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Leo scowled and squeezed his eyes shut as his mind painfully replayed the earlier mission for about the millionth time. His tail was starting to ache from sitting against the hard dojo floor for many hours, his attempt at meditation aka "clearing his mind."
The last mission was a total bust. They just got out of that hidden Kraang lab with the shells on their backs, their hands empty of what they came in for in the first place.
They mission was to run out the place with this dangerous prototype they were planning to steal from the Kraang but while they were on the way out, Donnie got hurt so it added an addition to the plan:
Get the prototype and get Donnie out of there.
But they were intersected by Kraang bots when they tried to retreat. It was like trying to fight off cockroaches out of the sewers; There were too many. The rest of the turtles fought them off like madmen, just desperate to get home alive.
They failed to steal the prototype.
Leo clenched his jaw as the aching reminder of failure seeped through his senses and burrowed in his chest.
It was too close. All too close. He could've lost his family... his everything... just like that... And if he was being honest, it shook him to the core. And they didn't even retrieve the prototype. The Kraang still had their tentacles on it.
Even with all the bruises and blood and pain, they failed...
He failed.
His rumination wasn't sparing his either. He's the leader. It was his job to keep them all safe.
...
He was going to make sure they never took a risk like that again.
He groaned now, finally giving up and opening his eyes to reveal the dim lighting of the dojo. His gaze fell to floor, mindlessly studying the design patterns ingrained within.
What went wrong?
The question was almost hauntingly circulating in his head. He supposed Donnie not getting hurt would've made it a whole lot easier but he will always remember his father's personal teachings.
"You must always be prepared for the worst. Injuries are inevitable in battle. Only how you react to the worst determines a good leader."
So it wasn't there. It must've been when they got to the Battle Shell.
When they got to the Battle Shell, they were completely surrounded, Kraang coming at them on all sides. They had to split out of there but Leo and Raph had their hands busy at the doors, Donnie was hurt, and Mikey was-
Leo's eyes widened.
Mikey was open.
He remembers Mikey pacing around the Battle Shell after settling Donnie on the floor, hands anxiously hovering over the wheel and controls, his face caught in a grimace.
Leo had it.
He knew what to do. How to improve his team to the best of it's ability. He pushed himself off the floor, rolling his shoulders back with a stretch. He made his way out of the dojo with determination to find nerdy brother.
The doors of the lab doors grating made Donnie startle from his focus on the computer. It was Leo with one hand propped up against his belt as he came up to him, eyes low and concerned.
"How are you feeling, Don?"
Donnie waved him off. "I'm feeling better now. The bleeding ceased as well as the ache in my head. Nothing to be concerned about."
"Didn't I tell you to rest?" Leo asked firmly.
"Yeah I know... I just figured I could squeeze in some work since I feel better now."
His eyes slid to the tense expression on Leo's face and muscles.
"How about you?"
Leo let out a soft scoff, leaning his shell against the table. "I'm fine, Donnie. Just been thinking... you know... about our last mission."
Donnie sighed, assuming he already knew where this was going, "Leo-"
"I think I know what we can do. Something that will really help us out in the future... for next time." Leo rushed out.
Donnie couldn't help but be intrigued by Leo's desperation. He turned himself on his chair to face his brother fully.
"Shell, I'm listening."
Donnie couldn't believe what he heard next, especially coming from his mother hen, anxiety-ridden of a brother.
"I say we teach Mikey how to drive."
"C'mon, Donnie... just hear me out-"
Donnie waved his hands about. "Are we talking about the same Mikey here? Because the Mikey I know, I swear- if he ever ended up behind the wheel, he would probably hit a herd of pedestrians, turn us into road kill to leave for scientists to peel us off the pavement, and end up in a twenty car pile up." He ended it off with a stern crossing his arms.
Leo mimicked him, crossing his arms as well. "I know... I believe so too, but that's why we're going to teach him slowly and carefully. Master Splinter taught Michelangelo ninjutsu just as the rest of us. If he could learn that, he could learn anything. He holds self-control and focus within himself. We just have to... I don't know... dig a little deeper uncover it."
