Digital Mutation (Book Five)

Chapter 32: Mom

Michelangelo was going to climb in Annalise's window until he started to think about how much that would scare Mrs. Hughes. Then, he imagined going up to the front door and knocking, a politer option but would most likely end with screaming and getting the door slammed in his face.

And so, he climbed in her window anyway.

Annalise's room is dark and empty. Her bed hasn't been made, her computer hasn't been opened in days, and all in all, Michelangelo feels watched. It's like he has entered somewhere haunted.

He creeps to the ajar bedroom door and pulls it open, allowing light from downstairs to trickle in. He can hear someone talking, a one-sided conversation that must be happening over the phone. Slipping out and shutting the bedroom door behind him, he starts towards the stairs on silent, careful feet.

As he goes, the voice downstairs gets louder.

"She's been missing for days already. Mhm...yes, that's right." There's a soft, shaky inhale and Michelangelo's chest tightens. "There's no sign of her. I...I just..."

He reaches the bottom of the stairs and inches along the wall. When he peeks around the corner, he finds a woman standing in a small kitchen, one hand braced against the counter. Her hair is tied up in a bun and she wears a pair of reading glasses, frantic gaze pouring over some kind of paper while she talks softly into the phone in her free hand.

Michelangelo hesitates and tries to think of what to say. He went over a script in his head on the way over but now, seeing Mrs. Hughes, that's left him. If he could just get up his confidence...

A bark sounds from in front of him and he slowly looks up to see Pepper staring up at him, her tail wagging as she makes happy dog noises in her throat. He pales and starts waving his hands and shaking his head, miming "ssh", but that just makes Pepper more excited. She bounds at him, barking and wiggling as her tongue lolls from her mouth.

"Pepper, what on earth?" Leanne asks. She mutters a brief, tired goodbye into the phone before turning it off. Michelangelo swears that his heart stops. "Pepper, what—"

He comes face to face with an older, more tired version of Annalise, and for a second they just stare at each other. Then, Leanne screams and lurches backwards, gripped with terror.

"What are you?! What are you doing in my house?!" she cries.

"Wait, Mrs. Hughes, I'm a friend!" Michelangelo pleads as he puts his hands up. "I know where Annalise is!"

"You...you..." She clutches her chest, starting to hyperventilate. "How do you know Annalise? Who are you?!"

"She's my friend! I—"

"Oh my god, are you an Internet stalker?! I knew she shouldn't have stayed on YouTube! If I had just—" Tears start rolling down Leanne's face. "Oh my god...my baby...did you take her? Did you..." She sinks to her knees, hugging herself. "Please...she's, she's all I have left," she sobs.

"Mrs. Hughes, please, I would never hurt your daughter," Michelangelo says. He feels his eyes starting to itch. "At least, I...I didn't mean to..." He sniffles hard and his throat tightens. "She was helping me with something and I thought it was safe but...but it wasn't. And I promised to protect her and I didn't and I'm, I'm s-so sorry."

Tears escape him as he too falls to his knees, shaking and crying, and Pepper whines and licks at his face. Leanne lets out a soft gasp as she looks up at him, slowly getting back to her feet as she hurriedly scrubs at her face.

"No, no, don't cry, turtle...boy," she murmurs. She reaches down toward him, then stops. "You..." She shakes her head. "What is going on?" she squeaks.

"I'm s-sorry," he wails, hugging his knees to his chest. "I was, I was going to keep her s-safe..."

She sits down in front of him, still pale but less wide-eyed. "You know where she is?" He sniffles and nods. She touches his knee pad, just barely brushing it. "Can...can you tell me?"

----------

Mrs. Hughes clutches a mug of coffee between her trembling fingers, staring at her dining table without seeing. Michelangelo sits across from her, sipping from a juice box.

"She's...in YouTube," she whispers. "Trapped by a...sentient...virus? Who...who also—" She laughs. "Who was also her imaginary friend."

Michelangelo nods. "Yeah," he says.

"I always thought that Rainbow was too put together to be fake," she admits. She gives a wistful smile to a wall behind Michelangelo's head as she takes a sip of her drink. "I played along with her, commenting about Rainbow being somewhere or saying something, and I never got it right. I thought she just had an overactive imagination but I suppose—" She stops and Michelangelo blinks at her as she clears her throat. "I apologize...I'm talking too much."

He laughs a little. "I don't mind."

She lets out a somewhat tired sigh and from beneath the table, Pepper whines and paws at her feet. "Michael," she starts.

"Mikey works better, actually," he corrects her with a tiny grin.

"Right, sorry...Mikey," she says. "Are you going to save Annalise?"

He bows his head. "I don't think I can," he admits. Her shoulders sink. "But, my sister is already planning her rescue. She's a genius! If anyone can save Lisey, it's her."

She takes a deep breath. "And...just to be sure, none of you are Kraang. You're not involved with any aliens?"

"Nope. We fight against them," he says. "We try to be heroes, like during those invasions and stuff."

"Oh, that was you who saved us?" she asks. When he nods, rubbing the back of his neck, she smiles a little. "Thank you. You're a very brave young man." She gazes down at her coffee. "Much like my late husband."

Michelangelo's chest puffs out a little. "You're welcome!"

Her head bobs a little as she again stares off into space. Michelangelo sips at his juice box, feet tapping on the floor. In a way, he feels like he's in a dream. Annalise is gone and yet he's sitting here in her house, her mom before him. How strange.

His t-phone starts to ring and Pepper lets out a startled bark as Mrs. Hughes jumps in her seat. Michelangelo apologizes as he snatches up the phone and answers it.

"Hello?"

"Mikey! Thank shell," Raphael says on the other end. "Where are you?"

Michelangelo purses his lips, eyes wide as he casts a brief glance to Mrs. Hughes. "I'm...uh...out? For a walk?"

"You need to get home. Sarina's getting ready to go and if you want to say goodbye—"

He leaps to his feet. "She's going?! I thought she was gonna figure out something else!"

Raphael's long breath gives Michelangelo a very clear image of his tense expression. "Just...get home, okay? We'll see you soon."

He hangs up. Michelangelo slowly lowers the phone from his ear, hands starting to shake as his eyes burn.

"Is...everything alright?" Mrs. Hughes asks, tentative.

He stuffs his phone into his belt. "My brother...he says I have to go."

Her eyes widen. "Oh, there...there are more of you. That's..." She shuts her eyes, sucks in a breath, and exhales. "Nice."

"My sister is going to get Annalise back. If everything goes well, she'll be home soon," he says. She looks up at him, hopeful, and he smiles. "Thank you for the juice...and not calling the cops."

"Of course," she says. She gets to her feet. "I can show you to the door if you want?"

"Nah, I'll take a window. Harder to be seen that way." He starts towards the stairs, stopping to turn around and wave. "Bye, Mrs. Hughes."

She manages a wave back. "Yes, bye...Mikey."