Hey! I'm back! And I have two (yes two) chapters for you. They are tandem (go together) and there is at least one more chapter after them that is also on the same day. I went really detailed with this. I got adrenaline while writing it.
Guess what day it is? Mutation day!
Heather enters the barn. Leo is inside, practicing. He had finished the day's lesson and was now doing the new katas over and over to get it perfect. Heather waits until he is done before speaking up. "You seem excited about something," Heather says. She has noted his jumpy attitude lately.
Leo nods, "I can't wait until this Saturday." Heather thinks to Saturday.
'September 29? What could that be?' The summer had gone quicker than they thought and Leo had progressed just as quick. "What is this Saturday?" She asks.
"Mutation Day," Leo says. Heather takes a moment to register what that means.
"Your birthday?" Leo nods. "I'm sorry I didn't know Leo. You never told me so-"
"It's okay. They never celebrated my mutation, so it would have been like before," Leo says. He goes to the A-house to practice meditation, something his sensei had taught him about. Heather knows how long he's going to be up there and spends time all on her own thinking about what to do.
Leo wakes up, to find Heather is absent from the room. "Jarvis, where's Heather?"
"She is in the kitchen. She requested you get ready for the day before joining her."
"Okay," Leo says, getting up. He changes into his training pants and then goes to the bathroom. He walks down the stairs and is met with a surprise.
"Happy mutation Leo!" Heather cheers. Leo is awestruck. Steve had joined them for the day, so he's sitting on the couch. There are balloons and streamers all over the living room and the tv has skype up, ready to talk to his brothers. And on the coffee table, there is a present wrapped in blue paper. Leo grins and runs to Heather. He hugs her legs.
"Thank you thank you thank you!" he says. She kneels down and hugs him back.
"Today, training is cancelled. It is going to be packed with fun and we'll enjoy ourselves." Leo is excited for his birthday. He's going to miss training, but he can make up for it tomorrow.
"Are we calling my brothers?" Leo asks.
"We are waiting for them to call us. They are opening their presents first, but you'll get to see them when you open yours," Steve answers. Leo looks at the gift on the table. He desperately wants to tear the paper off to see what it is, but he patiently sits next to Heather on the couch and waits until the call message pulses on the screen, alerting them that the others are ready.
"Jarvis, answer Skype." The screen illuminates with the faces of all three turtles.
"Leo!" They all cry, just like all the other times they talk. Leo sees Raph and smiles.
"Raph, how's training?" He asks. Raph shrugs.
"Difficult. I hear yer training too. How is it?"
"Awesome. Still hard at times." Heather can see visible differences with Raph. He is starting to acquire more defined muscles. But it is only minor. Being off the screen so long, it was easy to pick out. She looks at Leo and sees the same improvement.
"Yer lookin' good bro. Happy mutation day."
"What did you guys get?" Leo asks. Donnie shows his balance he got for his science experiments and a crystal kit. Raph holds up a few action figures and the gear he can now wear during training. And Mikey has a bunch coloring books, new crayons, and a brown bear toy.
"Donnie's going to help me read the books! What did you get Leo!?" Mikey yells.
"I don't know yet." Leo looks at Heather. She nods. He dives for his gift. He opens the package with glee and finds..
A set of paints, a couple brushes, a notebook of thick paper, and a Japanese comic for Space Heroes. Leo gasps at it all. He didn't know what he wanted, but he couldn't be happier. He goes to the screen and thrusts his gifts at it.
"See what I got? See?"
"Leo, backup. When you are right at the screen, they can't see you," Heather says, stifling a giggle.
"Oh," Leo takes a few steps back and shows his brothers what he got.
"Can you draw us, Leo?" Donnie asks. Leo nods. The three pose in front of the screen as Heather snaps a photo for Leo to copy.
"Great to see you Leo. But, since it's my fifth mutation day, I taught Mikey how to answer calls on here," Donnie says. Leo looks up from his full arms.
"Why?"
"Because, I'm joining Raph in training. Dad decided to teach us at five, not six, like he was going to. We aren't going to see each other very often." The four get quiet.. not wanting the moment to end.
"You still got me for a year Leo, I'm four now!" Mikey states.
"Yes you are, Mikey."
"And you are nine."
Donnie turns to Mikey, "Mikey, count to ten slowly."
