Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT, other people do ;P

It is the year 2021, the world has changed, the people have changed. No longer human, the world now sees only mutants. No one knows for sure what caused the change, no one really remembers what humans look like except for the odd decayed corpse of someone unlucky, or lucky enough to have died on that day.

Four brave souls do remember, yes they were there when the world changed. They too had changed but in another way.

You see, my brothers and I were already different before that fateful day but now we are better.

My name is Michelangelo and this is my story.

My memory is vague of the day that robbed us of our father and close friends, unfortunately they never survived but we made many new friends and with new friends came new enemies.

With no governments or leaders the people were confused and disorientated. Factions began to form, some were good, most were bad.

Our faction became a haven for those who needed guidance and protection. My brother, Leonardo, is a respected leader of our group, he has helped many people find peace. My other brothers and I help him maintain that peace.

Donatello keeps us safe from the enemies outside who seek to destroy us. Raphael is Leonardo's second in command, peace keeping within the community whilst helping him with all the duties a leader carries. Me? I do a bit of everything, mind you, we all do what we can for the good of those who have chosen us as their protectors. My main duty is medical but I like to see myself as a kind of moral officer.

Our community numbers some one thousand seven hundred people, women and children included. We train those who can pick up a weapon so that we can defend ourselves should Donatello's defenses, God forbid, fail.

After nearly seven years in our tranquil home our peace was shattered violently. An assassin had made her way into the complex and attempted to kill Leonardo, without a leader this community would be easy pickings. She was luckily unsuccessful but she delivered a crippling blow. Leonardo fell into a coma two days ago, Raphael has had to take up Leonardo's duties to try and restore order. The people are frightened, if an assassin could reach Leonardo so easily then what hope did they have?

I'd like to say this story has a happy ending but it has only just begun.

"Mike?"

I stop writing and swivel in my chair, "Hey Raph"

Raph is leaning against the doorframe, a tired look in his eyes, I rise from my chair and move towards him, "You need anything?"

He shakes his head, "How's he doing?"

I sigh and turn back to my sleeping brother, "He's been better, has she said anything?"

Raph knew who I was referring to, the assassin. He absently scratched at his arm, "Damn cat, her claws need removing"

Leo's attacker was a mutated cat, she had managed to get a few of our best fighters with those claws before she was taken down, "I can put some more ointment on that if you want"

He shook his head and moved into the room, he pulled a chair from the corner and placed it next to Leo's bed then slumped into it, "Can you do anything for him?"

I moved towards him shaking my head slightly, "There are some herbs that may help but I haven't got any left"

Raph knew what I was about to ask, I had been hassling Leo for some time to let me take a scouting party topside to search for herbs and medical supplies, he insisted that it would be a futile attempt. If there were any, the scavengers would have picked them up by now, he stood quickly and threw his arms up in a sign of frustration, "Damn it Mike, you still think that a bunch of plants survived when millions of people didn't that day? And even if they did, the scavengers would have taken it all by now"

"You sound like Leo" I replied simply

He didn't get a chance to reply when Don entered, "Hey"

I smiled, grateful for the distraction, "Hey Donny, how's it going?"

Don frowned as he glanced at Leo, "Could be better"

Raph huffed, "Did you find out how she got through your defenses?"

Don stiffened, he looked insulted, "The security measures were and are still in place, there is no way she could have gotten through"

Raph moved quickly over to Don and they stood beak to beak, "Then how, dear brother, did she get in?"

Don didn't back down, "Gee, I don't know Raph, maybe she knocked on the front door and pleaded innocent" he replied spitefully.

"Are you saying I let her in?"

"Well she must've gone through your screening process"

They were both seething, if this kept up they would certainly end up trying to knock each other out, "Guys come on, not here okay?" I gestured towards our sleeping brother and they backed down, still glaring at one another.

"Look, it doesn't matter how she got in here, the fact is, she did" I offered, it wasn't much of a compromise but they relented.

Don turned away from Raph and walked towards Leo, he sat down in Raph's seat and took Leo's hand, "How did she get so close to him?"

Raph turned, crossed his arms over his plastron and scoffed, "She probably used her feline charm"

I spun quickly and glared at Raph, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Raph smirked, "I'm only saying that cats are clever at that sort of thing"

Was he insinuating that Leo was getting laid? He better not, for his sake, "Raph" I warned.

He raised his hands up defensively, "I was just saying that cats are clever at getting to places other people can't, okay? Don't get worked up about it"

I relaxed slightly, how could Raph joke about something like that at a time like this.

There was a gentle knock at the door and we all turned to look at Raph's lieutenant standing in the door frame, she was a tall slim mutated tiger and she wore a tight black uniform with a belt hanging loose around her waist, her long thin tail resting on the floor. She had a katana strapped to her back, on her left leg she had an extendable bo tied to her thigh, on her right a handgun. Leo didn't approve of guns but Raph had convinced him that the enemy would be carrying worse weapons so he reluctantly agreed.

Raph lowered his arms and nodded at her, "Report"

She nodded towards Don and then me before glancing at Leo, and then turned back to Raph, "She's dead, she had something lodged in her mouth, she loosened it and swallowed it before we could stop her"

Raph nodded, "Did you gain any information from her before she died?" he asked coldly

She shook her head, "Unfortunately not"

"Damn it" he slammed his fist onto the table hard, "Anything else?"

