Together As Mutants (Book Six)

65. Annalise Comes Back

Annalise pulls her car to a stop, letting her hair out of its ponytail as she turns off the ignition. The blonde strands fall loosely around her shoulders as she climbs out. She adjusts her SnapBack, grinning as she heads down into the sewers.

Michelangelo; he is all she can think about right now. Sure, now she knows how to develop video games and work computers like a whiz, but Mikey...

She reaches the lair, lighting up at the familiarity of it all. She takes a deep breath, setting her bag down.

"HEY! I'M HOME!" she hollers.

There's a loud squeal and Mikey comes barrelling out of the dojo, his eyes bright and his freckles nearly popping off of his cheeks. He bounds forwards and tackles her in a bear hug.

"Cupcake! You're back! I missed you so much!" he exclaims, kissing all over her face. "Were you okay? What about the nightmares? Did you sleep okay?"

She shakes her head at his worry. "I'm okay, nothing I couldn't handle." She looks up at him, her blue-grey eyes narrowing a little in curiosity. "Your voice changed," she notices. It's a tone deeper now, but nevertheless, it's his voice.

He laughs and rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah...that happens."

She smiles again, wrapping her arms around his neck. He pulls her into a long kiss as he dips her, holding her above the floor horizontally. She breaks away, giggling as he stands her back up.

"I missed you so much," she whispers, a little breathless.

He grins, hugging her tightly. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Mikeykinz."

Raphael comes out of the dojo with Destiny at his side. Taylor comes out of her room on the opposite side of the lair, looking happy to see the youngest member of their team. The blonde, however, instantly notices that most of the group is missing.

"Where's Leo, Donnie, and Sarina?" Annalise asks, confused.

Destiny's eyes fill with longing and she looks away, her hand touching the mask around her neck involuntarily. Raph glances at her, giving her a silent gesture that no one else can understand. She nods, and he turns back to the blonde.

"Leo's in Africa. Had some leader training to do," he explains shortly.

"Oh..." Annalise rubs her arm sheepishly. "And the other two?"

"They're taking a few University courses a long ways away. They've been gone for a while too," Taylor chimes in.

"What have you guys been doing?"

"Casey and I have been keeping the crime rates down." Raph grins, cracking his knuckles.

"I delivered pizzas..." Mikey grins. "Hey, I got an employee's discount at Antonio's! It's a win-win!"

"I'm actually teaching music now," Taylor adds. "It's really great. I've got some really talented kids to work with."

"Wow! What about the Heavenly Demons?" Annalise asks.

Taylor's face falls for a second, but she hides it and shrugs. "We all kind of split up...but that was bound to happen."

Destiny remains silent as she heads to the living room, sitting down on the couch and pulling a tattered piece of paper from her pocket. The other four fall silent, watching the female mutant read over the worn out words with a sorrowful countenance.

"Is she okay?" Annalise whispers to Raph.

"Leo being gone has been hard for her. She's been playing the stay-at-home mom role," he responds softly.

"Making meals, cleaning, keeping everything in order..." Mikey lists. "She's been trying to keep everything feeling like a home."

"But Leo hasn't written for a few months. She's worried," Taylor finishes. She crosses her arms and scowls a little. "Idiot...leaving her high and dry like that."

"He has his reasons, Tay," Raph murmurs, resting a hand on her tattooed bicep. He glances over at the wolf-raven girl sadly. "And...I think she just misses us all being together."

Destiny, who had listened to the entire conversation, stands up, heading to her room and shutting the door with a soft click. She reads over Leo's last letter again, her eyes filling with tears. She sinks to the floor, hugging the letter against her chest as the tears start trickling down her face.

"All I want is for our team to be a team again."