Shadow Mutation (Book Seven) [UNDER MAJOR EDITING]

Chapter 36: Losing Him

Casey stumbles into the lair late the next morning, his skin paler than usual and dark circles appearing under his eyes. He yawns, clipping the pinball machine with his shoulder. He winces, grasping the aching limb as he moves further in.

Leonardo sits on the couch, his eyes shut and his legs crossed in front of him. He breathes evenly, seeming not to notice the arrival of his tall friend. Casey can hear chatter in the kitchen, wondering how Leo can possibly try to mediate out in the open like this.

"Hey Casey," the turtle greets rather suddenly, causing the said boy to jump. His sapphire eyes open and flicker to his friend. "Sleep well?"

"Maybe?" Casey mumbles. "I feel like I was run over by a truck."

He grits his teeth as he rests his hand over his heart, taking a few deep breaths. Leo eyes him skeptically and gets to his feet, dropping the look and smiling a tiny bit.

"Well, there's still some breakfast in the kitchen if you need," he offers, gesturing to the nearby room. "Mikey made these new omelettes that are...actually amazing." He shrugs, looking pleasantly surprised.

"Yeah...sure," Casey says, not liking the burning pain spreading through his entire chest. He sucks it up, walking towards the kitchen as he tries to act like nothing is wrong.

He finds the rest of the Hamatos crowded around the table, eating and laughing as they celebrate being free from another villain. Michelangelo chucks little cubes of cheese across the table, letting Raphael catch them in his mouth. Donatello shoves his hotheaded brother subtly every now and then, just enough to swoop in and snatch the dairy product out of the air first. Sarina laughs at their antics, Destiny making more food near the stove while Annalise cleans the messy workstation.

"Yo Casey! How much you wanna bet I can catch two at once?" Raph calls upon noticing his friend.

The teen shrugs, his head starting to spin and the burning pain making his entire upper body feel numb. He slides into the nearest chair, rubbing his eyes and trying to get a grip.

"You okay there?" Destiny wonders, setting an omelette down in front of Sarina.

"Nothing, just a headache," Casey mumbles, his vision starting to become unfocused.

"Do you need some food? Bro, we can hook you up!" Mikey says, accidentally hitting Donnie in the eye with a cheese cube. "These omelettes are literally the best thing I have ever created!"

"Right next to pizza puffs," Annalise adds, snagging some cheese from over her boyfriend's shoulder and popping it into her mouth.

"Any luck with that mutagen?" Casey asks, trying to divert the attention from him.

"We can find no plausible use for it, so we locked it up to deal with at a later time," Donnie answers, rapidly blinking the one eye that got hit.

"So you aren't even trying to make retro-mutagen?" the vigilante snaps as his head shoots up, instantly making him regret the movement as his entire body grows more weighted.

"We told you, Casey," Sarina says, her face straight and emotionless. "Destroy that one vial and we're toast. No more. We have to find another option."

"You just said that you weren't finding any uses for it!" he says, his breaths slowing as his chest heaves. "What use are those big brains of yours if you don't use it to help people?"