I wrote this for two reasons. One, I was thinking about this happening during the commercial break of The Lonely Mutation Of Baxter Stockman, and two, a friend of mine in Canada wants me to write a certain type of story and this was what I came up with. MikeyX K, this is for you.
The rest of you are free to enjoy it as well! :)
My last sight is Donnie's face, etched with utter dismay, because for the first time, he has failed to save me.
He came so close. I felt his fingers brush against mine as gravity took its unforgiving course, pulling me down towards the enormous vat of mutagen below. But he wasn't close enough. I passed through his grasp and landed with a small splash into the mutagen.
I must confess, I have wondered what mutagen feels like. My first impression? It's thick, like batter or sludge. My second and final impression? IT HURTS! A LOT! It feels like the mutagen is burning my skin and sending flames through my veins. After that, the pain is too great for cognitive thought. I feel like I've been dunked in fire and ice at the same time and the mixture is ripping me apart, burning away April O'Neil. Pain is all I feel. I can remember nor think of anything but the pain, and can't see anything in my future but pain.
Some instinct buried deep within me overrides the pain, and I find myself breaching the surface, flopping out of the vat, taking in gulps of air. I hear high-pitched screaming, and my throat feels raw. It takes me a minute to connect the facts and realize I am the one screaming. My body is arching over and over again in sudden, forceful pushes. I'm convulsing. Out of the corner of my eye, I recognize 2 green blobs and another gray one standing a safe distance away from the mutagen shaking of my body.
Finally, my body tires and I collapse lifelessly on the platform, the screaming winding down. Instantly, a purple and green blur flirts in front of my vision.
"Donnie . . . " I moan.
"Hold on April! We'll get you back to the Lair! It'll be okay! I - I promise!" He rushes, half stumbling over his words. He scoops me up gently in his arms and holds me bridal style. I feel tired and sore all over, thoroughly exhausted. I struggle to keep my eyes open.
"D-D-Donnie? Wh-wh-what . . . " I try to ask, but the words come out slurred.
"Ju-just - just hold on April!" Donnie says, his eyes darting back and forth from me to the path ahead of him. In the background, I can hear the sounds of fighting, Leo talking to someone about meeting back at the Lair and that the mission isn't important anymore. I can hear Casey babbling, his words making no sense, but worry clear in voice
"Wh-what?" I manage to grasp out again eyelids can't be held up any longer, and I close my eyes, the world becoming dark.
The next thing I know, I am waking on a cot, thick blankets both below and covering me. The pain I felt before is dull now, like a headache in the back of your mind. The exhaustion is still there, however. Donnie must have given me some painkillers, thank Heaven. I slowly become aware of the sounds of beeps of computers and devices, and the whirring of machines. I slowly turn my head and look around. I'm in Donnie's lab, medical equipment on standby for use. I look a bit further and spot the genius himself slumped on his desk in the pose of those who have fallen asleep on their faces.
"Hey." I try to say. The word comes out horse, but Donnie, with his ninja-trained ears, still hears it and bolts up from his position.
"April!" He cries. I wince, his loud voice hurting my ears, and he tones it down a notch. "April. You're awake."
"Yep. Barely." I attempt to sit up, but Donnie gently pushes me back down.
"Don't. You're not strong enough to yet. Let me check you over first, okay? I don't want you to have a relapse."
"Relapse? What? What happened to me?" I ask, confused.
He chews the inside of his check and looks away from my eyes. "Okay, um, bad choice of words. What I mean is, I want to make sure you've recovered."
"Recovered from what?" I ask, growing more than a bit frustrated.
"What do you remember?" He asks slowly.
I think back to the beginning. "Baxter had kidnapped me. He had tied me up over a vat of mutagen, convinced that if we both fell in at the same time, he'd become human again. You guys showed up, but Baxter spit acid in the ropes. You tried to save me, but - " My breath hitches in my throat. " - but I fell into the mutagen."
"Yeah." Donnie admits.
"I - I mutated?" I ask, searching his face for any sign that I'm wrong. Unfortunately, he nods.
"Yes. I'm so sorry April. I'm sorry I didn't catch you in time." But I'm not listening to his apology. Instead I'm reaching for the edge of the blanket. I fling it off and it drifts without a sound to the floor. I stare down at my new body. My skin is green, I have a butter-yellow chest and stomach now, a plastron, and I have only 3 fingers and toes. I stare speechless at myself. Donnie looks at me, concerned and waiting for my reaction.
"April? April?"
Without any warning, I let out a high, shrill shriek. And hold it in that note. And don't stop.
Raph pokes his head out his door and listens to the screaming coming from Donnie's lab. He looks down the hallway to see Mikey and Leo with their heads hanging out as well.
"Sounds like she's awake." He says dryly.
So? Worth working on? Please review! You know how much I enjoy them.
Thanks for reading and have a good one!