Phew, it's been a while since I've uploaded anything! School is starting again soon so things might stay like that for a while. I'll be around though. Watching...

Watching...

Mikey remembered getting his first comic book.

It hadn't been specifically for him: in fact, Master Splinter hadn't even known it was a comic. He had brought to their small home various papers for various purposes. It had been barely a year since they had mutated and Splinter was still eager to do things he couldn't have done before (or at least hadn't done), reading and writing being two of those things. The papers were also used for bedding, and that was when Mikey found himself face-to-face with Stainless Steel Steve.

He saw it under the flicking light of a candle. All the turtles were wary of the dark, because that was when cockroaches would crawl over their skin and didn't seem to go away even after they had been frantically brushed off. His brothers had teased him because he was scared but Splinter had told him that he was actually really brave for being the one to ask for light at bedtime.

So there Mikey had been, surrounded by snoring siblings, looking into the face of a strange man. Mikey had seen a few humans in the newspapers Splinter had brought home, along with leaflets with smiling ladies and laughing children, but this man was different. His head was very blue. Not a bright blue like the sky in holiday brochures, but a dark one like the night. His mouth, nose and ears were the colour of skin, but he had a shiny silver thing on his forehead. He was different from the humans in the papers Splinter brought home, and Mikey's family were different from those humans too. They were different from everyone. He felt an instant connection with the picture.

Mikey wished he could investigate further. There were words on the paper that he couldn't understand; they were big and bold and undecipherable in his young mind, and there were crinkles and stains that made it even more difficult to read. He wished he was a grown-up like Splinter so he knew what they meant.

Yawning, Mikey made a mental note to ask Splinter about it in the morning.

TMNTNMT

"He is a superhero, Michelangelo."

Splinter returned the comic to his son. Mikey repeated the word in his mind a few times, standing unusually still in the middle of their den. They had had a home before, but it had been incredibly small and the turtles and their master had quickly outgrown it. Finding this alcove had taken the old rat a while, searching for somewhere slightly bigger while trying to keep his sons entertained so they didn't wander off.

Their new home wasn't ideal, because it was only a few metres in area, but Splinter had made it cosy. He had found an old piece of cloth and spent ages cleaning it, allowing his sons to decorate a quarter of it each. When it was done, he had put it over an old crate that they used to eat their food on. Splinter's forearm was on it now, obscuring the kanji Leonardo had printed onto his bit. It was slightly smudged and wonky, due to a combination of inexperience and sitting next to Mikey, but it was extremely Leonardoy. Much like how the fighting stick figures were very Raphaely, the rocket pictures very Donatelloy and the family portrait very Michelangeloy.

Mikey concentrated on the strange man on the cover of the comic but soon returned his gaze to his master.

"What's a superhero?"

Splinter frowned in thought and played with his goatee.

"It is a person that dedicates their life to helping those who need it and stopping people who put others at risk."

Mikey blinked a few times, looking back at the man on the cover with more respect and admiration than before. His eyes flicked up.

"What is a superhero like?"

Splinter paused.

"A superhero is kind and puts other people in front of themselves. They protect the innocent and sometimes the not-so-innocent. Their heart is of good intentions. They often have powers, but not always."

Mikey liked the sound of this. He held out the comic and asked, "Will you read this to me?"

He had worked out that the comic was some kind of book, because it had pictures and writing, but everything else went over his head. The names of the people. The plot. The reason why the characters reappeared on the same page in outlined boxes. Mikey put on his most adorable face.

Seeing that his other sons were entertaining themselves outside, Splinter smiled warmly.

"Of course," he replied and Mikey climbed onto his lap, tucking his head between Splinter's neck and left shoulder. The rat prised the comic out of Mikey's hands and opened it at the first page, clearing his throat.

Splinter started reading the narration at the beginning. At first he did it with little emotion, but Mikey began to wiggle and point at the sound effects whenever Splinter tried to continue without saying them. He would explain what they were and Mikey would repeat them ecstatically, and soon Splinter started saying them without any prompting from his son. Mikey's enthusiasm rubbed off on him and Splinter found himself turning the page before Mikey could.

Just outside the lair, near the divide between solid ground and sewer water, Mikey's three brothers were playing. Playing being watching Leo perform a handstand and a somersault without finishing in a heap on the ground. Playing being having Leo try to give them helpful tips when they just wanted to explore against Splinter's wishes. Playing being Raph and Leo arguing while Don found trash to drop into the water so he could see whether it floated or sank.

"I don't care if you can flip over," sulked Raph. "I can spit further than you."

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Why would I want to roll over? I'm gonna be a fighter, not a ball."

"I'm not going to be a ball! I'm going to be a sensei."

"I want to be a tree," piped up Don, distracting them before their argument could escalate. His plan worked and they stopped bickering, looking at their brother with incredulity and concern.

Leo pulled at his face with his hand and sighed. "For the last time, Donnie, you can't be a tree!"

"I said I want to be a tree. Never said nothing about expecting to become a tree."

"Why would you want to be a tree anyway?" asked Raph. "All you'd do is stand there and people would write their names on you and climb all over you and birds would lay eggs on you."

Don dropped a leaf into the water and watched it interestedly. "Trees live for a really long time and all sorts of cool animals would visit me. Birds, squirrels, bugs..."

"Bugs?" Raph flinched. "Yuck. You say the weirdest things."

"Kapow!"

"Like that."

Don stopped trying to regain the leaf from the water. "That wasn't me."

"Zwap!"

