Digital Mutation (Book Five)

Chapter 28: Full Digital

Sarina taps at her keyboard, her circuits working themselves into a near overload. April is slumped at her station, snoozing away with her head propped on her arms and Diaval's cloak draped over her shoulders. Splinter lays on a sleeping mat in a more secluded section of the laboratory, his chest rising and falling steadily as he sleeps on his back, hands folded over his stomach.

Diaval is the only one awake besides Sarina. He stands at the doorway and stares out at the rest of the lair, blank-faced as he taps at his communicator. Still nothing but static. Without his cloak obscuring his lean figure from view, it's easy to see the tension in his pale arms.

Sarina runs her hands through her hair, her eyes flashing and illuminating the quiet darkness of the lab. She glances at her arm and adjusts the plug inserted into it. Electricity buzzes faintly as it enters her body, making her feel tingly and far more awake. She has to stay alert if she's ever going to find them.

Two days ago, she lost all contact with them. It didn't take her long to hypothesize that it was Circa's doing, only adding to a growing sense of anxiety. Her family, her friends, Donatello, they're all in there and she has no way of ensuring their safety.

A beep sounds and she jolts to attention. Behind her, Diaval turns around, eyes widening. As she pulls up a tracking screen, he shuffles closer and hovers over her shoulder, squinting at the seven green dots racing along the maze on the screen.

"That them?" he asks, pointing.

Sarina nods. "Yes, and that," she says as she points to a red dot moving along just ahead of the others, "is Circa. They've got her in their sights, but..." She puckers her lips. "Where is she going?"

Her attention flickers to and fro on the screen as she scrolls around, searching for a possible area that the virus could be running to. The red dot makes a sudden detour, heading straight for a website, and Sarina's breath catches when she sees that it's YouTube. To get even more specific, it's Annalise's channel.

She slides her swivel chair across to April, startling Diaval so that he stumbles back a few steps. Sarina reaches over and shakes April's shoulder, making her wake up with a few bleary blinks.

"I've located them. They're headed for YouTube," Sarina says. "Wake Splinter while I try to get a hold of their signal."

April nods and stands, leaving Diaval's cloak hanging over the chair as she hurries over to Splinter. Sarina slides back to her computer, cracking her fingers and hovering them over her keyboard. Diaval wanders back to her side.

"Want any help?" he offers.

"Yes," she says, motioning to the open seat at her side and a control panel of buttons. She points to a red button. "Spam that button. Keep pressing it and let me know when you hear something other than static. Got it?"

He sits down, adjusts his headset and ponytail, and starts pressing the button.

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The cyber-team appears on what looks like a normal New York street. The only thing that tips them off is the fact that it's snowing outside. Circa is nowhere to be seen.

Leonardo reaches his hand out and a snowflake lands on his palm. It melts but he doesn't feel any sort of chill. He looks back at his team. "Any idea where we are?" he asks.

Donatello pivots on one foot as he looks around. "Well, for one...New York," he says.

"How about a website, genius?" Raphael retorts.

He shrugs. "I have no clue."

"Wait, I think I might know," Annalise says.

She moves to the sidewalk and goes down a couple of buildings, stopping in front of one that only her and Michelangelo recognize. There's a small group of tweens lingering on the sidewalk, all wearing hats, mittens, and other warm clothes. They don't notice any of the teenagers near them.