Transient | A ROTTMNT Future Story

a lone kid soldier remains

Mikey dreamt of noise that night.

It was a wonder that he was able to sleep at all. The trauma of bearing witness to his late robotic brother passing (again) and Leo exposing his lowest point in the most hideous way possible (wrought on by Michelangelo himself), could do a number on a person's sanity. Luckily, Mikey was mentally strong; through and through. So although it felt as if he were teetering on the precipice of hysteria, the world sensing like it was over and ending, Mikey knew full well in his heart that he could very well grin his teeth and fight through it. Such was the story of his life.

Mikey thought of the robot's powering down noise. The drone of a vintage television turning off, where the screen could even shock somebody from the amount of static coming out of the lens. The buzz of shutting down and the hum of starting up. That was all Mikey's head would decide to play over and over again.

Vmmmm. Whirrrrrr. Vmmm. Whirr. Vm. Whir. Vm. Whir. Vm. Whir. Vm. Whirrrrrrrrrr.

When Mikey woke, Leo was caught in the middle of staring at a dying laptop. Mikey was not slow to become completely awake, so everything playing through the muffle of broken white earbuds was clear as day. It shattered Michelangelo.

Donnie's young voice sent a black void into Mikey's chest, making him completely hollow. No, I swore I was never going to hear it again.

Mikey wanted to yell at Leo. What about last night? Did all of that progress just go out the window? He was strong, he had to move forward. It felt as if a million knives had dug their way into and through his shell. He cannot afford to stop and cry now. But one side glance at Leo indicated that this was not the moment to battle volumes. With his hand partially over his face, Leo was exuding tears and spittle into the palm of a new metal arm, larger than the last defective one. It was some of the ugliest crying Mikey had ever been witness to in a good long time.

"Leo." Mikey said, after forcing himself to be an onlooker to the harm Leo was inflicting upon himself. He reached forward and touched his brother's shoulder.

"Don't look at me." Leo sniffled, childishly pulling forward his cloak in an attempt to make himself invisible to Michelangelo.

"This is bad. You're sick, Leo. This isn't good for you."

Leo put his mechanical red hand to his forehead for a moment and pulled away, a quiet sonorous sound coming from the wrist. "I'm fine." Leo displayed a normal body temperature to Mikey with the turn of his wrist.

"Don't try to be funny."

"There's something wrong with me." Leo threw back at Mikey, immediately switching up. "I don't know why I've been acting like this. But I can't help it. I hate it so much. I hate everything so much. I...argh!"

The laptop slammed against the floor, the electronic puzzle bits that formed the appliance shattering into a bunch of unfixable pieces. They scattered across and dug themselves into the clay floor. Just as soon as it broke, Leo was filled with such a fierce and intense regret he tumbled over himself and was overwhelmed with a great sensation of sickness. He briefly made it known for the earth to know and for Mikey to witness another mental break. Mikey partially wanted to say get over yourself, but he knew better.

"I don't want to be the leader anymore." Leo looked at Mikey desperately.

"No, don't look at me like that. Do you see this, Leo?" Mikey ran his fingers through his oddly growing sideburn hair. "It's already all gray!"

Mikey's movements made Leo realize something. "Ugh, that's what that is?"

"Don't 'ew' me!"