Donnie still didn't look convinced, even instead anxious now. Leo looked away thoughtfully, but switched his voice to a more pleading tone.
"Listen, Donnie... With Mikey being another pair of hands being able to drive, it will be a helpful asset in times the rest of us are unavailable to drive... We saw that happen today."
Donnie's frown loosened as understanding seeped through him. He gave in.
"Okay, yeah, you're right. It would be convenient to have all four of us being able to drive the Battle Shell in need of a dire emergency."
He chuffed. "Maybe Raph shouldn't teach him though. His road rage and reckless driving would he set up a bad example. We don't want to die on the way to a deadly mission."
Leo turned his face back to him with a sideways smile, standing up straight. "You're probably right. We can take turns teaching him."
"You're an incredibly cautious and slow driver. I think it's best I teach him. I already have some experience playing teacher with him." He shuddered, recalling the countless times he attempted to teach Mikey any form of knowledge. "He is quite the nightmare of a student. Can't focus, listen or take anything serious for the life of him."
Leo looked towards the lab doors, smiling with amusement. "That's our Mikey."
Mikey was on a mission...
A mission to fix himself the World's Tallest Sandwich! He was putting his all into stacking all the crucial components ontop of the single piece of the bread at the bottom. He stuck his tongue out in concentration as he placed a sliver of salami on his upcoming masterpiece. The Leaning Tower of Sandwich was already reaching his eye level from where it stood on the countertop. He reached for a slice of provolone, gradually lowering it on his personal skyscraper of delicious cuisine.
"Michelangelo."
Mikey jumped, causing his wrist to bump against the sandwich and make it crash down to the floor below.
"Leo-!" Mikey whipped his head around to see his brother accompanied by Donnie and took a step forward, unfortunately causing him to slip on a pickle. He shell hit the ground with a loud thud.
Next second he knew, he was being pulled up by his elbows and put on his feet.
"Geez, Mikey. We leave you alone for a few hours and you go into a free-for-all in the kitchen." Donnie said from behind him, wiping the ingredients off the back of his thighs.
"Mikey, what did I tell you about about food towers?" Leo said with his hands placed on his sides.
Mikey rubbed his sore tail with a sheepish look from under his lids. "Uhh- not to?"
Leo just sighed tiredly. "Okay whatever, you'll clean this up later. Right now we need to talk."
Mikey went bugged eyed. "Wait- dude! I said I was sorry!"
"You didn't even say sorry-" Donnie started.
"No Mikey, there is something else Donnie and I want to talk about... "
"You're kicking me off the team?!"
Leo's hairless brows shot up in surprise. "What? Oh no, no. Of course not..." He was already up close to Mikey, patting his head before resting it with a open palm. "Why in the world would you think that? You'll always be part of the team."
Mikey shrugged. "I don't know bro... figured that mission we had was bogus."
Donnie leaned down behind him, resting both hands on his shoulders. "Well yeah... but it's not your fault, Mikey. There were a bunch of factors. We all did the best we could at the moment."
Mikey looked to his eldest brother with his perplexed baby blue eyes when he felt his sigh brush against the top of his head.
"Donnie and I were just thinking how we could... I don't know... enhance our team.
Mikey tilted his head to the side.
Leo cleared his throat.
"We wanted to ask you if you were up to learning how to drive...?"
Mikey's beak spreading into a broad smile as his eyes shimmered were the warning signs of his upcoming joyous outburst. He was jumping up and down, beaming like a glow stick.
"Oh totes dudes! This is so bodacious! I've always wanted to drive!" He spun around to face the taken-back Donnie. "Oh mi gosh, brah! Ya gotta hit me up with the fastest that baby can go cause I can't wait to be zoomin' down the streets like-!"
He was interrupted by a flick to his forehead.
"Yowch- dude!" Mikey whined, now rubbing at his forehead.
