Episode 5: Mutation Roulette – Part 2

A wave of dizziness vanished as it rushed over Ethan and slowly he felt his eyes open. For a moment he felt a migraine but it pinched at the top of his nose and then sunk away back into the pillow that his head was lying on. The blinding light above him seared his eyes for a moment and then he saw Jess and Kaela leaning down over him, looking at his face with concern. Their expressions were enough to give him nightmares. "Guys," He groaned and they both looked at each other with an odd look that Ethan couldn't read. "I don't know if that venom has worked itself out my system. I just had the craziest dream." he twitched his nose.

"Um . . ." Kaela slowly let out breathlessly. "I . . . I, w-well . . ." Kaela stuttered over her words and looked to Jess for help but she didn't seem to have anything that she could provide. Ethan tried to ignore her reaction. "What is it guys?" He asked and he pressed his hand to his face to wipe his eyes.

His hand touched fur.

He froze and for several long moments he didn't say anything and didn't move. He could remember a glass canister slamming on his back in his dream and the green mutagen bursting over his skin. He could remember the red panda he had saved which had thanked him with a lick and then vanished into the darkness. Once he finally felt that he could work up the courage to use his voice again he slowly said while turning to his two siblings and sitting up. "Please tell me that I was dreaming."

Jess bit her lip and shook her head no.

Ethan's stomach flipped on it's side and he felt a cold sweat break out. He lunged from where he was lying on his futon, untangling himself from his sheets and sprinted to the bathroom. Immediately he could tell that everything looked more vivid, more bright, more clear. His quickness surprised him so that he had to slow himself down at the sink and he felt like his mind nearly snap as he gripped the sides of the vanity, staring into the mirror.

He was looking at something that was not him. Although his face looked familiar under the surface, it was covered in fire-engine red fur. His eyes looked the same, but now sprouting from the corners of his mouth were long white whiskers and his ears were poofy and triangular. His neck tapered down into black fur that reached his shoulders. His shirt started there, still stained with sweat and he realized how terribly hot he felt.

His baggy pants ran around his legs but he could see his feet were similar, his hands also and for a single moment he felt relief that he still had a thumb. Black claws sprang from the ends of fingers and then, with a strange and totally foreign twitch he turned to see that –

"I HAVE A TAIL!" He screamed. "Oh my gosh – holy crap – this is unbelievable! I'm a freak!" He grabbed his head with his hands . . . paws? Another wave of illness boiled inside his stomach and he crumpled to his knees on the bathroom floor. He could smell his sweat, along with a million other smells that were painfully acute. He could hear the neighbor next door cooking popcorn and a few people in the room upstairs chatting and a girl watching the shopping channel on the third floor and a baby snoring in the apartment above that.

"Ethan!" Kaela knelt down next to him. "Ethan, calm down. You're fine. I mean – at least you are still you!"

"At least you can talk English!" Jess said standing in the doorway.

"And heck," Kaela said, "You got transformed into an adorable animal! I mean – you are so cute!"

"Oh my gosh. Holy freaking—." He muttered under his breath, trying to keep himself from losing it. He could sense a break down coming. He grabbed at the fur on his face and felt it's texture in his fingers. "Guys, I'm a mutant." He finally managed to mutter and he felt tears well up in his eyes. "I was hit by mutagen – I'm a mutant. It's over. I'm finished."

"No, it's not." Kaela said and she grabbed his hand, holding it hard so that Ethan felt his fur flatten against him and he looked at Kaela. Now that he was looking at his siblings he realized that they were wearing street clothes, backpacks slung over their shoulders.

"Where's Master Hamato?" he asked, his whiskers twitching.

Kaela smiled as if she was about to say that he was cute again but thankfully she didn't say that. "We haven't seen him since we dragged you back through the portal last night." It went quiet for a few moments. "It was terrifying to see it happen to you." She finally said softly. She then leaned in and gave Ethan a hug. Jess leaned down and joined in, her knees on the bathroom tiles too. Ethan felt a little better and felt his fur crumble around him, feeling incredibly warm around him. "We are a little late for class." Kaela suddenly said, breaking a part the hug. Ethan could clearly smell the shampoo that she had used. Strawberry. She had put on a dash of perfume that was significantly different in scent – although he couldn't pin it down.

Jess slowly stood up again, "We wanted to make sure that we were here when you woke up." She said. "So y'know . . . you wouldn't do anything crazy."

