.

"Listen, you…no matter what ya say or do, you will always be nothing but a screw-up dat will bring everyone to their deaths, especially Master Splinter!"

"That's right! Face it, Mikey; nobody cares about what you say to us because you never keep your promises and will constantly let us down, even when we needed you most…and for that, we all hate you for it!" Donnie said firmly with a deadly glare at his immediate younger brother.

Mikey looked at both Raph and Donnie with a terrified and shocked look on his face before he lowered his head in shame and guilt. He wanted to believe that this was all a nightmare and that he should be waking up any minute to escape from it, but he really was wide awake and everything that was happening was real.

"Raph…Donnie…That's enough…"

Leo was then heard speaking in a firm but calming tone as he slowly approached Raph and placed a hand on his shoulder to try a get him to back away from Mikey, which had worked because Raph turned around to glare at Leo for disturbing his and Donnie's 'lecture' on Mikey.

"Leo…!" Raph said angrily through gritted teeth whilst Donnie gave the blue-banded turtle an annoyed glare.

"Listen, I understand how you both feel about Mikey, but if you really want to save Master Splinter, then I suggest that you leave Mikey be and go do what needs to be done to get our father back…" Leo said immediately, leaving no room for arguments.

Raph and Donnie took a moment to let Leo's words sink into their minds before they sighed and looked at Mikey once more.

"Fine…just as long as he stays outta our way…" Raph said as he pointed at Mikey before he left the dining area.

"Yes…We already know our place in this family, Mikey…it's time that you learned yours…" Donnie then said in disappointment before he left and headed towards the computer area to continue with his work on finding Master Splinter.

Once Raph and Donnie were out of sight, Leo turned to Mikey, who had hardly said a word during the rest of the argument and was instead just standing there and biting his bottom lip. He also noticed that Mikey's body was shaking a bit with both his hands clenched into fists.

"Mikey…" Leo called out to his youngest brother in a firm but soft tone. When he received no response from him, Leo became concerned and tried again.

"Mikey…Talk to me…"

He got closer to Mikey and was about to place a hand on his shoulder when the orange-banded turtle backed away and lifted his watery face up to look at him, surprising Leo when he saw the state that Mikey was in.

"N-No…don't…t-they're right… me being around you all…will only bring nothing but disaster…t-they've already lost one brother and a father, I'm not gonna let them lose you too because of me…I-I'm sorry…" Mikey said shakily and sadly as he let out a small sob and more tears began to fall from his dull eyes before he turned and ran away from a shocked Leo.

"Mikey, wait!" Leo called out to his little brother, but it was too late as Mikey reached his room and shut the door hard.

Leo ran a hand down his face as he sighed. It was early in the morning and things had already gotten out of control emotionally, and what was hard for Leo was that even though he understood the reasons why Raph and Donnie scolded Mikey in such a hard way, he felt that his brothers went a bit too far and made Mikey feel even worse about himself and the situation at hand.

"Oh, Master Splinter…if only you were here…you'd know what to do…" Leo whispered sadly to himself as he continued to look at Mikey's bedroom door for another minute before he walked away to go and meditate to clear his mind, leaving all three now cold breakfasts untouched.