Hello, did you miss me? hears nothing but silence guess not, but it doesn't matter anyway, because I am back to impose another one of my many stories on you. I have taken the title from The Cranberies song 'Zombie' , you know the one wherethe lead singerwails and borderline yodels a lot? Okay, she does that in all of her songs, but that's not the point. The lyrics made me think about this one shot I had in mind a little while ago, but never had the insperation to write it. Now here it is, for your amusement or unamusement (is that a word?)

By the way, if anything looks sloppy or mispelled, it's because it is, and I plan to rewrite a better version of this story one day, so don't dwell on my mistakes too much.

Enjoy!

Zombie

"I'm beat."

"Me too."

Raphael stretched his arms, "Nothing like a good shut eye after a night of kicking butt!"

Michelangelo smiled at his tempermental brother, "I am inclined to agree, good night y'all."

"Night." His brothers responded to his retreating back.

As soon as he got into his room, he flopped onto his bed. He was so tired, but it was all worth it. Innocent people were saved tonight thanks to the heroics of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; the city was safe once more. Mike gave a huge yawn, he just wished that people would be a little more appreciative of the stuff he was doing, after all it was their lives that he and his brother's risk theirs for. They deserve a hero's parade. Mikey chuckled softly to himself as he slowly drifted off into the world of dreams…

He found himself on a float, him, and his brothers. And the crowd was cheering, cheering just for them. It was great, to finally be recognized as heroes, to finally get the recognition they deserved…

Until something hit the back of his head.

Scrowling, he looked behind to see who had thrown that at him, when he heard "Die murderer!"

Looking through the crowd, he found that it was a woman who yelled that at him, in her arms, she held a dead body. Curious as to why she was holding a lifeless corpse, Mike bent down on the passing float to take a closer look.

And what he found nearly took his breath away.

It was one of the Foot ninjas they had killed that night, or the previous night, or one of the many nights they had spent fighting these guys. The look on the woman's face was sheer inner pain, sheer agony. She cried out again, in more anguished tones than before, "You killed my son, you horrible murderer, you deserve to die!" Mike was too stunned to speak, and more shouts and calls rang out through the city. As he looked around the crowds he saw more people like that woman, except that there were more than just women, men and children joined the throng too as he saw more dead and mutilated bodies of their enemies being held in their arms. The look on the children's face were what tugged at Mike's heartstrings the most, their innocent faces shattered by the death of their beloved, and it was all at his hands, and his brother's hands. They were no heroes to these children…

…They were monsters.

Mike looked away from those horrible sights to gather his brothers, but when he turned around, they weren't there. He looked down, and that was his biggest mistake, because there they all were, pools of blood surrounding their heads like a red halo, he was the only one left alive…

A jolt of pain from the back of his head jolted him out of his reverie to touch the part that was hurting, only to find when he pulled his hand away that he was bleeding. Looking down, he found that the object that had been thrown at him was a broken glass bottle. That was how his brothers died, from these broken bottles and various other glass objects he now noticed was strewn around them. He then decided to look forward, and found that a burning furnace has been built in the middle of the street, seemingly overnight, from the sloppy way that one had been built.

It was then he knew…

This was no hero's parade, this was an execution, and this was punishment for all the people he had killed. They weren't innocent, they have killed and tormented others as well, and he knew that. But it didn't take away the fact that these killers have families that loved them and cared for them, and now were suffering too. The cycle of death and destruction has not ended, it continued in him, and it continues in those looking for vengeance.

He could feel the hot flames now, he could jump off, he wasn't tied down or anything, but it felt wrong to abandon the family that lay there dead. And looking back, it felt wrong to stay alive when the crowd out there thought he was a cold-hearted killer. He closed his eyes, and tried not to flinch as he felt the flame lick his body…

Then he opened them, and he was looking up at the stone ceiling of his bedroom. Sitting up, he felt his body and realized he was covered in cold sweat, a sure sign that he was still alive. Mike was surprised that he didn't scream, but in the back of his mind, he realized that felt guilty, not scared.

He never thought of having a hero's parade again.