just the way you are

these stolen maroon eyes

----Notes-----

This wraps up s4 ep24 (thank goodness) and yeah, it's gonna go off the rails a bit from here but I will finish s4 in this fic. (You know what that means *cries*)

I'm pretty happy with this one, but I'll let you guys be the real judge of that.

HAVE FUN :D

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He could see Mikey had managed to shake off the breathing mask, and for a second his vision cleared.

The circular saw was approaching him still.

"Woah woah WOAH!" He squeaked, trying to make himself smaller. "Wouldn't you rather use that to slice up some nice anchovy chocolate pizza? I'll order!"

They didn't seem to listen.

But Casey did. Deep within a part of him he thought he'd lost, he found it in himself to fight the thing that controlled every part of him.

He flexed his fingers under the metal restraint, breathing in an iron-tinted breath through his nose.

He felt the electricity from his glove extension zap him slightly. He heard the metal carry the current like a warning sign through the air.

He leapt up with all of his force, swinging a fist at the closest scientist.

He fell to the ground with a shrill scream, his head thudding on the ground. He went silent.

And Casey reared around to hit another guy squarely in the chest.

He screamed, too.

It was like he wasn't there. His movements were his, but his mind was so far inside himself that he couldn't escape.

He knew this was temporary the second he'd decided to fight.

But he wouldn't let his friend down.

Blood sprayed this time from the spikes on his knuckles. Yellow fabric tore, people fell. It was messy, out of character, and he had a feeling he'd never be the same again if he managed to ever escape this control.

"That's what I like about you, Jones."

The words entered his head so suddenly, and lingered like a phantom touch as the last man fell.

"Mikey?" he asked, his voice raw. He knew he had to tell him. He could barely move, despite every part of him screaming to get his friend out.

He didn't have long.

"Yeah?" Mikey asked, his eyes glazed and tired.

He felt the wave crashing against him again. "Tell Leo that Donnie isn't Donnie."

Mikey blinked, struggling against the bars. "What? Casey, what do you mean? Get me out of here-"

"Save Raph for me," he whispered into the dark. "I'm so sorry."

There was a silence so endless that it didn't end. He almost laughed. That made no sense, just like when he met his first mutant in an alleyway, in the middle of the night. He was a turtle mutant, with a mask like crimson and eyes that shone with the glow of the substance that created him. There was something so annoyingly different about him, which contrasted how he'd believed mutants to be. As he fought him, it was like the great Casey Jones had finally met his match. In combat, he'd always tell himself. Not something else. Something that had caused a pause.

A stupid bastard, yes, but a friend nevertheless.

Someone secured him back on the table. He didn't fight.