"First of all, you are not going fast in my sweet invention of a vehicle." Donnie frowned. "Well eventually you will, knowing the type of stuff we get into but not any time soon. Also before you actually sit in that driver's seat, you have to learn all the basics driving which applies to all the signs and road markings and scenarios and shell, all the features and buttons I added-"
"Driver's Ed?! I'm a butt kicking ninja mutant! I don't do Driver's Ed!" Mikey groaned.
"Then no driving." Leo stated resolutely.
"But-!"
"Then. No. Driving." Leo repeatedly slowly but firmly.
Mikey knew it was this or nothing so he just sighed. "Fine... I'll go to Donnie's whack driving school..." He pouted.
Donnie wrapped an arm around Mikey's shoulders, pulling him close.
"C'mon Mikey, it'll be fun. I'll... I'll give you a gold star after every lesson..?"
"Woah sick! Sign me up!" Mikey switched, beaming.
"Well Donnie won't be driving or teaching anything after at least a few days of rest. The hit he took today is not something we should ignore."
Donnie scoffed. "I said I was fine-"
"And I said you are not. Go rest." Leo said turning, gaze lingering on his Donnie before exiting the kitchen.
"And the kitchen better be spotless next time I see it Mikey!" Leo called out from the distance.
With the two brothers left alone in the kitchen, Mikey turned to his lean brother.
"You heard the leader, Dee! Time to clean up this mess! Let's get to work!"
"Oh no- this is all on you, Michael. You have fun with that." Donnie smirked, pointing to the catastrophe on the floor as he backed away.
A few excruiciatingly long days later, Mikey finally found himself seated in the lab, holding a notebook in his hands with Donnie presented in front of him, standing next to a projector screen with a long finger pointer in his grasp. On the screen was a presentation, the first slide titled with the large text "Brief Introduction to Driving."
Donnie was a sucker for presentations. He made many, sometimes just for the heck of it. Now that he actually got to present it to someone, well it truly filled him with excitement. He liked to think if he was human, he would study to be a professor at some university but he supposed he would have to suffice with teaching little brothers how to not go splat on the road. He could play along though, act as if it was the real thing. He cleared his throat and smiled broadly, pointing dramatically at the screen with the pointer finger.
"Welcome to the lesson. Today we will do a brief overview of the basic driving guidelines-"
"When's lunch? I'm hungry!" Mikey whined loudly, leaning back to tilt the chair on the back legs, almost completely falling backward.
Donnie sucked in his lips and glared at him. "You knew three days beforehand that we were going to do this. So no. No lunch right now. And be quiet." He bonked ontop of his head with the pointer, emitting a squeak from the younger turtle.
"Okay, while I'm going over this, I need you to listen as best as you can. I gave you a notebook to take some notes. I highly recommend you do them. Note taking is proven to improve focus and aid memory."
Mikey blinked slowly at him.
Donnie clapped his hands.
"Okay, good! Let's get started!"
Donnie talked for a couple hours, taking breaks about every 20 minutes due to Mikey's bladder suddenly the size of a bean. He went through the slides, explaining each guideline throughly. He was having such a blast himself that he would end up laughing and answering his own questions. He every once and awhile looked over at Mikey to see him truly fixated on his notebook, scribbling something down. Donnie smiled and would continue on his lecture but eventually Donnie started to get suspicious. Mikey would never be this focused unless...
"What are you doing in your notebook?" Using the pointer finger, he pushed the top of the notebook down from Mikey's unsuspecting hands. Instead of notes, there was a... drawing of an extremely buff man made out of pizza.
"Uhh- notes, am I right?" Mikey squeaked.
"Mikey, were you paying attention at all?!" Donnie's voice was raising by the second.
"Uhm, duh! Of course I was!"
"Oh yeah? Tell me a few things you learned."
Mikey's eyes darted around the room in search for an answer. "Uhh, well, green means go... red means stop... uh- so does the stop sign! And.. uhmm..." He snapped his fingers. "Make sure there isn't a kid chasing a ball into the street! Oh yeah, nailed it!"
