"I think we can both acknowledge that the fighting has to stop," Mr. Lewis says. Casey sits across from his desk, enduring the lecture in silence. "But, in this case, I can acknowledge that you were provoked. Once Brayden is out of the nurse's office, I'll be talking with him."

"What does that mean for me?"

Mr. Lewis sighs, removing his glasses and cleaning the lenses on the edge of his shirt. "I don't think any kind of detention or in-school suspension makes sense. You're only here a few times a week, as is."

"So...?"

"So, I'm going to take an alternative approach. Clearly, you need a healthier outlet for yourself. Ms. Somerset brought to my attention that there are some volunteer opportunities that you could take advantage of."

Casey stiffens. The principal keeps talking, listing things out, but all Casey can picture is his apartment, the stack of papers, and April, just trying to help...

"Is that something that would work for you?"

He blinks, shakes his head. "Uh..."

"If you need some time to think, that's fine, but you need to choose something. Let's say you come back and let me know what you've picked next Monday. A whole week. Sound good?"

Casey's mind scrambles, putting together pieces. Okay, sounds like he needs to find somewhere to volunteer at? Guess it's better than spending even more time in this stupid school.

He nods.

Mr. Lewis clasps his hands together. "Perfect. Now, I don't want to see you back in this office until then, alright? Let's keep things peaceful, Casey."

"Yes, sir."

----------

He gets back to his locker only to sigh and press his forehead against it. The cool metal soothes the heat still plaguing him. His nose has stopped bleeding but man, he's still feeling the punches. As much as he hates to admit it, Brayden isn't someone to mess with. He's used to throwing down, just like Casey, although it seems like he doesn't keep it to the ice.

But Casey Jones has fought man-eating tigers and inter-dimensional aliens. He can handle one stupid teenager.

He raises his head, looking up and down the hallway, lingering on every patch of shadow even as he opens his locker and gathers his bag. There aren't many shady spots—behind a garbage can, the water fountain. No sign of Shadow. Maybe she went home for the day. Maybe she went to "shadow" a class.

Casey snorts at his joke just as the intercom buzzes.

"Casey Jones, please report to the main office. Casey Jones, to the main office."

"I didn't do anything!" he says out loud to the empty hall.

But, he's already caused enough trouble for himself today. He hikes his bag over his shoulder and storms back the way he came. The principal's door is right next to the main office, and he bypasses it to let himself in. The receptionist glances up at him and then gestures.

"You have visitors," she says.

He blinks a few times, confused, before he turns around and notices the two people seated nearby. One is a buff guy with green eyes and auburn hair, tied back with a red headband with raggedy tails, and the other is a girl with curly brown hair, hearing aids, and distinctive scars marring her face. Even a mutagen patch can't hide those.

"Raph? Des? What are you doing here?" he asks.

"Annalise said you got in a fight," Destiny says, getting to her feet and moving to him. "Did you get a nosebleed?"

"Just leave it alone," he mutters, brushing her away. "Is that why you're here?"

Raphael snorts as he stands, gathering up the black duffel bag at his feet and hiking it over his shoulder. "No, actually. We need you for a...uh..."

"Grief counselling appointment," Destiny interrupts, glancing sideways at the receptionist as she works at her computer.

"What?" Casey asks, eyes narrowing. "I never—"

"Did you forget?" she asks, giving him a pointed glare.

He shuts his mouth. She's planning something. They both are. His brow raises as Raphael nods to Destiny, and she turns back to the receptionist.

"Mrs. Enns, since Casey's done for the day, it's alright if he leaves with us, right?" she asks.

Mrs. Enns nods. "Yes, that's fine."

"Do I need to sign him out?"

She waves them off. "I already got your information when you came in. It's quite alright."

Destiny smiles sweetly. "Thank you so much!"

She turns, ushering Casey and Raphael out the door. No one says a word until they're out the front doors, down the steps, and well on their way down the street.

"Grief counselling?" Casey repeats. "And who did you tell them you were?"

"Your cousin, obviously," Destiny says. "Just there to make sure you get where you need to go, which happens to be a recovery mission."

Casey eyes them both. "You wasted a patch to come get me from school? You could've just texted or something."

"We were getting groceries, smart guy," Raphael retorts. "Besides, we thought that some good old crime fighting would cheer you up."

