Chapter Text
In a dark room inside a home that was nestled into the sewers, a rat who was also a man sat and contemplated his sons. This was not meditation, even if his sweet boys might assume so if they should see him sitting amongst scrounged candles, rescued from the refuse of humanity and carefully restored.
His children were young yet, and just starting to get to the point where they began to consider the above world as more than a nameless place to fear and desire. Not to the point where they seriously considered going up above, the boys were only eleven years old after all, but all four of them had been asking questions about the mysterious place filled with humans. All four of them had asked their father very different questions, which had reflected all four of their personalities.
Leonardo had looked up at him after ninjutsu training, lingering behind when his brothers had already left to find food and to rest. Frowning, with an adorably serious look for someone so young, his son had asked, “How do I keep my brothers safe? When we go above, what will keep us safe?” It was clear the child had taken his warnings to heart, the stories of the dangers that may be found on the surface had stricken a fear in him- not for himself but for the safety of his brothers. Always so terrified, not for himself but always for his brothers, often staying later and working harder in training out of a desire to ensure the safety of their family. The rat who was a father had smoothed the frown from his eldest’s face, and explained (not for the first time, not for the last, but this time echoed stronger than any other for his son) that the greatest danger to his children were human’s, with their fear and hate of those who were different. When Leo had asked how to stop humans from hurting his family, his father had told him that he would show him how to prevent the humans from ever even knowing about them.
Raphael had come to him in the evening, after an evening of card games that had ended in a pile of sleeping children in their family’s common area. Gently detangling from his brothers, peeking into the kitchen where his father and sensei was cleaning up from their fun family night, he had wondered out loud, “Leo said that humans would hurt us if they find us. It really, really scared Mikey and Donnie. What can I do to make my brothers not scared?” The father had gently smiled at his second eldest, so gentle towards the younger brothers, so eager to back up the eldest in protecting their family, and warned him that being a shield might protect his brothers physically (knowing that his second oldest had gotten stuck on the idea of protector), but that the hateful or disgusted reactions from the humans may cause them emotional harm. Frowning at the ground during his father’s answer, Raph had then looked up into his eyes with fierce determination and requested a way to prevent this from happening. His sensei, his father, told Raph that he would show his son how to hone his offense with his defense to keep his brothers protected from all dangers, even the ones that targeted emotions.
Donatello had pulled him into the dark room that he had claimed as a “lab”, all soft-spoken nervousness wrapped around the look his father knew meant an eager and ruthless desire for more information. “What are we?” The second youngest had asked with an almost manic whisper, barely covered over by the soft suede his natural tone gave to his words. “What are humans? Why are we different, how are we different? Do you know, Dad?” This had given the father a slight pause, so slight that it would have been impossible for any of his sons to tell that he had hesitated. He had nodded to himself, before the rat had told his son all that he knew of their mutation, and all that he knew of humans, taking hours to break it down as much as he possibly could. Donnie had looked troubled, a hint of worry on his young face, before telling his sensei that while helpful, he needed to know more, more about humans, more about turtles and rats, and more about how becoming human-like had changed them. The rat had laughed, because of course his knowledge-hungry son would not be pacified with scraps of second hand information, and he told his son that he would help him get the knowledge that he sought, first hand.
Michelangelo found him early in the morning, before training or meditation or food, well before any of his brothers had woken up (It was always Michelangelo up first with a calmness he only had in the very first part of the day, then Leonardo and Raphael waking with competition to see who would be out first, with Donatello waking last when his mind had kept him up, churning new ideas around and around). The father had thanked his youngest son, carefully carrying a cup of tea to him, and waited for the morning hesitation to exchange itself for the confident and loud behavior that always showed itself as morning faded. He did not need to wait long. “Sensei, how do we tell if someone’s a good human, like Master Yoshi?” The youngest had finally exploded into life and motion, hands waving around to express his frustration with this concept, “Leo doesn’t think there are good humans and Dee and Raphie don’t even care! But I don’t want to miss out on someone like us, like Master Yoshi, just ‘cause I couldn’t care to look!” The father had sat calmly through the storm of emotions, until Michelangelo had paused and gentled, like the eye of a great storm, still simmering with potential and movement. The rat spoke quietly into his little storm of things like body language, of trust and betrayal, of manipulation into truth tempered with caution that these were not the things one used on one’s family lightly (these were things for enemies, for allies, for neutral parties, for others). Mikey had grinned up at him, fierce and keen, and had asked if his father could show him and teach him more about these things, begging shamelessly as only the youngest is willing to. And the rat had mirrored his expression back, letting him know that of course his dad would teach him, always. Anything any of his children wanted to know
Splinter loved his children, even if they were all very different. They were perfect, and absolutely adorably mischievous, and he strove every day to be a good father to all of them. To keep them safe from anything that might hurt them.