"Crazy?" Ethan asked, feeling the sharpness of his teeth with his tongue.

"Like hurt yourself or something."

"School . . ." Ethan just realized that he would never be able to step in those doors as a student again and he felt his eyes tear up again and he fought them back and wondered what his red panda face looked like, trying to keep back a sob. He had to be a leader and he couldn't let himself show pain in front of his siblings.

Kaela patted his shoulder, "Think about it this way, you don't have to worry about detention anymore! Or that English homework you didn't do."

Ethan let his mouth turn up into a weak smile. "Y-you guys can go." He said swallowing thickly his tears and trying to perk up. He could feel his ears move up from his head and realized that at some point he must have flattened them against his head.

"Buck up." Jess said rubbing her hand on his head like she usually did, only this time she ruffled fur instead of hair. "We'll be back right after class and you can wipe the floor with us in training" Ethan just nodded and Jess made her way out of the bathroom.

Kaela paused at the door, adjusting the straps of her backpack and with a smile said, "You're still you, Ethan." Then she turned and followed Jess out the door and into the New York streets. Even though he still sat in the bathroom he could still hear as clear as day the sound of the wood of the door slide and the sound of vehicles on the road as if he were sitting on the curb.

The door closed.

He didn't move from the cold bathroom floor for a long while, but sniffed, flattening his ears on his head again and he felt his tail swish behind him on the floor, probably picking up fallen hair. He grimaced and slowly straightened onto his legs. He did have a lot to be grateful for. If he had touched the ant-eater instead, he would have had to drown himself in the river outside. He still had elbows and knees and thumbs and his eyes. He could still walk on his two legs without any issue and his fingers still seemed to be able to move without issue.

Ethan walked into the bedroom and took a look back to see that the tail and punched a hole through his pants and was sticking out, stripped, like a raccoon tail. His white bandanna lay on the floor near his pillow. He slowly walked over to it but once he reached it, he couldn't even get himself to reach down and pick it up. Why did this happen to me? He thought. Next time I see those Kraang . . . He stopped that thought. Maybe Jess would have to be leader now and he would have to stay behind and hope that nobody saw him and put him in a circus. Any semblance of a normal life had gone up in flames from a single five second moment in his life.

He could still remember the feeling of the mutagen on his skin, burning as if he had stayed out in the winter chill all day and then gotten into a hot shower. He shivered and decided ultimately, with the bitter – sweet feeling that he had no school, he surrendered to the shower.

It took him nearly an hour to wash all of his fur and he chose some of his more casual wear. Nothing seemed to cheer him up. He wandered around the dojo for at least an hour, hoping that Master Hamato would come and talk to him. The dojo was eerily quiet. He couldn't even stomach picking up his naginata and so he grabbed a load of junk food from the kitchen, dumped it at the foot of his bean bag and then turned on the TV and slumped down, moving his tail out of the way so he didn't crush it underneath him. This was his new perch for who knows how long.

"I can't believe that actually happened." Kaela said aloud as her and Jess walked to school. "I just feel so bad for him. Do you think he'll be alright?" Kaela turned to look over her shoulder back down the street towards the dojo.

Jess' usual sarcasm and teasing voice had completely disappeared. As she walked, her hair blew behind her in the bursts of wind that came from the vehicles that were flying down the road next to them, honking at everyone that got in their way. "I don't know." She said nervously. "I mean – he seems physically fine. I just worry about . . . y'know, his life."

The two went into a state of solemn quiet. "Maybe we should leave school early so we can go home and cheer him up." Kaela suggested. "Do you think Master Hamato is still going to let him fight?"

"I hope so."

They finally had reached the yellow building, surrounded by sky scrapers that marked their high school and they stepped through the doors and past the metal detectors. The secretary looked up from the nearby desk. "You are late." She scolded.

"Sorry!" Jess quickly said, "Family emergency."

"Well, don't go to your usual classes. Nobody will be there. The school is in the auditorium for the museum. They should be starting right now, if you hurry, you can make it."

"Oh yeah!" Kaela said, but the excitement that normally would have accompanied her had decreased since the accident yesterday. The two walked down the hallway, passing lockers, school spirit banners and glass cases of trophies until they reached the two large doors that led to the gym. They were both wide open with door stoppers keeping them from closing again. Student's were crammed so tightly that they knew there was no way they were going to squeeze in. Standing on their tippy toes, they could see a man was talking with a microphone in the middle. He had broad shoulders and a suit that looked more expensive than their dojo. His hair, black as midnight was done neatly on his head and slicked with expensive smelling oil.