Donnie looked at him blankly, trying to decide if he wanted to tear the projector screen apart or snap the pointer finger in half over his knee. Instead he just wiped a hand over his face tiredly.
"You know what? That's good enough. That's better than most New York City drivers anyway."
"So I pass?" Mikey asked eagerly.
"Sure, Michael. You pass."
Mikey sprung up from his seat. "Finally! I thought I would actually grow gray hairs by the time we finished! Where do I pick up my diploma?"
Donnie just sighed and turned off the projector. They'll continue tomorrow.
Here they were in the Battle Shell itself, parked inside the garage. With Mikey settled in the driver's seat and Donnie next to him, he begun his teachings.
"This is the button to start the Battle Shell," Donnie said, pointing to the button near the wheel. Mikey was already reaching for it before Donnie swatted his hand away.
"How many times do I have to tell you, Mikey, we're not driving yet. That's for tomorrow. I'm just explaining the buttons and features right now." Donnie explained.
Mikey replied with a groan.
"Ugh dude! This learning thing is taking forever! Can't I just drive and learn along the way?"
"No."
Mikey slumped over the wheel, dramatically.
"Lame."
"Yeah yeah, sit up and listen."
Mikey tilted his head up and watched as Donnie's finger glided around the control panel, pointing and gesturing between buttons. He went through the basic modern vehicle controls before covering the weapons and specific features Donnie put in. Mikey could practically feel the information go into his earhole and out the other. He knew Donnie would blow a fuse if he questioned him so he just hoped all his knowledge on cars from Fast and Furious movies were enough.
As Mikey pretended to listen, his eyes caught sight of a red button, seeming larger than the rest.
It was practically calling out to him.
Interrupting Donnie's teaching, Mikey bluntly pointed to the button.
"What's this baby do?"
"That button is the TURBO button. It's only for emergency cases-" He could already see the mischievous gleam in Mikey's eyes. "Oh nonono no. Don't even think about it Mikey. Your finger won't be pressing that button anytime soon."
"You're no fun." Mikey pouted.
"Yeah, I'm "no fun" for not wanting you to end up like a green wad of gum smeared on the pavement." Donnie glared before directing his attention back to where he was before being interrupted.
Mikey pretended to follow along, nodding and saying a bunch of "Ohhh"s and "Mhm"s. This was too boring for him. He was just itching to hit the road already.
"-And that's about it." Donnie concluded and turned, just to see Mikey absolutely zoned out. Mikey was currently too busy trying to decide if he wanted pickle and pepproni pizza or chicken and ranch pizza for dinner before Donnie snapped his fingers inches away from his face.
"Please tell me you got all that." Donnie said wearily.
Mikey threw him a thumbs up. "Sure did, Dee! But man, that TURBO button gotta be my fav!" He intertwined his fingers and brought it to the cheek, admiring the button dramatically.
Donnie just sighed and shook his head, throwing open the vehicle door. If Donnie wouldn't die from Mikey's drive tomorrow, he sure would pass away from these lessons.
After a brief, much needed review on driving, the turtles were on the move driving out of the lair and towards a vast area underground for Mikey to do his first drive. They figured one of the abandoned subway tunnels would do.
Leo decided to come along incase as well did Raph. Once Raph found out about this whole thing, he laughed his ass off, insisting how he "gotta see dis," so now all the brothers were on their way. Donnie drove the way there while the rest of the turtles sat in the back, listening to Mikey's swagger.
"This is gonna be so eaassyy, bruh. Driving a car is like playing a video game... Just gotta get a grip on the controls and you're allll good." Mikey said airily.
"If you keep comparing driving to video games, I swear I'll turn this car around." Donnie said tightly from the front.
Leo crossed his arms from across him, narrowing his eyes. "Mikey, this isn't a joke. This is a responsibility. This is just as serious as any sort of training."
