Out of My Shell

Just One Night

Chapter 21: Just One Night

It was still there—lingering between city lights and the shadowy ruin of the medicine shop.

Cogs. Spare parts. Breathing. Creaking.

Fresh blades cranked against the floor, its red eyes rising.

It squelched across the ceiling, stretching down over tile and shattered glass—the wreckage still a mystery to the authorities outside.

Slow. Deliberate. Searching...

And then it stopped.

There was a picture lying in the rubble of a young woman with black hair. It was well traveled, blotted with water stains, its corners worn with age.

Mutadroid's strange hand struggled to hold it, hot acid dripping from its jagged teeth. Then a horrible squelch ripped from its body and it screamed, growing, stretching beyond control.

A woman passing on the street clutched her child at the sight.

She managed to scream. But nothing more.

-

-

Dopamine... Norepinephrine... Testosterone...

Donnie's eyes shot open. Gasping and in a sweat.

Again.

He checked his bedding. For what, he wasn't sure anymore. The only thing he knew was his shell felt tight. Inconceivably, uncomfortably tight. The room was too hot, and the queer light on the nightstand mocked once more that he shouldn't be awake.

He kicked out of the covers.

His pillow smelled like Raph. Even though he hadn't been there.

Everything did. He wasn't sure how or why. Perhaps it was by some twisted, wistful desire of the mind. He could smell in the room where Raph had been. And he hated it.

Donnie left his bedroom, trudging the hall to clear his thoughts.

If he had to be awake, the least he could do was check on their father.

The main room was dark and quiet. Mikey had gone to bed. Master Splinter was still sound asleep where he had left him.

Donnie ran a hand through his mask and turned to take his leave.

And then he paused.

Raph's door was open.

Donnie went to it, venturing a whisper, though he didn't know why.

"Raph..."

But no reply came. And after a brief pause, he retreated to his lab to bury himself in wires. Keep his hands busy.

His head was all foggy... and heavy...

Maybe he should take a cold shower...?

He shut his eyes.

Dopamine. Norepinephrine. Testosterone.

That's all this was. It would pass.

He took a deep breath and tossed his thoughts to his lab. The familiar beakers, wires and electronics promised a refuge from his mind. He flicked the light on beside his microscope, turning to the sample that had been previously extracted from April's room.

It forced his mind's focus on serious matters.

The chainbugs. Mutadroid. His family.

If mutagen was serving as both a bonding agent and inhibitor to the biological components of Mutadroid and the chainbugs, that would make sense. It could explain how and why the metal had warped to it. Shell, it could even explain certain increases of Mutadroid's intellect.