It was originating from the inside of their den. The three turtles exchanged puzzled expressions before creeping to their home's entrance. They slowly peeked in, only their eyes and forehead visible from a viewpoint inside the lair.

"That is right, my son," congratulated Splinter. He raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, lowering his voice and saying gruffly, "Dr. Dome, why can't you put the past behind you? It is not something you can change, no matter how much it hurts. She doesn't love you anymore."

Splinter turned the page. Mikey's eyes were wide as he watched the transitions from one panel to another in his head. His thumb was in his mouth and he was uncharacteristically silent. The three brothers didn't know what was happening yet they knew to keep quiet, able to feel the tense atmosphere.

In a different voice, slightly rougher than the previous one and a few octaves higher, Splinter continued, "It's your fault that things are this way, Steve. Things were fine before you had to stick your nose in. Why couldn't you accept that I finally had something that you didn't? Now... you're going to pay."

The page had been turned before Splinter could finish his sentence. Mikey's forehead crinkled as he played with the corner of the last page, trying to find where the next part was. "I think some pages are gone."

"I think it's meant to be like that," Splinter explained. He turned back to the last page he had just finished reading from. "I expect... ah yes." He squinted and read, "'Is this the end for Stainless Steel Steve? Will the Justice Force get there in time? Or is it too late? Read the stunning conclusion in the next issue.'"

Mikey lowered his eyes, dejected. "We'll never know how it ends."

Splinter hated to see his son like that but it wasn't as if comic books were readily available in the sewers. Yes, they had money Splinter collected from the floor while scavenging, but there were nowhere near enough coins to buy the comic with. Besides, if Splinter was to buy Mikey something, he would have to find gifts for his siblings so they didn't get jealous.

Mikey hopped off Splinter's laps, holding onto the comic book like it was a teddy bear. Splinter, still sitting down, smiled at the entrance of the den. "My sons, I was about to go get you."

The three turtles by the doorway jumped. Many times had their father demonstrated his acute awareness of his surroundings, yet each time it made them feel like their stomachs had dropped onto the floor. It didn't help that for at least two of them, it was mostly because it was often a sign that they had been caught doing something they shouldn't have been doing.

"I'm going to get a few resources," said Splinter, getting to his feet. "I expect you to remain here and try to go to sleep."

"Yes, Sensei," the four of them answered automatically, walking to their paper nest and watching him leave. Splinter lingered, chuckling inwardly at their angelic smiles, before leaving their line of sight.

"Psst," hissed Raph. "What was Sensei reading to you?"

Mikey showed them the comic book. Their eyes absorbed it interestedly. The turtles, though Raph to a lesser extent, loved reading and the detailed illustration on the front only made their curiosity rise and hit the ceiling. Mikey turned it towards him and poked it. "It's a comic and it has superheroes in it and bad guys and fighting."

Raph's interest caught up with the others.

Mikey carried on, "I can't remember some of the words so Donnie will have to help me read it to you. Wanna read it now?"

The faint glow of the candle on the other side of the room did little to brighten the darkened pages, but the font was still readable. Don positioned his face closer to the comic and Mikey opened it at the first page.

"New York may seem like a norm... al city, but any... uh... resid... resident would tell you ove... er... oh! Otherwise..."

TMNTNMT

The lair was peacefully still when Splinter returned, sack of miscellaneous objects slung over his back. The flame of the candle had extinguished long ago along with his sons' consciousness. Splinter dropped the sack, his arms drooping, and it took a good deal of his dwindling energy to relight the candle. This rewarded him with a sight that made him smile despite his exhaustion.

On top of the comic book were his four sons huddled together in their nest, fast asleep. Mikey was next to Don, who was next to Leo, and Raph was next to him, and they all had their eyes closed. Splinter watched them as he tiptoed towards his makeshift bed, stopping when he saw some movement.

He listened carefully to their soft breathing and corrected himself. Three turtles were asleep.

"Michelangelo." He spoke softly. The turtle shivered and opened his eyes.

"I'm sorry," mumbled Mikey. "It-It's cold."

The blanket the turtles shared between them had been pulled away from him by Raph, who had tucked it under his body after rolling over earlier. This left Mikey uncovered. Splinter approached him quietly and knelt down in front of him.

Mikey felt something drape over his body: something warm and large, and his eyelids sagged.

When he woke up, he realised he had Splinter's robe on top of him. Mikey sat up and felt something smooth brush against his arm. He removed Splinter's robe and found the next issue of the Justice Force in mint condition.

"New toys!" yelled Raph, holding up a toy truck. His grimy hands left marks on its shiny exterior, but he didn't care. Mikey surveyed their home. Leo lay on his stomach reading a book while Don fiddled with a Rubik's Cube. Mikey slid out of their bed, and gripping his comic tightly, toddled past Splinter's sleeping form.

There was a dirty jar that Splinter kept the family's coins in. Mikey located it straight away, seeing the bulge in the sack Splinter used to carry things in. He took it out carefully.

It was empty.

TMNTNMT

"Where's that knucklehead?"

"What's he done this time?"

"Only put my number in a lonely hearts ad. 'Short, bald, fat and ugly male seeks short-sighted woman aged 40-78. Good for making you look better in comparison...' It ain't funny, Donnie! I've gotten five calls already. Five!"

"Sorry, heh. He's in his room... I think he's working on his Turtle Titan costume."

"Again? When will he learn that he ain't a superhero? He doesn't even have any powers!"

Mikey looked up from the cape in his hands and turned to the photograph on his bedroom wall. Splinter's eyes shone and Mikey smiled.

"You don't need powers to be a superhero."