Raph leaned his shell back with a chuckle. "As long as he's a better driver then ya Leo, I ain't complainin'."
"I am a good driver!" Leo snapped in offense. "Much better than you too! We get chased by the cops because of your driving countless more times than the Foot ever even attacks us!"
Raph waved him off. "Meh, who cares 'bout all those goofy laws. We're ninjas! We're in a hurry anyway."
Donnie sighed from the front. "And that's why you aren't teaching Mikey."
They finally made it to the vastly open tunnel. It streched far and wide, leaving plenty of room for Mikey to drive on the walls if he wanted to.
Donnie drove to a stop. He turned off the vehicle and whipped his head around, an intense look pointed to his older brothers.
"Okay, you two. No distractions. Out."
"What. Why-?" Leo gaped but was interrupted by Raph throwing the door open and dragging Leo behind him by the top ridge of his shell.
"C'mon Fearless. Best we book. Leave Don and Mike to bust der own shells."
Donnie got out of the driver's seat just in time from being squashed by Mikey because he was already diving into the seat, practically buzzing and grinning ear to ear, his tail thudding against the seat in excitement.
Leo and Raph stood outside of the Battle Shell. Raph leaned against the wall with his arms crossed while Leo, almost ironically, appeared completely uptight and on edge as he distantly stared nervously at his reflection against the driver's window. The window rolled down to potray a radiant Michelangelo's whole upper body sticking out, waving frantically.
"Yoo, this is so sick! Raph take a picture!- Eep!" He was yanked back by the mask tails as the window rolled closed. His legs flew into the air, feet against the window as his head fell into Donnie's lap.
"Focus, Mikey. We can all celebrate once when... no if... we all come out of this alive." Donnie chided, narrowing his eyes down at him.
"Geez, thanks for the vow of confidence." Mikey retorted.
From the outside, the eldest brothers watched in amusement as Mikey disappeared into the vehicle, the dark silhouette of his feet pressed against the window.
Leo just shook his head with a smile, suppressing a laugh while Raph snickered, nudging him to the side. "Well, he hadda good run, eh?"
"Not funny, Raph. What if Mikey crashes and gets hurt?"
Raph scoffed. "Pfft, dat car is strong as hell. It can withstand Kraang lasers, bullets and anythin' that gets thrown at us. It'll be fine... Also, Don's in there. If Mikey does anythin' stupid, he'll set him straight."
Leo's eyes has not once left the Battle Shell ever since they got out. He sighed, the anxiety not easing the slightest.
"I hope you're right."
Once Mikey was sat up and ready, Donnie mentally prepared himself for impact. He fastened his seatbelt and took a deep breath before turning his attention to Mikey.
"Okay, Mikey... what is the first thing you do?"
"...Get this party started!" Mikey whooped, finger reaching for the START button. Donnie swatted at his hand.
"Try again."
Mikey rubbed at his hand with a glare from the side of his eye while he thought.
"Hmm... Oh yeah! Seatbelt." He fastened his own seatbelt and wiggled in his seat, gripping his hands on the wheel. "Man, am I good at this or what?"
Donnie was starting to really regret this but he knew it was too late to turn back now.
"Start the car..." He directed cautiously.
Mikey pressed the button, the sound of the engine starting was like music to his earholes. He giggled and stepped on the gas pedal, just for the car to stay unmoving. He pressed again in confusion. He turned to Donnie, looking disappointed.
"The Battle Shell's broken."
Donnie couldn't help but let out a soft huff of laughter. "It isn't broken, Mikey. You need to shift it to drive." He pointed to the gear stick.
Mikey shifted the gear in awe, watching as the lever went down the pattern to the "D".
Donnie cleared his throat nervously.
"Okay when I tell you to... you're going to lightly press-"
They lurched forward so hard due to Mikey shortly slamming on the gas pedal, Donnie swore his heart smashed against his plastron.
Mikey's aghast expression shifted to a nervous grin as he turned to his brother.
"Whoops."
"Mikey! You have to wait for my instruction!" Donnie berated.
