The best part about being the youngest sibling was not having to come up with a plan. Where Leo had to stress about strategy and Donny had to stay up night after night working on gadgets - which was totally fine because that was how he preferred to spend his nights, anyway – Mikey could just relax. He didn't train all the time because Leo did, and because Leo did, he didn't have to. He could focus on comic books and TV shows and pizza. His three favorite things in the world.

Likewise, Raph could focus on his motorcycle, his one true love.

That's the way things were. Leo was the leader, Raph was the fighter, Donnie was the smart one, and Mikey was the goofball. They all filled their roles and it worked.

But as Mikey stared down in shock at the three little turtles waddling around his legs, he couldn't help but realize that the roles had changed.

"Hey guys," Mikey said, his trembling voice barely recognizable to his own ears as he began to gather his brothers in his arms, careful to keep their masks from slipping off their shells as he did so, "I got ya."

One of the turtles, Mikey guessed it was Raph based off the red fabric flapping loosely around its middle, barked softly up at him. And maybe Mikey's mind was playing tricks on him, but he thought he heard Raph's familiar mixture of indignation and concern in the tone. It was then that the youngest turtle realized he was shaking. "Come on, Mikey." He muttered to himself. "Focus. Take deep breaths."

If he were Leo, he wouldn't be shaking. If he were Leo, he'd have a plan. If he were Leo… there was no way Leo would have let this happen.

Somehow, while Mikey was out skateboarding the sewer pipers, the Foot Clan had taken his family and stolen their mutagen. Master Splinter had originally been human, so that meant stealing his mutagen wouldn't render him defenseless the way it did his brothers. That also meant he was probably locked up somewhere.

Best case scenario, he stormed Shredder's base, freed Master Splinter, found three vials of mutagen all neatly labeled with his brother's names written in magic marker, and then turned them back to normal.

Worst case scenario, he stormed the Foot Clan's base, got his shell handed to him, and his brothers got stuck living in a fish bowl.

Sighing heavily, Mikey finally climbed to his feet. "First, I have to get you three home, then I'll find a way to fix this."

It was already sunset by the time Mikey started jumping the rooftops with the three turtles squirming and chirping in his arms. Every couple minutes, he tried to say something soothing like, "Don't worry, bros. I know it's scary but I won't let you fall." Or "I'll get you back to normal soon." One time, after Donnie'd made a particularly alarmed chirp, Mikey had looked down at the turtles in his arms and growled, "Shredhead's dead." That had a not so soothing effect. Leo's eyes widened slightly at either his tone, his expression, or his words. Mikey wasn't sure how much of the brother he knew was actually in there so he couldn't be sure. Then he felt a slight pressure on his thumb. For some reason, the little Raph turtle was clamping onto his thumb, biting him.

It barely even hurt.

Mikey stopped one rooftop away from their manhole, glanced down at the angry turtle biting his thumb, and asked, "What is it, Raph?" He hadn't been expecting a response and he didn't really get one. Not one he could understand, at least. Leo chirped something at Raph, managing to somehow sound exasperated, Raph bit harder, and Donnie made a gurgling noise in his throat, his head swiveling anxiously between Mikey and Raph. As ironic as it was, Mikey couldn't speak turtle, and he made sure to mention this. After he did, he was about 90% certain he saw the Raph turtle roll his eyes.

Are they mad at me, Mikey wondered. Because I wasn't there? Because I let this happen?

He forced a smile. "Look, guys, whatever you want to tell me can wait until you're back to normal, 'kay?" Then he pulled them all closer to his chest and leapt from the building. The shock from hitting the ground without breaking his fall with a roll or lessening the impact by kicking off the walls hurt thrummed through his legs as he tried to figure out how to open the manhole without losing his brothers. Finally, after a few failed attempts of trying to remove the cover with his toes, he decided he had to chance putting his brothers down.

"Don't go anywhere, okay?" He asked them, desperation bleeding into his tone despite his best efforts to keep his cool as he set them down. To his delight, none of them moved an inch as he pried open the manhole. Laughing, he managed, "You can understand me, can't you?"

The question was greeted by a series of satisfied clucks and another eye roll. It seemed like the answer was an emphatic yes. Mikey scooped them into his arms, laughing slightly when Leo nuzzled his neck, and leapt into the sewers.

