A Pocket of Time au drabble. This is in reference to this post, where I explore the concept of "once time travel has been invented it has always been invented" with Mikey :)
[cw: mild psychological horror, minor derealization]
--- --- ---
Mikey’s always loved going to conventions.
Maybe not as much as Leo, the superfan he is, but Mikey was a close second. The crowds, filled with noises of laughter, and awes at different cosplays, and debates on fan theories. The art especially captures Mikey’s attention. Anything from keychains to life size figures. Posters and T-shirts.
Mikey is among his people at conventions.
They are in the sci-fi section of the Con so Leo can gush at all the JJ merch and Donnie can horde all the Atomic Lass merch. The box turtle is at a booth selling hand drawn posters and sketches when he sees a beautiful drawing of Jupiter Jim vs The Reptilia. The colors are vibrant, and the poses are dynamic and fun.
Mikey has to have it. The booth attendant agrees saying he couldn’t think of a better person to sell it to, considering Mikey and his brothers “cosplay” the green aliens.
These are some of his favorite moments. Where Mikey and his family can just relax, and have some normal fun. Interact with others who share their passions.
He feels utterly content. No, he feels ecstatic.
Shaking his hands a little to get rid of some of the overflowing emotion, Mikey takes the bag with the picture handed to him.
He can’t wait to show Leo his find, he’s going to be so-
Mikey does a double take, but even the booth he was just at is vacant, the attendant nowhere in sight.
There is a sinking feeling that starts low in his stomach.
The once bustling building is now desolate. Not a soul in sight. And not just that, but it's like no one has been in this building in years. The paint on the walls are chipped in areas, some of the strong concrete pillars are cracked, and windows either boarded up or broken. Some of the tables are still present, but they have a layer of dust that leaves a defined line when Mikey swipes his finger across.
“R- Raph? Donnie, Leo?” his voice echoes. MIkey knows it's pointless. There's no one around that would hear him. A shiver runs down his spine.
He doesn’t know what's going on, but Mikey resolves himself to find out. Taking a breath to calm himself, Mikey makes his way to one of the non-boarded windows. He’s cautious as he moves, the back of his neck tingling. Eyes belonging to no one bore into the back of his head, watching him. But there's not much cover in the big, open convention space. Even if he wanted to hide, which he feels like he very much should, he can’t.
The eyes don’t feel dangerous, per say, but they don’t feel all that friendly either. Mikey pushes the feeling down for now in favor of getting to a window to figure out what the hell is happening.
The idea of someone, something, watching him vanishes from Mikey’s mind when he finally gets to the window. The once bright day is now dark and filled with smog. There's abandoned buildings all around the convention, but just beyond that is the New York Mikey has come to know. Bright lights, and billboards. But it's not the New York Mikey has loved, his home.
There's watch lights everywhere, and robotic figures stalking the streets and walls with barbed wires. Beyond the city, Mikey can make out a tall imposing wall that seems to encircle the entirety of the main city.
Then there's the weird symbol that can be seen everywhere. On the robotic sentries, some of the billboards, the police cars. It's all the same symbol.
MIkey can’t breathe. This isn’t his home. He doesn’t know where he is. Where are his brothers? What is going on? What is that symbo-
“Hey man, nice Reptilia cosplay!”
Mikey’s brain halted the spiral it was going down as he whips his head around to the voice. He suddenly feels very cold. Like a bucket of ice water rained down on him. But instead of a threat, all Mikey sees is some teenager. He looks maybe 19? Mikey can’t quite meet his eyes, but the stranger is wearing a JJ shirt, jeans and sneakers. By all accounts just a regular convention goer.
But that doesn’t make sense. The building is still abandoned, everything is still degraded, dusty and empty.
Everything is still wrong.
That's when the statement finally processes in Mikey’s mind. He looks down at himself, like he had forgotten he is a giant mutant humanoid turtle.
“Uhhh yeah, thanks man. I-” when Mikey looks back up the convention is back. His senses are assaulted with the noise of hundreds of people and their conversations.It makes his ears ring after the deafening silence he was just in. The smell of the nearby food court, once a delight now makes him nauseous.
No one seems to have experienced anything like what Mikey just had. Everyone is going about their regular business, walking from booth to booth, or getting food, or chatting with friends. Like nothing even happened.
“Well, enjoy the rest of the convention Michealangelo!” the stranger’s voice again cuts through Mikey’s panic.
The older kid has a smile that doesn’t quite meet his eyes, why can’t Mikey look him in the eyes, before waving awkwardly and disappearing into the crowd.
Mikey can only stand there, trying to get his mind in order and his nausea under control. He sees his brothers a few booths away, right where Mikey left them, and it calms something deep within him.
Chancing a glance back out the window, Mikey only sees home, as it all should be.
“Yo Mikey! Come check out these pins!” That's Leo. Mikey can see him over the crowd. Leo is smiling wide and waving his arms wildly, smacking Raph in the face. The scene is so familiar and Mikey feels the last of his soul settle in his body.
MIkey can’t help but smile and shake his head and the absolute dork that is his older brother. But he jogs over to them non the less.
It isn’t until later that night, when he is falling asleep and running through the day's events that his mind falls back onto the stranger. Even just the thought of the guy has his limbs feeling as if he fell asleep on them wrong. All pins and needles and numbness.
Mikey pulls the blanket tighter around himself. He’s being ridiculous. Mikey knows this. It was just some random kid like him at a convention. But he didn’t feel right. Nothing was out of place, by all accounts the kid was just a regular human.
So why did Mikey feel so void in his presence? Like his very soul was draining, leaving him cold, empty. He has no evidence, but it was like the stranger wasn't human.
But that ridiculous, and Mikey is just being ridiculous. He just wants to go to bed. He feels exhausted after being at the convention all day.
So what if he experienced some weird hallucination? Or- or some side effect of inhaling paint fumes from the artists booths. Or something. It's over now, he’s home, with his family. Safe.
Mikey’s limbs become weightless, and mind slows.He is just about to succumb fully to his exhaustion, that half asleep state that makes everything feel so far away. That's when he realizes it, and he has that falling feeling, heart skipping a beat and jolting to alertness.
He never told the stranger his name.
