TMNT Shell Shots

Different Than Before

*Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.

*Spoiler Alert: This story is based on the TMNT mutant apocalypse arc. If you have not seen those episodes yet, I recommend watching them before reading any further.

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*'Different Than Before' Summary: Hours after transferring his brother's subconscious into Metalhead 2.0, Raphael is once again left to wonder if he is the only member of his family remaining.

*Author's Notes: I've returned with a brand new 'TMNT Shell Shot' and this one is the long overdue sequel to my one-shot 'Better Than None.' If you haven't read that story, you might want to check it out before reading 'Different Than Before,' but it's not necessary.

I would like to dedicate this story to one of my biggest writing idols of all time, Poetique. I know this isn't the story you requested, my friend, but I hope you like it regardless. Thank you for being such a huge inspiration to me. I look up to you so much and deeply miss your presence on FanFiction and Tumblr.

Thank you lots and lots to all my readers, followers, and friends. I appreciate each and every one of you. I truly hope you enjoy this story.

CJ

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Different Than Before

Though my eyes feel like they're going to burn right out of my sockets, I can't help but to keep staring over at my genius brother. The stupid-looking helmet is still strapped on his head, but I don't have the heart to remove it. I don't want to touch him.

Not when he's like this...

It's been several hours since the "transfer," as Donnie kept calling it, and still, nothing's changed on the charging unit or the computer screen. And so, I just keep watching and waiting for something – ANYTHING – to happen.

Did Donnie even say how long this would take? Maybe he did. I can't remember.

Why the shell can't I remember?

I clutch my head in my trembling hands, desperately trying to alleviate the pounding in my skull. It's nothing compared to the ache in my chest as I gaze at my brother's lifeless body.

Reality still hasn't fully sunk in yet.

The fact that my brother is dead...

There's this naïve part of me that's still clinging onto hope that he's going to open his eyes any minute now. The same foolish part of me that actually believes Leo and Mikey are going to come waltzing inside the room. Or that I'm suddenly going to wake up and discover this is all just one bad dream.

But with each passing minute, the truth is weighing down on me more and more, like I'm trying in vain to hold up a barbell someone keeps adding endless plates to.

The truth...

It's too much to bear.

I feel the now familiar sting of tears, like salt in my already smoldering eyes, as I continue to stare over at the corpse of my brainiac brother. That damn hunk of rebar is sticking straight through his chest. The very piece of metal that took him from me...

"Okay, now tell me what to do to remove that – that bar."

"We're not... g – going... to remove it."

"What? Have you lost your mind? You can't walk around with that thing sticking out of you for the rest of your life!"

"You still... don't get it... d – do you? I'm dying, Raph. My w – wounds... they're fatal."