Together As Mutants (Book Six)

Chapter 34: This Means Nothing

Raphael is pretty sure he's losing his mind.

First, it was that damn cockroach on his pizza, and now Stockman's got an army of bugs. He feels like he's blacking out, bugs following him at every turn, all beady compound eyes and pincers and fangs. He hears Taylor scream but he can't find her anywhere.

"Get away!" he screams. "GET AWAY, GET AWAY, GET AWAY!"

Suddenly, there's a sharp pain against his cheek and he startles. The bugs disappear. Michelangelo and the rest of his family stand before him, gathered in an alley, all staring at him with varying degrees of concern. Michelangelo still has his hand raised, eyes bright and expectant.

"Mikey!" he growls, raising his fists. "Why, you..." He registers what happened, the sting of a slap still resonating against his skin. His arms drop to his side in shock. "You...you snapped me out of it. Thanks, little bro!"

"No problemo," Michelangelo says. "That's my role in the group: to bring sanity."

Raphael, Leonardo, and Donatello sigh and roll their eyes. Destiny and Sarina share a glance, Destiny letting out a tiny bark of a laugh as Sarina hides her smile behind her hand. April giggles.

"Did you have to slap him?" Annalise asks.

"It worked, didn't it?" Michelangelo retorts.

Raphael looks around. "Wait, where are they?" he asks, noting the absence of Casey and Taylor. "Oh, no, they got away, didn't they?"

"Define 'they,'" Leonardo says.

"Stockman's got two new mutants!" Raphael says. "An ant that splits itself into copies and a big, buggy, spider freak!" He gestures up into the air, as high as he can, then sags, panting a little. "They got away with millions of dollars and Casey and Taylor!" He squeezes his eyes shut, head bowed. "Because of me..."

He stares at them, oddly demure, and everyone shares a few looks.

"Um, are you sure it wasn't part of your hallucination?" Donatello asks, wiggling his fingers near his head. "Why would bugs need money?"

"Because they wanna buy jetpacks!" Michelangelo says. "It's lame having to use your wings all the time, dude! Trust me."

Destiny ruffles her feathers, eyebrow raised. "Takes one to know one, Mikey." After a pause, she turns to Sarina and says, "Opinions on jetpacks?"

"Useful, although hard to maneuver. I'll stick to my boots," Sarina says.

"We have to get them back," Leonardo cuts in. "Raph, show us where this all went down."

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On the scene, Leonardo stoops to grab the broken end of Casey's goalie stick. Michelangelo toes the splintered remains of Taylor's baseball bat. Donatello kneels as he scoops up Casey's shattered cell phone.

"Donnie, anything?" Leonardo asks.

"Well, we won't be tracking him by phone," Donatello says. "Des-"

"Got it!" Destiny calls. Her nose wrinkles and she waves her hand a bit. "Bleh, bug smell."

"What exactly is...bug smell?" Annalise asks. "Genuinely curious."

Destiny tilts her head, stroking her chin. "You know...when you go into somewhere really old, and it's all dusty or damp, and there's that...smell? Like it's musty, but there's an extra hint of...something. Geez, I don't know how to explain it in deeper terms. Rot, maybe?"

"I think I get it," Annalise says.

"You could also look for Taylor or Casey's smell," Sarina points out, "if the bug one is unpleasant."