Michelangelo Hamato is 18 and sick of the treatment he receives at the hands of his so-called 'family'. One would think that as mutant turtles being raised by a mutant rat their whole lives would make them care for each other. After all, they're the only ones they had growing up. They were supposed to be brothers. A team. Confidantes. Allies. Comrades. And, Michelangelo supposes, they were... or at least, Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello were. And when April O'Neill and Casey Jones ultimately came into their lives when they were all 15, they had been brought into the fold of those three as well. The five of them were always supportive of each other and constantly helped each other to get better and stronger. And when one of the five showed improvement or made progress, they were celebrated. The exact opposite of himself. When Michelangelo showed improvement, no matter how little, he got treated to either the silent treatment or to the false apology lectures telling him to be himself. It drove him crazy. It didn't help that they were constantly abusing him physically and verbally and seemed to think it was okay. Normal, even. Maybe it was for them. For his own sake, he had stopped revealing his true self. He ignored them every time they told him to grow up now. He continued to play the role forced on him when he was a mere child. For years. But after one particularly bad patrol, Michelangelo decides that he can't do this anymore. And he goes to the one place he has any hope of being himself. If the Hamatos couldn't accept him, maybe the Shredder would make use of his skills and abilities. Even if it meant being against the Lotus Clan the Hamatos belonged too. Little did Michelangelo realize he would find acceptance and a place to belong. Little did Oroku Saki and his Foot Clan know that they would receive a gift when they accepted the once orange banded turtle into their clan. Then there's the Battle Nexus coming up. Just what would happen next?