Zilla peeks in through the window of her parents' apartment. Everything looks like how she remembered it—rock memorabilia, pictures everywhere. There's a single slice of chocolate cake kept safe under a glass dome; her favourite.
"Mew?"
Her heart aches as Shadow Princess of Darkness hops up onto the window sill and stares directly at her. She lets out another squeaky mew as a purr rumbles within her chest. Zilla can't cry, but she wishes she could in this moment. She wishes she could reach out and hug her cat close and tell her how much she missed her.
"Hi, Shady," she whispers instead.
The cat's head tilts, pupils dilating as her fluffy tail swings from side to side, and Zilla almost laughs at the absurdity of it all. Even like this, her pet recognizes her?
She hears footsteps and hides in the tiny shadows around the window as the door opens. Eustace enters, wiping oil from his hands on an old rag as he moves to the fridge. Zilla watches in silence.
"Grab me one, too!" Harry calls from downstairs.
"Sure, but you've gotta promise to restock the mini fridge!" Eustace retorts as he pulls two glass bottles of cola from the fridge, holding them in one hand. He smiles as he starts for the door again. "I'm getting too old to—"
He pauses, all too suddenly. Zilla waits. Eustace looks back at the apartment, his brow furrowing a little.
"Mew?" Shadow Princess asks.
Eustace blinks, shaking his head. "Sorry, mamas," he says. He walks to the window and reaches out to scritch Shadow's chin. "I just—"
Harry calls again from down below. "Eust? You okay?"
"Oh, yeah, sorry!" Eustace says. He looks out the window, a wistful look smoothing his brow. "I just...thought I felt something," he mumbles, half to himself.
All too soon, he's gone again, his footsteps retreating back down the stairs, and Zilla blinks hard as she rematerializes by the window. Shadow Princess hops down and starts to roll in the ray of light hitting the floor and Zilla manages a tiny smile.
But then she imagines reaching out and trying to pet her and Zilla knows that the cat would yowl and run from her, no matter how content she seems at a safe distance from Zilla's icy aura.
It's the sobering reminder she needs.
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It becomes clearer the long they wait, the more uncomfortable the hospital staff get. The nurse mentioned that only one visitor is typically welcome at a patient's bedside in the emergency department and, with Casey in the tentative state he's in, they're even less sure of letting anyone in to see him.
The Hamatos, armed with at least three decently stubborn mutants, immediately made a plan to make sure one of them would always be with Casey. In the meantime, the others will linger around the hospital and try to be as unobtrusive as possible, staying out of the professionals' way and keeping to themselves.
That doesn't stop Destiny from pacing, far too agitated and jittery to sit still for longer than a few minutes. Leonardo sits quietly, eyes closed. Michelangelo plays a game on his t-phone. Donatello and Sarina watch Destiny pace.
"Why did we even bring him here?" she asks with a bite that no one blames her for. They know it's not directed at any of them. "We know exactly what's killing him. Why couldn't we have just...just kept him at the lair?"
"Because we don't have life-sustaining equipment at the lair," Donatello reminds her gently. "The hospital has a better chance of keeping Casey alive until Zilla can get here."
YOU ARE READING
Shadow Mutation (Book Seven)
Fanfiction"Try not to be stupid next time, okay?" When he's told shortly after graduation that he didn't actually pass and, in order to truly earn his diploma, he must redo his senior year math credit, Casey Jones isn't sure how things could get worse. He kno...