"Yes, we received a transmission from the Phoenix faction, somehow they have found out about our situation and are willing to share medical supplies, on the condition that Leonardo is brought to them for treatment"

I was shocked to say the least, the Phoenix faction have kept to themselves for years, they were anything but friendly during our last encounter. If my memory serves, they originally tried to take over our faction with brute force, of course they didn't otherwise we wouldn't be here now. The Phoenix faction has always wanted to own our rather strategic position. They did try to broker a peace treaty with us but Leo wasn't too keen on the idea, he seemed to think that it was merely a ruse to lower our guard. As always he turned out to be right.

"The Phoenix faction?" I questioned, slightly confused at their sudden generosity.

Raph put his hand on my shoulder but kept his gaze on his lieutenant, "Anything else Carla?"

"Yes, they are willing to let a small party into their camp, no more than six, including Leonardo" she slipped her hands behind her back and clasped them together.

Raph pulled on my shoulder, turning me towards him, "Mike"

I took his hand and pulled it from my shoulder, "I'll go" I replied simply

Don jumped up quickly, "You two aren't seriously considering their offer are you?"

I turned to Don, "Leo needs medicine that I haven't got, if they do have what he needs then I'm willing to go"

Don sighed, "And you're taking Leo with you? This has got 'trap' written all over it" he spat.

"Dammit Donny, since when did you become so pessimistic?" Raph replied.

"Since I lost my wife" Don snapped angrily, he closed his eyes briefly then turned and rested a hand on the edge of Leo's bed, the other moved to Leo's brow, "I don't want to lose my brothers too"

I thought back to the day they brought Don's wife, Jess, back from a supply run. Activity from the other nearby factions had increased but she still insisted that she was the best person to lead the mission. Jess was seriously injured and I did all that I could to save her but it wasn't enough. I was there when Don cried over her body, I was the one who let her die, I kept thinking that I should have done more, there must have been more I could've done but there wasn't, I know that now. I felt guilty that it happened, that I let it happen but it was Leo who helped me through, he reminded me that I am not God and that I can't save everybody. Now here we stand with the life of my brother hanging in the balance and I'll be damned if I let it happen again.

I walked towards Don and placed my hand on his shoulder, gently turning him to face me, "You're not gonna lose us Don, I promise you that" I pulled him towards me and we hugged each other, I heard movement to my side, I noticed Raph moving towards us, he placed a hand on Don's shoulder, "Mike's right, we've been fighting to survive all these years and we'll keep fighting, together as a family"

Don pulled away from me and rubbed his eyes furiously, "I don't want to walk into this thing unprepared, I'll get some of my equipment ready" he moved away quickly, nodded once to Carla, a gesture she returned and walked out the door.

Raph looked at me for a moment before turning and walking towards Carla, "I want you to stay here and take over for me"

Carla opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off, "No, don't argue with me on this"

"But..."

"No Carla" he brushed her furred cheek with his hand, "please, I couldn't stand to see anything happen to you"

Carla turned away but he pulled her back, "You're the best person to keep the community safe while I'm away"

I could notice that Carla was reluctant to agree but she knew that this was important to him so she relented and reached up, putting her arms around his neck and pulled him close, "Be careful"

They kissed gently then Raph pulled away, "Thank you"

She smiled, "I'll get the department heads together, they'll need to know what's going on"

Raph nodded, "Tell them that I'll meet with them in an hour"

Carla left quietly and Raph turned back to me, "How long will it take to get Leo travel ready?"

I shrugged, that wasn't an easy thing to work out, ideally Leo shouldn't be moved at all but this wasn't an ideal situation and I have to work with what I have, "Maybe an hour, no sooner"

Raph smiled at me but I could see the nervousness in his eyes, hell, I could feel the tension leave the room with him as he walked out. I watched him leave then turned back and began preparing Leo for the journey.

I followed closely behind the gurney that carried my brother as we headed towards the truck, several people stopped us along the way, some wanting to see Leo and give their best wishes for a successful mission, others begging us not to leave them alone. I was grateful when Raph and several of his best 'officers' showed up and held them back.

Don had his head buried underneath the bonnet of the truck, checking that everything is fine, most likely. As we neared I looked about, the Phoenix faction had allowed us to bring six people in total, well obviously there were four of us so I had to wonder who else had volunteered. It was then that I noticed Adrian, a young wolf with grey fur and a very bushy tail. He was dressed similar to Carla, with a katana, bo staff and gun but unlike Carla, his suit was loose fitting.

Next to him stood Sam, a tall slim panther with black fur, together her and Carla had managed to take care of Leo's would be assassin, although Sam did have a couple of nasty gashes from the cat's claws along her neck. She too wore the same as Carla, it had unofficially become the uniform that was standard among the security forces in the community.

As they eased Leo into the truck I acknowledged the two volunteers, as the others climbed inside I glanced out to see Raph saying goodbye to Carla, they were kissing and cuddling each other. Then he pulled away and climbed inside, as the doors closed I couldn't help but think that this was a big mistake.

Author's note: This idea popped into my head and simply demanded that I write it. I'm aging the turtles to be about 40 years old but considering how long turtles can live for, I'm assuming that they are still very much in their prime. Leo lovers please don't hate me, he will be making an active appearance in this fic, it's just going to take a couple of chapters to do it :)

Please let me know what you think, all opinions are gratefully accepted :)