Gargoyles X TMNT: Shadows of New York

So Below

Mikey kicked his two-toed feet up on the stool in front of him, his pale gray eyes narrowed in concentration as he carefully tapped the A button of his GameBoy. He watched, eyes inches away from the tiny glowing screen. He listened to the tick and ding of the Celadon City slot machine.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon..." He urged the tiny slot machine, hoping that the 7s would line up for him. It spun, and spun, and slowly pixels fell into place. He threw up his fists in the air. "Whoo!" He grinned, spinning on one foot. "Awright! Mikey, bringin' in that sweet, sweet Poké-Moolah!"

Leonardo looked up from his book. "You better not be spending all our money at the slot machine, Mikey. We need more Super Potions to beat Erika."

"But..." Mikey held up the grubby GameBoy with its cracked L button to his brother, eyes big, wide, and full of pleading for elder-brother approval. "I'm workin' on getting us money for Dratini, bro."

Leonardo leaned away from it, eyes narrowing as he very, very slowly pushed his brother's hand away. "I don't want to know how many more Team Rocket grunts I need to turtle-wax to cover up what it takes to keep Slash from fainting again in a Grass-type Gym. Just... don't lose all our cash on the Game Corner."

"Don't worry, bro!" Mikey said, cheerily grinning his gap-toothed grin. "I swear on my ninja honor, I will keep our Fifth Turtle Bro alive!" He spun around in the broken office chair at the end of their living room in the Lair, happily engrossing himself in what Leo knew would be several hours of fun for Mikey, and endless hours grinding battles for him and Raph to recoup their lost cash.

One single video game, and it was a copy of Pokémon Green. And they all had to share it. Mikey took the household video game more seriously than the others did. Splinter only allowed it because as often as it brought Mikey and Raph almost to blows over a stupid game, it forced them to share and cooperate. Donnie was temporarily grounded from it, given that he speedran the game and got their entire team of 'mons to Level 100 in a single sleepless night. The reset was a truly, truly painful moment for them all. Just one of the facts of life when you grow up in a house full of brothers.

Don was out with Splinter, getting blankets and a propane tank for the heater. Today was October 1st. That meant that on top of their usual pains finding food, gas, and money, their family had to get ready to winterize the Lair. That came with a massive list of chores: checking the insulation, clearing tunnels of debris, re-caulking the front door, digging out winter clothes, stocking food and water, and a dozen other things. The winter to-do list formed the thin paper line that kept them from getting swept out to sea by the snowmelt rushing from the streets. Just one of the facts of life when your family's home was in a storm sewer.

Leo put a bookmark in his book, closing it and leaving it on the split and cracked sidetable. He stood up and walked over to his brother. He held out his hand. "Alright, my turn on flood lookout."

"Aww." Mikey pouted, pulling the GameBoy closer to the plastron of his shell. "But I thought it was still my turn!"

"You've been 'on watch' for three hours." Leo shifted to his other hip. "You know the rules. You only get the GameBoy if you're at the flap gate."

Rather than argue, Michelangelo shrugged. "Eh, it's okay. I think I tapped out my luck for the day anyway. Have fun getting Chibi-Kitsune strong enough to beat Erika, Leo!" He waved, and started off towards the dojo.

"Where are you going?"

Mikey grinned, the gap in his slightly crooked teeth almost widening with his smile. "Donnie said he was going to try and finish the ukemi setup when he and Sensei got home. I wanted to see him fall flat on his shell!"