Chapter Text
The turtles glanced around carefully, hearing that warped, threatening voice at that moment. The storm had calmed, but an unsettling feeling was growing among the group.
Suddenly, Leonardo spotted a huge object heading towards them in the air.
"GET DOWN!" he exclaimed as he jumped on top of his three brothers, knocking them all to the ground with him.
A moment later, a giant tree flew past them and crashed into the other trees behind. Slowly, they got up, and Donatello exclaimed, "What the heck was that?"
Suddenly, they heard Michelangelo cry out in fright. They turned to see what he was staring at, and terror filled them as they witnessed a familiar sight. Standing on top of one of the tall tree branches was another symbiotic monster, similar to Midnight.
However, this one was different; its symbiotic skin was a dark purple with black veins running throughout, and the shape of its body was eerily familiar.
Virus, alive and enhanced with a stronger adaptation of the Parasite, now stands before the heroes.
"Another symbiotic monster?! I thought we destroyed them all back on the ship!" Raphael exclaimed, wrapping his arms tightly around Mikey to protect him at all costs.
Suddenly, the monster retracted its symbiotic skin from its face, revealing Virus's features. However, the alien's face was mostly disfigured and burned, with green flesh exposed in various places.
"Virus?!" The turtles exclaimed in horror.
"You really thought you could get rid of me that easily, turtles? ... Well, if you want me gone, you'd better make sure I'm dead first instead of assuming I was finished," Virus mocked the quartet.
Leonardo drew his katanas and stood firm in front of his brothers. "How did you acquire the Parasite Mutagen yourself?"
"You may have thought you got rid of it all, but even I'm smarter than that. I always keep a spare canister with me; this one is my backup," Virus sneered at the turtles.
"Oh, that's just great—another Parasite," Raphael grunted.
"Even if you defeat us, Virus, you won't be able to poison this world with your Parasite Mutagen now that you're the only one left," Leo spoke firmly.
"Is that so? You seem to forget that I am the creator of the mutagen. I know everything about making it. If I made it once, I can do it again," Virus grinned coldly at Leo.
"Sure, it might take a long time to develop the ingredients and create more Parasites, but I can last longer in this life than you will," he then growled.
"Then we'll just have to kick your ass down once more," Donatello snapped.
"Try it, turtles," Virus growled.
The symbiotic monster lunged at the three turtles defending Mikey, and they clashed with the mutated creature. Unfortunately, thanks to the Parasite Mutagen, Virus was faster, stronger, and deadlier in battle.
"You thought Midnight was a problem? You haven't spent enough time with me," Virus growled as he slashed at the three turtles with his sharp claws.
"No!" Mikey cried out, lunging at Virus to protect his brothers.
"Mikey!" Raphael yelled, grabbing his little brother away from the monster.
"Get out of here, guys; save yourselves!" Mikey cried back.
"We're not leaving without you!" Leo shouted.
"And despite the fact you just kicked our butts, Mike, you're still recovering from the Parasite's influence and the lingering wounds that haven't fully healed," Donnie urgently reminded Mikey.
"Don't worry about me, just save yourselves. I have nothing left to lose," Mikey grunted, wobbling up to his feet.
Mikey was feeling the strain of being mentally exhausted from being controlled by the Parasite, as well as worn out from his recent battles against his own brothers. However, he was not one to give up, even in what seemed like a losing battle.
"You would still fight for a family who only sees you as expendable?" Virus mocks the trembling turtle.
"Our baby brother is never expendable! You want him?! You'll have to go through us!" Leo angrily exclaimed at the monster.
"Hell yeah! No turtle gets left behind! That's our family rule and vow," Raphael declared.
"And that especially includes you, Mikey," Donnie added, putting an arm around his only little brother.
"Dudes..." Mikey let out a tiny chirp.
Despite his memories being scrambled by Virus's torture of the teen, Mikey cannot help but feel an unbreakable love that slowly makes him believe in his brothers once again.
"Very well, you can all die together," Virus snarled.
With a monstrous roar, Virus lunges at the heroes to attack them, before Leo, Don, and Raph lunge forward and fight head-on with the alien himself.
Mikey almost joined in, but his legs gave out from the fatigue of his condition. He watched helplessly as his brothers were getting knocked down by the Parasite-infected villain.
"Michelangelo!"
The youngest soon saw Splinter and nearly everyone else arriving at different spots just in time to help them up.
They saw the monstrous Virus fighting with the trio, and April cried out, "What the heck is that thing?!"
Michelangelo quickly explained what had happened with Virus still alive and under the control of the Parasite Mutagen.
"This is bad! If Virus wins, he'll create more Parasites to control the world and destroy the Kraang and everyone else," April said with deep concern.
"Well, that's not so bad for us if the Kraang is gone, but yeah, I wouldn't want to live in a world where we're all controlled by slimy mutagen," Casey shuddered.
Just then, Virus whacks all three turtles away from him, making them violently thud on the ground near the others.
"Boys!" Splinter cried out.
The gang hurried to assist the turtles while making sure to protect Michelangelo, especially from Virus.
"Give up... there is no chance for you to escape," Virus growled.
Raphael charged forward with a bellowing roar and attacked Virus once more, with Leo and Donnie quickly joining in. Splinter looked at the others and said, "Get Michelangelo out of here."
"No, I'm not leaving you guys!" Mikey protested.
"We're not letting that monster harm you again," Karai firmly pointed out.
Just as Mikey was about to protest again, he saw Virus continue to fight Raphael after knocking both Leo and Donnie to the ground again.
Mikey then noticed the monster cut down a giant tree with a single swipe of its sharp, symbiotic claws. Suddenly, the tree began to fall on the unsuspecting Raphael.
