Summary: Your typical "ROTTMNT adopts 2012!Mikey" fic, except I took it a step further;

Riseverse hosts a seven round competition, where each round the team from the 2012verse fight a member of the Rise team in various battle arenas and stages. Winners get to keep 2012!Mikey.

Featuring the Rise twins going full theater kid, several fog machines, an appearance from Rise April O'Neil's bat, equipment that may or may not have been stolen from Big Mama, three Casey Joneses, mad scientist Donatello, and the return of Rat Jitsu.

A/N: Hey guys! This is my first ever fic (so please be nice!). This isn't intended to be a bash on TMNT 2012 (I grew up with that series), it's just that every time I read a Rise Adopt Mikey fic I expect there to be some huge fight, and there never is. And then I remembered how Rise literally has actual fighting arenas, turtles who love to wear costumes, and a bunch of characters that really go all in when they make a new persona (ones a actor and said actor raised the others).

So to the 200+ people on tumblr who mustve agreed with me because they all encouraged me to write this, this is for you. I hope theres at least once scene in each chapter that makes you smile 😘.

Chapter 1: PROLOGUE

How Mikey had ended up in this universe, nobody really knows. No one can prove anything. Raph thinks it had to be something mystic, Donnie thinks it was science, Leo and Shorter Mikey were partial to the idea of alien interference.

How he got here doesn't matter much, it's how to send him home that's important. When Mikey first landed here, found his counterpart and his family who in turn took him in, Mikey was adamant about returning home. So Donnie set to work studying up on portal travel and alternate dimensions. Draxum, his counterpart's formerly evil second dad, and man was that something to get used too, spent a considerable amount of time explaining mystic portals and mystic forms of transportation with Donnie. It took four months, but Donnie thinks he's found the solution. There's only one problem though, Mikey doesn't want to go home anymore.

Sure, Donnie had plenty more tests to run before even talking about sending a living person through, but this was still a major wake up call for Mikey. Mikey was going home. Mikey was going to have to leave this family, his family, to go back to the universe he belonged in. It was surprisingly heartbreaking.

Mikey loved this universe. He loved the bright colors, all the noise, all the movement. He loved how crazy this city could be, loved how exciting the Hidden City was… even if every time he's been he happen to be arrested. He's come to love Yokai food.

Mikey took every opportunity to join on trips to Run of The Mill. Leo always got whatever the special was, no matter how gross it sounded, and it was always shockingly delicious. Shorter Mikey thinks it's because of magic, Donnie believes it's because a lot of non-human food items in Yokai dishes appeal to their original turtle diets. Mikey will miss being able to buy pizza with tentacles on it.

Most of all Mikey would miss this family. He loves his original family, of course he does, but he's come to care for these people just as much.

Mikey will miss sneaking into movie theaters with Raph, miss goofing off with Leo and late night conversations with Donnie, miss improv dance parties with Shorter Mikey and April. He's going to miss watching TV with Lou, miss Draxum's awkward attempts at bonding with the family, and miss laughing at Cassandra chasing Casey around the lair.

Mikey might hang out with his counterpart the most, but Mikey and Casey Junior just clicked in a way he never had with anyone else. Casey is a man out of time, and Mikey is a turtle out of place. There's something comforting about someone else understanding what it's like to interact with another version of someone you love. Casey will tell Mikey stories about the kind of shenanigans Master Leonardo would get into, and Mikey would tell Casey all about the time Raph licked a metal pole in the middle of winter on a dare. Casey told Mikey how giving everyone in this timeline different names helps him see each version as a different person; Leo vs Master Leonardo, April vs the Commander, etc. They had spent an hour going back and forth on suggestions for different names for Mikey to use.

So currently Mikey was hiding out in his room, missing dinner because he was worried if someone smiled at him that he would break down crying over top of Chinese takeout.

Knock knock.

Mikey's head shot up, turning to the doorway of his bedroom. Leo was leaning on the door frame, and knocking on the wall. He looked concerned.

"Hey, buddy. You okay?"

Mikey looked away, "yeah, I'm fine."

Leo invited himself in. Strutting over to the bed and plopping down next to Mikey. "Then why do you look miserable?"

"It's stupid," Mikey mumbled into his own shoulder as he turned his head further away from Leo.

"Hey, what did we say about calling things you're embarrassed about 'stupid'?"

"That the things I like and the things that upset me are not 'stupid'."

"Exactly," Leo bumped their shoulders together. "So what's up?"

"It's selfish."

"So?"

"I can't ask this of you guys."

"Sure you can, we're family."

And oh, another shot of pain went through his chest. Leo and the others started calling him their 'alternate-brother' right away, dropping the 'alternate' somewhere during the first week.

Mikey felt a hand on his shoulder, and let Leo turn him so they were facing each other. Leo's voice was genuine and quiet when he next spoke.

"Hey, it's okay if you don't wanna talk about it. Just know you can tell me anything. I won't judge. But I'm not leaving until you feel better."

Mikey gave him a wobbly smile. He knew Leo was telling the truth. Leo had stayed with him for hours watching funny youtube clips after Mikey had a night terror last month. Mikey had fallen asleep, cuddled into Leo's shoulder as Leo held up his phone with one hand and absently rubbed Mikey's shell with the other, occasionally dropping a kiss on his head. Mikey was going to miss him.

"It just, it hit me when Donnie announced his breakthrough earlier. I'm gonna have to go home. I'm going to have to leave you all and… and I don't want to go home anymore," Mikey made a sniffling noise and turned back to looking at the wall, so he wouldn't have to face Leo. "This has become my home. You guys have become my family. And you all make me feel like I belong here. I miss my brothers, but they don't get me the way you all do. And they love me, I know they love me, but they never say it or show it. They never want to spend time with me, or listen to my interests. Like, I see Donald try so hard. Emotions are difficult for him but it's so clear how much he loves all of you, loves me. I can't remember the last time any of my brothers even hugged me, or asked to hang out, or just wanted me around."

Leo wrapped his arm around Mikey's shoulders, pulling him into a hug.

"I just- I don't want to leave."

"Then stay here."

"Huh?"

Leo continued talking, despite Mikey hiding his wet face in Leo's shoulder. "If you don't want to go, then don't go. None of us want you to leave, we just thought that's what you wanted. We'd gladly keep you here with us for the rest of our lives."

Mikey looked up at the blurry image of Leo, "You would?"

Leo smiled. "Yeah, we would. Whoever wanted to take you away from us would have to fight us all first. Actually, that gives me a idea…"

"Nardo, you can't be serious. This is insane, even for you."

Leo had invited himself into Donnie's lab, turned Donnie's table top into a seat, and proceeded to tell Donnie one of the craziest plans he's ever said aloud.

"Come on Donnie, this way everyone wins! Taller Mikey's family get to prove they love him through their actions since they won't use their words, you still get to use the portal device you've spent four months working on, we get to meet our own counterparts, and we have the perfect excuse to get to knock them around a little bit for treating Taller Mikey the way they do! It's a win-win-win."

Donnie leaned back in his chair and narrowed his eyes at Leo. Donnie was looking forward to the portal device and meeting more alternate universe versions of his family members, and he knows how much Mikey was looking forward to breaking out Dr. Delicate Touch…

Leo was smirking like he already won Donnie over. And he has. Curses!

"GROAN. Fine, you win. But I get first pick on arenas!"