Moonlight Mutation (A TMNT Fanfic)

Chapter 11: An Attempted Takeover

"So...Donnie?" Destiny asks.

The purple-masked brother sits at the table across from the wolf girl, sketching out some sort of algorithm. His little pink tongue is poking out the side of his mouth, making her smile a little. She had come in here on the basis of getting some questions answered, yet she can see that the turtle's attention is divided at best.

Donatello doesn't look up from his current project. "Yes, Destiny?"

She exhales through her nose, lips pursing as she rests her elbows on the table. "Can you tell me what the Foot is?" His pencil stops mid-stroke as his face grows wary. She continues, "I heard you guys say something about beating up the Foot when I first got here, so..." She exhales and makes her lips motorboat. "I've been silent about it, but I need to know."

He sighs, finally looking up at her as he places the writing utensil down. "Well...I guess you deserve to know, since they tried to hunt you down and all."

"Hunt me down?" she echoes, eyes widening. "What—"

He holds up his hand, silencing her. "Basically, the Foot Clan is a group of ninjas," he starts. "They're...ruled over, you could say, by a man known as the Shredder. Who is Shredder exactly? To be brief, he is a ninjutsu master who is determined to destroy Master Splinter, me, my brothers, and then he wants to rule the world. Honestly, he's rather psychotic." Although he says it with an air of confidence, fear flashes deep within Donatello's russet eyes. "The robotic ninjas that attacked you are called Foot bots, which means Shredder probably sent them after you."

A shiver crawls up her spine at the thought. "That's...lovely," she squeaks.

He frowns and shakes his head. "It's the exact opposite. It's amazing my family has lived this long with him around."

She looks away, suddenly feeling far more cautious. "So...he attacked me just because?" Her jaw shifts. "The white-haired guy that shot me didn't look like a ninjutsu master."

Donatello arches an eye-ridge. Something flashes in his dark eyes. "White-haired guy?"

"Yeah, a guy in a cloak with pink eyes. He was the one leading the bots on that night," she says. "Do, uh...do you know him?"

The turtle purses his lips, his fingers starting to tap against the table. "Unfortunately, yes. We haven't interacted with him much, but we know enough. He hardly ever leaves Foot Clan HQ and when he does, he stays at a distance and uses his bow and arrows," he says. "His name is Diaval and he's a young guy, probably only...twenty or so?"

"Oh..." Destiny mumbles.

The turtle leans forwards, clasping his hands together on the tabletop as a serious air blankets him. "Des, I have to know, did the bots aim to harm you or did they try to capture you?"

She shifts in place, frowning. "I suppose...capture? It was like they were trying to overwhelm me instead of kill me."

Donatello sighs heavily, shaking his head. "So Shredder wants to recruit you. Shell..."

"Why would he want to do that?" she asks, another tremor shooting up her back.

"My best hypothesis is that he finds your abilities useful," he says, lifting one hand to rub at his chin.

She scratches at her head, lips still tugged into a frown. "Abilities? Like what?"

"The fact that you can change forms. No mutant that we've ever met has been able to do that, much less turn into a giant, powerful wolf."