April O'Neil pulls into the hospital parking lot, nearly tripping over herself as she locks her vehicle and heads into the building. She checks her watch as she goes, seeing that it's around three in the afternoon. It's been five hours since she heard about Casey's condition.

As the redhead enters the bustling hospital, her bright blue eyes instantly fall on two more familiar women near the front desk; both with black hair, although one has red highlights.

"Taylor! Andy!" she calls, causing both girls to turn around.

"April! You heard too?" Taylor asks, hurrying to her friend's side. "Well, of course you did."

"How is he? Do you know?" the redhead demands, her voice sick with worry.

"The nurses are getting one of the Hamatos," Andrea says, thinking of the strange friends of Casey's that she had only ever heard of, never met. She casts her blue eyes over her shoulder, wrapping her arms around herself. "I hope he's gonna be okay...he's gone through way too much to just...just..."

"April! Everyone!"

The trio looks towards the hallway, Donatello and Raphael waiting for them near a tired-looking nurse. With a few quick sprints, Taylor throws her arms around Raph and buries her face in his shoulder, her entire body shaking. April and Andy walk to them slower, April starting to tear up as they go.

"He's still alive, right?" the redhead asks, looking up at Donnie.

He nods, his face a mask of sorrow. "Yes...but I don't know for how much longer."

She rests one hand over her mouth again, squeezing her eyes shut. Donnie carefully wraps an arm around her shoulders, the five teenagers following the nurse back to Casey's room.

The inside of the hospital room isn't any better than the outside. Casey lays on the bed, bandages surrounding his wound and an IV inserted into his arm. He's growing paler by the second, his chest hardly rising anymore as he shivers with cold. Destiny sits on the chair next to the bed, holding his hand and rubbing her thumb along his cold skin. Sarina and Leonardo stand against the nearest window, also watching their friend closely. Michelangelo and Annalise sit on the empty bed nearby, both staring at their feet with one of their arms wrapped around the other.

Leo looks up as the other five family members enter the room. April gasps upon seeing the state of the vigilante, completely tensing against Donnie's arm. Destiny gets up, gesturing to her previous spot. April nods and moves forwards, taking her place as she sits down next to Casey. She doesn't say a word, just watching every breath he takes.

"You couldn't help him?" Andy demands, jabbing her finger against Donnie's chest. "Aren't you the brainy guy?"

"I believe we told you the situation," Sarina retorts smoothly, her tone soft and weak. "There isn't anything that can save him now...except for Zilla's decision."

April makes a tiny sobbing sound at that, grasping his hand tighter as she droops her shoulders. She knows of the options that were given, all of them scaring her more than she'd like to admit. Either way, she feels like she'll be losing his presence in her life.

"Who's Zilla?" Andy asks.

"A specialist in topics surrounding your brother's condition," Sarina lies without missing a beat. "She's searching for the cure as we speak."

The younger Jones runs her hands along her face, trying to hold herself together. Taylor takes a deep yet shaky breath, grasping Raph's humanized hand.

"So what are we waiting for?" she asks.

Sarina and Donnie glance at each other. Leo shuts his eyes and lowers his head, unable to give her a solid answer. Annalise sniffles and rests her head against Mikey's shoulder.

"A miracle," Destiny mumbles, her voice thick.

She glances towards her other family members, not caring for Andy flinching when she looks her way. The scarred girl sighs, running her hand up her arm. No one says another word, waiting for the possible arrival of the shadow girl that holds Casey's fate in her hands.

-----------

Zilla stares at the opened vial of inanimation mutagen, the white substance casting a tiny pool of light inside the dark laboratory. She lifts her hand, floating closer to it and slowly but surely dipping her pointer finger into the solution.

Although she feels nothing, she can see the mutagen change. The white colour seems to brighten, tiny sparkles woven into the alien substance. The shadow mutant's breath hitches as she retracts her hand. This should work now. One little spill and Casey will be like her for the rest of their supposedly immortal lives.

But even as Zilla grasps the vial in her hand, only able to hold it because of the mutual mutagenic properties, her chest seizes up again. Everything in her being doesn't want to do this. She doesn't want to take the selfish route. She can't deny that her feelings for the reckless vigilante have only flowered over the last span of time, but she also hates the idea of him being cursed to the same form as her.