~~Line Break~~
Leo was worried. Admittedly, he was always worried; for his family's safety, for each and every one of his brothers, and for himself. Right now, however, he was especially worried for his youngest (and smallest and kindest and most happiest) little brother. Mikey seemed to be too trusting and concerned with humanity, even though Dad had told them how terrible they were, even though they had grown up with stories of how terribly humans would treat anyone different, of how they might even hurt their own families for self-gain. Humans were the boogeyman, the monsters who would kidnap little turtles for experimentation and dissection.
And maybe Leo was also a bit scared that Mikey would leave the sewers. Hopefully not to try and find good humans… but that would be salvageable! So long as Leo (or Splinter) found out that he had gone topside early enough. Then, he could rescue his little brother from the mean humans, and they’d all go home and pile up together as a family on their couch, and Dad would get out his warm and calming tea for everyone, and Mikey would never-ever-ever try to leave again. But. But what if Mikey, with all his kindness and sweetness, found out what Dad had been teaching him and Raphie and Donnie, and was scared and tried to leave?
It was irrational. Mikey would never leave his family, Leo knew. He was the least likely to get violent or loud or to run away when upset or angry (but the most likely to cry). But what if he found out what Dad had been teaching them? Ever since Donnie had brought up the idea, it had been a constant worry in the oldest brother's mind. For the past few months, Sensei had been taking Leo out into the tunnels (even topside for a minute once!) and showing him the best ways to deal with intruders and nasty humans. Hands-on training, supervised so that even if he made mistakes they would help him learn and not hurt his family, all to keep his brothers safe from the threat that humanity posed.
At first Leo had thought it was just him. Which was just fine with the young ninja! He had loved that his little brothers could stay innocent for a little longer, and maybe when they were older Leo could be the one to teach them anything that they needed to know. He would show them everything.
Of course, about a month after dad had started teaching him, Leo had noticed that Raph had also been going on little trips out with their father. It hadn’t seemed any different than normal at first. Splinter had always made certain to spend time with each of his children individually as well as in a group. Dad time was sacred for all of the brothers, and not something they normally questioned each other about. But Leo had been in their bathroom when Raph had walked in for a shower after one of these trips, and had noticed blood on his hands. Leo had realized that his oldest little brother had seemed calmer, more focused and determined, less wound up tight like he had been recently. The sudden lack of that pressure, the vicious grins that had started to appear in spars and brawls, it was now obvious that Dad had been taking Raph out and teaching him just like he’d been taking Leo out for training.
They had talked that day, starting hushed in the bathroom before moving to their shared bedroom. Raph and Leo had shared a bedroom since they had gotten big enough that all four brothers couldn’t share, but not so big that they had wanted to be all alone yet (Leo kind of still wished that they all four shared, it had been so much easier to check on his little brothers in the middle of the night when he’d been a little kid in the same room). They had sworn to each other then, to keep their little brothers safe from any threat; to keep each other safe.
Of course, it wasn’t too long after that conversation that they noticed Donnie was also acting differently than normal. Raph was actually the one to notice how much more interested in being alone in his lab their brother had been than he was normally. Leo then noticed that this behavior always seemed to coincide with personal training with Dad or following one of Dee’s trips out with Dad. Which, considering what Master Splinter had taught Leo and Raph, probably meant that Donnie had also been learning how to best take care of humans.
The next time their father took Donnie out for training, Leo and Raph hid in their younger brother's lab. This was made easier than it should be when Mikey, who normally can’t stand to be left alone, had bundled up next to the tv in an effort to watch a special airing of Gargoyles that was going to be on their salvaged television all night long. Raphie had been pretty tempted to join their youngest brother (both of them had loved watching Gargoyles together… and maybe Leo liked it too, sometimes), but had decided that talking with Dee was more important at the moment. And so, they waited quietly in hiding, for their second youngest brother to come home.
It wasn’t long after that, maybe an hour at most, when Dad and Donnie had come home; and Donnie had made a beeline for his lab, not stopping to do more than wave a quick greeting to Mikey before rushing over and closing his door. He went over to the metal table in the corner of the room and gently set down the bag he’d been carrying (the bag he had always carried when leaving their home, mostly to carry bits and pieces that he might find and want for later when they were out exploring the sewer tunnels), not noticing his two older brothers hiding behind the desk on the other side of the room.
