Emotionless Mutation (Book Three)

Chapter 33: Lessons in Change

The first thing that everyone can hear in the absence of the portal's consistent whirring is the hair-raising scream ripping from Destiny's throat. She twitches and convulses on the ground, her fingers clenching and unclenching sporadically as she wails and screeches without end. The dark green mutagen coats her back and arms, some flecks still trapped in her hair. It sticks to her like putty.

Raphael destroys the last few Kraang droids—the ones that weren't fortunate enough to retreat into the portal—as Donatello stares helplessly at the inactive portal. Leonardo is already running towards Destiny.

Destiny's screams die out as her back hunches, low rippling growls now trickling from her lips. Something sprouts from the mutagen putty on her back as sleek, black feathers appear all along her arms. Some appear in her hair. The excess mutagen slips off of her and she goes still and limp, not another sound leaving her.

Leonardo falls to his knees next to her, his hand reaching to touch her but hesitating. "Des? Destiny?" he whispers, voice shaking.

He touches her hand and she flinches hard, making him inhale sharply. She stirs, one arm dragging backwards as she pushes herself up. Her hair hangs over her face in a sweaty curtain of curls as she braces her hands against the floor, heavy pants leaving her as she tries to make the world stop spinning. Her head throbs and her eyes won't focus.

"That...was unpleasant," she groans.

"Oh my shell, Des," Leonardo breathes. He doesn't waste another second, tugging her into his arms and holding her there. "You're still you! You're you..."

She doesn't fight the embrace, but her face twists with sorrow. "Sarina...Mikey..."

Leonardo's smile falls and he looks towards the portal. Donatello and Raphael are still staring at it, occasionally sparing a glance towards Destiny. No one says another word until Donatello's choked sob shatters the silence and he sinks to his knees, one hand clapped over his mouth.

"Mikey...he doesn't have an air filter," he croaks. "He can't survive that long. He can't..." He squeezes his eyes shut and gulps in a bunch of air. "Sarina...s-she's..."

Raphael rests his hand on Donatello's shell. He purses his lips tightly and forces the tears back, but his entire body is shaking.

After another five seconds of silence, there's a beep. The portal starts to glow, the whirring sound getting stronger and stronger until a small triangular window bursts open. The four remaining mutants stare in shock as Michelangelo reemerges, Sarina cradled in his arms. He has a breathing filter attached to his belt.

"Mikey! Sarina!" Raphael and Donatello cry.

Raphael starts towards them but Donatello is faster. He reaches them first and engulfs them in a giant hug, tears rolling down his face.

"I thought I'd lost you," he says, his voice breaking at the end.

"Nah, bro, you can't get rid of me that easy," Michelangelo says with a wink.

He sets Sarina down and Donatello hugs her again, taking deep, cleansing breaths. She sighs and buries her face against his shoulder, a blissful smile flooding her pale features. She's home.

"Mikey, you nutcase," Raphael says, punching Michelangelo's arm. "You scared me half to death! How'd you know to have your filter?"

"I always bring it with me on missions, just in case," he replies with a wink.

Before Raphael can respond, there's a blur of black and both Michelangelo and Sarina are bowled over in quick succession. Destiny hugs the two of them so tight that the others fear she may never let go.

"Idiots, both of you," she mutters.

"It is alright, Destiny. We're okay," Sarina assures her.

"Yeah, we're good," Michelangelo agrees, reaching around to pat her back. "We're all—what is on your back?"

Destiny pulls away abruptly and cranes her neck around, trying to see what he's talking about. "What? What's there?" She finally notices her arms and her eyes nearly bulge out of her head. "Are those...feathers?!"

The others gather closer. Donatello turns Destiny away from the group, finally allowing them to see. Between her shoulder blades are two very tiny black wings, still fluffy and covered in down, and the skin surrounding them has sprouted black feathers, including her shoulders,

"Um...Des, don't freak out, but," Donatello says, "it appears that you've sprouted raven wings: baby...raven wings."

All of the feathers on Destiny's arms stand up as her tail fur spikes. Leonardo gapes at it, speechless, and Michelangelo lets out a long whistle.

"What in the shell...?" Raphael mumbles. He leans closer, aiming his sai at her shoulder. "It even healed your shoulder, looks like."

Destiny tries to look again. "No way," she says. "Wings? Wings." She shakes her head. "Wings..."

Donatello reaches over and grasps her arm, examining the feathers. "I don't get it, mutagen isn't supposed to act like this. You should have mutated completely into a raven."

"I think I know why this happened," Sarina says. She jogs over to the shattered canister and checks the label. "Ah, yes! As I suspected!"

"What?" multiple others ask at once.

She returns to them. "This mutagen was one of the Kraang's projects, 'segmentation mutagen', I believe they called it. They were trying to see if they could mutate only part of something, like mutating an arm into a crab claw, etcetera. This particular batch must have been of an avian variety, hence the wings and feathers." She smiles a little. "The feathers can be removed, of course."

"Thank goodness," Destiny says, running her hand along her arm. "I feel like I'm wearing a sweater." She squints one eye and the baby raven wings flap, making her smile a little. "I guess I'm a wolf-raven now. This should be fun."

"Dude, imagine if you had been mutated into a raven girl," Michelangelo says. He gasps and whirls towards Leonardo. "Leo! Imagine kissing her if she had a beak!"

Raphael and Donatello burst out laughing as Leonardo's eyes go wide with horror and he flushes red. Destiny doesn't look him in the eye.

"Well..." Leonardo says, clearing his throat. "We better get home. I say we make sure that portal stays shut down and call it a night."

"Can do," Donatello says. "Sarina, help me out here."

She nods and the two of them hurry to the portal computer screen. As they do that, the others get the Turtle Flyers out and suit up, Raphael smashing open a new door in the window. Destiny straps herself to Leonardo again, ignoring his comments about "now boarding Air Leo." Despite the risk, Donatello agrees to carry Sarina with him on his. When they're ready, they hop out the window and soar off into the night, content with a mission well done.