"One. Two. Three. Four- I'm four!"
"Keep going," Donnie prods.
"Five, six, seven.. nine?"
Donnie shakes his head, "Eight."
"Eight! Leo, you are eight! ..Right?" Mikey asks. Leo nods. He is now eight. Raph is six, Donnie is five, and Mikey is four.
"We'd, better get off. Enjoy mutation day, Leo!"
"Bye! Talk to you next week Leo!" Mikey waves. They turn off Skype and Leo sighs.
"Are you okay, Leo?" Heather asks.
"Mmhm, I'm just going to miss Donnie and Raph."
"Aw, you'll see them. They won't be gone forever. Let's have breakfast." Leo gets up and leaves his gifts on the couch.
All three sit down at the counter. Heather brings over the birthday pizza. Leo's eyes widen bigger than his smile. Everyone gets a few pieces and soon, even the super soldiers are full. Then they move outside. Heather, Leo, and Steve put on their sim-g's and Leo waits for wherever they are going to go.
"Jarvis, display space sim."
"Shall I also display the oxygen suits?"
"Yes Jarvis."
"As you wish." The room goes away. Leo waits for it to brighten, but it doesn't. He looks around for Heather. Then, little dots of light appear, along with mini planets.
=Chhh, Leo= He hears. He reaches up and feels a space suit around his head. He sees he's standing on a dusty ground. =Leo, turn around= He listens to Heather's voice in his suit and turns to see her and Steve in matching suits. Heather waves.
=Where are we?= Leo asks. Heather sweeps her hand around.
=Space!= Leo looks again. He was indeed in space.
=Well, the plane is space. We are still in the barn= Steve comments. Leo doesn't care. Then a beam of light appears and travels towards them. Leo looks at it, wondering what it is.
=Leo look out!= Heather dives, pushing Leo out of the way. The laser passes them and hits the ground. More follow it's path. =We have to get to the ship=
=What ship?= Leo asks. Heather points to not far off. There is a small space ship, sleek and new. Steve is already at its opening. Heather and Leo get up and dodge over and around lasers until they reach the ship. They climb aboard and close the hatch.
"Oxygen breathable," the ship tells them. Heather takes off her helmet and helps Leo with his. Leo couldn't hear the lasers, but he feels the ship groan at some of them impacting. He follows Heather through the ship to the cockpit. He sits down and straps himself in.
"Are we on a space mission Heather?" Leo asks. Heather slips a few switches and nods back to him. "Are we going to fight aliens?"
"And make some friends with aliens," Steve adds, "Do you want to pilot?" Leo shakes his head, he doesn't know how. "Alright. Suit yourself."
Heather and Steve go through ignition sequence, while Leo is bursting with excitement. "What's the mission!?" Leo cheers, ready. Heather looks at him briefly.
"One moment Leo, we need to get to hyperspace first."
"Thrusters," Steve commands. Heather flips a few switches. Leo sees the ground disappear under them and the stars stretch around the window. They were safe.
"Alright. Everybody turn your chairs for mission debriefing." Leo finds a button that turns his chair and he sees a screen lowering and a map of space appear on it.
"Welcome to the USS Cruiser," the ship says in a female voice, "you will be embarking on a mission to save the galaxy. The Staff of Balandar is in pieces and without it, the planet Balandar is unstable and is in need of your help."
"This is so awesome!" Leo says from his seat. A two dimensional image of the ship appears on the map. It moves to one planet, leaving behind a dashed line.
"First, you will travel to the planet Cyder and retrieve the first piece that was stolen. Then," the ship travels farther to a bigger looking ship. "The second piece is at the battle station of Alenge, the alien race that wants to destroy Balandar. Finally, you must break through the blockage surrounding Balandar," the image of the ship bumps into the outer ring of the final planet, making it disappear as it continues its course, "And give the final pieces to the head counsilman of Balandar," a picture comes up for the alien they need to meet. Under his picture, there is a name- Counsilman Onno.
"This is going to be-"
The ship interrupts him in with its speech, "The fate of the planet and its people rests in your hands. Good luck."
"-Awesome!" Leo finishes.
September 29 is Mutation Day. I looked it up.
And yep, I gave Leo a space mission birthday surprise. Read on to find out what happens.
(I reached my 50 doc limit, so I need to delete a few chapters of stories in my Doc Manager. Heh.)