Legacy Mutation (Book Eight)

Chapter 18: Free Running

"BOOYAKASHA!" Mitch whoops as they race across the rooftops.

Dean flips and twirls in the air, loving the feeling of the wind in his wings again. Beneath him, Copeland, Dakota, Asher, and Venus follow after the excited Mitch, talking and yelling excitedly.

"Guys, we're ninjas! We move swiftly and, here's the important part, silently!" Dean calls down to his cousins, failing to look ahead of him.

He promptly smashes into a telephone pole, the loud thunk resounding through the air. The boy groans before peeling himself off and flying backwards for a bit in shock, where he swiftly ricochets off a clothesline and goes sailing into a building, completely out of control. He smacks into the brick wall before falling off into a pile of garbage cans. A stray cat yowls in surprise before dashing away, and the other five Hamatos poke their heads over the building edge, holding in giggles.

"That wasn't very silent, Dean!" Copeland calls.

"Are you okay?" Venus asks.

He shakes himself off and fluffs his wings before zooming back up onto the roof, face red with embarrassment.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Good. One thing, maybe you should act more like you and...less like Uncle Leo," Dakota suggests.

Dean gasps. "Less like dad?! But my dad is amazing!"

"Nerd," Copeland coughs.

"I heard that."

"You were supposed to."

"Guys, please stop it," Asher pleads, exasperated. "We're supposed to be training."

"Yeah!" Mitch agrees. "We should find some Kraang to beat up."

"We are never supposed to go and find something to beat up on purpose," Dakota reminds him. "We only fight when the opportunity arises."

"When's that ever going to happen? Uncle Leo killed Shredder, his mutant army hasn't been seen in years, and the Kraang are on such a down low that they're pretty much extinct!" Copeland rambles. "Are we just supposed to go after thugs or what?"

"Or...you know, train?" Venus whispers.

"Exactly!" Dean defends. He looks across the horizon, his sapphire blue eyes locking on a point in the distance. "Okay, you see Dragon Gate over there?"

"Yeah," they all chorus.

"Dad told me this one. I'll go over to the Dragon Gate with Dakota and Venus, while Copeland, Asher, and Mitch stay back. We'll defend, and you three-" He points to the second group. "-will try to get past. Got it?"

Copeland grins and swings her chigiriki. "Shell yeah."

Asher looks to Mitch, who already has his kamas out.

"Let's do this," the turtle boy says, glancing to the hanbō strapped to his shell.

"Right behind you," Mitch agrees.

Dean takes off with Dakota and Venus, ready to defend. The two girls ready their throwing knives and hamadashi blade, although both look hesitant.

"Hey, are you guys alright?" Dean asks.

"My throwing knives aren't very good for defence. There's a reason I never really get to spar with everyone else." Dakota looks away, watching the other three kids dash to a different spot. She tugs on her grey mask tails absentmindedly.

Dean notices this. His intelligent cousin is hardly ever absentminded. He thinks back to when they first received their weapons, not too long after they got their masks.

Almost eight year old Dean grins as he looks at his brand new ninjaken sword. Nearby, Copeland, Mitch, and Asher try out their chigiriki, kamas, and hanbō excitedly. Dakota, however, examines her lithe throwing knives with a confused gaze.

"Grandpa?" she asks.

"Yes Dakota?" Splinter responds.

"How am I supposed to spar with everyone else when these are only good for throwing?" She furrows her brow. "I mean, even Venus' weapon is better than mine."

The other four kids glance at the hamadashi blade that sits on the shelf, knowing that that weapon is reserved for their youngest cousin and sister. Dakota sighs heavily and looks at the knives.

"My child, the throwing knives require a lot of skill. You will gain precision and quickness in your hands and wrists because of this weapon," Splinter explains.

"Ok, but..." Her shoulders sag as a stray lock of white hair falls into her one red eye. "What if I'm like my mom? She doesn't need a weapon because of her laser powers, right?"

"Right."

"So, if I develop those same abilities, the knives will just be backup!" She grins proudly.

Splinter purses his lips. "Do not hold out on the hope that you will be exactly like your mother. Learn the way of knife throwing, and from there, you will discover what your true path is."

Even though the conversation ended then, Dakota kept trying. She spent time alone in the dojo, throwing her knives, but also trying to shoot energy from her palms and fingertips. No one noticed how hard she worked, except for Dean.

"Come on, Kota. It's alright. Just...um..." He scrambles for some kind of answer.

"Never mind. It's fine." She brushes past him. "I'll take the left side."

"Hold on." He grabs her wrist and pulls her back. He looks to his younger sister. "Ve, do you want to scope out some decent vantage points?"

"Okie-dokie!" she chirps, dashing away.

Dakota focuses much too hard on not meeting her oldest cousin's wild blue gaze. He doesn't release her wrist.

"Kota, I know better than most what you're going through. You wish you had your mom's abilities, as do I," he says softly. "Shell, I've been trying my whole life to morph into a wolf just once."

"That's different."

"Not really. I've seen you when you take your private sessions. You're trying, and I get that." He looks down, dropping his hand from her wrist. "Maybe...maybe we're just not as special as our parents. At least you're smart."

She scoffs. "You are too!"

"Not as much as you and Asher."

She smiles a tiny bit. "True, we're highly intelligent. Both our parents are geniuses. Your parents, however, are born leaders and never back down when they need to do what's right. That's what you and Venus have, and I think that's a lot more important that knowing the complete chemical breakdown of the fluorescent lanthanide complex off by heart."

He chuckles. "I suppose."

She pushes herself onto her tiptoes and hugs his neck. "Thanks Dean. Thanks for always being there."

He smiles and returns the hug. "You're welcome." He pulls away. "Now, want to defend Dragon Gate?"

She grins. "Oh yeah."