Mikey raised his shoulders in shame, his eyes downcast to the side.
"Sorry Dee..."
Donnie softened at his expression and subdued his alarm with a sigh. He placed a hand on his shoulder, rubbing it gently with his thumb.
"I know you're excited but you have to wait for me to catch up, m'kay?"
Mikey turned to him with a smile and nodded before easing his foot onto the pedal. The car started to move forward slowly. Donnie wiped the beads of sweat off his forward. They were officially on the move.
Mikey laughed in amusement. "Woo-ho! I'm like actually driving!"
Donnie chuckled. "Yup, just like that. Good job, now turn the wheel side to side. Try it out. Get a feel to it. You have all this space." He gestured to the vast emptiness of the tunnel.
Mikey's eyes twinkled from joy as he swerved side to side. Donnie just watched as he felt himself starting to ease. He realized maybe this wouldn't be so bad.
But to Donnie's horror, Mikey peeled his eyes off the front and rolled down the window. He turned his attention to his elder brothers walking alongside the slow speed of the Battle Shell.
Mikey called out to them, "Yo dudes, look at me! I'm drivin-!"
Mikey felt hands grip around above his knee and lift his leg up and off the gas pedal. He snapped his head towards the culprit as the car eased to a complete stop. Donnie was reaching over, both hands elevating his leg, looking utterly pissed.
"Hey! What gives brah? You're killin' my driving vibe!"
With one hand under his leg, the other hand trailed to the side of Mikey's thigh, landing a quick pinch.
"Ow, dude-!"
"When have you seen me have chit-chat with someone out the window while driving?" Donnie hissed.
Mikey tilted his head down in slight shame.
"Uhh, never?"
"That's right, never. You know why? Because it's dangerous idiotic!" His voice rose to a shout.
"Hey, take it easy on da kid. He ain't da brightest bulb in the box but he's gettin' dere," came Raph's voice approached from out near the open window. He softly punched Mikey's shoulder. "Ya got a good progress goin'. We saw ya out dere. Soon 'nough yer'll be zippin' down da place."
"That's not what we're aiming for, Raph." Leo said coming up behind him. He softened his gaze, shifting it to Mikey. "Just keep your eyes on the road...er, tunnel, okay? Imagine you're topside. You know how crazy it is up there with all the pedestrians and cars. You'll want to pay attention at all times."
Mikey hummed in thought before smirking. "Yeah, don't want to be like that one time Raph didn't see that guy."
Raph's eyes widened as he roared, "The guy was okay when I checked on him!"
"Sure he was Raph..." Leo said, patting his bicep. "You know, maybe Raph and I should get going. The lair isn't too far. You'll need to stay focused, you know, without any distractions-"
"No!" Mikey blurted causing the brothers to still. He sighed and turned his attention back to the windshield, rubbing the pad of his finger against the steering wheel with a shrug. "Can you guys stay? I don't know... I just want you guys to see me drive or, uh- yeah."
Raph's lip curled upward in amusement as he reached in to give Mikey a noogie.
"Okay okay, yer dork, we'll watch ya."
Leo smiled gently. "We want to see you drive too. We'll try to keep up with you."
Mikey laughed as he rolled the window up. "Good. Because you might learn a thing or two from the soon-to-be pro!"
He turned to Donnie who had his elbow propped up on the dashboard, supporting his head. His mahogany eyes stared back at Mikey thoughtfully.
"Round Two?" Mikey squeaked.
Donnie replied with a downturned smile.
"Round Two."
After a few close calls and Donnie believing "this was it", they finished the practice. They got about a hour of slowly driving forward and backward, turning along the tunnel curves and using Leo and Raph as traffic cones. The two older brothers jogged behind, chit-chatting and playfully pushing each other as they tried to keep up.
