Moonlight Mutation (A TMNT Fanfic)

Chapter 36: Time Bomb

Destiny's train of thought needs to stop derailing and set itself straight on the train track of life.

Every day, she's trying to stop thinking about numerous scenarios and memories amongst other things, yet that's all she's able to set her mind to. She thinks about the torture, she thinks about the numerous scars marking her body, and she keeps thinking about how the Shredder and Diaval appeared in front of her.

She obviously imagined them, but why? She never did before. She hasn't even met Shredder; Donatello told her that the brain isn't supposed to be able to create faces that haven't been seen before. It physically can't, so why did Destiny get such vivid daymare of Oroku Saki? The questions never end.

The only conclusion she can possibly come to is that, somehow, someone is putting the image of Shredder into her head. That person can easily be Diaval. His specialty is creating images in the minds of others.

She tenses, thinking of just what happened before she slipped off the exam table and into Leonardo's arms. The memory is hazy due to how exhausted and drained of energy she was at the time. All she can remember is a dark-skinned man with a fluffy afro and thick-framed glasses, Stockman, standing over her a glistening object in his hand and speaking in a frantic, wavering tone wrought with fearful determination. Destiny had wondered at the time what it was that made him so scared.

She stopped thinking when the pain hit, blinding pain that surged through her veins and made her mind feel as if it was turning to jelly. It was the kind of agony that made her scream so loudly that she's sure that anyone outside the base could've heard it. Sticking her hand in boiling water would've hurt less.

Destiny exhales. She hasn't told anyone inside the lair about her warped memories. They're all so vague that she doubts that they'll be useful to anyone. If anything, it'll make them worry more.

She doesn't want them to worry about her. She just wants to forget that it ever happened. She wants to forget that she was ever captured, but that's the problem. Things like that can't be forgotten.

Destiny opens her eyes, taking in the silent dojo as her body returns to a more awake state of mind. She lets out a heavy sigh and runs her claws through her hair as she rocks in place. Her crossed legs are starting to feel numb.

Her attempts at meditation are mediocre at best. She finds herself thinking too much and therefore doesn't find any sense of peace. So much for helping with the headaches and nightmares.

She gets up, hooking her thumbs around the waistline of her jeans and wiggling them back up to her hips before locating her uchigatana and heading out into the living room, where the turtles are preparing for a patrol. They all have their weapons ready, talking over the last minute plan that has to do with retrieving canisters of mutagen.

"This won't take very long tonight. We'll do our usual patrol, maybe pick up some canisters, and then get back home," Leonardo reiterates, his arms crossed and his posture straight. "Remember, keep an eye out for anything suspicious. This will be Destiny's first patrol with her weapon, but hopefully, we won't have to get into any fights."

"Aw, what if I wanted to use it?" Destiny asks, alerting the turtles to her presence with the half-hearted joke. She smiles weakly as she sheathes her sword against her hip. "Kidding. Just so long as I get some fresh air."

"Destiny, there you are!" Michelangelo greets. "First patrol with the weapon! I'm so pumped!"

"Why would you be pumped?" Raphael asks. "It's just another patrol for you."