She swallows as she thinks back to the hospital. She stopped by hours ago, revealing herself to no one, not even her considered friends. She waited in the shadows, staring out at Casey's ever weakening body. To humans, he didn't look like he's on death's door, but Zilla could feel it. She could feel the shadow within him slowly overtaking his body.

He was as good as dead.

She stares at the vial in her shadowy palm, imagining the possibilities. Casey is saved, she isn't alone anymore, and she could actually touch him...but in the end, his family and friends lose him in a strange way.

Zilla takes a deep breath, clutching the vial against her chest as she turns towards the entrance to the lair. It's been long enough. It's time for her to go and save him.

----------

The sun sinks below the horizon, bathing the city in the nighttime chill of early winter. Every mutant has changed their human patch, securing them for another eight hours. It's only six o'clock, the perfect time for the world to go dark. Casey's heart monitor beeps weakly, the only sound in the room as the various family members sleep around the room.

The nurses weren't quite sure about the large group staying all in one place, but with some smooth-talking from Sarina and a glare or two from Destiny, they caved and allowed them to stay past visiting hours. April has her head against the hospital bed, her hand resting overtop of Casey's.

Destiny suddenly shifts, jolting upwards. Even without her wolf characteristics visible, she can sense that something's wrong. She gets to her feet, causing Leonardo to stir next to her. Casey's heart monitor slows dramatically, the once green line turning red as it signifies entering the danger zone.

"Casey, don't you dare," the girl snaps, moving to his side. "No no no...please don't. You have to hold on for when Zilla shows up!"

Her words cause the others in the room to start waking up. Casey's heart monitor doesn't go back to normal, soliciting more attention from his drowsy friends. Just as the last person, Annalise, opens their eyes, Casey's monitor flatlines.

Dead silence falls for a mere second.

"CASEY!" April screams, tears fleeing freely down her face as she moves to him. "NO! You can't be dead! NO!"

"April-" Donatello starts.

"Casey, wake up right this instant!" she shouts, her voice breaking. "Casey..."

The door flies open and a few nurses rush in, one of them readying the nearby defibrillator while still others recline Casey's bed and get his shirt open. In the rush, a couple of the other nurses usher Andy and the nearest couple, Michelangelo and Annalise, out the door.

"Everybody out," one commands.

"Charging to 300! Clear!"

Destiny flinches hard as they shock Casey's chest, flatlining monitor still ringing in the chaos, and before she knows it, Leonardo has his arm around her and he's pulling her out of the room, followed closely by the rest of his family.

"C-Casey, he can't be..." April whispers, unable to make herself speak any louder.

Donatello and Sarina move to her side, stone faces starting to shatter as they hurry out, April sobbing into her hands. In the hallway, they listen, struck with terror as the defibrillator jolts against Casey yet again. They repeat it twice more before silence falls and they hear a solemn voice say, "Time of death, 18:04."

Destiny's knees give out and Leonardo has to catch her as she weeps, her wailing echoing in the hallways as it joins in with April and Andy's mournful chorus. The others break one after the other, tears falling, hearts breaking.

The nurses put up a curtain around his bed, working as fast as they can in preparation to move the body. Some hurry away, another two emerge to tell the others about the loss that they already know about. In the cold, lonely room left behind, a dark shape materializes directly beside Casey's bed.

She stares at him, shadowy tears trickling down her face as she looks to the vial of mutagen in her fist. One spill and he'll be okay. He can come back. 

She holds it over him, hands shaking, but the longer she stares at it and the longer she stares at her hand, the more she hesitates. She slumps, defeated.

"I can't do this to you...I can't," she whispers, her entire body shaking uncontrollably. "But...I can still save you."

She turns, sweeping her arm towards the window. It flies open with a rush of cold air, the draft rustling the bangs on Casey's pale forehead. The shadow girl throws the mutagen out the window, not caring for what happens to it now. She squeezes her eyes shut for a moment as she forces the window shut again, silent sobs leaving her as she looks back to her friend.

"I hope you'll forgive me one day, Hockey Puck."

She hovers over him, leaning as close to him as possible. She shuts her eyes again, shuddering at how he's the same temperature as her. Resting a ghostly kiss on his forehead, she disappears through the gap between his lips, completely melting from view.

Within five seconds, his heart monitor jumps.