With a small giggle and a hum that Leo and Raph recognized from anytime their little brother would get his hands on something new and interesting, the two had looked at each other as soon as the bag was opened and they recognized the smell. Blood. A lot of blood. Enough blood that there was only one source it could have reasonably come from. Leaning out from their hiding spot, Leo spotted what Donnie had pulled out from his bag and gently sat down onto his table.
“Why a head?” Leo blurted out, before slapping his hands over his mouth. From behind him, he could hear a sigh and a grumbled “Leo” from Raph as Donnie whirled around with a startled look on his face. The three brothers stared at each other for a moment, all of them shocked that they were actually standing there, a carefully severed human head laying on Don’s table.
“I uh, that is,” Donnie stumbled a bit before squeaking out, “I kinda wanted to see the brain? I mean. Um. It’s just that I haven’t seen it yet, and Dad said I could take it this time so…”
Leo immediately nodded in support, “Of course, that makes sense. I just didn’t know you were interested in, uh, things that weren’t vehicles or machines or um.”
“Oh gosh,” Raph muttered under his breath before asserting, “Dad’s been taking all of us out, yeah? No need to hide it, ‘specially not if ya need some help. Me an’ Leo can get ya anything that you might need if you ask, ok?”
Donnie started to relax immediately once Leo nodded in agreement with Raph, before pausing and frowning. “What about Mikey?” he asked, fiddling with one of his elbow pads.
His older brothers had looked at each other and shrugged. “I don’t know,” Leo said, “But, we can find out? I mean, he’s the youngest, so it might take him a bit longer than the rest of us?”
Raph shook his head. “Mikey? I can’t see it. Yeah, the little goober can be a bit annoying and, uh, enthusiastic sometimes, but he’s…”
“Kind,” muttered Donnie, “He’s friendly, and nice, and he wants to meet new people.”
“He wants to meet humans?!” Leo tried his best to stay quiet, but it still came out in a strangled shout, “Doesn’t he know that’s... but humans are… uh, are you sure?”
Donnie shifted, not away from his older brothers, but nearer; seeking comfort that Raph immediately noticed and moved to hug him while Leo kind of hovered for a bit nearby, wringing his hands and looking tenser by the moment. “Mikey and I talk sometimes at night,” Donnie said quietly, “He always talks about the friends he’ll make when we grow up and go topside. He says he would rather meet other mutants… but he’s always been enamored by Dad’s stories of Master Yoshi. Not that hard to guess that he'd want human friends too.”
“Calm down,” Raph told Leo when the oldest made a distressed noise in the back of his throat, reaching out in tandem with Donnie to pull Leo into their (almost complete but missing a fourth brother) group hug, “Nothing’s happened yet, Mikey’s safe, we’re safe. Dad wouldn’t let anything happen.”
“But what if Mikey decides to leave ‘cause of what Dad’s teaching us,” Leo whispered to his brothers, clearly more terrified about this than even someone finding and hurting them, killing them, experimenting on his Dad and little brothers.
Raph stiffened immediately while Donnie stifled a frightened sob into Leo's plastron as he pressed closer to his brothers. The idea horrified the three of them deeply, that any member of their little family could just… leave. Could be frightened of them, hate them, be disgusted. Especially Mikey, who was the most physically affectionate of all of them, always draping himself onto the nearest brother, jumping onto their backs and initiating regular group hugs and “sleepovers”.
“W-we could, um,” Donnie stuttered before going quiet.
“What is it, Dee,” Leo murmured softly to his younger brother as a gentle encouragement, knowing that Donnie usually had some pretty great ideas but sometimes struggled to vocalize them.
Donnie hesitated before rushing out, “We could just make sure he can’t leave!”
Leo immediately hummed in agreement; thinking that keeping their youngest brother at home, where he would be safe, was a very appealing option (And maybe now considering the possibility of keeping all of his brother’s safe at home forever as well).
“Wait a minute,” Raph said, “We don’t know anything for sure yet. Let’s just feel Mikey out, maybe try to get him on the same page and going on field trips with Dad before we skip straight to chaining him into his room for forever.”
“I.. guess you’re right,” Leo said slowly as he extricated himself from the group hug. “We can always keep this as a backup plan if he… leaves.”
The three brothers came into agreement that night. Feel out Mikey and see what his behavior might be, but keep their backup plan ready. A nice containment area in Donnie’s lab and a plan for grabbing said turtle if needed. And hey, if Donnie could figure out the trackers he wanted to stick into his brothers soon, then they wouldn’t need to worry nearly as much about any potential excursions.