"Annalise said you had a rough day," Destiny adds.

"So, how 'bout it, buddy?"

Casey sighs and shoves his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, sure."

----------

It doesn't take much walking in silence before Destiny tries to break it.

"So, Brayden again?" she asks. "What'd he do this time?"

Casey rolls his eyes. "The usual bullshit."

Raphael pulls out his phone and aims it at Destiny as they walk, letting her see his screen. Casey cringes when he hears Brayden's voice coming from it.

"Annalise took that?" Destiny asks.

"Nah, said she got it from a classmate," Raphael says. He shakes his head, baring his teeth a little. "The punk deserved it, Casey. He's lucky I wasn't around." He growls. "People like that piss me off."

"Most things piss you off, Raph," Destiny says. Raphael jostles her with his shoulder even as he smirks, and Destiny looks back at Casey. "Anyway, you know how Donnie and Sarina programmed their spy drones to search for mutagen?"

He nods. "Yeah. Last time it went off was when Stickbug was around."

"Well, they went off again. The readings were pretty weird."

"Don't ask us why. It's one of those things that only makes sense in Donnie-Sarina language," Raphael adds. "Mutagen has been pretty scarce since the Kraang left, so anything we can get is good."

"They did say that the readings were...Raph, what did they say? That it was like mutagen but not really?"

"I wasn't really listening."

"Great. We're doing a fantastic job of explaining all of this, aren't we?"

Casey snorts. "You guys are going to get mutagen, but the readings are weird so having more people for backup in case it gets weird is important, which...is why you came to the one and only Casey Jones."

Destiny and Raphael stare at him, then each other, and Destiny smirks as she aims a finger gun at him.

"Exactly," she says, clicking her tongue.

Casey nods. "Is mutagen really that important?"

"We mostly need it for patches," Destiny says. "We're already rationing them."

"Only for emergencies," Raphael adds.

Destiny's t-phone goes off, playing its catchy little jingle, and she answers as they turn into the nearest alleyway.

"What's up?" she asks. A pause. "Yeah, I'm still human. Just talk a bit slower." Another long pause as they keep walking. Her expression pinches as she nods. "Alright, see you then, Leo."

She hangs up, pocketing the phone. The alleyway they're in doesn't have a dead end, just stretching from one street to another, and she stops when they're about halfway down. Raphael stoops to one knee as he drops the duffel bag, zipping it open. Destiny pulls her shirt up, revealing another set of scars cutting across her waist, and she peels a peach-skin-coloured patch from beside her belly button. Raphael does the same, tugging off his red t-shirt and shoes before pulling the patch off his shoulder.

Casey watches in awe, like he's witnessing a magic trick. Destiny winces as her mutant characteristics return, pointed black wolf ears growing from her curly hair as she removes the hearing aids from her remaining human ears. Her fluffy wolf tail sprouts from her tailbone, forcing her to nudge her jeans lower so that it can sit comfortably above the waistband. Her shirt, already cut with modifications for her wings, stays put as her dark wings sprout and return to full size.

Raphael's transformation is more obvious as he morphs back into a turtle, kicking off his boxers and basketball shorts once he has his shell back and digging into the duffel for his ninja gear. Destiny groans as she stretches her wings, flapping them a few times as she turns back to Casey with a smile. Her fangs and wolfish eyes have reappeared as well, back to the Destiny he's familiar with.

"Still can't believe Don and Sarina made those things," Casey says. It would have been one of the freakiest things he's ever witnessed if he hadn't been swallowed and almost digested by a Kraathatrogon worm before.

Raphael grunts in affirmative as he tugs his mask (that had been holding his hair back) over his eyes, wiggling it a bit as he finds the eyeholes. Destiny digs into the bag as he starts wrapping his hands, producing a small plastic case that Casey quickly realizes perfectly fits her hearing aids.

She glances at him with a raised eyebrow as she snaps the case shut. "We grabbed your gear, too. It's all here," she says. "We snuck into your apartment."

"You guys make me feel real safe, you know that?" Casey says as he moves closer.

Raphael snorts. "Just suit up and shut up, Case," he says.

Casey punches him on the shoulder, a tiny smile crossing his face for a moment. It's been a while since he's helped out with a mission. This will be good.