As he'd expected, the lair was trashed. Claw marks ran through the upended dinner table and nearly cut the couch in half. Dismayed by the scene, Mikey muttered, "Man, Ol' Shred-head really did a number on this place." They were going to have to move. When he felt his brothers start to struggle, he carefully set them down, letting them take in the damage.

Donnie's workshop looked like it lost a fight with a wrecking ball. His precious computer was bashed to the point of resembling a crushed soda can. Mikey had to actually herd him away from that area because of all the broken glass and circuitry on the floor. Leo stared as solemnly as he could manage at the dojo. The tatami mats had been stacked in a pile and burned, the equipment broken, and all the rice paper had been systematically punctured. Hearing Raph growl made Mikey realize just what the purpose of the destruction was.

It was to kill their morale.

"Bros," Mikey started, forcing his voice to sound cheery and upbeat, "we're gonna get through this. We always do. We've gotten through worse." He smiled at Leo, who'd huff softly, and shrugged, "Sorry, you can't give the rousing speech, Leo. I'm sure you'd do a better job."

Then he moved towards the door to leave, hand already half-raised in a jaunty wave, in the hopes that if he got out fast enough he wouldn't break down or ask for help because that would just make them feel horrible and everything was already bad enough without him making it worse.

His fingers had only brushed the control panel when he felt three pairs of stubby claws pawing at his legs. "Guys," Mikey choked out, quickly losing his composure, "I have to go." Thinking quickly, he pulled out his T-Phone and dialed April's number. The dial tone rang for an excruciating three seconds before he heard a click, then April's voice flowed from the speaker.

"Mikey," She grumbled, groggy. "Do you have any idea what time it is? This had better be good."

"April! My brothers have been turned into tiny turtles and Master Splinter's been kidnapped and I need you to get over here and watch them for me while I go to get their mutagen back and free Master Splinter. Please April!" By the end, he was gasping, having explained everything in a panic induced rush. Before April could even respond beyond a "MIKEY WHAT-" he'd hung up.

Forcing a smile, he looked down at his brothers, some of them still managing to look mildly disapproving, and said, "Don't worry. April's on her way. She won't let anything bad happen to you while I'm gone." This was met by another chorus of increasingly panicked unintelligible protests. Instead of responding, Mikey tried to make calming humming noises as he tightened the bandannas around their waists so April could tell which of his brothers were which. Or maybe he did it because, despite having tried to rush out the door a few seconds ago, he honestly didn't want to leave. He didn't know if he could do it without Leo telling him what to do or Raph keeping him out of trouble.

But hadn't he always wanted to prove himself?

And this was his chance. His chance to show his brothers that he wasn't just a screw-up, that he was an amazing ninja too. Not some lamebrain that needed to be rescued all the time.

Satisfied with his work, he stood up, watched them fuss a bit with the fabric, and chuckled. "You know, you guys are actually pretty cute like this." The three small turtles all gave him a flat look. Unfortunately, full-out glares are a little hard to pull off when you're barely six inches long. Mikey shrugged. "Hey, don't get mad. I'm just telling it like it is." He shook his head, a smile still tugging at his lips, and said, "Alright, it's time to save you guys, What's the plan, Leo?"

When no one answered, he realized his mistake, and the smile abruptly vanished. Scratching the back of his neck, he added, "I mean, that's what I would say, normally. But today it's 'What's the plan, Mikey?' right? So, uh, what's the plan, Mikey?"

The attempt to cheer his brothers up actually seemed to make them more depressed. It wasn't doing wonders for his mood either, as he was suddenly forced to realize that he had no plan.

That had never stopped his brothers before, though.

He scooped up his brothers, kissed them all on their foreheads, and then laid them all on the couch so they couldn't catch him in time to stop him from leaving the lair. The door swung open with a rush and the smell of rain. Mikey stood in there for a moment, watching his brothers struggle to leap off the couch. Then he swallowed the urge to sniffle and forced as much confidence into his voice as he could. "I swear I'm gonna save you guys. It's a ninja promise. Just hang tight and wait for me."

Long after he'd left, the three turtles continued to paw anxiously at the closed door. April arrived fifteen minutes later to find the trio trying to push a chair against the wall.