Moonlight Mutation (A TMNT Fanfic)

Chapter 37: Weakening Will

Destiny is aware that she is probably the most terrible mutant ever. Just awful, her internal monologue scolds, and she can't help but agree.

To make it worse, she's also aware of how she is not thinking straight or approaching this situation calmly. In fact, most of what she feels right now is an insatiable urge to tackle Emery to the ground and repay the favour that the leopard dealt to Destiny in the first place. To get to Emery, however, she has to follow her into the building standing before her.

Destiny swallows, staring up at the cathedral from the adjacent rooftop. There's a small ledge near the stained glass window and at each of the four corners below the slanting rooftop are stone pillars that end in triangular points. Out of the four walls of the building, only the front has windows from what she can see, meaning she could climb the sides and there'd be no way of them seeing her aside from the possibility of security cameras.

A guilty feeling curls in her gut and she grimaces. The wind blows her curls across her face and she pushes them out of the way before giving in and reaching for her phone. Preparing for an onslaught of scolding, she dials the number of her choice and positions the phone against her face.

It's scary how fast the line is picked up. "Destiny, where are you?"

Hearing Leonardo call her by her full name makes Destiny internally cringe. Suddenly, she has a much better understanding of what the turtles feel when Splinter snaps out their full names when they're in trouble.

"I caught the trail again, I'm still up on the rooftops," she says, starting to twist a strand of hair around her finger. "It's better for me to be alone."

"How? How is that better?"

She attempts to come up with the most logical response, but it's weak at best. "If I'm alone, the chance of me getting out alive is better," she says, snagging one pointed tooth against her bottom lip as her foot begins to tap against the gravel of the roof.

There's a long pause before she hears him take a deep breath. "Be careful. Alert us if something goes wrong."

"I will."

"Promise?"

She smiles just a little. "I promise, I'll be safe."

"Alright," he sighs. "I'll be waiting for you."

She hangs up at almost the same time as him, slipping the phone into her pocket as she turns her attention back to the cathedral. For something that's supposed to be a church, it looks very menacing.

Destiny checks her uchigatana once more, tightening the belt before unsheathing her claws. Bouncing twice on the soles of her feet, she shakes out her wrists and then breaks into a sprint towards the building. She nears the edge and with pushes herself into a powerful leap, going weightless for a few heart-stopping seconds before she hits the building wall and digs her claws into the rivets between the brickwork. A rush of breath leaves her as the pounding of her heart fills her ears, her eyes closing involuntarily so that she isn't tempted to look down.

Mustering every ounce of strength she has, she tugs herself up the wall, digging her toes into the jutting masonry and gripping with her claws and fingers both. When she finally does reach the rooftop, she collapses to her knees against the concrete, gulping in air and brushing dust and dirt from her bleeding fingernails. She has climbed before, but never that high or from such a starting point and she doesn't want to do it again soon.