Legacy Mutation (Book Eight)

Chapter 31: B*tch Slapped

"What do you mean you can't hang out?" Nixie asks as her and Mitch skate around on the blacktop.

He sighs and skids to a stop. "I'm going to visit my grandma that day."

"You can't...cancel?" She smiles nervously. "I don't mean that dis-respectively, but we haven't been able to chill outside of school recently."

He runs a hand through his curly blonde hair. "Listen, I haven't seen my grandma since I was five, and her and my mom are on thin ice."

"Why is that?"

Mitch freezes. He thinks of the family picture he has tucked away in his back pocket, his fingers itching to pull it out and show her. As he watches his best friend; this confident, funny, amazing, beautiful girl that accepted that he lives in the sewers, he can't help but think that it's time.

"My grandma didn't want to accept my mom's choices about marrying my dad," he starts slowly.

Nixie tilts her head a little bit, her almost red eyes twinkling. "Marriage troubles? That happens all the time! And why wouldn't your grandma like your dad? Your dad is hilarious!"

"Because..." Mitch reaches into his back pocket, his hands shaking. "Nix, promise me you aren't going to freak out. Please?"

She nods and smiles, taking his hand and intertwining their fingers. "MJ, there is nothing you could tell me that would make me freak out."

He smiles a tiny bit. I don't think so.

He unfolds the picture and holds it out to her. She takes it, her eyes widening as she looks at it. She looks back at him, her mouth slightly agape.

"Before you say anything," Mitch says, holding a finger up. "Let me explain. It isn't photoshopped, it isn't tampered in any way. That is my family. Yes, my dad and uncles are turtles, my aunt is a wolf-raven like Dean, half my cousins are turtles, my other aunt is a cyborg-"

Nixie grabs the front of his shirt collar and presses a kiss to his lips, shutting him up. His eyes widen, but she doesn't pull away. He slowly relaxes, shutting his eyes just as she breaks away.

"Mitch, I'm not freaked out," she says.

"I...buh...wha...huh?" he stammers, still reeling from the kiss.

She laughs and nudges his arm. "Yeah! I mean, I had theories about why you guys lived in the sewers, but this one was not on my list. Look at them! They're like...superheroes! Look at your grandpa! He's so cool!"

He lets out a long breath. "Wow...I'm so relieved to hear you say that."

"So...you, your mom, and your aunt Taylor are the only ones who are human?"

His heart jumps when she says "human" instead of "normal".

"Well, I've got a slightly different build-up of my body because of my dad," Mitch says, pointing to Michelangelo. "I'm stronger, and according to my uncle Donatello, my muscles are built more like a turtle's. Like...my back is incredibly hard, sort of like a shell, and my tailbone is longer than most others."

Nixie grins. "So you're a half-mutant?"

He laughs nervously and rubs the back of his neck. "I guess."

She grins. "I still can't believe this! Now I know why Dakota always wears that eyepatch, and Asher, Copeland, and Venus look great, and Dean is just badass. Those wings and stuff are freaky, in a good way!"

He nods. "Thanks for understanding, Nix."

She smirks and punches his arm. "No problem, dude."

She gives him the picture and skates away. Mitch's eyes widen and he spins in her direction.