"Raphael, look out!!" Splinter cried out in sheer horror.
Mikey sped up and shoved his brother out of the way, but he wasn't fast enough to save himself as the fallen tree crushed him beneath it, much to everyone's horror and Virus's wicked delight.
"NOOOO!!!" Raphael screamed.
The family lifted the tree off the unconscious turtle, now inflicted with even greater injuries from the collision.
Terrified for his youngest sibling, Raphael cradles his brother in his arms. Why? He thought; why does this have to happen to his baby brother?
"Little brother," Raphael choked out in despair.
"You were right about Michelangelo all along, Raphael. He's not even a ninja... he's just a big screw-up," Virus cruelly laughed.
Rage exploded within Raphael as he glared up at the monster with furious, teary eyes and bellowed while cradling his injured little brother:
Leo, Donnie, Karai, and Splinter charged at Virus head-on, managing to land a few hits on the monstrous symbiote that had injured Michelangelo. As soon as Raph handed his unconscious brother to April, he let out an anguished bellow and joined the others in the fight against Virus.
"No one—!" Leo growled as he struck Virus.
"—messes—!" Donnie added with a hiss, also hitting Virus.
"—With Mikey!!" Raphael bellowed, stabbing the monster with his sais on its shoulders.
However, it seemed not to affect Virus, who snarled dangerously. With one sweep of its tentacle-like symbiotic vines, the alien knocked all the fighters down.
"Guys!" April cried.
"We're fine," Leo quickly replied.
As they got back up, Splinter lifted and held the injured Michelangelo, while Virus growled, "You want to end this so badly?"
It then unhinged the Parasite mutagen from its left robotic hand and opened a portal to its ship using a cybernetic bracelet.
"Come and get me if you can," the monstrous Virus taunted as it fled through the portal, which closed behind it, leaving the gang alone near the waterfall.
Raphael rushed to Splinter, panicking as he called for his fallen brother: "Mikey! C'mon, little bro, wake up! Please!"
Mikey weakly whimpered and opened his eyes. "R-Raph," he said.
Tears filled Raphael's eyes as he gently smiled at his little brother, trying to comfort him. "It's alright, Mikey... I'm here."
"We all are," Leo cooed, stroking the young turtle's head.
Mikey soon closed his eyes and fell unconscious again, making the others more frantic for their injured brother.
"We've got to get him to the Shellraiser—now!" Donnie exclaimed.
Donnie used the cybernetic bracelet he took to hack open a portal to the campsite. They laid Mikey on the medical bed and let Donnie, Kirby, and Splinter tend to his wounds.
"Poor Mikey," Karai said sadly, shuddering.
"He didn't deserve ANY of this! Not the Parasite, not the nightmares, not what Virus did, and especially not what WE did!" Leonardo vented.
"It's bad enough the Parasite drained him of his health, and now this?! When will it end?!" April tried to hold back tears; she felt heartbroken like everyone at the state of the fractured teen.
The gang waited anxiously as the others finished tending to Mikey before Donnie stepped out with Kirby and Splinter, drawing everyone's concern.
"How is he?" Raphael asked.
"His wounds are patched, and luckily, his shell and body are not broken, but he just needs to rest and recover from all this," Donnie replied, glancing back at Mikey on the bed.
"The little dude has been through so much; I can't even imagine how we're going to fix this," Casey said sadly.
"Well, I say we go confront Virus and end this threat once and for all!" Raphael growled.
"Raph, we need a plan," Leo pointed out.
"I already have a plan. We face that monster head-on and finish him off once and for all," Raphael declared, looking at the gang. "That's what Mikey would do—he would always face his enemies head-on, even without a plan."
"Raph—" Donnie started when Splinter interrupted.
"You are correct, Raphael," he said firmly.
"I am?" Raphael blinked in surprise.
"He is?!" Both Leo and Donnie exclaimed.
"Virus is out there planning not only for our demise but the destruction of humanity with his abominable creations. If we don't stop him now, we may be too late," Splinter explained, then looked back at his injured son, lying on that bed, still as a stone but still barely alive.
"Besides, some fights are best fought without a plan or hesitation, and I, for one, am willing to put an end to that monster for all he has done to Michelangelo." The father gripped his fists, enraged by the beast who dared harm his family.
"It won't be easy; he's stronger than Mikey was when he was Midnight," Leonardo pointed out.
"I know, but we cannot surrender now. We're not just doing this for the fate of the world; we're doing this for Michelangelo," Splinter affirmed.
"That's right! Through all his faults, and even ours, Mikey has always been a selfless, loyal, and awesome guy to all of us. I will do whatever it takes to fix my mistakes and protect him, no matter what," Raphael declared proudly.
"And I vow to do the same," Leo seconded.
"So will I! We all love Mikey as he loves us dearly, don't we?" Donnie chimed in.
"Of course we do. He's family to us, just like you guys are," April smiled, her dad by her side.
"Same here," Casey agreed.
"Then it's settled. We confront Virus and stop him for Mikey once and for all," Splinter concluded.
"I may not be a fighter, but I'll stay behind and look after Mikey," Kirby said.
"Thanks, Dad. We'd appreciate it," April replied, hugging him.
"April, I know you're a strong woman, but please, be careful," Kirby said, holding his daughter close.
"I will be alright, Father; I promise," April assured him with a kiss on his cheek.
"Are we ready to do this then?" Raphael questioned, putting a fist in for everyone to join.
"Ready!" the gang replied as they all placed their hands in with Raph.
"As Michelangelo would shout out in a time like this..." Splinter fired up the group before they all shouted together, fists in the air:
"BOOYAKASHA!!!"