"Thank you for that introduction!" he was saying, "Thank you for having me. We are so excited to sponsor the Geology Museum and present it to you in your school." His voice sounded grand and boomed across the gym. Booths had been placed along the walls, covered with glass domes that held different specimens of rocks. In the middle, right behind the broad-shouldered rich man was a huge glass case with a diamond the size of a bowling ball.

"Ooo!" Kaela cooed.

"Who is this?" Jess whispered to one of the teachers nearby.

"That's Max Winters."

That name was definitely recognizable. Winters Corp was one of the most powerful and wealthiest businesses in New York. They owned almost everything from real estate to hair gel.

"We hope that you enjoy examining these specimens. You student's get a very rare privilege of seeing these before they are placed on display. Please be careful, do not touch, and ensure that you learn from them for your unit. Never let yourself forget this moment." He then took a quick bow and the gym erupted in polite applause and he quickly moved out the back door with a series of body guards. He was likely to busy to stay.

"Their just rocks." Jess muttered, arms folded across her chest.

"I just want to see the diamond and then we should go back and make sure Ethan is okay!" Kaela said and she pressed against the students that were starting to file further into the gym, moving in a messy circle around the different stones. They stepped into the gym.

Almost immediately, Jess spotted Mako, his purple tipped hair shining in the light, his hand in his pocket, the other sat lazily at his side, bracelets covering it from his wrist to his elbow, studded with little silver spikes. A long, snake-like fang earring dangled from one of his lobes. He was chewing bubble gum and Jess wanted to know what flavor it was.

She tried to shove through people until at last she managed to get next to him. "Hey, Mako!" She said cheerfully. Kaela seemed to be ignoring that Jess had vanished and instead was gazing curiously at a red, glimmering rock that looked more like a piece of shattered glass.

He turned to look at her, popping a bubble and a sly smile appeared on his lips, the tips of his hair danced in front of his eye and he leaned forward, putting his other hand in his pocket. "Sup." He said. "Jess, right?" A burst of joy appeared in her heart that he had even known that.

"Y-yes!" she said.

"I know your brother. We've bonded over our mutual love of detention." Mako said as if it were a badge of courage. "Is he sick today?"

"O-oh, yeah. Yes." Jess said quickly.

Mako nodded. "Sucks." He said and then he looked up at a clock nearby. "Well, I better split." He said, his words slurred together and Jess could tell the was on his way to ditching. She couldn't think of anything to say back and finally he said, "See you around, Jess." And off he walked out towards the door.

It was one of the first conversations that Jess could ever remember having with the boy, although she had had lots of them in her head. She returned to Kaela who had now moved on to a lumpy gray rock, decorated in fossils. Kaela raised an eyebrow. "What?" Jess asked.

Kaela shrugged with a smile, "I just find it really funny that you got all mad at Ethan for liking Karai when you like someone who beats kids up." Jess's usual stony look had returned and she shoved Kaela playfully, but didn't provide any evidence to the contrary.

The two moved down the row. The glass cases were all decorated with a golden 'W' for Winters Corp and near the back a large picture displayed a picture of the logo with an image of their huge towering building near the center of New York City, complete with a gate, courtyard and outdoor elevator and colored gold and white. Kaela practically skipped the last five specimens so she could admire the huge, glimmering, pure white diamond that sat quietly on a pedestal, covered behind glass that surely had to be bullet proof. "Look how awesome that is." Kaela said in awe, her hand running up the side of the glass.

The way the diamond caught the light above it made it reflect even more, glaring at them from several different angles. "Winters Corp sure does have a lot of money to throw round." Jess noted, "Why on earth would you need a diamond that big?"

Kaela ignored Jess' question and had taken out her phone, snapping pictures with it and posting it immediately. "To look at!" She finally answered. "It's so pretty!" She turned the phone to show Jess who nodded in approval. Kaela returned to staring at the diamond for a few more moments before she tucked her phone away and said, "Well, shall we go back home and cheer up Ethan?" Jessica nodded.

