Together As Mutants (Book Six)

Chapter 43: Goo Gone

Donatello waits with bated breath as he watches the cells underneath the microscope. It's yet another sample from Timothy, but this batch holds what could very well be his last hope for returning to normal.

Donatello has worked tirelessly with Sarina on their projects, as they always do, but the run-in with the Italian mob may end up being Timothy's saving grace. Thanks to the mutant hunter rockets they retrieved from the Hammer's mech suit (now stripped for parts to be used in new projects, of course), they were able to study the concoction that they had cooked up. After all, there had to be something special in the nerve gas if it only targeted mutants.

Sure enough, they found that the chemicals were uniquely attracted to mutant DNA and, with some of the magic of science, Donatello and Sarina were able to isolate the factor that attacked mutant cells and reverse engineer it. Basically, they used something meant to harm mutants to help them, and now they're hoping that this specialized dose of retromutagen will revert Timothy back to his human self.

Donatello bites his lip nervously. They used every bit of gas for this and, if this dose is a failure, it's back to the drawing board.

But, before his eyes, the mutagenic cells warp, twist, and revert back to normal. His eyes widen and he sits back, looking back at Sarina to find that she's already waiting with a clipboard in hand.

"I...I think we did it," he says, breathless.

Her eyes flash. "It worked?"

He nods, stumbling to his feet as he starts to laugh. "It worked! Oh, baby, it works!"

He scoops her into a hug as she lets out a cheer, the both of them laughing and stealing hasty kisses as they celebrate. Donatello sets her down, holding up his hands as he waves them.

"Wait, wait wait wait," he says. "We should save the celebrating for after. Don't want to count our chickens before they hatch."

He picks up the retromutagen vial on the table, now tinged a slightly more blood orange colour than usual. It's warm to the touch. He moves to the frozen tank and stops in front of it. The tank has become a staple piece in his lab and, until this moment, Donatello wondered if it always would be. Timothy's bulbous, glassy eyes stare out at nothing and Donatello rests his hand on the frosty glass.

"Alright, buddy, moment of truth."

He opens up the hatch at the top of Timothy's jar that he used to feed him through, but hesitates as he grips the vial.

A gentle hand touches his shoulder as Sarina steps to his side. "Nervous?" she asks.

Donatello swallows. "The last time we spoke..."

He shakes his head, but he can still picture it so clearly—Timothy on a rampage, desperate to befriend April but doing it the wrong way. That was shortly after Casey came into April's life, and then theirs, and Donatello cringes to think of how he acted back then. There are a lot of things he would change if he could go back, a lot of words he wouldn't say.

He's still afraid of what Timothy may feel, and what may have happened to him while he was frozen.

"Moment of truth," Donatello repeats, half to himself.

He tips the vial into the hatch, then closes it. He steps back, Sarina close behind, and they watch as the mixture floods over the icy blob of organs and goo. For a second, nothing happens. Then, the ice starts to melt, slowly, then rapidly, and colour starts to bloom from Timothy's frozen heart. It pumps once, twice, then more.

"Donatello," Sarina says.

Donatello nods, gawking at the sight before him. "Yeah?"

"Don't you think we should have tried to remove the jar before carrying on?"