Mikey truly tried with all his might to stay focused, and he did... probably half of the time which is a still a record breaker at the end of the day. He kept enacting in offtrack conversations, rambling passionately to Donnie about stuff he did yesterday or will do tomorrow or might do whenever. His brother listened patiently, trying to hushly get him back on track, usually with a "Mikey, you're gonna run into that wall!" or "Mikey, you're about to hit Raph!" but at the end Donnie would say it went pretty well, especially in terms of his energetic little brother.
As much as Mikey was having a big ol' fun time, he was exhausted now. All the excitement drained him out and he felt like a wrung out towel. His body ached tiredly as he followed another tunnel curve.
Mikey licked his lips.
"Dee?"
Donnie, snapping out of his focused state but too terrified to snap his gaze away from the tunnel for too long, gave a brief glance to his younger brother.
"Hm?"
"I'm havin' fun and all but I'm kinda tired... and hungry. Can we go home now? Please?"
Donnie threw a lopsided smile his way, placing his hand gently on his shell and rubbing up and down. "Yeah, I was thinking that was enough for today. You did plenty of progress. You learn really fast. I'm proud of you, Michael."
Mikey's heart filled with an overwhelming warmth and pride. Mikey laughed wholeheartedly as a shy blush reddened his cheeks.
"Well, I gotta give kudos to my teach'. I can't take all the credit." Mikey teased as Donnie playfully rolled his eyes.
"Okay, just stop here and put the car into park."
And without warning, Mikey clicked out his seatbelt and launched into Donnie's seat, who by the way was still in it. Donnie yelped in surprise by the sudden turtle laying belly down on his lap but then shouted in fear by the realization that the car was still moving.
"Ack-! Mikey! You can't just- Shell!"
He squeezed out from under Mikey and scrambled to the wheel, falling on his face along the way. His hands fumbled with the wheel as he slammed on the brakes, seconds before making impact with the wall ahead.
Donnie put the car into park and twisted around, panting, to see Mikey upside down with a smug expression on his face.
"Sorry brah, I gotta keep you on your toes. Also that was a good thing! What if a Kraang laser just went through that window? Boom! See? I would totally live through it." Mikey flipped himself over, propping up his chin on his hands, kicking his feet teasingly.
Donnie, beyond exasperated, snatched up Mikey by the mask tails and pulled him up, ignoring the "Ow, ow, ow!"
At the same time, the side door shifted open for Leo and Raph to walk in. Donnie dragged Mikey and pushed him in Leo. The blue banded turtle caught the younger turtle by the elbows in surprise.
"He passed, "yipee", "hurray" but you're teaching him next time." Donnie uttered, his gaze briefly lingering on Mikey with a squint before making his way to the driver's seat.
Mikey perked up, beaming beneath Leo with sparkling blue eyes.
"Dude, did you see me, did you see me?"
He shifted his hand to pat Mikey on the head.
"Yes, yes we did. You did pretty good for your first drive. Good job, Ototō. This sort of skill will benefit not only you, but the whole team."
"Yeah, if I ever needa hit-and-run assassin, I'll call ya up." Raph quipped, passing by with a playful push to Mikey's head.
"Hey, at least if this ninja thing ever goes to shit, I could always be a taxi driver." Mikey joked, flopping down next to Raph in the back seats.
Leo took a seat in the front passenger while rubbing his temple.
"Language, Mikey."
Raph threw an arm over Mikey's shoulders with a smirk down at him.
"Well, if he's gonna drive like a New Yorka, he oughta start talkin' like a New Yorka, eh?"
Mikey giggled. Leo glanced an "Are-You-Hearing-This?" look at Donnie who just rolled his eyes with a smile.
"Unsuspecting New York's City safe for a couple weeks until Mikey wrecks havoc." Donnie teased.
The front seats fell silent while the back echoed the sounds of Raph and Mikey's chatter and laughter.
Donnie drove consumed by thought before sighing, speaking lowly to Leo beside him.
"I'm going to need to tint the windows some more. I don't think I want the cops getting his face while he's being chased by them."
Leo let out a laugh.
"Yeah... That would probably be best."
The underground lights flickered off their faces as they drove home.