The two pushed through crowds of students towards the big doors that led back to the hallway and the entrance of the high school. As they walked, they discussed ways that perhaps they could cheer up Ethan. Kaela suggested ordering a pizza and watching that dumb cartoon. Jess thought about training practices that he was particularly good at, or even meditating even though that was one that she wasn't in particularly partial to.

Before they got their foot out the door, the ground beneath them rocked with the sound of exploding concrete. They both fell to the floor and turned to see that a huge, smoky hole had appeared at the far end of the high school gym. Behind the smoke was a series of tall shadows. "What is going on?" Jess gasped.

Students screamed, falling this way and that. Several had fallen over the tables, the glass cases of several of the specimens shattered into a pile of shards, precious stones and rocks tumbling off the table and rolling away. The red one that looked like glass mingled with the now dusty remains of the boxes they had been hiding behind.

Kaela and Jess tried to straighten themselves, but kids were practically trampling them, trying to run out of the gym. A shadow moved through the smoke until a man emerged. He looked to be in his mid twenties, black hair hung over his face and his eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark glasses. A tattoo of two intertwined purple dragons could be seen on his chest as he was wearing a silky, low-cut 'V' neck shirt and slacks to match. Expensive looking black boots shone through the smoke and decorating his fingers were golden rings with spikes tipped off their ends. His arms were equally decorated in dragon tattoos that ran all the way from his forearm up into the folds of his shirt. A necklace hung around his neck, decorated with a green stone.

"Who are you?" Jess coughed, helping Kaela to her feet. She wasn't sure if she was looking at a criminal or a Korean pop star. "A recent recruit for a gang or something?"

The man smirked at them and adjusted the glasses on his face. "Not a recruit." he said cockily, "I'm the leader, Hun." His accent was clearly Asian. Several other shadows appeared behind him, equally decorated in black clothes. Some were sleeveless. Others wore black, studded gloves on their hands. Almost all of them had tattoos. They grinned at the screaming students, Jess and Kaela. A few that stepped into the light cracked their knuckles. "The Purple Dragons are here to collect." Hun motioned towards the large diamond that sat behind the now dirtied glass. Brick powder covered it and a crack ran up it's side. The diamond sat, unharmed, inside.

"We don't think so!" Five security guards stepped forward. Three of them had ties with Winters Corp pins stamped on them. The other two were likely from the school. "We know your gang. You are all wanted for a number of robberies. If you put down your weapons, we won't open fire."

Hun snorted and then snapped his fingers and put his hands behind his back. As if he had just sicked an attack dog on them, the Purple Dragon's lunged forward. The two school security guards went down without hardly a fight. The Winters Corp guards seemed more highly qualified. They whipped out buzzing tasers and burst forward towards Hun.

"This is crazy!" Kaela cried, "Do we ever just get to have a normal day in life?"

"Not a chance." Jess added, "This is awesome! We get to see security guards take down this pop-star wannabe!"

The first Winters Corp guard had reached him but as soon as he lunged to strike with his long taser, Hun had moved out of the way and with a sound that sounded like something from a Bruce Lee movie, jumped forward and struck the guard directly in the solar plexus with his golden blades. The man coughed and fell backward onto the ground. By the time the second one realized he was in trouble, it was too late. With a crescent kick, followed by several quick powerful jabs from Hun, he dropped to the floor with his friend. The third swung the taser and it sizzled through the air but Hun moved out of the way easily, making odd martial arts noises as he went. He kicked but the guard had moved out of the way, only to be kicked again from the other side, then hit in the stomach, jabbed in the side, elbowed in the face and dropped like a boulder, slamming against the floor.

"Holy crap." Jess whispered in awe.

"Don't tell me you have a crush on Hun now too." Kaela joked.

Jess shoved her again. "Alright, you weirdy," Jess said reaching to her side for her Kama's, "Now you get to mess with us."

Hun had moved his attention to them and smirked again as the other Purple Dragons began to gather some of the stones and put them in bags.

Jess grasped absolutely nothing but air. Her mouth dropped open and she looked down. She had forgotten, but of course – neither of them ever brought their weapons to school. Kaela's eyes had gone wide. Jess now wished they hadn't joked and acted as cocky as they had. "Maybe we should call Ethan." Kaela suggested.

Hun slammed his golden studded fist into the glass and it shattered into tiny particles that bounced off the ground, leaving the diamond wide open to steal.

"Yeah, definitely." Jess replied.