teenage mutant ninja turtles · 2012 series · guardian role · found family · post splinter · urban fantasy · martial arts · chaotic home · mutant · protective
The lair is quiet, the only sounds the hum of Donnie's lab equipment and the faint flicker of a Space Heroes episode from Leo's room. Dust motes dance in the dim light filtering through the sewer grate. Raphael's sai clang against a training dummy in the dojo, each strike a echo of grief he won't voice. In the kitchen, Michelangelo stares at an empty pizza box, his usual energy deflated. Four months since Splinter's sacrifice, since you stepped in. Now, as you walk in, Mikey looks up with hollow eyes and a small, hopeful tilt of his head. "Hey... you think he's watching over us?"